On Xbox 360, Activision’s Call of Duty and EA’s Battlefield series have been fighting over first-person dominance for years. This fall, Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 hit just weeks apart — and each has its fair share of merit to justify the hype. But what if you only have the time for just one game’s engrossing online experience and absorbing campaign? Which of these titles has the greater potential? Ignoring popularity, marketing, and sales, we examine each game’s main features to determine who’ll likely deliver the best experience in each category.

CAMPAIGN

Battlefield 3

The first BF3 reveal showed 12 minutes of campaign gameplay, and every second of it impressed us. The E3 single-player demo — spotlighting a sprawling tank battle — packed a similar punch. These pieces felt reminiscent of recent Battlefield games, like 2010’s Bad Company 2, that had missions that are far more varied and well-paced than most shooters’ straightforward run-’n-gun objectives. Strategy is key in the world of Battlefield, where evading and taking down a skilled sniper requires patience, careful planning, and perfect timing. In contrast, many other shooters would just throw a sniper rifle against a wall for us to fend off 100-plus enemy threats, Rambo-style. Hopefully we see the same methodical pace in the co-op campaign, which is its own separate entity. We’re also pretty stoked that Battlefield 3 seems to be taking its cues from Bad Company 2, rather than the crummy 2005 Battlefield 2: Modern Combat campaign. (Or so we hope.)

Modern Warfare 3

From what we’ve seen, the MW3 campaign has the same awe-inspiring OMFG factor as the last few CoDs. With America, England, Germany, and France under attack, we’re anxious to see how Soap & Co. close out the chaotic trilogy-ending finale. The Modern Warfare series has always specialized more in tense, moment-to-moment events than a cohesive story, though. Did anyone really understand, let alone remember, the plot to MW2? We just recall crawling through some snow and knifing a guy in the eye. True, the now-almost-standard brief — but spectacle-laden — four- to five-hour campaigns have turned off some shooter fans in the past; those fans yearned for a beefier chunk of single-player time in the Modern Warfare universe. But we’re expecting Infinity Ward (along with newbies Sledgehammer Games) to stick to the winning formula they’ve honed to precision, even without studio co-founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella on board.

Early Edge: Battlefield 3

MULTIPLAYER

Battlefield 3

The killer map design and sheer size of each arena is going to be a huge benefit for Battlefield 3. The return of BFBC2’s quintessential Rush game mode — which sees players pushing their way forward by blowing up key control points — will be an awesome addition. DICE is also tweaking the class structure a bit this time: Assault troops now toss healing medpacks, and the heavy-fire Support unit refills ammo. Teamwork is essential to success in the world of BF multiplayer, which is a distinguishing feature that made us fall in love with Bad Company 2. But on an odd note: EA is touting Team Deathmatch as a major feature for BF3…uh, we’ll see how that works out.

Modern Warfare 3

While Battlefield is a team game, Modern Warfare is very much a personal multiplayer experience. Sure, you have teammates, but it’s the individual progression that does it for us. We equip our perks and killstreak bonuses to best suit our own unique playing style. We can wander off on our own in gameplay and nobody yells at us to come back. The Modern Warfare multiplayer suite — which is largely the same as it ever was, with some shiny new perks and weapon unlocks to get us hooked again — is liberating. MW3’s Spec Ops multiplayer, meanwhile, mixes the standard survival mode with co-op CoD and a little tower defense, and promises to consume our lives, too.

Early Edge: Modern Warfare 3

SOCIAL

Battlefield 3

Taking a cue from Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit’s incredible, persistent-world Autolog feature, “Battlelog” is how Battlefield will track real-time player stats, allowing gamers to create platoons (read: clans) and socialize with others. EA insists that no aspect of Battlelog will require payment (in contrast to Activision’s announcement that there’ll be paid premium membership privileges for its “Call of Duty: Elite” community service). But EA hasn’t mentioned anything about how Battlelog — which is currently just a web application — will be incorporated into Battlefield 3. Without specific details and compared to the bells and whistles of CoD’s Elite, Battlelog seems pretty basic. 

Modern Warfare 3

Tracking K/D ratios on your phone? Uploading in-game videos and analyzing heat maps after each match? Call of Duty: Elite is definitely aimed straight at the hardcore. The unspecified fees associated with certain features, like competitions for prizes, may be a concern to some, but in a recent Elite demo, we were assured the breadth of the service would be free. Still, Call of Duty’s social service is in-depth — including fan groups and insane statistical analysis — and widespread across numerous platforms, including availability on mobile phones. Even with the limited info that Activision’s released, Elite is shaping up to be a much more comprehensive service than Battlelog.

Early Edge: Modern Warfare 3

MECHANICS

Battlefield 3

Because Bad Company 2’s feature-set lagged behind most shooters, Battlefield 3 is playing a bit of catch-up. Lying prone? Mounting machine-guns? Mantling over cover? Customizing all the pieces of our guns? These bits and pieces are old news in other games, but the sum is a healthy amount of new features for BF vets. DICE’s new Frostbite 2.0 graphics engine allows for some gorgeous destruction, too. But we’re betting it’ll be Battlefield 3’s Suppression system that’ll be the real game-changer: laying down heavy fire distorts your opponent’s vision, forcing them to move, lest the firepower rip through their cover. We also love gaining XP for throwing our opponents into a panic.

Modern Warfare 3

Mechanically, so far Modern Warfare 3 doesn’t look like a huge departure from recent entries in the CoD series, for better or worse. True, we generally subscribe to the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra for the most part, but the lack of anything noticeably new is a little disheartening for any gamer crossing their fingers for a complete refresh. We’ve seen similar scripted scenes across every CoD, and the core of the series hasn’t budged in five years. It’s still stellar, and MW3 handled excellently in a recent Spec Ops hands-on. Barring some startlingly new, innovative features rolled out before release though, it’s just all beginning to get a little…expected.

Early Edge: Battlefield 3

DLC

Battlefield 3

Bad news first: only by preordering Battlefield 3 will you nab the Physical Warfare Pack, giving you access to otherwise inaccessible weapons and equipment. While EA insists the pack won’t give you an unfair advantage, this does conjure thoughts of monetizing in-game superiority. Now the good stuff: preordering BF3 can also score you the Back to Karkand expansion for free. The pack includes four classic, reimagined BF maps, which keeps with what’s becoming tradition for the series — buy it new, gain huge amounts of DLC. In addition, Bad Company 2’s VIP Pass, otherwise available for $10, gave us seven free multiplayer updates. Honestly, Karkand by itself is a great incentive to get in early.

Modern Warfare 3

Modern Warfare’s downloadable map packs will be coming to Xbox 360 first and…well, that’s really all we know. Activision isn’t talking much about what we’ll see, when we’ll get to play it, and if it’ll still match the dreaded $15 tag that the series has made its standard price point for previous downloadable offerings. Black Ops was generous with its DLC, including zombie maps and modes for the four multiplayer maps. Hopefully Modern Warfare 3 gives us more co-op options. Spec Ops was incredible in MW2, and after perfecting each mission we’d have killed for more. But for now, we’ve got nothing but hopes and speculation.

Early Edge: Battlefield 3