End of an Era for Battlefield 3?

This week saw the release of the final expansion for Battlefield 3 titled "End Game" and what a way to celebrate this fantastic game. Recently I posted a report from the field describing the changes Battlefield has gone through to make it the game it is today. With End Game, players are treated to fast and frantic dirt bike combat and full on aerial combat once again pushing the game to it's limits and further increasing its playability.

So is this the end of an era? Well yes and no. It's sad we won't be seeing any further expansions for BF3 but at the same time the franchise will only grow from here. Back in the early days of Battlefield, the theater of war was set in WWII. It featured a few expansions that added new vehicles and weapons in the game and paved the way for Battlefield Vietnam. Vietnam learned from BF1 and added faster gameplay and better ways to fight your enemy. Battlefield 2 saw its entry into the modern combat era, it featured several expansions which added new maps and vehicles.

Enter Battlefield 3. An ambitious title that combined only the best of the previous series, adding high definition graphics that pushed current hardware to its limits and sought to win over the Call of Duty crowd. In the modern day of DLC, EA and Dice weren't happy with simply adding maps, they were after the game changer. Gamers were taken back to the glory days in Back to Karkand. We fought on our favorite fields of battle from Battlefield 2. We stormed desert strongholds and patrolled war torn cities. We were introduced to Close Combat, a mode that featured incredibly detailed destruction as players fought through office blocks and construction sites. Then once we had mastered close combat tactics we were thrust into the world of Armored Warfare in Armored Kill. Suddenly, we were more strategic, going for air support sites while letting less important flags be captured. Armor support was the key to victory but soldiers weren't forgotten. Then when the dust settled, we fought in the ruins of Aftermath, scrounging for weapons in an earthquake ravaged city. Guerrilla tactics were used as we sought to claim these ruins for our team.

Now we have End Game. Finally we have more than two jets on our side and the Battlefield has changed once more. Combat is faster and in turn, we have to fight better to keep the edge over our opponents. The best thing about all this? Everything EA and Dice have learned will be featured in Battlefield 4. We will have to fight harder and smarter as the game evolves while we play. So is it the end of the Battlefield Era? No comrades, the war has just begun...

-Sarge