I'm still loving Battlefield 3. Like most the campaign hasn't really been of much interest to me, but the multiplayer more than makes up for the underwhelming single player, which is saying a lot coming from a guy who tends to avoid most multiplayer experiences.

The one gripe I have with the game is that, like so many other first person shooters, there is still very little team play to be seen. While there are exceptions to the rule, for the most part everyone appears to be out for themselves. While Battlefield 3 certainly does its best to incentivize people working together, few seem to actually pay these things any heed, with the exception of throwing out med- and ammo packs.

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I'm playing the recon class, focusing on sniping people from a distance, so I don't run with groups that much. But even as the definitive lonewolf I try to help my team out by spotting and using my soflam. Speaking of spotting, it varies wildly from server to server whether you're playing with people who will actually take the effort to hit that Q button. It's a real shame that people can't extend one finger more often to hit that button because it'd make life for everyone in the team so much easier.

Now, my real gripe isn't with those small (but important) things, but with the utter lack of people working as a cohesive unit. Everyone just runs or drives in blindly, not even taking the moment to wait for someone to man the gun on their jeep, helicopter or tank. They rush in, die, and repeat the exact same process all over again.

One of the maps where this is very evident is Metro. That area near the escalators nearly always ends up playing out like a tug-of-war scenario. There is rarely a clear victor in those matches. Now, I realize that that particular map is nothing but choke points, making it very difficult for any team to assert dominance over the match, but I am convinced that if people took the time to strategize, to employ tactics more sophisticated than simply chucking grenades and running around, shooting like a madman, they could score a decisive victory.

What this game needs, most of all, is leadership. One or two people on a team who have a good overview of the map and the match, and who are able to guide other people on their team to victory. The problem there is, who is going to take advise from some random Joe on the internet about how they should play? I'm fairly certain that even the very best tactician would go largely ignored, no matter how sound their strategy might be. Unless it involves a serious clan, people simply do not like to be told what to do, even if the person telling them is right. Maybe we are just too proud to accept that what we're doing isn't working. Too proud to admit that someone else might know better.

It's a shame, too, because I guarantee that we'd all feel a hell of a lot more proud if we devestated the other team through superior teamwork.