E3 2011: Battlefield 3 Dated, Battle Log Unveiled

What's happened: What EA press conference would it be without an appearance from DICE? The Swedish studio took the stage to announce the Battle Log for Battlefield 3 - a way to manage your friends list, squad up with friends and check stats in real time. The developer was keen to stress that the service was "100% free."

A new stage was showcased featuring tank-based action in the Kavir Desert. Shooting at enemy tanks (and being shot at by enemy tanks) results in dust being chucked up all around the player, forcing a use of night vision to overcome the lack of visual contact.

Battlefield 3 fans will also be enjoying a multiplayer open Beta that will start in September 2011. The game itself comes out on the 25th October.

What Svend Thinks: Cheeky cheeky! The Battle Log is clearly a nice little dig at Activision's Call of Duty: Elite service that asks players to pay for largely the same online features. Beyond that, Battlefield 3 is once more looking beyond incredible - DICE is really demonstrating its proficiency in graphics and audio. I just hope it's running on console and not PC. We need to see this running on console.