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Get ready for the new 'Battlefield' game with free DLC
In anticipation of Electronic Arts' next Battlefield title, the publisher is celebrating by serving up free downloads of some of the previous expansions. You can jump on the platform of your choice and pick up the Battlefield 4 add-on Dragon's Teeth and the Battlefield Hardline expansion Robbery for free, now through May 10th.
'Battlefield 4' hides an incredibly elaborate Easter egg
You've probably seen some clever gaming Easter eggs in your day, but few of them are likely to be this... involved. Gamers playing Battlefield 4's new Dragon Valley map have discovered an Easter egg that requires a massive, multi-step sleuthing campaign to complete. How massive? Well, it starts with translating Belarusian Morse code and moves on to hidden objects, logic puzzles and audio editing. The kicker is that this isn't repeatable -- even if you pay close attention to the video below, you'll have to do some of the hard work yourself.
Every game in EA's on-demand service will always be in supply
So you're excited about the prospect of paying one low fee for all-you-can-eat, erm, access to a swath of Electronic Arts' games on Xbox One, yeah? Well the outfit has a few new details that might make its EA Access service a bit more enticing. For starters, any games on tap in "the Vault" won't disappear once they've been added. That means that Battlefield 4, Madden 25, Peggle 2 and FIFA 14 from the beta aren't going anywhere, EA's COO Peter Moore tells CVG. He also says that additional AAA games will be en route, but that EA hasn't quite figured out the specifics of when just yet. Moore notes that the Vault's catalog will be "substantial" and that new, permanent, additions to it will be determined based on franchise and timing. "We have to make decisions along that way, so there's no template, like 30 days after a game ships it goes into the Vault," he says. Could EA be preparing the Vault for Titanfall? We'll have to wait and see. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Battlefield 4 gets even prettier with new AMD drivers
If you caught our recent coverage of the huge Star Swarm demo, you'll know that AMD's Mantle programming tool has already proven itself capable of radically transforming a real-time strategy game. But the console-inspired API has been claimed to deliver performance benefits in FPS games too, starting with Battlefield 4, and the first independent evidence of this is now starting to trickle out. AnandTech and HotHardware have used almost-final Mantle drivers to achieve frame-rate gains of at least 7-10 percent in BF4, rising to 30 percent with some configurations, by doing away with the need for Microsoft's relatively inefficient DirectX drivers. In general, it looks like systems with weaker CPUs stand to benefit the most, because Mantle uses the graphics processor in such a way as to reduce CPU bottlenecks. We'll get a better idea of the size of the improvement once Mantle is released to the public and tested on a wider variety of systems, including laptops and desktops with low-end or integrated AMD GPUs, but nevertheless, these early results bode well for those who are trying to eke better frame rates out of older, cheaper or smaller gaming rigs.
Battlefield 4 won't get AMD-powered frame rate boost until later in January
The company known affectionately as Advanced Micro Delays has just confirmed something we already knew: the intriguing Mantle update for Battlefield 4, which promises a "significant" frame rate bonus for PC gamers running AMD hardware, has been postponed. It didn't arrive in December like it was supposed to, but is now officially meant to be on track for release sometime in January. The gossip is that the source of the delay isn't actually on AMD's side, but rather on EA DICE's, since the game developer has been swamped with bug-fixing chores and hasn't had time to focus on luxuries. Meanwhile, other developers tell us that they're getting on well with Mantle, thanks to its ability to circumvent DirectX and make better use of AMD's Graphics Core Next and octa-core CPU designs -- and that's something that we expect to be able to prove, one way or another, in the next few days.
Nothing says 'war is hell' like a $2,500 gold-leaf Battlefield 4 print
With the Battlefield 4 Premium add-on, EA's letting you score a dozen goodie-laden golden battlepacks for about $50 without, you know, earning them. But any plebe can do that, right Sedgwick? What you really need to flaunt your gamer cachet is a limited edition BF4 battlepack print from purveyors Cook & Becker priced at a mere $2,500. It was created from a high-res render by EA DICE studio artists and made with 24-carat gold leaf and gold paint in a tiny run of 10 copies. Outrageous? Sure, but at least you'd be going in with eyes wide open.
Weekly Roundup: Xbox One and Nokia Lumia 2520 reviews, the future of EA Games and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Maingear rolls out Battlefield 4-themed gaming PCs with Radeon R9 graphics
Do you like Battlefield so much that you bleed blue and orange? You'll like Maingear's new Battlefield 4-branded Shift (pictured at left) and F131 (right) gaming PCs, then. Both special editions will ship with BF4-themed case artwork, desktop wallpaper and codes to download the game itself. They'll also have performance that does justice to EA's military shooter, as Maingear is equipping the two desktops with AMD's just-launched Radeon R9 290X video cards. Pre-orders for the BF4 systems start today; the F131 will set you back $2,199 with one R9 290X inside, while the Shift carries two cards and a heftier $3,789 base price.
Battlefield 4 for Xbox One may get Kinect-based look controls
If you've wanted to immerse your body in a first-person shooter, you've typically had to use a complex simulator. Battlefield 4 may soon provide a decidedly simpler (and cheaper) alternative. DICE's Patrick Bach has revealed to Xbox Wire that the game may use the Xbox One's Kinect sensor for head-tracking look controls, such as leaning around a corner. Voice commands might also be available, Bach says. There's no guarantees that BF4 will get the new input methods, but DICE may have competition as an incentive. Infinity Ward recently hinted to Official Xbox Magazine that Call of Duty: Ghosts could use Kinect for more than navigating menus, so there's a chance that at least one of the two games will have motion control in the future.
Battlefield 4 beta launching in early October
Battlefield 4 has already gotten a bit of love at this year's Gamescom, being named as one of 23 Xbox One launch titles, but the shooter had even more time to shine as one of the titles that took center stage at EA's press event. At the top of the list of announcements for the FPS was a bit more specificity around when we're actually going to see the beta. The fall date that we got back in March has been narrowed down to early October, which should give you just about enough time to perfect your aim.
Xbox One launching with 23 games: Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs lead the charge
The Xbox One will have 23 games for you to play at launch this November. Everything from biggies like Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs to adorable little wonders like Peggle 2. There are also a smattering of Kinect games in there, from Just Dance to Zumba Fitness. We've got the full list of all the games just below.
Talking Frostbite, Battlefield 4 and Mirror's Edge 2 with EA DICE's big boss (video)
EA's DICE studio is the motor that powers several of gaming's most popular franchises. Need for Speed and Battlefield are just two of the enormous series that DICE's Frostbite engine is behind, and EA's pledged the engine's support to many more of its titles. It's with these things in mind that we met up with DICE General Manager Karl Magnus-Troedsson at E3 2013, where we discussed Frostbite 3, Frostbite Go, Battlefield 4 and even a little Mirror's Edge 2 for good measure. Troedsson had a headline spot during EA's E3 stage briefing, where he helped to narrate a live demo of a 64-player match. Beyond a showcase for Battlefield 4, the presentation was perhaps the most stunning demonstration to date of the DICE studio's Frostbite engine and the power it's able to wield when harnessed by skilled developers. And for the first time ever on next-gen consoles, Battlefield's console versions (at least the next-gen ones) are identical with that of the PC one. Massive online battles and incredible in-game events -- such as a Shanghai skyscraper being brought toppling down, all while naval scraps and helicopter dogfights are taking place -- are possible on both PC and the next-gen boxes from Microsoft and Sony. We discuss all that and more with Troedsson in the video we've dropped just below the break.
Battlefield 4's Frostbite 3 game engine goes mobile in 'Frostbite Go'
It appears that while EA's making claims that its Frostbite 3 game engine (which powers next-gen's Battlefield 4) can't run on Nintendo's Wii U, the game publisher is also working on bringing "true Frostbite experiences to all major mobile platforms." The Frostbite website details the initiative as "Frostbite Go," and calls it "one of our most exciting current projects." Without directly saying "Frostbite 3," the blurb details Frostbite Go as aimed at "empowering EA game developers" -- in so many words, it sounds like Frostbite Go isn't meant for indies as much as it's meant for EA studios used to working with Frostbite. Battlefield 4 will be the first game from EA to launch using the latest iteration of Frostbite, which isn't a huge surprise considering that BF4's developed by the same folks who develop the engine (EA DICE). It's expected to arrive this fall on both current and next-gen platforms.
Editorial: How the Concessions Stand in Battlefield 4
EA seized an entire movie theater in San Francisco in the midst of GDC 2013 to demonstrate nearly 20 minutes of Battlefield 4, which is also a video game. The venue was large and loud enough to encapsulate the shooter's cinematic aspirations, and flaunt every extravagant detail manifested in the weapons, soldiers, lighting and urban environments – right down to the cracking, withered paint on a door. Battlefield 4 belonged on every inch of that big screen.And that's fine. I enjoy shooters, I adore movies, and I think there's a valid convergence to be found between the two. It's rarely a shortcut for superior storytelling, but the medium is malleable and fit for many authors. Some strive for realism, others seek expression in the abstract, and some guys prefer to make a crazy game about shipping soup to other planets.None of those, however, have claimed responsibility for a "new era of interactive entertainment." That would be Battlefield 4, according to EA Games Vice President Patrick Söderlund. "Revealing the game to you all today is a big deal for us," he said in epilogue to the game's exquisitely rendered destruction. "It signals a new era of Battlefield and, frankly, a new era of interactive entertainment."%Gallery-183940%