Late last month we had some fake patch notes for you along with some things that users would like to see fixed. The fix coming today will address the VoIP issues and as MP1ST are reporting it comes along with the USAS-12 shotgun fix among some other items that have surfaced.

One item that has been complained about is the mortars feature, and many gamers have wanted it so players can’t set up these while in their own spawn where they could easily be unreachable. DICE have promised previously it would be addressed in the next patch made available.

The M-COM Defender ribbon has received a much needed tweak and achieving this should be much easier to do now. While the owners of the PlayStation 3 are getting the patch today, users of the game on other platforms are still wondering when they will be receiving it.

There has been reports of players on the Battlelog saying they have downloaded a 7GB patch for the game recently, but DICE has warned that they “have not received official word of a patch so be cautious”.

Some users will be unhappy about the changes to the M-COM Defender ribbon making it easier to capture, as some would have preferred the tougher challenge. Are you pleased with the latest patch? What do want to see changed in future changes?

More About: Battlefield 3, DICE, Electronic Arts

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Yesterday EA’s vice president of investor relations, Peter Ausnit, was talking during the company’s quarterly conference call. According to Attack of the fan boy he was asked about upcoming DLC for Battlefield 3, and suggested that there will be some news next week.

He said that the company is set to hold an event next week in New York and that fans are “going to hear some announcements from us on Battlefield actually as early as next week”. So far DICE have yet to reveal any information for the next batch of DLC content.

There have been recent reports though suggesting that there could be an all American DLC on its way, with maps that include New York and San Francisco among others. This would fit in with what the developer has done in the past with all new maps being related to each other. This was the case with the Back to Karkland and Vietnam Expansions used in recent games.

Meanwhile it has been revealed that Battlefield 3 has sold over ten million copies since it was released last October. USA Today is reporting that the good news for publisher Electronic Arts continued with sales of FIFA 12 also topping ten million copies.

What are you hoping to see with the next Battlefield 3 DLC?

More About: Battlefield 3, DICE, Electronic Arts

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

While gamers wait for the next DLC installment an article over at MP1ST is reporting of an interesting rumor that has come via TheAustrianToast. Sources are reportedly claiming that there will be an all American DLC with maps based on US city locations.

These are rumored to include San Francisco, New York City, Miami, and New Jersey. You have to remember though these are currently rumors, and the sources were never revealed but they there is a good chance these will be accurate. If you look at the Back to Karkland maps they were all based on various cities in the Middle East.

It also seems to be an ongoing theme with Battlefield 3 with various environments within city limits, which compares to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 that had more open environments. It would make perfect sense for DICE to continue this theme, and the Frostbite 2 engine does this really well.

The sources later claimed that any all American DLC download should be available anytime from the beginning of the summer. DICE has previously mentioned that they wasn’t into releasing map packs, and instead offer expansions.

This could mean something similar to the Back to Karkland expansion that added new assignments, vehicles, and new weapons. DICE has also considered using a snow-themed expansion that some users have wanted since Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Would you like to see an all American DLC for Battlefield 3?

More About: Battlefield 3, DICE

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The patch is pretty similar to those that have been released already for the PS3 and PC, which offers a variety of fixes and changes to both the campaign and multiplayer part of the game. Some of these include a fix for crashing during level load in SP, and to stop crashing happening when shutting down levels.

If you now get killed after respawning you will no longer hear bullet sounds passing around you, and the issue during a melee showing a gun instead of your knife has been fixed. Missing blood effects on a kill shot have been added, and the issue with disconnecting the controller during Gamer Profile sign out animation would mean the game to soft lock has been sorted.

There have been many improvements to the multiplayer part of the game as well, which include first person weapon sounds issues being fixed. If you get killed while trying to throw a hand grenade it will now drop to the ground. Spawn protection is now thought to work while in Conquest, which basically means you won’t respawn close to your enemies. This should also be the case in TDM and SQDM as well.

If you are using the EOD bot and get killed you should no longer respawn without any weapons, and problems with health bars not displaying the correct health when using EOD bots has also been fixed. Several Xbox 360 specific crashes and freezes have also been corrected as well as improvements with shadow rendering.

This is just a tiny fraction of the improvements for the Xbox 360 version, which can be seen in full here. Have you downloaded the update yet?

More About: Battlefied 3, BF3 Back to Karkland, DICE

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The team over Kotaku contacted Electronic Arts about the issues concerning the games servers. The game has already shifted 10 million copies and has seen over 2.2 million gamers log on to play. EA responded by saying that “We are happy to report that PS3 and PC players experienced server stability all weekend, and Xbox 360 servers are at 95 percent and climbing”.

They continued by saying that a variety of different problems affected the server connectivity for all the platforms of the game, and EA’s online teams were working to address any issues as they arise. They promised not to rest until all problems had been completely fixed.

The anti-cheat software Punkbuster caused the PC version to run into trouble, but EA has said this has now been fixed. It seems the Xbox 360 version has had the biggest problems though, and EA acknowledged there will still problems for some users trying to get into matches this morning.

EA added “we are gamers, too, and understand how frustrating it is not to be able to play the game without interruption”. Some of the problems seem to have been caused by the number of gamers trying to get online to play the game. Teams from DICE, IT, Online Services, Origin, Customer Support, QA, Marketing PR, and external partners have all been working to solve any online issues.

The weekend was claimed to be mainly hitch free for the PS3 and PC servers, with only a few Xbox 360 users reporting issues according to EA. Now the company believes the major issues are behind them, but will continue working to everything is 100%.

Have you had any online problems recently with Battlefield 3?

More About: Battlefield 3, DICE, EA

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The use of online passes has grown a great deal in recent times as developers look to stem losses from consumers buying used games. Purchasers of used games will then have to spend $10 if they want to play the game online, which according to the reviews of Battlefield 3 is the best part.

According Gameranx many Xbox 360 owners who have gone out and bought a new copy of Battlefield 3 have found the online code not working. The problem has reportedly occurred because many retailers had received copies of the game with invalid codes. This obviously leaves gamers not able to get access to the best part of Battlefield 3.

EA have now got involved and have basically told customers to go back to the retailer they purchased the game and get a new online pass code. Trouble is what do owners do if they purchased the game online, or if the retailer in question has no replacement codes left? Hopefully EA will have a different solution soon, but it will be frustrating for owners trying to get online with no luck.

Did your online code work for Battlefield 3?

More About: battlefiled 3, DICE, Xbox 360

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

With all big game releases we can expect the big supermarkets to try and outdo one another with various deals on offer. But first up with have GAME who is advertising the game at £4.99 if you trade in a selected Xbox 360 or PS3 title. These include Forza Motorsport 4, Gears of War 3, and PES 2012. Meanwhile Sainsbury’s are listing the game at £37.99, and if you purchase 2100 Xbox LIVE points or a £25 PSN card the game can be yours for £24.99.

Rival supermarket Asda have Battlefield 3 priced at £37.47 or part of a PS3 bundle that includes the 320GB version of the PS3 as well for £229. Now if you are planning to get Battlefield 3 and MW3 when it is available, Tesco could be a good choice. If you pre-order MW3 in the store and put down a £5 deposit, Battlefield 3 will be yours for £33.

Obviously until pricing is revealed for MW3 you won’t know if it is such a good deal, and on its own Battlefield 3 costs £38.71 in the supermarket. Online Amazon is listing the game for £37.97 for both consoles, while Play.com has a limited edition with Play dog tags for £39.89. HMV will charge you £38.91 including delivery for the game.

Are you getting Battlefield 3 tonight?

More About: Battlefield 3, DICE

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Previously EA said that gamers getting a copy of Battlefield 3 on the PS3 would receive a nice bonus of a free copy of Battlefield 1943. Now Kotaku are reporting that PlayStation owners who have already got their copy of Battlefield 3 have found no free copy of 1943.

Disgruntled gamers have taken to Twitter asking where the free game is, EA have responded by saying “In lieu of 1943 being available on disk for PS3 customers, EA has made all BF3 expansions available early to PS3 customers.”

Trouble is EAs decision to release DLC content early for PS3 owners was announced last month, so it really means PS3 users were expecting a free game and early access to DLC content. If the free title wasn’t promised in the first place there wouldn’t be a problem.

There will be many gamers who have an Xbox 360 and a PlayStation 3, and with the promise of a free game may have decided to get the PS3 version of the title. Then when they discover that there won’t be any freebies will be disappointed.

EA should have just said before Battlefield 3 was released that there will now be no free title bundled with it. Are you disappointed there is no free copy of Battlefield 1943 bundled with Battlefield 3?

More About: Battlefield 1943, Battlefield 3, DICE, sony, Sony PS3

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The pack takes up 1.5GB of space and in our opinion you would be mad not to install it, without the HD pack the visuals look a little hazy, also lighting / shadowing is far less impressive and as the pack’s name suggests there is a distinct lack of texture, the two screenshots below show you exactly what we mean (click on them for a high-resolution image.

This screenshot was taken without the HD pack installed, as you can see the graphics are pretty poor:

The image below shows just how better things look with the pack installed, you will see much better attention to detail on the cell phone, the circuit board, table top, wall, the man’s hand and his arm – also you will actually see more items on display (the batteries, screwdriver and whatever that is on the top right corner of the desk).

To be honest with you we think that the above screenshots prove just how worthwhile the HD texture pack is, however if you are still in doubt we have embedded a video below which shows you the difference in more detail, in terms of gameplay there are no real advantages, but let’s face it there are better visuals on offer why not take advantage of them (unless you don’t have a 360 with a hard drive).

So there you have it folks, install the high-res texture pack, you won’t regret it. Case closed.

More About: Battlefield 3, DICE, EA

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

The team over at IGN has been playing the PC version of Battlefield 3, and really liked the multiplayer part of the game. While the campaign single player part feels like a completely different game. The storyline of the single player game isn’t great, but DICE have really raised the stakes with the online mode of the game.

Maps within the multiplayer mode provide gamers an immediate sense of scale, and are all about the freedom of choice. These maps are huge in size and in the first few times of playing you may not even see half of them, and it encourages exploration. The rewards and progression of the game will have gamers coming back for a very long time.

The new Team Deathmatch modes encourage players to achieve high kills with low deaths. Battlefield 3 is still all about teamwork, and you can still get to the top of leaderboards no matter how many times you are killed. Visually the game is outstanding with the Frostbite engine really doing its job well, but isn’t perfect though. With settings at maximum the game will blow you away visually, but you can be met with the odd set of legs pocking through walls among other slight glitches.

While the storyline of the single player campaign takes a more serious line than other titles in the franchise. There are some good moments in the campaign mode that include the graphics, but it fails with the fact there is not much to blow up or vehicles to take control of. This is why it feels like two completely different games compared to the online mode.

There will be many who are buying the game for the multiplayer mode and won’t be disappointed by it, but if you like to play the campaign mode you may be left wanting more. The review gives the game 9 out of ten overall; hit the link for the full review of the game.

More About: Battlefield 3, DICE

For more Product-Reviews.net coverage:

• Follow Product Reviews on Twitter
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Subscribe to PR
• Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad