Battlefield 3 Is a Next-Gen Game for Current-Gen Platforms

The recently announced Battlefield 3 is being described by its developer, DICE, as a next generation game for current generation platforms, largely because of its all new engine, Frostbite 2, which is filled with big technological advancements.

Electronic Arts, the publisher of the first-person shooter, let loose the first details about the title a week ago, and has been detailing some of the most important features through its developers at DICE.

Speaking with Game Informer, via CVG, one the executive producers at the Scandinavian studio, Patrick Bach, explained how the team rewrote the Frostbite engine and included features like real-time lighting or large-scale destruction.

"You shouldn't have to wait for the Xbox 720 or PlayStation 4," he said. "We have to deliver this to you now, and we wanted to do it on all the platforms."

Frostbite 2 is hyped as an "incredible technology that takes animation, destruction, lighting, scale and audio to new heights."

Plenty of other information about Battlefield 3 appeared this week, including the fact that it's going to have a massive 64-player multiplayer mode on the PC and 24-player one on the consoles.

The title is going to take players from Teheran to Paris or Los Angeles, and urban warfare is going to play a key role in the action of the new title.

DICE is using a team double the size of the one that worked on the previous Battlefield: Bad Company 2, so plenty of other features are going to be added until the game is ready to be released.

There's going to be an original story, completely unrelated to the Bad Company spinoff series, which will have high and low points, not just intense shootouts all the time.

Besides this, all the classic Battlefield features are present, with a wide array of vehicles, from sea to land or air, that can be driven, new destruction mechanics and lots of character customization options.

Battlefield 3 is scheduled for a release at the end of the year, for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.