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Happy Fun Time with Electronic Arts

Subject: Editorial, General Tech | October 1, 2012 - 01:36 PM |
Tagged: editorial, ea, battlefield 3

You know, I used to love Electronic Arts.  There was a time in my younger days where seeing their name emblazoned on a PC game box as I wandered the aisles of Electronics Boutique was all I needed to see to buy it.  I can still remember the scrolling colors through the big "E C A" on my Commodore 64 as I anxiously waited for Bards Tale or Racing Destruction set to load.  Ah...the good old days.

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Sadly, that warm and fuzzy feeling is long gone, and over the years I've come to dislike just about everything about EA and what they've become.  My most recent foray into the mess that is EA has killed any nostalgia I had for them.  Let's walk through the fun.

I love the BattleField series of games, and have been an avid fan of them ever since the days of BF 1942.  Some of my best memories of LAN parties were BF 1942.  Whether it was driving like mad in a Jeep from one end of Wake Island to the other to try to stop a flag capture, or jumping into a T-34 in Kursk, it was about as much fun as I can recall having with a video game.  Over the years I've picked up most of the BF incarnations and when Battlefield 3 came out, I picked up a copy on release day for my XBox.  I generally like playing games on PC's over consoles, especially First Person Shooters, but I had a few friends that were playing on XBox and we all wanted to jump in and play together.  Even though I'm awful using the controller to play, we had a blast, but after a few months we stopped playing.

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Fast forward to the other day and the PcPer crew decides they want to play BF3 after the recent podcast.  I definitely can't pass up the option to get in on some Battlefield goodness, so even though I've already forked over $60 for the game and another $20 for the first expansion pack to EA on my XBox, I'm stuck with having to buy another copy of the game, just so I can play on a different platform.  Off to Amazon and another $35 funnels into EA's coffers.  Two hours and a 10 GB download later the install starts and up comes...

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Ugh...Origin...really?  I can understand why EA wants its own online game distribution system, but c'mon!  I already have a ton of games through Steam and everything works without a hitch.  Origin is a mess and I've had nothing but problems with it in the past.  I dislike using it so much that I won't buy a game if I know I have to install and use Origin to play.

But I digress.  I've already thrown another $35 at EA and we're going to play tonight, so I guess I'll just deal with it.  Hoping to fire it up and get my keybindings setup and a little bit of practice in I double click on the BF3 icon and a browser window opens.  What in the heck?  A browser?  Where's the game?  I close the browser figuring something is wrong, double click on the game icon again and up pops the browser.  Jeezalou.  I struggle for a few minutes trying to remember my ID and password for EA's site and when I finally do get in I'm looking at my stats page for my soldier.  My soldier on the XBox.  Clicking through the menus I vainly try to find a button that will let me launch the game when I notice a little drop down arrow under my Soldier name that says "BF3 XBOX".  Click on that and there's "BF3 PC".  Seriously?  I have to start over and lose all my unlocks?  My google-fu finds that there's no way to merge the two, because apparently EA doesn't understand the concept of a shared database.

Regardless, I eventually find a button labeled "Quick Match" and here we go...

04_Quick_Launch_Button.jpg

<Click>

05_Browser_Error.jpg

Holy batsnots, seriously?  In this day and age, I can't play a AAA title video game on my PC because my default browser is 64-bit?  Good lord!  I really don't want to change my default browser just to play this game, so I end up having to fire up a 32 bit version of Internet Explorer, copy and paste the link into that just so I can try to launch the game.  Error message doesn't pop up, but now I apparently need a few plugins.  At this point I had to replace my keyboard as the head bashing knocked a few keys off.  Once I get all the plugins installed I click on the "Quick Match" button again and...

Waiting...

Waiting...

Still waiting...

Continue reading our editorial on the pains of Battlefield 3 on the PC...

Source: Electronic Arts

Battlefield 3 Armored Kill Trailer Tries to Be Pretty. It works.

Subject: General Tech | September 2, 2012 - 03:05 AM |
Tagged: battlefield 3

DICE released a trailer for their upcoming DLC pack which ignores everything except its appearance. Thankfully for the trailer, it does look pretty decent especially when you focus on medium-to-far details.

Last month DICE posted a trailer for their upcoming Armored Kill DLC with an AC-130 getting messed up.

This month DICE decided to release a much less active demo for you to stop and smell the… cedar. Not a headshot has been awarded but they are still hoping to blow your mind.

Yet another reason why it is dangerous to be a back-country skier.

Those wars just sneak up on you…

In all seriousness I am not entirely blown away by the trailer. The scenery uses lighting and shading extremely well to give big details to far away items. For a map large enough to have noticeable differences in weather at varying points it makes sense to give rich and big details to draw your eye. When you actually reach any destination the view is decent but definitely not pushing what we expect to see from the one-year-old game.

Then again – graphical updates to a game which is pushing near its one-year birthday is almost never something to sneer at. It does look really good. The real question is how much will Battlefield 4 increment their visual style over what Battlefield 3 has delivered.

Source: PC Gamer

Mass Effect 3 is Coming, Pre-Order Now and Get Battlefield 3 (PC) Free

Subject: General Tech | February 16, 2012 - 02:08 AM |
Tagged: PC, mass effect 3, gaming, game, ea, bf3, battlefield 3

Update: Apparently EA has decided to pull the deal because it was too good of an idea :(. 

The final installment in the Mass Effect trilogy is almost upon us, and for those itching to get a taste of Mass Effect 3 can now go and download the Mass Effect 3 demo for the PC via EA's Origin service. The demo delivers about an hour (they claim two hours, but I finished it in about an hour and I was purposefully taking it slow to take in the scenery and such) of Shephard battling against a (spoilers ahead) Reaper invasion.

Personally, from playing the demo I'm not convinced that it is going to live up to the hype, and it seems to be rather "dumbed down" compared to the first one. With that said, it was not terrible and I will likely pick it up if only to finish out the story.  The story itself hits hard in the demo and I am excited for that aspect of the Mass Effect sequel, for example.  If you have not already done so, check out the demo that's out now.

masseffect3.PNG

Anyway, if you do enjoy the demo and are getting pumped for the release this March, EA is currently running a rather good deal on Origin for those willing to Pre-Order Mass Effect 3 from the Origin store. According to EA, users who place a pre-order for Mass Effect 3 through the Origin store for any platform (including digital download, boxed PC copy, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3) before March 5, 2012 will receive a free digital PC edition of Battlefield 3 for free.  The codes for BF3 will be emailed to customers when they become available.

As always, there are some caveats:

  • The offer is only valid for those in US and Canada.
  • You must pre-order through Origin and cannot be combined with any other discounts.
  • You are not eligible for the free copy if you already own Battlefield 3 on Origin.
  • The Battlefield 3 codes will be emailed no later than March 8, 2012.

That last one is a big one (for me anyway).  Considering Battlefield 3 is already released, why can't those that pre-order ME3 get instant access to it?  I was all for the deal at first as I have not yet purchased BF3 and if I could get it for free by pre-ordering a game I was likely to buy anyway it sounded like a sweet deal.  Unfortunately, not being able to jump into BF3 to hold me over until Mass Effect 3 launched makes it less awesome.  After all, once Mass Effect 3 releases, I'm not going to want to play Battlefield 3 anymore!  Considering Battlefield 3 will likely still be approximately $60 on Origin in a few months, getting it free is still a good deal, but it's less of a impulse purchase knowing I might not get the Battlefield 3 code until after I have Mass Effect 3 downloaded.

It's there if you want it though, so go download the Mass Effect 3 demo and let us know what you think of it!

Source: EA

Go ahead, be a D-Pad on Battlefield 3

Subject: General Tech | December 6, 2011 - 01:16 PM |
Tagged: input, battlefield 3, gamepad, razer

As strongly as many feel about the keyboard and mouse interface others have been raised on the gamepad and have a strong preference to use them.  Razer is looking to attract that crowd with their Battlefield 3 branded D-Pad.  Red & Blackness Mods gave the USB gamepad a whirl on both the PC and XBox 360 and were quite happy with the performance offered on both.  So for those of you who do prefer PC gaming with a console style game pad, Razer has you covered.

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"Battlefield 3 is one of those killer titles which draws a lot of interest and aiming to offer those consumers something a little more interesting than the average peripheral is Razers BF3 Collectors Edition products. We have the BlackWidows Ultimate keyboard, Onza Tournament Edition controller, Imperator 2012 mouse and Scarab pad on our test bench today."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

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Source: Red & Blackness Mods

Podcast #180 - NVIDIA GTX560 Ti 448 Core, OCZ Octane 512GB SSD, Battlefield 3 Laptop performance and more!

Subject: Editorial | December 1, 2011 - 04:07 PM |
Tagged: ssd, podcast, ocz, Octane, nvidia, Intel, battlefield 3, amd, 560ti 448

PC Perspective Podcast #180 - 12/01/2011

Join us this week as we talk about the NVIDIA GTX560 Ti 448 Core, OCZ Octane 512GB SSD, Battlefield 3 Laptop performance and more!

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

  • iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
  • RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
  • MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom, and Allyn Malvantano

Program length: 1:17:32

Program Schedule:

  1. 0:00:54 Introduction
  2. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
  3. http://pcper.com/podcast
  4. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
  5. 0:01:23 Did you listen to our The Inside Perspective?  Send us your feedback?
  6. 0:02:35 Battlefield 3 Laptop Performance Review: Road Warrior?
  7. 0:04:00 Video Perspective: Antec P280 Case Review
  8. 0:09:30 OCZ Octane 512GB SSD Full Review - Indilinx Has Returned With Everest
  9. 0:20:40 Amazon Kindle Fire Review: Can $200 Buy a Great Tablet?
  10. 0:22:30 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Core Limited Edition Graphics Card Review
  11. 0:31:45 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!
  12. 0:32:45 Thermaltake Frio OCK Universal CPU Cooler Review
  13. 0:34:00 Seagate says hard drive industry will take a year to recover
  14. 0:42:20 Video Perspective: CyberPower Gamer Ultra 2098 System
  15. 0:44:00 Batman: Arkham City DX11 Stuttering Issue
  16. 0:46:00 TSMC finds its 28nm dance card a little overbooked
  17. 0:52:28 AMD Releasing Branded DDR3 Memory To Compliment Desktop Platforms
  18. 0:58:20 Gear Up with MSI: Win Intel Motherboards, GeForce Graphics Cards
  19. 1:01:00 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan: Skyrim?  Level 11!
    2. Jeremy: Let's here it for PC Gaming
    3. Josh: Arkham City for $25... last Friday on Origin.
    4. Allyn: A possible free 50GB cloud storage investment
  20. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
  21. http://pcper.com/podcast   
  22. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
  23. Closing

Source:

Battlefield 3 Laptop Performance Review: Road Warrior?

Author:
Date: November 21, 2011
Subject: General Tech, Graphics Cards, Mobile
Manufacturer: Electronic Arts
Tagged: laptop performance, laptop graphics, battlefield 3

Introduction, Campaign Testing

Introduction

bf3iontro.jpg

As you might have noticed, we’re a bit excited about Battlefield 3 here at PC Perspective. It promised to pay attention to what PC gamers want, and shockingly, it has come through. Dedicated servers and huge multi-player matches are supported, and the browser based interface is excellent.

If we’re honest, a lot of our hearts have been stirred simply by the way the game looks. There aren’t many titles that really let a modern mid-range graphics card stretch its legs, even at 1080p resolution. Battlefield 3, however, can be demanding - and it looks beautiful. Even with the presets at medium, it’s one of the most attractive games ever.

But what does this mean for laptops? Has the resident laptop reviewer at PC Perspective, I know that gaming remains a challenge. The advancements over the last few years have been spectacular, but even so, most of the laptops we test can’t run Just Cause 2 at a playable framerate even with all detail set to low and a resolution of just 1366x768. 

To find out if mobile gamers were given consideration by the developers of Battlefield 3, I installed the game on three different laptops. The results only go to show how far mobile gaming has come, and has far it has to go.

Continue reading our article on mobile Battlefield 3 performance!!

Figuring out what all those graphics options in Battlefield 3 are for

Subject: General Tech | November 2, 2011 - 03:07 PM |
Tagged: gaming, battlefield 3, tweaks

[H]ard|OCP has been spending a lot of time looking at the same level of the Battlefield 3 single player game, in order to test the performance of 8 GPU setups.  Three AMD cards and three NVIDIA cards were tested, with the top two cards also being tested in multiple GPU setups to show the current upper limits of performance.  Before they started the testing they also put together a nice guide describing the various settings on the graphics page to ensure you understand what you are tweaking before you start.  Gaming at 1920x1200 you can expect to not only get good performance on any of the cards they tested but also have quite a few of the eye candy options turned on.  See the actual results at [H].

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"Battlefield 3 was released last week to throngs of anxious, eager gamers. The PC version shows PC gamers some love with some awesome lights and DirectX 11 effects. In this article, we're looking at Single Player Campaign gameplay performance and image quality with 8 of the best video card solutions on the market right now."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

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Source: [H]ard|OCP

Battlefield 3 Sells 5 Million Copies

Subject: General Tech | November 1, 2011 - 04:15 AM |
Tagged: PC, gaming, fps, ea, bf3, battlefield 3

As many readers of the site will know, the PC Perspective guys have been a “bit” interested in EA’s latest multiplayer first person shooter (FPS) Battlefield 3. Ryan for one has been “testing” Battlefield 3 extensively since the game’s release as he admitted on the latest TWICH podcast.

According to EA, the PC Per staff are not the only ones to enjoy the game (despite some game issues; I’m looking at you Origin) as Battlefield 3 has sold a whopping 5 million copies. It seems as though Battlefield 3 has emerged from the battle against stability issues to win the war and be a successful release. Battlefield 3’s sales have also impressed Electronic Arts who claimed the 5 million copies have surpassed their “best expectations.” Unfortunately, they have yet to release the numbers (that I want to see) concerning the percentage of sales of the PC versus the consoles.

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Another bit of positive BF3 news is that almost 99 % of the game stability issues have been fixed. M ore information on the game issues can be found here. Until next time, feel free to hit up the PCPER BF3 platoon and play with some fun people!

Source: Ars Technica

Video Perspective: AMD A8-3850 vs Core i3-2105 on Battlefield 3

Subject: Graphics Cards, Processors | October 31, 2011 - 02:22 PM |
Tagged: video, sandy bridge, Intel, bf3, battlefield 3, APU, amd

Everyone is playing Battlefield 3 these days; we even had a virtual LAN party this weekend where forum members and PC Perspective team members played from about 10am until well after 1am ET. We have done more than our fair share of Battlefield 3 articles as well including hardware performance on high end graphics cards, multi-GPU scaling and more.  

We had some requests and questions about what was the lowest priced hardware you could play the game on and while we had run some tests on the GeForce 9800 GT, I decided to take a stab at running BF3 at its lowest settings with integrated graphics on Intel's Sandy Bridge processor and AMD's A-series APU.  Here were our test settings:

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We ran at a fairly low resolution of 1366x768 (both indicative of mobile resolutions as well as low-end hardware restrictions) and the Low in-game preset.  As it turns out this was the level at which the A8-3850 Llano APU was able to maintain an average around 30 FPS while the Intel Core i3-2105 (both priced around $140) was able to reach only a third of that. 

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With both systems coming in at the ~$450 mark, this could qualify as the lowest priced PC that is capable of getting you into the BF3 action!

You can see our full comparison right here in this short video!

Source: PC Perspective

For those looking at the internet and not Battlefield 3

Subject: General Tech | October 26, 2011 - 01:54 PM |
Tagged: gaming, battlefield 3, tweaks

For those of you who already know if their machine can get the most out of Battlefield 3; you probably aren't reading this post as you are playing right now.  For those of you who have yet succumb to EA's new client and installed BF3 or for those who haven't the time to fully tweak the settings to get the most graphical goodness out of the newest instalment to the Battlefield series, [H]ard|OCP has done quite a bit of work pegging down what performance you can expect.  GTX 580s against HD 6970s in both single and multiple card configurations against themselves as well as against each other in single player and they delve into multiplayer settings as well as commenting on the out of game server browser and what it brings to your non-BF3 experience.

H_BF3_Graphics.jpg

"Battlefield 3 just landed to excited gamers everywhere today. We've got a preview of performance in single player mode and a look at multiplayer mode. If you are going to be playing this game today, or this week, you will want to give this a read for a preview of what performance to expect."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

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Source: [H]ard|OCP

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