dice posts

It looks like Electronic Arts is going back to war a bit faster than anticipated. During their financial press release today, the publisher announced that their next Medal of Honor game is now currently scheduled to be released in their second 2011 fiscal quarter, which means a third quarter 2010 calendar release (between July and September).

The game's earlier release is perhaps a way for EA to get the game out before Activision releases their next Call of Duty game which, while not officially announced is expected to be released in the fall quarter of 2010. As we have reported before, the new Medal of Honor game is set in modern day Afghanistan and will feature a single player campaign made by EA's Los Angeles studios and multiplayer modes made by Digital Illusions.

The Battlefield series of first person shooters began with Battlefield 1942 and now it looks like the latest game in the series, Battlefield Bad Company 2, will return players to that conflict briefly in single player mode. According to a content listing for the game on the ESRB ratings web site, "players conduct missions on an unnamed Japanese island during World War II" before entering the game's modern day era.

Of course the big question is, "What's the connection between the WWII intro missions and the modern day campaign?" A bigger question for PC owners is, "When are we getting our promised port of Battlefield 1943?" The downloadable game was supposed to be out by the end of this quarter but there's been no updates on that game's progress for the last few months by developer Digital Illusions.

[Via Blue's News]

Games that are coming out soon have a lot of unknowns that the average person might not know. Who is this character inspired by? Is all the talk of volumetric fog or cel-shaded graphics really worthwhile? Do the game mechanics really seem solid, or are they lackluster? In All You Need To Know we provide information to help you fully appreciate what these upcoming games have to offer.

Feed your head after the jump.

Check out our collection of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 related downloads here on Big Download!

The release yesterday of the multiplayer beta for Battlefield Bad Company 2 wasn't without issues. As we reported earlier this morning using the beta's server browser for the upcoming first person shooter caused the beta to crash to the desktop. Now a new automatic update to the game has solved that problem.

The small patch (which is also available to those players who downloaded the beta via Steam) also fixes a couple of issues with running the game on Windows XP as well as dealing with mouse sensitivity issues. Again you can download the full beta client right here at Big Download.

Download Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta Client (1.42 GB)
Check out all Battlefield: Bad Company 2 downloads

Someone at Digital Illusions must like the Underworld movies. The developer has announced that their free-to-play shooter Battlefield Heroes is giving its players a chance to fight not as pseudo WWII combatants but as either vampires or werewolves. The special in-game event lasts for the next month.

Players can purchase special werewolf or vampire clothing and appearance bundles in the Battlefield Heroes online store. Those bundles include special attacks; the Wolf Claw (for the werewolves) or the Vampire Claw (for the vamps, natch). In addition three of the game's maps have been converted to a spooky night setting. Sorry, no Kate Beckinsale in tight leather is available. You can check out a trailer after the jump.

Download HD Battlefield Heroes 'Vampires vs Werewolves' Trailer (148 MB)

For those still downloading the Battlefield Bad Company 2 beta client, this gameplay video provides a look at the Port Valdez multiplayer map. In it, players drop into action for a tug-of-war battle for control. The game releases on March 2nd, and is currently in open beta.

Download HD Battlefield Bad Company 2 'Port Valdez' Gameplay Trailer (201 MB)
Download Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta Client (1.42 GB)
Check out all Battlefield: Bad Company 2 downloads

This self-extracting file contains the Battlefield Bad Company 2 beta client. The game is currently in open beta. Continue after the jump for system requirements and visit the official website for more information and to register for an open beta key. The game is scheduled to release on March 2nd.

"Battlefield: Bad Company 2brings the award-winning Battlefield gameplay to the forefront of PC gaming with best-in-class vehicular combat and unexpected "Battlefield moments." New vehicles like the ATV and a transport helicopter allow for all-new multiplayer tactics on the Battlefield. With the Frostbite-enabled Destruction 2.0 system, you can take down entire buildings and create your own fire points by blasting holes through cover. You can also compete in four-player teams in two squad-only game modes, fighting together to unlock exclusive awards and achievements. Battles are set across expansive maps, each with a different tactical focus. The game also sees the return of the B Company squad in a more mature single-player campaign."

Download Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta Client (1.42 GB)
Check out all Battlefield: Bad Company 2 downloads

Tomorrow, Digital Illusions will begin the long awaited PC multiplayer beta test for their first person shooter Battlefield Bad Company 2. So it stands to reason that the developer wants to get all those players ready for its launch. Now the game's blog site has some details on the beta launch which should begin at noon Eastern time on Thursday.

The beta client itself will apparently be available on various mirror and torrent sites along with Steam. The client will also have SecuROM which DICE says is being used only "to make it difficult to hack the Closed Beta client to run the final game". The final game will also use SecuROM for a one-time authentication only; once that happens you can play the single player gae without needing to go online. EA will allow for the full game to be installed on up to 10 PCs. However the full version will also require an EA.com account to play online.

Last fall, Electronic Arts annouced that they were reviving their Medal of Honor shooter series by having their Los Angeles studio handle the single player campaign while the Battlefield team at Digital Illusions will build the game's multiplayer mode. Now word has come out that in addition to two separate dev teams, the new Medal of Honor game will have two separate game engines.

The game's official Twitter web site has posted up word that the single player campaign will be built by EALA using Epic's Unreal Engine 3 (indeed the recent trailer for the game is all Unreal Engine 3 footage). However the multiplayer team at DICE decided to use their own in-house Frostbite Engine (the same one being used for Battlefield Bad Company 2) for their portion of the game. It should be interesting to see how the game's development is handled with this rather unique approach.

Download HD Medal of Honor Teaser Trailer (73 MB)
[Via Blue's News]

There's been a lot of hype surrounding the multiplayer features of Battlefield Bad Company 2, but lets take a moment to appreciate the single player campaign. In order to recover a mysterious weapon of mass destruction, B Company will have to do what it does best - think outside the box and operate with deadly efficiency. Players will have a chance to see if they have what it takes when the game releases on March 2nd.

Download HD Battlefield Bad Company 2 Campaign Trailer (94 MB)
Check out all Battlefield: Bad Company 2 downloads