Battlefield 3’s Back to Karkand DLC coming next week

By Ryan Fleming December 2, 2011

The first of what will no doubt be several DLCs for the uber-hit, Battlefield 3, has finally arrived. First announced as a bonus for those that purchased the Limited Edition versions of the game, the “Back to Karkand” expansion will feature four new maps, as well as a return of the classic Conquest Assault mode. It will also include three new vehicles, ten new weapons, five new dog tags, and five new achievements/trophies.

The DLC will include four of the most popular Battlefield maps ever created: Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman, and Sharqui Peninsula. Each of the maps has been fully remastered using the Frostbite 2.0 engine, which means that they will feature new destructible environments, and be exceedingly awesome to stare at in wonder as a sniper decides to introduce you to a bullet.

“Free for those that pre-ordered or purchased the Limited Edition of Battlefield 3, Back to Karkand is another way for us to say thanks to our fans and show our continued support for the game,” Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President of the EA Games Label, said. “The launch of Battlefield 3 was only the beginning as we vow to keep the game alive with additional content and gameplay improvements in the months ahead. We’re excited to recreate and share some new Battlefield moments on these beloved maps that only Battlefield games can provide.”

The pack will also include the classic Conquest Assault mode from Battlefield 2. Rather than the now standard Conquest, where teams rush to take control and hold multiple neutral flags, Conquest Assault will begin the game with one team in control of all of the flags, immediately putting the other team on the offensive.

As part of the Sony exclusivity deal with EA, PS3 users will receive “Back to Karkand” on December 6, while Xbox 360 and PC users will have to wait until December 13. Those that purchased the Limited Edition of the games on any system will be able to download the expansion pack at no additional cost when it is released. For everyone else, the DLC will cost $14.99, or 1200 MS Points.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Gaming

Battlefield 2042: Best controller settings

Battlefield 2042 player hacking electronics.

With any cross-platform game, players want the ability to remap their controllers in more competitive circles. Thankfully, Battlefield 2042 allows you to do just that. Players can completely remap their controls to their liking, along with their desired sensitivity and FOV. Here are the best controller settings to use in Battlefield 2042. We'll also go over the best helicopter settings in Battlefield 2042 and how to make them more like the Call of Duty: Warzone helicopters. This article is from the perspective of a PlayStation 5 player. However, the configurations mentioned still work relative to their Xbox counterparts.

Battlefield 2042 makes a huge change to its progression system
Battlefield 2042 gets some key changes following beta feedback
The best Xbox Series X games for 2021

Gaming

The best weapons in Battlefield 2042

A soldier stands next to a downed satellite in Battlefield 2042 Hazard Zone.

It's not quite as unique to play a multiplayer FPS with 100 or more players in a single match today, but before the battle royale craze hit, there was basically just one franchise pushing player counts above 16 or 24 players. The Battlefield series has always made strives to make players feel like they were really in the midst of an actual warzone. Their mix of high player counts, destructible environments, and vehicle-based warfare on giant maps was unlike anything else on the market. To this day, there are still few other games that attempt to copy this formula of two massive teams fighting it out on the same scale.

For as many people as there can be in a match, each player can still feel like they're making a difference in the game. Well, assuming they are packing the right weapons. With 22 total weapons in Battlefield 2042 at launch, many of which need to be unlocked via leveling up, experimenting with them all to find the best one could take up a lot of your time. Instead, we've put all the guns through their paces and came up with a list of the best weapons in Battlefield 2042 for each category so you can score as many points as possible.

Gaming

Battlefield 2042 gets its biggest update yet, adding Rush mode

Angel from Battlefield 2042 petting a ranger.

Following a smaller update released on November 25, Battlefield 2042 is getting a massive, game-changing patch on December 2. Titled Update #3, the patch includes a laundry list of fixes for the game's bugs and glitches, adjustments to weapons and vehicles, and some new additions to the game, including the option to play Rush by using Battlefield Portal.

Battlefield 2042 Gameplay | First Look At Renewal, Breakaway and Discarded Maps