Battlefield 3 in-game server browser for consoles, not PC

Additional details reveal that the PC version's main game menu will be the Battlelog home page. I feel like I'm kicking a hornet's nest.

In a move that's bound to cause some consternation amongst PC gamers, it's been confirmed via the Battlefield blog and in a Twitter response that an in-game browser for finding game servers - a long-term staple of online PC gaming - has been included in the console versions of Battlefield 3, but not the PC version.

Further digging of senior gameplay designer Alan Kertz's Twitter feed suggests that the PC version of EA's upcoming shooter won't have an in-game main menu at all. Instead, the homepage of the game's online stat-tracking and social tools service, Battlelog, will serve as Battlefield 3's main menu on PC.

From the Battlelog menu - which does feature a server browser - you'll jump straight into a game with no loading of splash pages or title sequences. Fundamentally, however, it means that if you're not best-pleased with the game you're currently playing you have to quit out and look for another server, not see if there's one that takes your fancy while you contemplate jumping ship.

Whilst the console versions will also make use of Battlelog's stat tracking tools, they will otherwise behave in the usual way with the added bonus of an in-game server browser.

Battlefield 3 launches for PC, PS3 and 360 on October 25 in the US, October 27 in Australia and October 28 in Europe.

Thanks, AusGamers.