...and that folks is a direct quote from DICE Creative Director Lars Gustavsson. What's that? You need some context? Ah well, there goes my attempt at pulling a Daily Mail on all you fine readers.

Speaking with the speaking-about-everything-videogames-on-a-daily-basis chaps at VG24/7, Mr.Gustavsson had this to say regarding Battlefield 3's newb-unfriendly unlock system:

"We shipped Battlefield 3, which we should be slapped for, with probably the worst set-ups ever."

The developer further criticizing the way the game handled its aerial endeavors:

"As a pilot, you had to fly your plane and only kill other planes with your cannons. You didn't have any counter-measures; you didn't have any missiles. And that's basically for the best of the best pilots; that's what they should do to show their skills. [As a beginner], you should have counter-measures, you should have heat-seeking missiles to give you a smooth ride into the game and then from there on you should customise."

The devs are currently rather hard (giggles) at work to rectify the above criticisms for the coming (snickers) sequel:

"The full set-ups are supposed to be quite easy to learn and to master, and from there you can start unlocking things and seeing what your preferred setup is. So, a lot of learning from Battlefield 3 has gone into making the game."

My two cents? DICE SHOULD be slapped. Hard. By the Hindu Deity Mahakali. Not because of balance issues, unlock-wubbajubbas or what have you, but because of their adamant use of the awful AWFUL PunkBuster anti-cheat system. WHY WON'T IT LET ME PLAY, DAMNIT!?