Video Games: "Battle Field III Beta" Offers Tantalizing Sneak Peek

The release of the "Battlefield III Beta" is a great way to get an early taste of DICE's latest creation. The beta was recently released on PC, Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3 and was available for a short while to anyone willing to download it for free.

Just as in its predecessor, BF3 is sticking with four different classes: Assault, Support, Engineer, and Sniper. The only changes are that the Assault class has the ability to perform as a medic, and the Support class can hand out ammunition. The class overhaul is a fresh change for the best.

Each class has its own types of weapons, but there are also general weapons, which can be used between classes. The variety of weapons is great, and the ability to switch from semi-automatic fire to automatic adds a unique option.

Say for a match you're playing as the United States, your load out will be weapons the U.S. actually uses, such as an M16, while, if you're playing as the Russians, you'll use the classic AK-47.

There are also many attachments to add to your gun, so you can just put your own personal touch on it. My only problem is that there's no display for a gun's power or accuracy. All it gives you is the weapon's range and rate of fire.

The beta graphics look fairly similar if not a tad better than "Battlefield: Bad Company 2." On the map Operation Metro, the color scheme has a blue tint and goes for a war movie feel, which adds to the realism in the game.

In the final product, you will have the ability to download the game to your hard drive if you're playing on a console for full resolution game play.

One of the traits that makes "Battlefield" such a dynamic series is the vehicle game play. Sadly the PC gamers were the only ones able to test out the vehicle system during the beta.

Having the ability to go prone in BF3 is a great benefit. It just adds a whole new flavor into the pot. To add more of a realistic feel to the game, whenever you need to jump over an object, you'll see your character's legs hop over. It makes you feel like you're part of the action.

My biggest peeve of the beta was not being able to play with your friends. The final version will presumably provide that option, since the interface is set up, but once inside a match it will split you and your friends up. DICE announced they knew of this problem and just didn't want it in the beta.

Overall the beta was very entertaining to play and a great way to blow some time. There are a few bugs and glitches, but all of that is expected, since it is only the beta.

DICE will presumably fix all of the bugs and add some more features that aren't available in the beta. So from what I can tell, the final product should be pretty glorious, since the beta was great in itself.