A few details for Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand come to light

DICE's junior product manager, Tommy Rydling, has partially detailed the first expansion pack planned for Battlefield 3, Back to Karkand, and has included an small Q&A on the blog with lead designer Niklas Fegraeus and co-op lead designer, David Spinnier.

The pack, which will be free to anyone who pre-orders the game, includes Wake Island, Strike at Karkand, Gulf of Oman, and the Sharqi Peninsula which,according to DICE, have all been played over 25,000 years combined by players.

"These are evidently some of the very best maps we have ever built," said Fegraeus in the post. "We have unquestionable data and feedback from the community saying so. You would be crazy turning down the chance to boost your game with these classic multiplayer maps.

"From a gameplay perspective, destruction is the biggest addition compared to the original map in Battlefield 2 back in 2005. I remember this particular building by the square in the original where players could defend very effectively. Now, with the destructive power of Frostbite 2, someone can just RPG that building and expose the defenders within. At the same time, we need to be careful not to add destruction that breaks the tried and tested game flow of the map."

The post goes on to say that Back to Karkand will also include Battlefield 2 weapons and vehicles as well as new unlocks and persistence, and more content which will be disclosed at a later date.

Next week, another blog post on Back to Karkand will hit the Battlefield Blog, so be sure and check that out.

Battlefield 3 launches this fall for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Thanks, StolenGlory.