The connection with EA Online was lost

I haven't felt like actually sitting down to play Battlefield 3 for quite a while. I played it a bit after I bought it, but the single player was mediocre at best, at I wasn't willing to cough up another $80 for my Xbox Live subscription just so I could play Battlefield online. Not when I had other options.

Earlier this year though, I had to move house. Once at our new place we had problems getting an internet connection, so I thought to myself "Hey, this would be a great time to finish off that Battlefield 3 single player campaign". So I pop the disk into my Xbox, and start up the game. I go into campaign mode and select "Resume Campagin".

I hear the rattle of gunfire, shouting, and then the screen goes blank, save for a loading icon. I'm booted back to the main menu, with an Error clamouring for my attention: "The connection with EA Online was lost". No sh**. There never was a connection.

Some problems with this scenario:

• This is the single-player portion of the game. Why do I need to be connected to the internet at all times for a game I paid $100 for? Evidently being a good release-day customer counts for nothing anymore.
• Why am I being booted from my single-player game after actually getting into it? If I need to be connected to EA Online (whatever that is), why can't it inform me of this at the menu?
• What the f**k EA?

Ok, so I guess this is some of that fandangled new "Always-On" DRM. I thought we weren't supposed to have that on consoles, because we don't have the same piracy problem as PCs? Most console owners are law-abiding citizens right? Apparently not to EA.

Anyway, 3 months later (internet connection working), I decide to give the single-player campaign another go. I start up the Xbox, pop the disk in, and select "Resume Campaign". I get into the game, finally!

I frantically run from cover-to-cover, loosing rounds as I go to keep enemies in check. I'm pinned behind a bus shelter. Not the best cover. An enemy yells as he spots me, barely 20 metres from my position, and a hail of bullets start pummelling my cover. I swing out from behind the shelter, gun raised and... blank.

"The connection to EA Online was lost"

Almost a full minute, that must be a record. Frustrated, and slightly dejected that I ever paid $100 for such a game, I turn to the internet for answers. Why am I getting this error even when I have a valid internet connection?

Searching back through the history of various forum posts, I find that an update seems to have bugged out EA's "Always-On" DRM so that it boots players out of the game after about a minute or less in single player, even when connected. Various solutions include deleting save files and starting over, or deleting the massive multiplayer patch and re-downloading it (internet caps in New Zealand are pretty appalling). Deleting the problematic patch seems to be the best option.

In the past I've expressed a dislike for the sort of intrusive always-on DRM, but I've generally lived with it. It even irked me when I was without internet and I couldn't play my single player steam games without a valid connection to Steam. What have I done as a gamer to deserve this sort of criminal treatment? It's like going to a carnival with your parents, but they won't let you go on any of the rides unless they can hold your hand the entire time. I'm 24 years old, no hand-holding is required. 

I'll tell you what, I certainly don't expect to have to pay $100 for a game like this. Between the pretty half-hearted single-player (why include it at all?) and this frustrating DRM that only serves to lock me out of a game I already bought, I just don't see where the value is. I've always had fun with the battlefield series, but it just feels like EA and DICE have got so paranoid about loosing control of their game, they won't let anyone have any fun with it. 

What happened to serving customers first, what happened to creating great gaming experiences? My next game purchase will go towards supporting something a little less conventional. Something that gives me the freedom to play where I want, when I want, on the platform of my choice. Game developers are getting more freedom than ever by crowdfunding their own projects. Maybe it's time the gaming community at large joined them so we can ditch the restrictive thinking of publishers. We can vote with our wallets, and I certainly will be.

P.S. I think this kickstarter project shows real promise