Battlefield 3: Armored Kill review

One major advantage the Battlefield brand has held over the Call of Duty franchise is its incredible vehicular combat that’s embraced the series from its humble beginnings. Battlefield 3 proved to be no different with its wide array of tanks, choppers, ATVs, and much more. DICE’s first set of downloadable content for the popular first-person shooter, though, shied away from this component, catering to close-quarters gameplay – which proved to be successful we must add. Nevertheless, DICE is returning to sender and bringing out all the big vehicles for Battlefield 3: Armored Kill. Does it stack up as the best DLC yet? Read our interview to find out.

If our opening paragraph didn’t give it away, you should know that Armored Kill centers around vehicular gameplay, vehicular slaughter, and anything else you can do with a vehicle. This centric aspect is carried out through four new, massive maps – many of which are larger than any in the franchise’s history, and that’s saying something. While these maps are heavily diverse and play true to the Battlefield formula, the action is somewhat stripped away due to the lack of foes being flushed at you. For example, Alborz Mountain is so enormous that the landscape is both wintery and forestry. Even with the added amount of vehicles, much of your time is spent driving to your objectives and that does dampen the fun of enemies breathing down your neck.

That issue isn’t as prevalent in the other three maps such as Death Valley or Armored Shield, though, due to the objective layouts that play nicer with team spawns. However, all four maps rely heavily on vehicles, and as we alluded to earlier, it’s a stamp on the series’ name. The DLC includes a number of new vehicles to try out, and while they may not be innovative for many, they’ll give you some new flavor on your kills. There are even some map-focused vehicles, such as Alborz Mountain’s AC130 that players can control and enemies can shoot down. The layout of the aforementioned maps favors this type of combat with its vast number of hills and lack of camping positions. The equation works and that’s what fans really want to have answered.

Perhaps the better equation answered, though, is the introduction of Tank Superiority. This “King of the Hill’ styled mode pits two teams against each other with a dozen-or-so tanks on each squad’s side. Yes, it’s true; no more waiting to get your beloved tank. Instead, you’ll be focused on “tanking” out the enemies infantry while capping and holding the flag for your team in a Conquest-like scoring system. If you’ve become bored of close quarters or run-and-gun gameplay, Tank Superiority is definitely for you, as it is Armored Kill’s best addition.

Armored Kill isn’t quite the DLC we pictured it to be. The gameplay isn’t drastically changed, minus the new mode, and the action is somewhat decreased. It’s not to say that it’s a bad chunk of content, though. In fact, it’s an excellent addition to the Battlefield 3 name and is certainly worth purchasing, especially if you’re looking to shake up your experience.