For those whom have been living under rocks, Battlefield 3 was released last week (yes, only last week) and many of us have been hammering it (some more than others).

The game is not without it's flaws, but most of the glaring ones are clearly errors and will be fixed with the first patch (we hope).  In essence, it's awesome and easily the best FPS I've played.  It is orders of magnitude better than BC2. Although I'm not really sure why they made the jets completely useless when you first jump in them, it's very nice not to have to worry about getting randomly bombed while walking around on foot.

Communication

I feel the need to vent this here, but the lack of in-game VOIP in BF3 at release is (to me) a significant detractor.  I find it incredible that DICE/EA felt it was an optional extra.  To my mind, BF2 had the perfect in-game VOIP model and if that had been replicated (with the commander channel changed to a SL channel), the game would have been better.

BF2 allowed a player to communicate with their Squad and their Squad Leader to communicate with the Commander via private channels.  You could turn it off if you didn't want to be involved, but I'd suggest that most people who used it loved it and are similarly mystified as to it's disappearance from the game.

DICE/EA!  Bring back the Squad VOIP!

Maps

Beyond the weapon physics, a big part of Battlefield games has always been the maps.  This is what made BC2 so unsatisfying... the maps were so dull.  Small, confined and lacking anything resembling a useful flank.  BF3 hasn't quite gone to the sizes of some of the bigger BF2 maps and while some of the capture points are a little close together, you have options.

Some commentary on the maps from a Conquest point of view.

The Battlefield 3 Open Beta finished last night at around 2100 AEDST.  Those of us who were still eeking out a few last precious minutes when were were told that BattleLog had been turned off were unceremonially kicked out of the game about ten minutes later when the Login Server got around to 'processing' us.

Ah well.

Now we wait another couple of weeks for the game to launch properly (and to the inevitable cries of "Lag!" while the server farms that are trying to run the game are also being hit hard with requests for downloads of the game and day zero patches).

While we wait, we hope.  We hope that the bizarre, stupid and weird things that the reasonable people amongst us (not the griefing, whiney fucktards who really should be playing COD or on a console) put down to "Beta Code" are actually fixed in the real game.

Due to the lead-time taken to get a game released via XBox or Playstation, we tend to assume that the release code is already packaged up and in it's "gold" state.  I will be reading with interest the release notes from (what I assume will be) a Day Zero patch to see what changes they've been making over the last month before release - possibly in response to feedback from the beta.

Anticipation

However, with all that said, I (and most people I've spoken to about this game) absolutely love it.  There are some reservations on a few topics, but by-and-large the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.  The Dark Ages (otherwise known as the period between the release of Bad Company 2 and now) are over and a true Battlefield Game is almost upon us.

Just to list a few of my favourite things from the Beta:

1.  That killing someone with a knife takes a serious time committment and if you try to do it with another enemy around you'll probably get shot.  No more insta-kill slashes.

2.  That movement is your enemy and running is positively bad for your health.  Charging into a fight is a terrible idea and finding some cover to quietly observe the battlefield will often yield positive results (and a longer life for your soldier).

3.  That Infantry don't have to care about jets anymore.  Sure, the Engineer armed with the Stinger/IGLA can harrass them on behalf of the more vulnerable tanks & armoured vehicles, but the rest of us don't have to watch the skies just waiting for some jet whore to randomly drop a payload of bombs on us while we cap a point.

4.  That tank drivers don't get a pin-point accurate machine gun as an "alt-fire"

5.  Fire modes!  Being able to switch to semi-auto fire is back, baby.

6.  That the LMGs are seriously powerful (although I'll be interested to see if they're tweaked a little to make them harder to use "on the run") and deserve respect on the battlefield.  The Support kit (which I hardly touched in BF2) is now a force to be reckoned with and an important part of an army.

However, I miss clips/magazines.  I thought they added a wonderful element of ammo management to BF2 and I'm disappointed that they haven't re-appeared.

See you on the 'field.

After much ado, waiting and uncertain release times, the preview Beta and Open Beta of Battlefield 3 are live.  The Beta will remain open for two weeks.

The whole game is accessed via a combination of a web browser and EA's new Origin store and program which acts as a store, repository and chat program (also still in beta).

Open Beta program can be downloaded from within the Origin Client and Battlefield 3 will only be launched via BattleLog (as far as we can tell right now).  Battlelog is a bit of a Facebook clone where all things BF3 can be discussed and players come together.  You must be signed up to Battlelog in order to play Battlefield 3 (beta or otherwise),

The Game

While the game is still in beta and there are quite a few issues, it remains quite playable on most systems.  Graphical auto-detect seems to produce a good result.

While the Operation Metro rush map included in the beta is fairly underwhelming, some lucky players have been able to experience the real game on Caspian Border conquest map. We're all jealous.

We at [CCT] encourage all beta players to take note of the glitches/errors/problems they see and report them to EA/DICE via the Battlelog Forums in the least hyperbolic and emotive way possible.  This helps make the game better for everyone.

Is released
Final release of BF3 is still slated for late October and we look forward to seeing you on the 'fields.

We've known an open beta was going to happen, but the actual date was only just announced on the BF3 Blog.

We are happy to announce that the eagerly awaited Battlefield 3 Open Beta starts Thursday, September 29th!

Sourced from the BF3 Blog:

Running until October 10th, the Battlefield 3 Open Beta is your chance to play the game early, try out our free social platform Battlelog, and help us make the game even better by sending us your valuable feedback.

If you pre-order Battlefield 3 (PC digital download version) on Origin before September 25th, or if you have registered your first-hand copy (by activating its Online Pass) of Medal of Honor: Limited Edition/Tier 1 Edition, you will get 48 hours early access to the Beta, meaning you can start playing Tuesday, September 27th. The full details on how you will be granted early acess is available on our new Beta section.

For Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, the Open Beta will be visible on the consoles' digital marketplaces under Battlefield 3. For PC, you need to install Origin and download the Open Beta from within the Origin application.

For all your Open Beta questions and answers, head to our new Beta section at the official Battlefield 3 site. Enjoy the Beta, and let us know what you think!

Now I get to use a phrase I've not employed in a few years:  "See you on the 'field."

In particular, Bach was at pains to stress that his goal does not appear to be selling more units than CoD (which would be tough, but popularity is never a guarantee of quality... look at The Spice Girls), but rather to create a [i]better game[/i].

It remains to be seen whether he can succeed in that because gameplay is king as far as I'm concerned - I don't really care that much how pretty the buildings look when they fall down or how big the explosions are.

You can read the rest of the interview at the metro site.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnzx-MPpMSo

April 16 release date for 12 minute full video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-x1tw_sRDY