More Battlefield 3 maps detailed

Battlefield 3 developer DICE has unveiled five more of the game’s multiplayer maps, via the Battleblog.

First up, Grand Bazaar is a close quarters combat map that plays out in the “tight, narrowly built” centre of Iranian capital Tehran.

The DICE design team describes it as “a classically mirrored map where both sides have very similar pathways, sideways, and possibilities to traverse heights to get a better view of the action.”

Caspian Border is a more open, vehicle-centric affair.

“The border control splitting the map in two was introduced to add an interesting break both visually and gameplay wise in the otherwise beautiful and open landscape,” explained DICE.

“Caspian Border is one of the obvious map choices if you are after the full vehicle experience, as base distances are generally too long to cover by foot.”

Next up, Seine Crossing sees a return to the city of Paris, with the action taking place on opposite sides of the famous river that runs through the French capital.

“Seine Crossing has a number of larger roads for vehicles to patrol, while infantry can sneak through tight alleyways and climb staircases to reach second or third levels inside buildings to reach a better tactical position – unless the enemy takes down the building facades.

“The final M-COM stations in Rush are placed inside a bank building, which is the largest indoor environments of this map and forces the attackers to slightly change tactics.”

The Noshahr Canals offers a more industrial setting, featuring a mix of infantry, land vehicle and boat gameplay.

“The attackers in Rush start out on a carrier ship and can reach the beachhead by amphibious vehicles, boats, and helicopters,” wrote DICE.

“All of the bases on the map have an industrial theme but still have different styles, like a train yard, dry dock, or airfield. Compared with the larger vehicle maps in the game, this allows for tighter infantry combat.”

Finally, Kharg Island is the perfect stage for those with sturdy sea legs. The boat-centric map follows an assault on an industrialised island in the Persian Sea.

“In the Rush game mode, the beach assault begins on the coastline with a well-defended beach you need to break through to create a beachhead for further attacks on the island, before it opens up wider in the later part of the map.”

That makes a total of nine maps in all, not including DLC additions. DICE offered up a breakdown of the other four last week.