It goes without saying that the Call of Duty series has very much cornered the market on deep, freakishly addictive online FPS gaming, but long before Modern Warfare kicked off so unexpectedly, there was another King of the castle, EAs Battlefield 1942. Though it lacked the comprehensive stat-tracking now commonplace in online fare, it boasted exhilarating action, and as was its real drawing point, superbly-implemented vehicular combat, ranging from jeeps, to tanks, to planes. Battlefield 2 caused a similar storm upon its release in 2005, boasting more of the same albeit with state-of-the-art graphics, but not long after that it was eclipsed by CoDs seemingly unstoppable reign at the top, now having lasted for four years (and four games). Battlefield 3, however, a more complex, technical and rewarding online outing than any of the CoD games, is now gamings online shooter to beat; a visually stunning, muscular, visceral experience like no other. In the spirit of getting the criticisms out of the way first, there is a rather unfortunate trend for online shooters to abandon a single player offering of any substance, and Battlefield 3 is little different. Much like the CoD games, the campaign here is a globetrotting effort of tenuous consequence, presented in a disinteresting framed flashback format, and off its own back is packed with too many QTE sequences which arrive out of nowhere. Worse, though, is its brevity; skilled FPS players will breeze through it on Normal difficulty in barely over 5 hours. There are some undeniably outstanding set pieces, and as a visual showcase, it is virtually unrivalled, but the only real advantage of its short length is that it wont keep you too long from getting immersed in the real reason to buy this game, the outstanding multiplayer component. Its going to take something huge to topple Battlefield 3s hold on the multiplayer shooter market, for this offering is among the most frantic, exciting, intense and downright enjoyable youre going to have played, and it more than compensates for a fairly middle-of-the-road single player mode. While Call of Duty focuses on fast-paced running-and-gunning, this is a far more technical, patient experience which as a result might not sit well with those used to CoDs pulsing nature which demands you to work with your team, or invariably, you will die, a lot. The modes on offer here will be familiar to fans of both the series and the genre; while there are standard Team Deathmatches available at lower player counts, the real fun comes with Conquest mode, a 64-player battle for supremacy between two sides, the Americans and the Russians. Easily shaming the console ports of the title which only allow 32 players the PC version of Battlefield 3 is not only the lead development platform for the game (a rarity nowadays), but it is the definitive experience without a doubt. While the sheer intensity of the matches makes it difficult to account for all of those 64 players most of the time, theres a real sense of scale here lacking in just about every other game of the type; stare into the sky and observe dog fights and helicopter patrols, or look to your left and you might see an enemy jeep come bounding over a hill. You need to be on your toes because, while theres more running and less gunning than youd get from Battlefields rival series, theres a greater sense of reward precisely because kills are harder earned, and you, like a real army, must band together to win the day. What really separates it from CoD, though, is that it recognises not only kills but minor combat achievements assists, suppressing fire, and vehicular damage such that you can top the leaderboard without killing a single soul. How many times in other online FPS games have you unloaded a clip into a barrage of enemies, only to not get any points? Battlefield 3s comprehensive rewards system prevents this frustration almost entirely. The level of customisation on display in general is staggering; while the weapon upgrades laser sights, silencers and grenade launchers will be little new to CoD fans, what distinguishes it is the addition of vehicular modification. Almost all vehicles can be modded depending on your rank, allowing for greater protection, or as is more commonplace, more destruction. Some might find this creates some balancing issues, but an effort is made to match you with players of similar levels if the Quick Match option is used, and it is a grand incentive to keep plugging away at the rank progression. For added value, there are also six online co-op missions; theyre certainly fun to a point, but the real meat is in the seemingly endless array of options at your disposal with the core matchmaking gameplay nevertheless. EAs Origin delivery system does leave a little to be desired, admittedly; essentially a mediocre version of Steam, it crashed for hours on end at launch, unable to cope with the demand, and countless technical issues prevented a lot of players from sinking their teeth into it until after launch day. Once operational, though, it is slick against the odds, and the games matchmaking system, which operates curiously out of a web browser, is surprisingly intuitive. Much has been made of Battlefield 3s visual prowess, and indeed, it topples Crysis 2 as unquestionably the most visually sumptuous game to yet be released. While the single player never looks quite as slick as that outstanding launch trailer due only to the fact that were controlling the camera rather than a script the grit, the destruction, and most impressively, the human animations, are mind-bogglingly authentic. Take the action online and the game is surprisingly well-optimised for demanding gameplay; even relatively modest rigs by todays standards will be able to run the game on High graphical settings online without any drop in frame-rate, while those lucky enough to run it on Ultra will doubtless salivate at the level of detail on display, not a single step down from the offline equivalent. Aurally its no slouch either; that familiar Battlefield theme returns in a more jazzed-up capacity, and the razor-sharp sound of bullets whizzing around you only heightens the intensity of the battle, creating perhaps the most authentic war-like experience in any game. Voice acting is generally solid; EA had the good sense to enlist character actor Glenn Morshower (who amusingly also appears in the upcoming Modern Warfare 3) to play an interrogating officer, though admittedly his likeness during the sketchy FMV cut-scenes is ropey at best. Its difficult to imagine a more complete or exciting online presence in gaming this year; while the single player leaves some to be desired, and perhaps we shouldnt take it as a given that this will now be the case, the multiplayer is crafted with such diligence by DICE that its difficult to get that upset about it. This is the definitive online shooting experience; tactical, challenging, thrilling, and best of all, deleriously entertaining. Modern Warfare 3 certainly has a lot to live up to, and on the basis of this excellent product, Im not sure that they can. Battlefield 3 is available now on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.