Who is Battlefield 3 going to save?

Now don't get me wrong- I love me some Battlefield, and I also love me some Call of Duty. I think they're both great series with (generally) good gameplay. However, here's something I just don't understand: why do people seem to think that Battlefield 3 is going to "Save" them from Call of Duty?

I'm not saying Battlefield 3 is going to be worse than Modern Warfare 3 or anything like that, but I mean, do people really think that the experience of Battlefield 3 is going to be wildly different from Modern Warfare 3? They're both military shooters, they both have fancy graphical engines, they both have gameplay mechanics like sprinting, ironsights, knives, etc, and if Bad Company 2 is anything to judge by, they're both going to have perks, attachments and possibly even killstreaks. So tell me, what exactly is Battlefield 3 going to save everyone from?

I know its easy to get locked up into the hype train, and DICE has done a great job creating it. They give Battlefield 3 this image of being the "advanced" game, the "cool" game, the game thats "innovational". But really, come on, its not going to be that much different from Modern Warfare 3. Yes, it'll probably have bigger environments, vehicles, and superior graphics, but the basis of both games is essentially based in running around a map killing people with weapons and "ranking up" to unlock new items. Minor differences aside, these are some pretty similar concepts.

Now some people might say something along the lines of, "But all shooters are the same! All shooters are just guys running around killing each other! You can't make that argument!". Yes, to a certain extent, that is true. However, compare, say, Call of Duty 4 to Serious Sam. One game is a shooter where you and your fellow squad mates try to take down an opposing force in a, small, condensed, urban environment with modern weaponry and the assistance of perks and killstreak rewards. Another one is a game based around blowing aliens into pieces in a gigantic, cover-less environment with over-the-top, unrealistic weaponry. Do these really sound similar to you?


I'm not trying to demean Battlefield 3 here. I am a huge fan of Bad Company 2, and I am eagerly anticipating the launch of both BF3 and MW3. However, I wish that people would stop touting Battlefield 3 as the next coming of Christ. While it may have very good graphics, and a slightly more open-ended style of play than Modern Warfare 3, the games are really going to end up delivering an extremely similar experience that isn't different or innovational enough to warrant this much praise. They'll be in the same setting, with the same objectives, with the same concepts and probably a lot of the same guns, attachments and perks too. So please, give credit where credit is due- if you want to compliment the game on its great graphics or tight gameplay, do so, but don't act as if its something we've never seen before.