Battlefield 3 DLC to be "same quality" as Bad Company 2 Vietnam

DICE is aiming for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam levels of polish with downloadable content for Battlefield 3, according to lead designer Niklas Fegraeus.

One post-release map pack has been announced for the new game, titled "Back to Karkand". Available free to preordering players, the pack is a homage to venerable classic Battlefield 2, boasting four remastered maps and a selection of Battlefield 2 weapons and vehicles.

One of the maps is Wake Island, a horse-shoe shaped bay flanked by US carrier groups and peppered with foxholes. Originally featured in Battlefield 1942, and lately recycled for Xbox Live release Battlefield 1943, it's perhaps the most cherished slab of environmental art the franchise has to offer.

Fegraeus called the experience of redesigning the map to take advantage of modern technology "a weird mix of pressure in staying true to the heritage of Wake Island, while at the same time having new and exciting possibilities thanks to the Frostbite 2 engine".

"I feel that we have a shot at making our own unique interpretation of Wake Island," he said. "The map has seen so many iterations through so many games that we don't feel constrained by some hard-coded template of what it must be.

"With Battlefield: Bad Company 2, we did a lot of experimenting with DLC, and I think that we learnt a lot along the way," Fegraeus added. "The goal is that any content for Battlefield 3 will be of the same quality as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam. That means we have to start work early alongside the base game."

Battlefield 3 launches on 2nd November - six days before sworn rival Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on the 8th. Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim follows on the 11th. It's going to be a busy month.

[Source: Battlefield blog]