14 DAY TRIAL // Battlefield 3 doesn't even have a concrete release date, but DICE, its developer, has already detailed the first downloadable content for it, the Back to Karkand map pack.
Battlefield 3 was officially announced earlier this year, and shortly after that, DICE confirmed that a special DLC will be made for it, called Back to Karkand.
The map pack contains four of the most popular maps from Battlefield 2, Wake Island, Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, and Sharqi Peninsula, remastered using the all-new Frostbite 2 engine which powers the upcoming game.
Back to Karkand, for those who didn't catch the first announcement, is free for those who pre-order the Limited Edition of Battlefield 3 and will be later released as paid DLC for those who get the regular edition or get the game as a used copy, effectively acting as an online pass, EA's already infamous method of protecting its new games.
Lead designer Niklas Fegraeus talked about the remastered maps and how the introduction of Frostbite 2 and its many new features change how the maps are now played.
"From a gameplay perspective, destruction is the biggest addition compared to the original map in Battlefield 2 back in 2005. I remember this particular building by the square in the original where players could defend very effectively.
"Now, with the destructive power of Frostbite 2, someone can just RPG that building and expose the defenders within. At the same time, we need to be careful not to add destruction that breaks the tried and tested game flow of the map."
According to DICE, the four maps from Battlefield 2 have been played for a total period of around 25,000 man years since their initial release back in 2005.
Now, with Battlefield 3 set to appear at the end of the year, perhaps right at the beginning of November, according to a leak from EA, it seems that DICE wants to introduce them to a whole new generation of players that didn't get to experience the second full-pledged Battlefield game.
