Battlefield 3 on Xbox 360 with and without HD textures

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By now many know that the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3 has an optional high resolution texture install, but many wondered what kind of difference players might expect. Well, now we know (via Twitter user "d0n7bl1nk"), with a screenshot comparison between the two versions. As far as we know, this is a legit comparison, as there are plenty of Battlefield 3 copies already out (check out the first singleplayer mission). If you have 1.5 GB of free space on your Xbox 360, do yourself a favor and install the HD texture pack.

Unlock Battlefield 3 multiplayer weapons in co-op

DICE previously hinted at players having the option to unlock some Battlefield 3 weapons from the singleplayer campaign and use in multiplayer, but they never followed up on that. Now DICE's Fredrik Thylander, senior game designer, and the guy who does all the unlocks in the game, revealed via Twitter that players will be able to unlock 6 weapons in the co-op campaign which can be used in the regular multiplayer game. Among those weapons is the M39 EMR (seen above), a rifle which was very popular in Bad Company 2 (under the name M14 Mod 0).

Thylander didn't reveal what other weapons will be unlockable, but we'll find out soon — Battlefield 3 launch is just around the corner.

Battlefield 3: first singleplayer mission

This is the very first Battlefield 3 singleplayer mission, played on an Xbox 360. It's a fairly short and fast paced endeavor, taking place on a train, with what appears to be a lot of quick time events. As usual, the visuals are quite impressive, especially considering that this is running on console hardware that's 6 years old.

Battlefield 3 weapon list

We've complied the ultimate Battlefield 3 weapon list, with breakdowns on assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, shotguns, SMGs, pistols and more. The weapon list includes all weapons in Battlefield 3, you can follow the links for more details on each weapon.

Assault rifles

• M16A4
• AK-74M
• M416
• F2000
• AEK-971
• AN-94
• AS VAL
• G3
• KH-2002

Sniper rifles

• MK 11
• SVD
• M40A5
• SKS
• SV98
• M98B
• M39

Light Machine Guns

• M27
• RPK
• M249
• M60
• M240
• PKP Pecheneg
• Type 88

Carbines

• M4A1
• AKS-74U
• SCAR-H
• G36C
• SG553
• A-91

SMGs / Personal defense weapons

• UMP-45
• P90
• MP7
• PP-2000
• PDW-R

Shotguns

• 870 MCS
• Saiga 12
• USAS 12
• DAO 12
• M1014

Pistols

• Beretta M9
• MP-443 Grach
• 93R
• M1911
• Glock 17
• Glock 18
• MP412 REX
• .44 Magnum

Rocket launchers

• RPG-7
• SMAW
• Javelin
• FIM-92 Stinger
• SA-18 Igla

Battlefield 3 live-action TV launch trailer

EA has released the latest Battlefield 3 launch trailer, this time, it's a completely different animal that what we've seen before. The new trailer packs some great, cinematic live action scenes mixed with in-game footage for one of the best videogame trailers of the year. The new TV trailer is part of a TV ad which will be going live across the world soon.

Battlefield 3 PlayStation 3 install size is 2 GB

Recently we revealed that the install size for the high-res texture pack on the Xbox 360 was 1.5 GB, and now we know what the PlayStation 3 size is: 2 GB, according to the official requirements printed at the back of the Battlefield 3 PS3 case.

The texture pack allows for the game to use high-resolution textures, which DICE says "absolutely make a difference" to the game. The HD textures are required to be installed to the hard drive, as the DVD and Blu-ray drives don't have enough bandwidth to stream high-res textures to the game.

Battlefield 3 will be released in just 3 days, on October 25.

Battlefield 3 GameStop, BestBuy, Walmart TV ads

The three major game retailers in the US, GameStop, BestBuy and Walmart, all have different pre-order bonuses for Battlefield 3 (yes, you can still pre-order), and the three retailers have each released an ad for Battlefield 3. You can check out the GameStop ad above, which showcases the Physical Warfare pack. We got the Best Buy and Walmart ads after the break.

Battlefield 3 Walmart ad

Battlefield 3 Best Buy ad