Battlefield 3 - Wellington Launch Party

EB Games hosted a midnight launch party for the hotly anticipated Battlefield 3 in Lower Hutt last night, and we were there. Expecting great things - after attending previous launches run by the team - we were not disappointed.

Sure, it was wet and windy, but if anything that only added to the drama. After all, the EB guys had gone all-out for this one, partnering once again with Army-surplus suppliers Comrades, and the airsoft guys from Capital Team Airsoft (CTA) were there - complete with combat fatigues - to add an air of authenticity to proceedings.

Take a look at what went down...

The EB guys, dressed in Army fatigues, kill some of the time leading up to the midnight release, while gamers mill about in preparation for the main event

One of the airsoft CTA guys, resplendent in his (rather serious-looking) kit. We're 99.99% sure that [airsoft] gun's not real but, dangerous or not, we don't want that guy pointing at us.

This guy, on the other hand, looks a little out of his depth...

... just kidding! D:

If not for the shelves of games in the background, you'd swear you were looking at a couple of fresh recruits! Maybe not, but it's a damn good effort, anyway.

How good is this guy? If it wasn't so cold and wet, I'd totally think I had been transported into the middle of desert storm.

The gear you need! But are they referring to the [airsoft] guns or the games in the background?

Clearly an amateur, this one; hiding behind a barrel? My jacketed parabellum's are going to cut through that like a hot knife through butter!

Everyone gathers up for a briefing - operation Release Battlefield 3 At Midnight is about to kick off

Mike, nearly lost in the crowd, gives the mission briefing. We'd tell you what he said, but then we'd have to kill you.

Ok, ok, what he said was "go outside" - so they did, as evidenced by this photo.

Oh Wellington! Is Wonderful! We've got the wind, the rain, and the Phoenix (that chap there in the center)!

Uh oh... looks like some of the "talent" have gone rogue... the chap in the middle started making threatening gestures and mumbled stuff that, while in Russian, sounded like bad news...

The GIs, true to form, looked non-plussed. "We can take you", they suggested by body language alone

The first to buy the game enter the shop but what's this?! The insurgents are blocking their passage! It's war, in Lower Hutt!

Out of nowhere, the good guys turn up and rescue the shoppers from what can only be described as certain doom. Or a well staged stunt. Either way, it was awesome.

One of the first to buy the game escapes into the night, clutching his hard-won copy in his hands.


Did you go along to a midnight release? Have you picked up the game this morning? Let us know in the comments!