Gumby

So I have been playing a lot of BF3 lately. As most people know, the graphics are phenomenal and the gameplay, while no BF2 or 2142, is still pretty darn good. What is really bothering me is the loss of VOIP and Commander Mode. Commander mode is not a terrible thing but the nearly complete omission of VOIP is intolerable. Now I know what you are saying right now: "But Gumby, there are a million rants on the internet pipes about this" Maybe so. But this one is a bit different. As an American living overseas, I have really, really enjoyed gaming on the pub servers here. I have learned so much German and French just by playing online games with a more traditional approach to VOIP. European servers often have people speaking several different languages on the same team, trying to work as a team. Jumping into that mix with my TTP/TPG teamwork first attitude was so much fun and very educational. It made me feel more like a part of the community here. I really had to work at learning the language and styles of the different cultures to work as a team to get the almighty W. Learning the languages and the gamer-slang the locals use here was great fun too. I have lots of non-Americans now on my Xfire and Steam friends list. I don't know if they learned anything from me, but I hope so. But now EA has taken that part of the game away. No built in VOIP is isolating. Teamplay on BF3 is hard to come by here. EA's half-assed VOIP for the PC BF3 is a shame and frankly, just plain wrong. BF2 sold a lot of copies with its near perfect squad/commander VOIP setup. I cannot imagine that anyone considers the changes to that in BF3 and upgrade. Even worse, it eliminates a common ground in a land full of diverse languages and cultures.