The latest Battlefield 3 patch gets unleashed today, and has some great tweaks as well as "shortcut items" which lets players buy items rather than putting in the hours to unlock them. This is explained as "if you're new to the game, this is the perfect way to gain some ground on the veterans online". Really, DICE?

There's bundles that include a bunch of gear, and other bundles that just have smaller collections inside. I don't really like the idea of someone being able to just dump their digits online and jump right up to where you are, equipment-wise, after you've spent countless hours working your way up the proverbial ladder.

There's an updated Commo Rose which should keep players happy, and has been designed specifically for the PC (or just ctrl+c, ctrl+v from BF2), using the keyboard and mouse in a more intelligent way. Improved mini maps are also included, where we have "map", "satellite", and "hybrid" views. Definitely looks the goods!

The rest of the changes can be found here.