Never before has there been a more appropriate ice sculpture. This was the centrepiece at EA‘s exclusive Battlefield 3 community event which took place at Sydney Australia’s Potts Point this week. With just under 2 weeks to go until the game’s launch, a select group of invitees were treated to special hands-on gameplay with Battlefield 3 on the dozen or so display units that were set up at the appropriately themed venue. The feedback from attendees was clear – Battlefield 3, with it’s powerful Frostbite 2 engine, is set to deliver an unparalleled gaming experience. Special guests at the event included some of the actual DICE development team, including Daniel Matros – Community Manager, and also Lars Gustavsson – the game’s Creative Director. I spoke to Lars about his work on Battlefield 3, and he ended the interview with a candid thank you to all of the PlayStation fans in Australia who are patiently anticipating this game’s release:

Nino: Pleasure to meet you Lars Battlefield 3 has been a massive undertaking for you guys – how many years in total development on this project?

Lars: Well it was three, or close to three and a half years just building the Frostbite 2 engine, and then about 2 years (at least) to build the actual game. We’ve been a very busy studio!

Nino: How has it been working with PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray Disc on this particular title?

Lars: Overall it’s been pretty good. As always, you want everything in a game, and there’s the usual struggle making sure that you get things into memory – especially with everything that we have crammed into this particular game. So it is a real challenge, and our team has done an amazing job at prioritizing correctly to keep pushing it.

Nino: These days it’s all about online features, and the PlayStation Network is becoming increasingly important to gamers. How did you find working with the PlayStation Network on this title, and what sort of online experience can gamers expect?

Lars: It’s been great to work with, and we’ve just been hammering away at all platforms really. Overall, I would say that the online features OWN this game, particularly the communication centre where you can connect with friends, join with friends, and then also the Battlelog which constantly keeps you up to date with what your buddies are doing. There are lots of online goodies that we are trying out now as well, which we really hope people will pick up on.

Nino: Downloadable content for FPS titles does big business on PlayStation Network. Having said that, how much effort have you guys placed on the DLC strategy for Battlefield 3, and what can consumers expect from BF3 DLC?

Lars: I can’t, at this point, go into what might appear in the future… but if you know the franchise, and our previous titles, then you’ll know that shipping our titles is only just the beginning. It used to be that when a game ships to retail, then that would be the end of the project for the developers. Now, when we ship a game, it is really only just the start. Right now however, we are only focusing on the game’s launch.

Nino: The PR behind Battlefield 3 has been amazing. EA have almost achieved the impossible in creating so much buzz and support for this title, months before it has even hit the shelves. What message would you like to give to your Austrlian fans who are waiting with such buzz and anticipation for this title?

Lars: First and foremost, just thank you. Thank you for believing in us. Going into a massive undertaking like this, creating a game, pushing the boundaries in so many areas, it’s sometimes a really frightening thing. But to have a dedicated audience who believes in you, and longs for your product, definitely helps on those dark nights when you’re just sitting there, wondering, will it fly? So again, thankyou everyone for believing in us.

Battlefield 3 ships in Australia on October 28th. (Note: Epic Frostbite 2 ice sculpture not included!)

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Starting today, we are happy to invite all PlayStation 3 players to the much anticipated Battlefield 3 Open Beta!

Played on the Operation Métro map in Rush mode that won us Best Action Game and Best Multiplayer Game at E3, this is your chance to experience one of many flavors of Battlefield 3. To download the Battlefield 3 Open Beta, just follow these instructions:

From storefront, click on Demos
Click on A-C or the ‘latest demos’ section
Locate the Battlefield 3 Beta

Alternatively you can search for the Open Beta by typing in the key word “Battlefield 3″ into the search tool.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your great interest in this Open Beta. By joining, you will help us stress test servers, and allow us to run important tests on the game’s back-end and Battlelog. Remember that this software is in Beta and does not represent final quality. For a full FAQ on the Open Beta, head here.

Please leave any feedback to us at DICE via the forums in the social platform Battlelog. Make sure to also head to our free social platform Battlelog to check your in-depth stats progression, start your own Platoon, and see how your friends are doing in the news feed. To get you started on the Operation Métro map, here are some playing tips straight from us at DICE. You can also study the PS3 control scheme in the image below. Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

DICE’S TOP 10 BATTLEFIELD 3 OPERATION MÉTRO TIPS

1. Stick to your team mates, and remember to spawn on them to stay close to the fight.
2. Use your kit specific abilities to help your team mates. Assault can hand out med kits, Engineers can repair vehicles, and Support can hand out ammo.
3. Make sure, when you have armed an M-COM station, that you defend it to make sure it is destroyed.
4. The bombed-out tunnel section in Operation Métro is an excellent place to use a flashlight as one of your weapon attachments. Use it to light the tunnels up – and to blind your enemies.
5. Attach bipods to your weapon and deploy it automatically by pushing up against cover or going prone and zooming in – this gives you a huge increase in accuracy and stability.
6. Use suppressive shooting (fire close to enemies behind cover) to negatively effect the enemy’s fighting capabilities.
7. Watch out for falling debris as this can hurt you. But you can also hurt your enemies by taking out buildings with the Engineer’s RPG.
8. Shotguns are excellent for CQC (Close Quarters Combat) in the tighter tunnels sections.
9. Fire automatic weapons in short bursts for accuracy, or switch to single fire mode if applicable.
10. To grab your enemy’s dog tag as a souvenir, do a stealth knife kill from behind.

You can also find more Battlefield 3 tips from the developer over at eu.playstation.com

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You may recognize Executive Producer Jason DeLong on Need for Speed: The Run from our live E3 show, which we streamed live from our PlayStation booth earlier this year. Interactive cinemas, fast cars and loud tunes propelled The Run at E3, but all along EA Black Box was quietly scheming to reveal more at gamescom.

In my play session, I chased after a pearl white Laborghini Aventador down a treacherous mountain road on Independence Pass in Colorado. Then it happened: I found myself staring at an oncoming avalanche from behind the wheel of my car, plowing and drifting through chaos while I sat comfortably in a dark room at EA‘s show floor. I couldn’t help but smile after my demo session with Need for Speed: The Run, knowing that I finally got to play a true-to-forml Michael-Bay-inspired Hollywood action racer on my PS3.

I got a few minutes with DeLong and picked his brain about a retaining the authenticity and how the high-tech Frostbite rendering engine opens up new storytelling vistas for this action racer.

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Watch 12 minutes of gameplay from Battlefield 3 in our full Fault Line reveal, featuring never before shown footage:

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The Dead Space 2 team and I are super stoked that Dead Space 2 is almost out; we have been anxiously awaiting to hear what gamers think of what we have been working on. The PS3 Limited Edition version of Dead Space 2 is crazy — it not only includes Dead Space 2, but it also has Dead Space Extraction. That means you can get your MOVE ON with Dead Space Extraction, and you can play it solo or in co-op as well.

Making Dead Space 2 has been a blast, getting to see everyone’s speculation on what the game was going to be about, if we lost our minds and cut out the horror, or if we were making some sort of ninja-puzzle-adventure game. Now is the time to see what the final version Dead Space 2 is all about.

From my perspective, the team did a fantastic job. This is the game I’m most proud of being a part of. The game feels better, looks better, has bigger moments, and even includes multiplayer for the first time. I really hope you like it!

Head out now to your local game store and get a copy of the Collector’s Edition — if you can still find it — or the Limited Edition and start dismembering Necromorphs today. If you want to keep up on the game and maybe get your multiplayer, follow me on Twitter: @leveluptime.

Thanks again.

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