Greetings, humans. We have a new competition for you, and it’s a little different from the norm. In fact, it’s far better than the norm. (Well, unless you’re afraid of flying. Then it might be worse, I guess).
The prize, for two lucky readers from the UK, is three days and two nights in Stockholm, Sweden, during which you’ll get hands-on time with early code for Battlefield 3, meet and interview developers EA DICE, stay in a five-star hotel and also visit a local range to fire some real guns as well as BF3’s virtual ones. You can still shout ‘dakkadakkadakkadakka’ as you do so if you wish, but honestly, it won’t be necessary. Real bullets, see.
Oh, and your meals and evening drinks will be catered for too, so don’t worry about starving. I’ll be out there too, so you’ll get to meet me/shoot me with virtual guns in Battlefield 3. But only the virtual ones. Not the real ones. Please. We’ll do a special podcast while we’re out there, chatting about what we got up to in the game, so it’s also the chance to have your voice and opinions broadcast directly into the ears of your fellow RPS readers.
To enter, you first need to check that you’re able to travel to Sweden on 29th, 30th and 31st August. This means having a valid passport as well as the necessary time. Again, please note that this particular competition is only open to UK residents, plus you need to be 18 or older.
You’ll then need to answer the following question, by emailing us at this link:
Which of these was a real Battlefield game?
- Battlefield 1946
- Battlefield 2.5
- Battlefield Quite Good Company 2
- Battlefield 1942
- Battlefield: Wales
Please include your full, real name in your message, and send it from an email account you check regularly.
Important rules:
The closing date for this competition is Friday 5th August 2011 at 5pm BST.
You must be over 18 and a UK resident to enter.
You must be available to travel to Sweden from 29th-31st August 2011.
Prizes will not be exchanged for cash or other goods.
No employees of Electronic Arts, DICE or Rock, Paper, Shotgun may enter.
The judge’s decision is final.
Got all that? Good luck!
01/08/2011 at 09:49 sinister agent says:
No Battlefield Glastonbury?
01/08/2011 at 09:53 Rusna says:
UK only :(
01/08/2011 at 11:27 Barts says:
Yea, that sucks. I hate US-only competitions on major gaming sites to the point I stopped reading them. But now I see RPS is also getting on that train, sadly. I mean come on, how about EU-only?
01/08/2011 at 11:29 Jim Rossignol says:
We’re a UK-based site, we’ve always run UK-based competitions.
01/08/2011 at 14:47 Carwash says:
Too many different laws across the EU (/ world) to be able to run competitions for everyone all of the time.
01/08/2011 at 14:53 Shinya says:
What, you guys won’t even fly me from Stockholm to Stockholm? I’m gonna go have a sad now.
01/08/2011 at 15:34 IDtenT says:
Sorry to hear about you being unable to enter Jim. Maybe next time.
01/08/2011 at 18:41 Mr_Initials says:
Darn, I wanted to shout dakkadakkadakkadakka in public without being judged. or arrested.
01/08/2011 at 09:53 DainIronfoot says:
I’d play Battlefield Wales.
01/08/2011 at 09:56 ran93r says:
I’m totally up for that.
01/08/2011 at 10:02 dog says:
cardiff vs swansea?
north vs south ?
valley trogs vs anglicized english immigrants?
sons of owain glyndwr vs everyone else (and their holiday homes) ?
01/08/2011 at 10:03 McDan says:
I thought exactly the same thing, sounds excellent.
01/08/2011 at 10:27 Alexander Norris says:
Battlefield: Wales AD582. Camelot vs. the Picts.
01/08/2011 at 10:31 DainIronfoot says:
All of those things. It would be brilliant.
Norris: I would definitely play a game based on Bernard Cornwell’s Arthur trilogy. Although that’s more or less a few M&B mods.
01/08/2011 at 11:00 Mirqy says:
Bloody picts, coming here and stealing our woad.
01/08/2011 at 11:02 Caddrel says:
Battlefield: Wales has to be one of the best settings I can imagine for a Battlefield game. You could fly along the coast in a helicopter, then pop up from behind the tall cliffs and demolish a huge stone castle.
Everyone would need to be dressed for the constant drizzle, though.
01/08/2011 at 11:32 westyfield says:
Bonus DLC lets you play as Prince William.
01/08/2011 at 18:18 Tams80 says:
@westyfield
You’d only be able to fly a search and rescue helicopter though. You’d need to get the DLC exclusive (£10) Prince Harry if you actually wanted to damage anything.
01/08/2011 at 09:58 Srekel says:
I wish I’d known about this before I booked my moving-home-to-sweden tickets for the 30th yesterday! Could have saved me some moneys ;)
01/08/2011 at 09:58 DSR says:
Too bad, I’ve already played Closed Alpha.
01/08/2011 at 10:00 Nemon says:
“No oceans”…
01/08/2011 at 14:30 ankh says:
Good point.
01/08/2011 at 18:22 Chufty says:
You know what, let’s scrap the idea of a ‘country’ entirely and just all be citizens of Earth.
Bagsy king.
01/08/2011 at 10:03 slick_101 says:
Ima thinking its battlefield 1943, or battlefield 2142 or uhm. Battlefield modern combat or is it battlefield online?
01/08/2011 at 10:07 KauhuK says:
Well, I would only need a pass to get inside the DICE studio for it would be quite cheap to get to Stockholm from Helsinki by ferry. I never win anything anyways so it’s not that big of a deal.
01/08/2011 at 10:11 Aemony says:
But… but… I’M ALREADY IN SWEDEN! D:
01/08/2011 at 10:26 sinister agent says:
You probably shouldn’t enter, then. If you were to win it might create some kind of ultra-Sweden that only you can see.
01/08/2011 at 10:50 Valvarexart says:
I’m also in Sweden. I suggest that we hi-jack this event and join without any type of permission. Such rebels we shall be!
01/08/2011 at 10:24 NotoriousR says:
How about if I’m a British Citizen living in Australia? That’s close enough, right? RIGHT?
01/08/2011 at 10:25 rocketman71 says:
The last real Battlefield game was 2142. Since then, only a bunch of DRM’d shit and controlled paid dedicated servers have tarnished the name.
Better than I don’t go to Sweden. It would end badly.
01/08/2011 at 11:11 Juiceman says:
Rofl, you wouldn’t do shit
01/08/2011 at 12:59 billyblaze says:
Juiceman, I think he might have been employing humour.
01/08/2011 at 10:51 Sicky says:
My passport expired a week ago aswell :(
01/08/2011 at 11:02 Durkonkell says:
Oh, gods damn it. I’ll never get my passport renewed in time for this! And I even know the answer to the competition. It’s Battle Company 19.5 of course.
MAN! I am most unhappy. Good luck to those of you with valid papers, however.
01/08/2011 at 14:17 steviesteveo says:
I wasn’t happy with the weapon balance in Battle Company 19.5 but the maps were exceptional.
01/08/2011 at 11:07 eightbitrobot says:
What if I live in Sweden? :)
01/08/2011 at 11:13 Juiceman says:
I wouldn’t trust any of you kids on a firing range
01/08/2011 at 11:14 Ultra Superior says:
Norway and guns ? Are you mad ?
Oh…
01/08/2011 at 11:24 SOAD says:
zing!
01/08/2011 at 19:18 Nick says:
tasteful.
01/08/2011 at 11:23 McDan says:
If I win I will totally shout “dakkadakkadakka” whilst firing the (real) guns. And then obviously get kicked off the course for being an idiot.
01/08/2011 at 11:29 GCU Speak Softly says:
Can I just have the 5 star hotel weekend and forget about the shooty / game bits?
01/08/2011 at 11:30 Nallen says:
I’d love this! also, my name is a source of constant amusement to the Swedes so I should ultra-double go.
01/08/2011 at 11:41 Hanban says:
You’re right! Awwh, what a sweet name you have!
01/08/2011 at 11:54 Nallen says:
At least 50% of my Starcraft games seem to start with a ‘swe?’ :)
01/08/2011 at 16:51 Sweedums says:
so do mine….. go figure.
01/08/2011 at 16:58 ran93r says:
I thought it was established some time ago that “SWE” is swedish for hello?
01/08/2011 at 11:42 Arithon says:
Battlefield: Wales would fail.
Nobody outside the UK would be able to read the placenames! “Strike at Llansantfraed-Cwmdeuddwr”
Plus they’d have a hard time beating the Welsh on home turf.
And you wouldn’t want Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta Jones, Shirley Bassey, Anthony Hopkins and the ghost of Richard Burton pissed off at you!
I’m English BTW…
01/08/2011 at 14:19 steviesteveo says:
When they make Battlefield: Wales they should change the A, B, C, D markers into Welsh placenames.
01/08/2011 at 11:46 Captain Hijinx says:
What if you live in Ireland, your friendly fun loving next door neighbours, can we enter?
01/08/2011 at 12:12 Davee says:
Lucky brits. I don’t live that far from DICE’s office, but can I get a chance to go visit them? Noooo! :(
01/08/2011 at 12:20 Unaco says:
I’ve just come back from a week in Stockholm (attending an Academic conference on Theoretical/Computational Neuroscience… nothing as flippant as these man-shooter video games). And, although I’d like to go back some time, maybe not so soon. Also, I’m not really that hyped for BF3.
Is a great place though, even if horrendously expensive. One tip, before you go… Maybe try and get just a little bit of a tan (difficult here, I know). Everyone over there is this glorious golden bronze colour, so you might stand out a little if the sun has not touched your skin in however long. First thing I did was to lie in the sun in the Humlegården, and get a little colour to me.
01/08/2011 at 12:48 HilariousCow says:
When will you announce the winners?
01/08/2011 at 13:13 squirrel says:
“Battlefield 1946”
Oh my god, Battlefield Red Alert?!
01/08/2011 at 13:25 ATwig says:
If I pay for my own ticket to and from the UK can I enter? Please? PLEASE!?!?!? I’ll fly to anywhere you want me to…
Hell i could book myself to Sweden and you could just gimme $300 to offset the cost of my ticket…
01/08/2011 at 13:48 Cassidy says:
Entered, Although the prospect of having to speak on a podcast is scary. I fear i might go silent or bubble with excitement and talk gobbledygook while constantly touching RPS staff just to check they are real.
01/08/2011 at 14:19 colinmarc says:
=( UK Residents only
01/08/2011 at 14:21 Monkey says:
But the link is no workie?
01/08/2011 at 14:21 Monkey says:
And if it is broken, do i get to win?
01/08/2011 at 16:11 Crainey says:
Only if there is time to go give Notch a hug.
01/08/2011 at 16:26 the_fanciest_of_pants says:
YES! YES!
Again, please note that this particular competition is only open to UK residents
FUUUUUUCK
01/08/2011 at 16:45 ShowMeTheMonkey says:
I like to say that this competition is unbelievably fantastical. Holy hell if I won Alec is getting so many drinks sent his way….
01/08/2011 at 17:37 bleeters says:
Can’t I take the trip to Sweden without needing to play Battlefield 3 as well? :(
01/08/2011 at 19:52 James G says:
Ahh, I have a fondness for the Scandinavian countries, just never had the chance to visit them. (Or I suppose, more accurately, never took the chance). Sadly, this competition is not my chance, as I doubt I could get the time off. (Also, not being a great military shooter fan, I’ve never played the Battlefield games, not even the esteemed Battlefield Wales. So I’d feel a bit silly turning up only to suddenly find out its an RTS instead or something, or that its actually a badly marketed management game, in which you build visitors centres next to historical battlefields while applying for National Lottery grants to build a disabled toilet.*)
* That is a toilet designed for ease of use of disabled people. As far as I’m aware, National Lottery funding for non-functional stuff is reserved for funding homeopathy centres and spiritual healing.
01/08/2011 at 21:48 TODD says:
Imperialist swine!
01/08/2011 at 22:59 Hoaxfish says:
Can I just have the trip to Sweden? I don’t really care about the game.
01/08/2011 at 23:06 Fitzmogwai says:
What about Battlefield Scintillating Company? The one that always gets the invitations to the best dinner parties because it’s a born raconteur?
02/08/2011 at 17:28 der jester says:
What if I fly to the UK myself from the US? Can I be eligible then? I love you guys :(
03/08/2011 at 14:24 solaris999 says:
Assuming that only 10 people entered, I have a…. 1 in 10 chance of winning and going to sweden! I may need someone to back up my maths here though, last time I used it I was taking A levels