Earlier, we gave you the details of what's included in the Medal of Honor Limited Edition - spoiler alert, a few guns and not much else.

With those measly offerings, you might still be looking for a reason to pick up the limited edition copy over a regular-joe version? How about the promise of a beta key for DICE's third incarnation of the highly acclaimed Battlefield series? No, I'm not talking about the Bad Company series (which was more of a single player game than a multiplayer title). I'm talking about a beta key for Battlefield 3.

The Battlefield 3 beta key will be available in all versions of the Medal of Honor Limited Edition - so it looks like DICE will have a playable build of the game for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Very impressive.

The only catch is Xbox 360 players must have a Gold Xbox Live account in order to participate (where PSN and PC users will get the same access for free). Unless of course the Xbox version gets delayed.

When can we expect to return to the huge virtual battlefields? According to EA, some time in 2011:

"An invitation to the Battlefield 3 beta within 12-months following the release of Medal of Honor."

A bit of a wait, no doubt, but not nearly as long as the 5 years since a full-on Battlefield game. Considering the time since Battlefield 2, I don't think fans will have a problem being patient.

Access to the Battlefield 3 beta may be enough reason for gamers to pick up the limited edition of Medal of Honor. Judging by the marketing EA is putting into the rebooted shooter, it appears that the developer is trying to funnel gamers from one title to another - as well as luring back old fans.

A very sound business plan but the jury is still out - until we see whether Medal of Honor is a quality title.

Medal of Honor releases, with Battlefield 3 beta keys, on October 12, 2010 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Source: EA