danger-close-games posts

Publisher Electronic Arts' recent first person shooter Medal of Honor will get its first free and paid downloadable content on Election Day. EA revealed today that that the PC port will indeed be getting the free "Clean Sweep" DLC on November 2 which will add an new elimination-style gameplay mode, two new maps (Bagram Hangar and Khyber Caves) and redesigned versions of two current maps (Diwagal Camp and Kabul City Ruins).

In addition EA will sell a second DLC pack on that day via the EA Store web site for $9.99. That will add a new Hot Zone gameplay mode where teams will fight for a fixed point on the map with the winner holding the location the longest. Two more all new maps will be added (Hindukush Pass and Korengal Outpost) along with redesigned versions of two more maps (Shahikot Valley and Helmand Valley)

As most of you know, Electronic Arts is in the middle of a multiplayer open beta test for Medal of Honor, the company's revamp of its long running first person military shooter franchise. While players have been busy battling each other in a fictional conflict in modern day Afghanistan, we are still waiting to see if the final full version of the game will be like when it ships to stores next week.

We wanted to get some more info on Medal of Honor but unfortunately the team was only available to answer just a few questions. We did get the answers from EA's executive producer Patrick Liu.

Download Medal of Honor Multiplayer Open Beta Client (1.6 GB)

The developer teams behind the upcoming revival of Electronic Arts' Medal of Honor shooter series surprised many when it revealed plans on Friday to hold a final open multiplayer beta for the PC versions on October 4-7, just a few days before the game ships to stores on October 12.

While the open beta should be a good way to see if your PC can run Medal of Honor, perhaps you will be unable to download and play the game that week (maybe you will be away from the house or having some friends over; you never know). Just in case you can check out the minimal and recommended system requirements for the game after the jump:

Last summer Electronic Arts offered some gamers a chance to try out the multplayer portion of Medal of Honor via a closed beta test. Now EA has revealed that PC gamers will get one more free shot with the upcoming modern military shooter before it ships out on October 12. An open multiplayer beta test for the game will be held on October 4-7. This will be a true open beta; anyone will be able to download and play with only a free EA account needed.

The open beta will contain two multiplayer maps (Shahikot Mountains and Kunar Base) two gameplay modes (the objective-based Combat Mission and the domination-based Sector Control) and a number of different weapons. The main goal of the open beta is to test EA's multiplayer servers with a full player load. You can check out the recommended system specs for the open beta after thee jump:

Medal of Honor is about a month away from its release but this week another Electronic Arts game is helping to promote the first person shooter in an unique way. The free-to-play shooter Battlefield Heroes (developed by Medal of Honor's multiplayer creator Digital Illusions) is offering some Medal of Honor-related in-game items.

The items let players dress up their characters as Tier 1 Elite or Tier 1 Specialist soldiers as well as weapons like the M-16 and M-21 assault rifles. More in-game items like the Tier 1 Operative and Captain are "coming soon". The in-game items will be available for Battlefield Heroes players from now until November 2. You can check out a trailer showing the Medal of Honor items after the jump.

[Via Eurogamer.net]

In recent weeks there have been attacks on the content of the upcoming military shooter Medal of Honor from some mainstream media outlets. However it looks like publisher Electronic Arts is standing fast on releasing the game just as it is. Develop's web site quotes EA Games head Frank Gibeau as saying the media attacks " ... don't compromise our creative vision and what we want to do."

The reports have centered on the fact that in the game's multiplayer mode, developed by Digital Illusions, players can choose to play on the US side or as a member of the Taliban in the Afghanistan-themed shooter. Some believe that it's disrespectful to have a playable Taliban side in a game where the real military conflict is still ongoing.

However, Gibeau states that EA " ... anticipated this [controversy] when we decided on the concept of the game." He added, "The development teams care very much about what they're building, and of course a bit of criticism from the media causes some to get demoralized, but at the end of the day we're proud of what we're doing." Medal of Honor is due for release on October 12.

It looks like Electronic Arts is doing some creative renaming of one of its big development studios. The studio previously known by the rather dull name of EA Los Angeles (or EALA for short) has gotten a name change to Danger Close. The change is similar to when EA renamed its Redwood Shores studio (the Dead Space series) to Visceral Games

Gamasutra chatted with EALA's ... excuse us, Danger Close's executive producer Greg Goodrich who said the name change was a way to recharge the batteries, so to speak. He states, "It's a refresh. It's an opportunity. It's a way to get our own identity." The term Danger Close is used by the military to call for close proximity fire and that's certainly appropriate for the team that's currently handling the single player portion of the upcoming Medal of Honor revamp.