In just over a month, Electronic Arts and DICE will fire the first shot in this fall's most watched financial contest: Battlefield 3 vs. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Before that happens, however, players will have a chance to give Battlefield 3 a run with a beta test that opens on September 29.

It's hard to imagine how much a beta test could drastically change a game that must be essentially finished at this point, especially since the content being tested is limited, but it will most likely inform the now nearly standard day one patch for it.

The beta goes live for everyone on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on September 29.

If you've pre-ordered the game through Origin on PC or picked up a limited edition copy of Medal of Honor last year, you can start shooting up your friends two days earlier on September 27.

The beta itself will contain the Paris-set Operation Metro map within the Rush game mode, which is an objective-based where players have to compete on separate teams to defend/blow up M-COM stations.

In just over a month, Electronic Arts and DICE will fire the first shot in this fall's most watched financial contest: Battlefield 3 vs. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Before that happens, however, players will have a chance to give Battlefield 3 a run with a beta test that opens on September 29.

It's hard to imagine how much a beta test could drastically change a game that must be essentially finished at this point, especially since the content being tested is limited, but it will most likely inform the now nearly standard day one patch for it.

The beta goes live for everyone on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on September 29.

If you've pre-ordered the game through Origin on PC or picked up a limited edition copy of Medal of Honor last year, you can start shooting up your friends two days earlier on September 27.

The beta itself will contain the Paris-set Operation Metro map within the Rush game mode, which is an objective-based where players have to compete on separate teams to defend/blow up M-COM stations.

boom

Yeaaaaaaaaa excited for this.

I should probably preorder BF3 now..

Oooooooh boy.

Finally a real Battlefield game with 64 players again, on the PC that is.

I cant wait. Its to bad that it is so late that the only thing they can do is a day 1 patch since its probably going gold any day now.

@JCTango said:

boom

....there goes your graphics card.

awwwyaaah

It's not a real beta test for us. It's EA getting away with offering a demo for a limited time, while also seeing how Origin's servers hold up. Our suggestions are pointless for this thing.
 
@squirrelnacho said:

Finally a real Battlefield game with 64 players again, on the PC that is.

Metro *again*? I hope it's different than the alpha version. I played that to death.

Gonna be a PC purchase once it hits Steam.

Took them long enough!

@davo said:

Gonna be a PC purchase once it hits Steam.

So you're never going to buy it then.

I wonder if the map has changed any from the alpha. Most games I played, I the attackers rarely got past the first objective.

Cool, can't wait.

I knew Medal of Honor had to be good for something.

Couldn't you be a little more creative with the picture attached? Using the same BF3 screen from a February magazine issue?

Metro was already in the Alpha and I played the shit out of it, but eh. Cool.

If you're waiting for this to hit Steam, welp.. LOL will be fun to see how long you can resist.

The MoH deal lasted quite a while, late July was the expiry. Wonder if every copy of MoH really counts as a T1 edition though?

@Azteck:

Boom goes the dynamite. Dunno what's happening with the Steam version. Have read that it isn't coming to Steam, and the following day that it apparently is. Unless I've missed some news on this, I'm gonna guess that it still is coming to Steam. Would be silly for it not to, but then again this is EA.

Cool. I think I'm gonna try it on both PC and 360.

Hope they'll keep the lvl progress from beta into live. Lvling each weapon for addon was a major pain in alpha.

@davo said:

Gonna be a PC purchase once it hits Steam.

Good luck on that.

@MrKlorox said:

It's not a real beta test for us. It's EA getting away with offering a demo for a limited time, while also seeing how Origin's servers hold up. Our suggestions are pointless for this thing.

@squirrelnacho said:

Finally a real Battlefield game with 64 players again, on the PC that is.

Yeah, in another month once the game comes out. This is just 24 player Rush bullshit.

32.

@Azteck said:

@davo said:

Gonna be a PC purchase once it hits Steam.

So you're never going to buy it then.

i lol'd

Let the good times roll fellow gamers, fucking autumn gaming is here!!!

@AhmadMetallic said:

Couldn't you be a little more creative with the picture attached? Using the same BF3 screen from a February magazine issue?

Go find a hole to live in you troll.

No Steam, No Sale

@MrKlorox:

All right. I'm patient enough to wait, and would rather have all my games in one place, anyway.

Ultra-orthodox-Steam-fans: Yes, it will probably end up on Steam in a few months/years. No, you will NEVER EVER IN THIS LIFETIME play BF3 on PC without running Origin at the same time.

It's how the game is run, works, and how it's built. Please realize this.

Anyone else participated in the closed alpha? Im not sure but I seem to remember being promised early access to the beta, anyone remember?

@G0rd0nFr33m4n said:

@AhmadMetallic said:

Couldn't you be a little more creative with the picture attached? Using the same BF3 screen from a February magazine issue?

Go find a hole to live in you troll.

Shouldn't that be underneath a bridge?

@G0rd0nFr33m4n said:

@AhmadMetallic said:

Couldn't you be a little more creative with the picture attached? Using the same BF3 screen from a February magazine issue?

Go find a hole to live in you troll.

Do you even know what a troll is? He was just giving a little criticism of the article. What is this, the cult of Patrick Klepek? Fuck.

ill get it when ea cave and release it on steam anyway.

@darkjester74 said:

Anyone else participated in the closed alpha? Im not sure but I seem to remember being promised early access to the beta, anyone remember?

I just checked the email, it was advertising that if you pre-ordered on Origin you got early access.

@G0rd0nFr33m4n said:

@AhmadMetallic said:

Couldn't you be a little more creative with the picture attached? Using the same BF3 screen from a February magazine issue?

Go find a hole to live in you troll.

What the fuck?

@MrKlorox: Not sure that will be the case. There were quite a few people who were less than impressed with BC2. Especially those coming from a 1942/BF2 background. I too hated the rush mode. Conquest was the only game mode I ever played in BC2, and the maps still felt kinda small and fast paced. And I wasn't alone in feeling that way. I'm sure there will be plenty of 64 player massive battles going down, even if the majority of the servers should end up being the ridiculously dull Rush mode.

Uncharacteristically positive outlook on a game release from me, btw.. So it might be a bad omen..

@Rirse said:

No Steam, No Sale

Have fun. I'll be playing busy playing BF3 while you whine about distribution methods.

@REIGN said:

@Rirse said:

No Steam, No Sale

Have fun. I'll be playing busy playing BF3 while you whine about distribution methods.

Ditto. People get way too uppity about things not being on Steam.

I'ma fuck you up! C y'all on the Battlefield.

@vaportra1l said:

I wonder if the map has changed any from the alpha. Most games I played, I the attackers rarely got past the first objective.

I read that they changed the location of the first M-COM station because of this.

most watched financial contest

Wouldn't that be 'Home Owners Vs Banks 2011'?

Conquest is what made BF2 great. Rush mode is what made BC2 the fun, yet shallow, experience it ended up being.

OHMYGODICAN'TWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT

@davo said:

@Azteck:

Boom goes the dynamite. Dunno what's happening with the Steam version. Have read that it isn't coming to Steam, and the following day that it apparently is. Unless I've missed some news on this, I'm gonna guess that it still is coming to Steam. Would be silly for it not to, but then again this is EA.

Maybe I missed some announcement? All I've been hearing is Origin only, which does not make me happy.

It's about damn time

Sounds good to me. Looking forward to having something worthy replace Bad Company 2 as my multiplayer staple.