PlayStation 3 owners looking to get their hands on Red Alert 3 have been a patient bunch. And their patience looks to have been rewarded with a superior version of the game.

Along with a bunch of free stuff that was only previously available to those who picked up the special edition of the PC version, EA have revealed that the PS3 version of the game looks better than the 360 one, a rare treat for games that are essentially “ported” over from Microsoft’s console.

See, rather than rush out a sub-par PS3 version like some other developers have been known to do, EA delayed Red Alert 3 so they could get to grips with their PS3 dev kits and actually do the version right. Which looks to have paid off, with everything from the colour palette through to water effects and the detail on the units themselves looking better on PS3 than 360.

The PS3 can do amazing things. We’ve seen this on many of the system’s exclusive titles. We’ve also seen amazing things on games that were developed with the PS3 as the lead system (like Burnout Paradise). It’s nice to finally see a third-party developer taking the time to make sure games originally developed for the 360/PC can look amazing, too.

EA Reveals PS3 Red Alert Changes [1UP]

And again, the Red Alert 3 marketing team outdo themselves, somehow taking Ric Flair and his figure-four leglock and turning it into a heart-warming Command & Conquer-related Valentines Day message.

It’s just one in a series of videos EA threw together for the day, some featuring British working class vixen Gemma Atkinson, others the slightly dead-eyed Australian Holly Valance, but sadly, none featuring Tim Curry or JK Simmons.

[Red Alert 3 @ YouTube]

Seems that our sources at Electronic Arts are correct. Professional wrestler and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Uprising star Ric Flair was indeed fighting bears in Los Angeles. Here’s video proof.

In part one of the “To be continued” series of Flair Vs. Bear spots, Mr. Flair is assaulted by a Russian bear, imagery that should get the ire up of any red-blooded American male.

I can certainly relate. Despite not being much of a professional wrestling fan, I do tend to have discussions with my biceps while recounting my accomplishments. Never been knocked out by a Commie bear, though.

There’s a good reason PlayStation 3 owners have had to wait to play Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 on their console. EA’s been busy packing the ULTIMATE experience onto a Blu-ray disc!

Or so says the EA Store, which now lists the PS3 “Ultimate Edition” port of the latest Red Alert real-time strategy game. What’s different, besides new box art that features 100% more Russian booty?

This stuff: “Bloopers & Outtakes, Behind the Scenes, developer strategy videos, and new battleground maps not found anywhere else! Enjoy your favourite songs from the soundtrack and study tactics with the Unit Profiles video encyclopedia. Watch the women of RA3 heat up the camera in the ‘Girls of RA3′ featurette -all presented in HD Blu-ray with enhanced visuals, and only for the PS3!”

That’s how you make something ultimate, we suppose.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition [EA Store via PS3 Fanboy]

Actress, singer, whatever Holly Valance was Christie in the Dead or Alive movie, DOA: Dead or Alive. The 2006 movie was filmed in Asia, and Vance now calls it “an amazing experience,” but tough.

How tough? It was the toughest experience of her life says the actress. The shoot was hard, and the kung-fu training was hard. Downtime was spent playing Dead or Alive — not just for research per se, but out of boredom. Explains Valance:

Oh yes, we played so much. That’s pretty much what we had to do in our rooms, because there was nothing else to do. That and buy pirated DVDs in the village. I’m so against buying pirated movies and music, because that’s my business, but there was literally nothing else to do. So we’d watch these awful DVDs filmed on a camcorder in the cinema.

Why not, you know, read a book? Or have books shipped to you? Hey, it’s none of my business — just wondering! But bonus points for honesty.

Valance appears in the new standalone expansion for Red Alert 3, which you should buy, unless by Valance’s logic, you’re in a remote village with nothing else to do.

Eurogamer meets Holly Valance [Eurogamer]

EA’s contribution to the London Games Festival 2008 featured live performances from Natasha Bedingfield, The Automatic and McFly among other musical luminaries, but the main focus was giving gamers the chance to get hands on with new releases.

The plastic dome hosted to the launch party for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, attended actress/presenter/lingerie model Gemma Atkinson (aka Lt Eva McKenna), which gave hundreds of gamers the chance to play the game before its launch at midnight on October 31st.

Game assault on Trafalgar Square [BBC News]

“We’re looking at doing some really cool things with the PS3 version,”C&C TV presenter David Silverman told VideoGamer, ” Since it is shipping later we’re putting in a lot of cool content and really taking advantage of both the 1080p nature and the high-defness of Blu-Ray and also the fact that it can hold just so much more space.”

Silverman would not confirm a release date, but promised that “Bide your time and you’ll be very pleased.”

EA: PS3 Red Alert 3 back on [VideoGamer]

Not at all, says EA’s Greg Kasavin:

There aren’t a lot of games with live action video anymore. And in this game in particular, I think we did a lot more than the previous games to inject it into the gameplay.

It’s not just this thing that’s off to the side, where you play a mission, you watch a video, and so on, especially since you’re playing with these co-commander characters.

Hopefully it will help pull the whole experience together again in a unique way to make this game not just stand out from other RTS games, but from other games in general.

Keep on keeping on, EA, the world needs more hammy live-action cutscenes, not less.

Red Alert 3 – Why The Actors? EA’s Kasavin, Ajami Explain [Gamasutra]

The source added: “They’re both pretty short.”

Bear suit, eh? If that bear suit has standard, alternate reality Soviet military issue armour, we’d been inclined to believe that Mr. Flair is attached to Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 in some way. Consider it rumour for now, but hope that bear wrestling will play a major role in our lives soon. No, not just the game… our lives.