Recently we were given a brief glimpse at Battlefield 3 via a short trailer. In that trailer we saw a lot of tanks, helicopters and text but unfortunately no gameplay.

In the latest trailer we see flickers of gameplay intertwined with a shaky video feed and the same rather cinematic presentation featured in the previous trailer. Smash cuts abound.

Battlefield 3 represents the first numbered edition of the series since 2005. Developer Dice has taken its time developing Battlefield 3. Building the game from the ground up using their cutting-edge ‘Frostbite 2′ engine.

If Battlefield has designs on the first-person shooter crown it will have to prove better than the competition. All roads to the top go through Call of Duty.

A healthy dose of competition is good for any industry. Just look at all of the innovation that has taken place within the Madden NFL franchise in the recent past. We’ll wait while you try to remember anything that stood out.

Necessity is the mother of all invention. More quality games means that developers will need to diagram new methods with which to differentiate their products. Even the most hardcore CoD heads should champion the existence of greater competition.

What is your impression of Battlefield 3 thus far?