The relentless marketing machine rolls on, with EA pushing out teaser after teaser for Battlefield 3’s single player without really letting anyone loose on it for an extended period of time. With one week to go, you’d assume there’d be reviews, right? Well, no – because there isn’t any review code yet, or at least that’s what we’re hearing.
[drop2]Normally there’s a pecking order for early code – the print magazines tend to get nearly finished disks a month or so early so they can meet deadlines and print runs, and then the major sites get first dibs on anything left over. Sites like TSA will get debug (but finished) code if it’s there (our Uncharted 3 review has been done for nearly a week now, for example) but that’s not always the case, with us sometimes working with normal retail promos and sometimes we buy the games after release.We’ve been pinging EA for answer on when Battlefield 3 code might be coming, but as of yet without response. Gamespot, though, being a ‘big’ site after all, appear to have more info.
“Yesterday we received an email asking us to confirm our mailing address because review copies of Battlefield 3 are coming soon,” said a blog on the site, with the email suggesting review code would be coming “early next week”. Yes, alongside the final version of the game that’ll be hitting stores. “Clearly,” continues the post, “receiving a game so close to its release makes it impossible for us to deliver a timely review.”
We can’t imagine for a second that TSA would get code any earlier, if indeed we get it at all. What we’ll do is let you know when it’s arrived and then try to get a review done as soon as possible. We strive to review before the game is released but sometimes it just doesn’t work that way – Batman’s the same, having been stuck in postal limbo it only arrived yesterday.
The official line from EA, then, says that review code for Battlefield 3 is set for Tuesday to coincide with a ‘day one’ update. “DICE are perfectionists,” says the email, “they will not stop polishing the game until it is in your hands. The Day 1 update incorporates real-time feedback from the beta, ensuring that the consumer experience on launch day is outstanding. It is the actual consumer experience that we wish to be reviewed.”
Quite how a Korean 360 version of the game has appeared is anyone’s guess.
gaffers101
I pre-ordered this on the back of the Beta, I understand that the finished game will be much better and I’m not worried about the lack of reviews at all.
minerwilly
That’s the spirit , they’ve made the best mp games since 2002 and they’re not going to let us down now.
ScottW-1976
Back again with more of that blind optimism I see.
Bless you, I hope you’re right.
Kreisash
Indeed.
I don’t really base my purchase solely on reviews (if at all) so I’m not bothered by this.
I would imagine that the reasons are mostly down to last minute patches and fixes though, not to mention server tweaks.
I can imagine that the single player game is pretty much as good as it will get, but a lot of reviewers will score based on the online experience which isn’t quite where they would like it yet.
We’ve seen the impact of reviewing pre finished code before and the impact of not releasing reviews until the game is out as well.
Personally I think that a review of a game which isn’t finished to the desired level does more harm than an eleventh hour review of the final experience. In this case at least, there are enough fans who won’t be fazed by this move.
gazzagb
Sounding more and more like EA haven’t got much faith in their game, and they’re rushing it to get it out. I think they know that the game isn’t ready, and so don’t want reviewers getting their hands on code that is still very buggy.
Will be interesting to see what scores are given once the game is out though.
minerwilly
8/10 of course and 9/10 for cod nothing will change ! You’ll still prefer cod and me battlefield and we’ll both love our new games – everyone’s happy.
matthangzhou
Speaking of reviews, will you guys be doing a Dark Soul’s one anytime soon?
mcduff1979
Dices multiplayer has always been good. I don’t mind the campaign being shorter either. Medal of honors was short by comparison to others and I really enjoyed that. So I think all will be well with the bf3 release also. Got it pre ordered with shopto and can’t wait to play it.
Kaminari
The Korean 360 version (final build?) still looks gorgeous. Too bad EA’s PR is not up to snuff, especially for the console versions.
david24
isn’t all this a little premature? yes it’s strange that there waiting till the last minute to send out review code and there’s almost certainly going to be a big day 1 patch but all other battlefield games I’ve played have been great(my opinion of course) and i can’t see that changing now considering the amount of money ea have put into this. and yes it’s possible that it’ll have a poor campaign but since no ones played it yet and what they’ve shown off looked very impressive i think I’ll reserve judgement till I’ve actually played it.
jikomanzoku
You’ve a good point. It’s worth illustrating though that I’ve been beta testing games for years now, PS3 and PC and I guess my suspicions are borne of the fact that that, given the BF3 beta’s proximity to launch, there were an awful lot of game breaking bugs yet to be ironed out. What with regular disconnects, falling through floors, regular epileptic stylee purple flashes blanking the screen, frame rate issues, ease of spawn camping etc and mechanics I just didn’t get on with.
I quite liked BFBC2 and really hope this turns out to be great, as I just don’t get along with COD (since MW1) at all and think that series desperately needs to face some serious competition.
The early videos were indeed stunning and I am intrigued as to the quality, more than the quantity of the campaign, as well as the MP. For a while this was looking like a day one for me.
However, the above concerns however made me worry that this is a product being rushed to launch rather than polished beforehand and trusted reviews will certainly play a big part in my decision, as will a demo and the opinions of any close friends who adopt early.
Not disagreeing with your opinion, just elucidating on mine.
jikomanzoku
However I apologise for the overuse of however in that final paragraph, two howevers in one sentence, is one two many howevers. – that’s what I get for not editing sentences properly. However, it’s late and I am tired :D
jikomanzoku
two = too ffs, bed time.