I think this may be of interest to some of you: BF3 is free to get through Origin's on-the-house program.
Link: https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/buy/battlefield-3/pc-download/base-game/standard-edition

Long time, no see!

I've started playing War Thunder recently, and I think it's a decent game to try out for some squad-based gameplay. It's an arcade-style WW2 fighter sim (with tank battles to come in the near future and naval battles later on). It also features a realistic mode, if you'd like to get as close as possible to how it was back in the day.

You can register using this link (you get free premium points for using it): {LINK REMOVED}http://warthunder.com/en/registration?r=userinvite_533324

I tried going in a squad with XVVXXXVVX today and it was pretty enjoyable. While it's not the kind of game I'll be nearly as involved in as I was in PS2, I play it daily and I think we could have pretty decent results through cooperation.

As a hint: When starting out, pick Russia. This will let you get the special Chaika for free. Chaikas are tier 1 planes that are arguably the best starting tier planes. Russia is a good country to start out with since they're good at everything, though masters of nothing. You can use them to learn which country suits your playstyle.

Quoting from the War Thunder forums on country playstyles:
Very Generally
US Energy Fighters, most have no cannons.
Germany Super Energy
USSR Seem good at most things... Energy or turn. Have the best ground attack aircraft
UK Turn, well Armored, well Armed
Japan Ultimate Turn, No Armor

Energy means you drop in from high altitude, unload on the enemy, then get back up quickly using inertia before anyone can catch up with you. Turn fighting means just that, you're going to be turning a lot. Armor is an important factor, since without it you'll be extremely exposed if someone is on your back. Japanese heavy fighters can go down easily from regular machine guns, for example, but they can also turn extremely well given their class.

Once you're ingame, you can add me directly (my IGN is Crestfall as well), or through your add Steam friends option. Hope to see some of you in the skies!

We will be merging into the newly formed outfit 1TNC in the following days. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but given my growing disinterest in the game coupled with decreasing activity, I thought it best for the remaining members to be able to enjoy the game alongside other friendly and competitive players.

1TNC is formed primarily of ex-OWND members that got tired of outfit drama and decided to form their own smaller group of good men. They share our mentality, and our combined ops have been pleasurable. Ranks are relatively irrelevant; everyone is welcome to lead squads if they so please. xand, RealRayMears and th3transfer are the acting leaders.

In terms of rules, they are more focused on culling out inactives and members that don't become a part of the community. You are free to maintain the IVGD tag if this is a deterrent to you.

I'll be handling the invites myself for the most part.

It's been one hell of a ride, guys. I'll keep the group up since I believe some lasting friendships have been formed between us that can be extended into other games in the future. If any of you ever finds a game that might be worthy of our official rebirth, let us know.

So, the PTS crashed. The event will be rescheduled at some point in the future, I'll keep you updated.

http://en.reddit.com/r/PS2Cobalt/comments/1jk6o0/hossin_pts_event_please_upvote_for_visibility/