I'm liking it so far. The new maps are very intense, and if you want to get anywhere you basically have to squad up properly as there's not a lot of room to just wander off and hide. Destruction bits are quite impressive in a 'what the heck is going on - I can't see' kind of way. With all the interiors and vertical maps (most buildings are about 5 levels at least, with good overwatches) then it's actually pretty tactical so far.

If you've ever enjoyed Metro or even something like Noshahr Canals small then you'll like CQ.

I MIGHT get premium for my brother, for his BDay, or maybe just the CQ DLC.

At the moment it's just Premium only (I think, not sure) so most of the games are either pretty hardcore or filled with BF3 fanatics. My rank of 41 is about 100 ranks the lowest I've seen so far lol.

One guy just had a 72 / 1 score, basically no way his health would go under 25%. So there's that as well

Are the maps as chokepoint heavy as Metro is?

No, or rather the maps are mainly interiors so are very tight but not choked like, say, Metro B stairs. There is usually a few ways in and out (even the toilets ) so although it is a clusterfest it's not choked. The pace is really frantic though.

The new modes of CQ conquest and Gun Master help a lot too. The latter is one where the two teams all start with pistols and each kill you make you upgrades your weapon, so that eventually you get autos. Absolute chaos!

I felt the maps were like Raven Shield... which is nice, of course the gun play ain't like RS.

Man, played a bit of Conquest Domination and Gun Master. Wow. It was quite hectic. I'm not sure why they spend so much time beautifying the maps, there's not much time to admire them.

I spent a little time taking some pics, though.

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3590887/Battlefield_3_Close_Quarters.html#Post3590887

Yep - the best analogy I can come up with so far is that it's like releasing 100 mice out of a box onto the floor, and each mouse has a lit firecracker taped onto their back..

Crazy..

I haven't even tried CQB yet but please tell me that you guys aren't joining servers with over 16 players!!!

On second thought, do tell me that you are It would explain the craziness.

The majority of the servers are 16 player, but even those the time from spawn to first engagement is about 5 seconds, so it's not as if they are relaxing.

CQ is actually ideally suited for squad play, as 4 people can pretty much hold most places on the new maps (there are a few 'two fort' style areas where the join corridors are defensible). If you play alone it's over pretty quick. Certainly one of those games that reminds me of turning down the graphics, running in a low resolution and only joining with a <30 ping, otherwise it's hard to be competitive at the moment.