Since we compared the Old Karkand vs. New Karkand last week, we thought we might as well compare the new Wake Island vs the Battlefield 2 version of the popular map. As you can see above, there’s an obvious difference, as the old map retains its tropic looks, while the new maps is very gritty and war torn. Keep in mind that the new Wake Island is only a concept, so the final map might end up different.
What do you think? Old Wake Island vs. New? Let us know in the comments!
DICE has posted their second article on the Back to Karkand DLC, which will be available to Battlefield 3 pre-orders, this time, they unveiled the new look of the classic Battlefield map Wake Island, which you can see above.
For the Wake Island unveil, DICE posted an interview with Back to Karkand lead designer Niklas Fegraeus, and his thoughts on Wake Island. Likewise, there are a few words on Wake Island from Lars Gustavsson, who worked on the original Wake Island.
Judging from the concept art above, it looks like the new Wake Island is a lot darker and more war-torn than the previous, paradise-like rendering of Wake Island in Battlefield 2.
BF3blog started about six months ago, and today we’re celebrating our 100th post on the site! Here are some of the most popular posts we’ve featured on the site during our run to 100 posts:
To properly celebrate the occasion, we’re giving away a free copy of Battlefield Bad Company 2, plus the Vietnam expansion, and the SPECTACT Kit DLC, on Steam. All you have to do is post a comment on this story: tell us what your favorite map is in the Battlefield franchise, and we’ll randomly pick a winner 48 hours from now, on May 17.
Contest rules: To enter the contest, post a comment to this post stating your favorite Battlefield map. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older, and only one entry per person is allowed. One copy of Battlefield Bad Company 2 + Vietnam + SPECTACT DLC will be awarded through Steam. Winners will be notified via the email they provide in the comments. The contest ends on Tuesday, May 17, 6:00 PM PST. If you already own Bad Company 2 on Steam, you can get another copy with the Vietnam expansion, or alternately, we’ll send you the cash equivalent of the game and expansion packs ($41) via PayPal.
UPDATE: The contest is now closed. We’ve had over 100 entries and the winner is “Ken J“. Congratulations!, Ken! Thanks to everyone for participating — we’ll have another contest soon.
Strike at Karkand is one of the all time greatest maps ever made, not just in the Battlefield series, but among all multiplayer games. It has the same cult status as de_dust has in Counter Strike, and we’re all thrilled that DICE is remaking the map for Battlefield 3.
Yesterday, DICE revealed the first details on the map, where they also released the first concept art of Strike at Karkand for Battlefield 3. Note that the concept art isn’t meant to represent the final map, only the look, feel, and color palette of the new version.
And we must say, the new colors are a welcomed addition to Karkand, as the BF2 version was dust colored from top to bottom — literally, every building, road, ground surface, and even the sky was a variation of a dust/yellow color. We’re glad to see some colors and variations in the architecture. So far, the new Karkand is looking good, even though we don’t have any in-game screenshots.
As promised yesterday, DICE has revealed the first details about the Back to Karkand DLC for Battlefield 3, which will be included for free for those who pre-order Battlefield 3. They’ve also released the first concept art of the map, which you can see above (DICE says the concept art is meant to represent lighting and color palette — the real design of Karkand will be much closer to the original BF2 map.
DICE also has interviews with David Spinnier, the creator of the original Strike at Karkand for Battlefield 2, and with lead designer Niklas Fegraeus, who is leading the Back to Karkand DLC development. You can read the full interview here. Finally, DICE released a new wallpaper as well:
Our good friend Patrick Bach, who has given what seems like a million interviews since BF3 was announced, this time speaks to the guys at Xbox360Achievements, where he discusses, among other things, the console versions of Battlefield 3 and what to expect on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and how DICE sees the PC vs console debate. Bach says that DICE sees the hardcore audience not just on the PC, but on consoles as well. It’s an interesting video interview that touches on a few new subjects — definitely worth a watch.
A few days ago, EA sent a DMCA takedown notice to the host provider of Battlefield 3 fan site BF3nation.com. The DMCA was targeting BF3nation because they used Battlefield 3 artwork, which was quite interesting, seeing that many BF3 sites use BF3 artwork — including us here at BF3blog (e.g. the background image). EA originally released the artwork for this specific reason: for fan sites, clans etc., so it made little sense that they would try to shut down a site for using artwork EA openly supplied.
However, the real motive behind the shutdown attempt turned out to have little to do with artwork or images. EA tried to shut down BF3nation because the site was not only selling fake Battlefield 3 beta keys, but was also selling fake Battlefield 3 hacks — which is puzzling, seeing how BF3 hasn’t even been released.
In fact, it turns out that BF3nation’s “beta keys” are nothing more than a scam, run by the same person who was behind the infamous “battlefield3-beta.com”, a site which EA warned against. BF3nation also ran a fake “free voucher towards BF3″ in order to harvest user emails.
BF3nation hit back at EA, claiming it was a “slap in the face” for community sites. In fact, what BF3nation is doing is the actual slap in the face for community sites: running fake beta signups and promotional offers that do no exist. Not to mention trying to sell hacks for a game that hasn’t even been released. BF3nation is taking advantage of eager BF3 fans by offering fake promises of a BF3 beta in order to profit themselves.
While it’s necessary to BF3 fan sites to stick together, what BF3nation is doing hurts the entire BF3 fan site community and we at BF3blog distance ourselves from them and their actions.
Unfortunately, EA’s attempt to shut down BF3nation proved unsuccessful — the site is still selling fake promises of BF3 beta keys.
IGN posted an interesting video interview with DICE and Battlefield 3 producer Patrick Bach, whom we’ve seen a lot of these days, giving interviews left and right.
In the video, Bach explains how Battlefield 3 isn’t just gunning for Call of Duty, but trying to take the next step, the step beyond that. Bach makes an interesting point in DICE trying to look at their own vision rather than looking at what the competitor is doing.
“If you start looking too much at everyone else, you kind of start building what everyone else is building, and we don’t want that, we want to create a great Battlefield experience, based on our own values, and vision, rather than looking at different market groups.”
This is exactly the kind of words we want to hear from DICE — that they’re not just trying to do what everyone else is doing, but are still sticking to their own vision and roots. We’ll know a lot more once Battlefield 3 is fully revealed at E3 next month.
According to a document released by EA during yesterday’s financial statement, the company plans to release Battlefield 3 on mobile devices as well. The document, obtained by IGN, shows that Battlefield 3 is listed to receive mobile versions during the same launch period as the PC and console versions.
This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen Battlefield going mobile, as you recall, EA released an iPhone version of Battlefield Bad Company 2. The document didn’t reveal what mobile platforms the game would be released on, but expect it to hit the iPhone, and Sony’s PSP/NGP and Nintendo’s DS/3DS.
Battlefield 3 is slated for release early November, 2011.
EA just released its financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, and buried in all the numbers and financial details were the news that Battlefield 3 has been pre-ordered 7 times more than the previous Battlefield game, Bad Company 2. As you recall, Bad Company 2 eventually went on to sell 7 million copies.
EA didn’t disclose how many copies of Battlefield 3 have been pre-ordered so far. The record as the most pre-ordered game is currently held by Halo Reach, which was pre-ordered 2 million times before its release last year.
EA is currently running a pre-order campaign for Battlefield 3 Limited Edition, which includes the DLC “Back to Karkand”, free of charge.
BF3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
