Road to E3 2011: Battlefield 3

Throughout May, IGN is taking a look at games set to appear at E3 2011, from June 6-9. Battlefield 3 still holds a lot of mysteries up its sleeve. What happens in the single player campaign? How's the multiplayer? We'll let you know what to expect and what we hope to learn about these games at this year's show.

Battlefield 3 steps up as the first true sequel in the Battlefield series since 2005. While the Bad Company spinoffs had quality of their own, Battlefield 3 is a completely new beast using an in-house engine from DICE called Frostbite 2. Frostbite 2 delivers a realistic appearance in which buildings crumble, smoke pours through the air, and dust and debris litter the maps.

12 Minutes of Battlefield 3 Gameplay

All-in, there's still a lot of unknown surrounding this latest Battlefield title. The story takes place in the near future, 2014, in a conflict that begins in Sarajevo and the border of Iraq and soon stretches to locations far beyond. We've only seen early missions so far, and a couple of short trailers, so there is plenty to still learn. The campaign will be available to play cooperatively.

Rewind Theater: Cutting the Wire

Multiplayer.

DICE has been tight-lipped about showing any multiplayer thus far, so we're hoping to get some real information and time with the multiplayer next month.

They have revealed that the PC multiplayer experience supports up to 64 players while consoles will include 24 players. The ability to go prone, jets, and a new progression tree all will pop their heads into the game, so hopefully we'll actually get some details on these aspects in June. But DICE has been clear to say, "This is not Battlefield 2."

E3 ought to reveal a deeper look into the single-player campaign as well, but only time will tell.

• More PC Games Features
• Latest PC Games News, Reviews, and Videos