Battlefield: Bad Company News, Previews, Reviews and Screenshots

[Raider1one]

EA's Battlefield series may have appeared on console systems in the past, but the latest title--Battlefield: Bad Company--is unique in a few regards. To begin with, it's the first game in the series to be built from the ground up specifically for consoles, in this case the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Secondly, while large-scale online multiplayer has been the series' trademark, plenty of attention seems to have been paid to Bad Company's single-player campaign and story, with a strong Three Kings-like mercenary feel introduced for the game's four main characters. That's not to say multiplayer has been left by the wayside, of course--this is still a Battlefield game after all. We got to see more of the single-player campaign at an EA event held in the midst of GDC last week, as well as take to the field ourselves with some multiplayer action.


Even though you'll always be in a squad, you will control only one character in Bad Company.


The last time GameSpot previewed Bad Company, we spoke a lot about the game's other new addition to the series: the suddenly-fashionable-again concept of destructible environments. Bad Company's developer--DICE Stockholm--says that up to 90 percent of Bad Company's world can be destroyed. While building foundations will remain, you can destroy walls, ceilings, fences, barricades, and most other obstacles should you have the firepower on hand. This game mechanic was demonstrated to good effect during a DICE rep's demo of the single-player component of the game.
The demo mission--the second mission in the game--started off with the four members of B Company being ordered to take out all enemy resistance in a tiny, rustic-looking village. At one point, enemy soldiers were seen running into small houses to take cover, which proved to be a not very effective tactic, because the demo tester simply used his rifle grenade to blow straight through walls and take out anyone hiding behind them. The rifle grenade also proved to be useful, not only in dispatching hidden enemies, but also in forging new paths--namely straight through buildings rather than running around them.
After taking out all opposing soldiers in the village, B Company was ordered to proceed further into the map and take out an enemy weapon depot and a fuel dump. As this is a Battlefield game, DICE has promised large maps in Bad Company similar in size to those in previous games, and this demo level seemed to be no exception. To get to the next objective, B Company had to get into small speedboats and cruise down a river, where there was plenty of opposition waiting to be fragged. And when we say plenty, we mean it--the demo tester was put under a significant amount of fire and had to continually rely on health packs to stay alive (in this game, health packs take the form of what seems to be adrenalin boosts, which, in a wicked piece of character animation, are administered via a syringe stabbed straight to the heart). DICE reps tell us that the game's AI will be set at a quite high difficulty level when the game ships, which in part is aimed at replicating the mayhem of a multiplayer battle. To further enhance that feel, players in the single-player game will respawn after dying instead of having to restart the level at certain checkpoints.
During the brief single-player demo, it was clear that the sense of humour apparent from Bad Company's first trailer was still a key feature in the game. While final story details haven't been revealed, we do know that you will spend your time as Marlow, one of four soldiers in B Company who at some point during the game become disillusioned with war the way the US Army fights it and decide to strike out on a different path as gold-seeking mercenaries. Marlow's squad is made up of Sarge (your typical gruff military commander), Haggard (the demolitions guy), and Sweetwater (the machine gunner). Each will play a key part in propelling the story, although they won't be directly playable or controllable (think Delta Squad in Gears of War).
Thematically, the acquisition of gold looks like it'll be a key element in the game, with gold caches hidden in all of the single-player levels for you to uncover. Gold also plays a strong part in multiplayer. The focus in Bad Company's main multiplayer mode--titled Gold Rush--is on keeping control of large gold crates. Gold Rush pits two teams against each other in a checkpoint-style mode with a twist. The defending team has to protect a pair of large gold crates, while the attacking team needs to achieve the exact opposite. Each time both crates are destroyed, more of the map becomes available, with two new crates appearing and needing to be defended. Destroy those, and even more of the map opens up, and so on. You have two spawn points to choose from at all times--either back at your home base (which is where most of the game's vehicles will be stored) or right in the middle of a firefight with the rest of your squad. For the attacking team, destroying gold crates will open up more of the map and will also add more "reinforcements," which are essentially how many times attackers can respawn. Defenders have an easier time with this, as their team receives infinite respawns.
Of course, defenders don't get it all their way, because Bad Company's destructible environments force you to change the way you approach what is essentially a capture-the-checkpoint game. We played Gold Rush on one map during EA's GDC event in seven-versus-seven matches (all on Xbox 360s--the final game will support 24 players for both the 360 and PS3). The map--called Ascension--was set in a high mountain village with plenty of different levels connected by steep paths. At 1km by 1km wide, it's one of the smaller maps in the game. In most other multiplayer shooters, defending a checkpoint involves finding some good cover from which to pummel any approaching attackers, as the onus is on the attacking team to continue moving. However, being able to blow apart any cover (and any player hiding behind it) changes the strategy of defending in Bad Company, as we saw firsthand during our multiplayer games. Gold crates were usually hidden inside buildings and other structures, but it was folly to stay behind cover in one spot since all that was required of an attacker was one well-placed rifle grenade shot to blow a camping defender to smithereens. Thus, both defenders and attackers are forced to continually keep moving in Bad Company, and we look forward to playing through some fast-paced matches when the game finally ships.


Gold Rush is the game's multiplayer mode.


The rest of Bad Company's multiplayer offering is pretty much standard for online shooters nowadays. You will be able to select from different classes before each match, with each class receiving different loadouts. On the US Army side, we saw pretty typical Battlefield classes: assault, demolition, recon, specialist, and support. Each class also has a series of unlockable weapons, which are earned as you play more of the multiplayer game. And while no vehicles were available to ride on in Ascension, DICE assures us vehicles will indeed play a strong part in the full game.
Battlefield: Bad Company hits the PS3 and Xbox 360 in June this year.
-GameSpot.com

[Raider1one]

from IGN.com
http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/713/713942/imgs_1.html

[Raider1one]

from ign.com

After speaking with spokesperson for EA, IGN has learned a few more details on the intended pricing structure for the weapons in Battlefield: Bad Company. There has been some public outcry that EA is trying to "scam" customers as screens of the BF:BC Beta indicated that some weapons might have to be purchased off of Marketplace, thus giving some an advantage over the rest of the playing field.

Here's the real deal straight from the EA Spokesperson, "Battlefield: Bad Company will release five unique weapons free of charge through five different promotional programs prior to launch. EA will again make these weapons available to players free of charge after launch, in case anyone missed the pre-launch promotions.


Nice gun.


At launch, EA will release a Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company which will feature an additional five new weapons. For players who do not purchase the Gold Edition of the game, they can still buy the five weapons at a small individualized price per item. All weapons are balanced for gameplay. More weapons offer players more choices but do not create an advantage/disadvantage for players who do not opt to buy new items."

So, if you're one of those gamers who needs to have every weapon, game development diary and behind-the-scenes featurette, do yourself a favor and pick up the Gold Edition. We'll have more coverage on the Battlefield: Bad Company Beta and full release in the near future.

[Raider1one]

from ign.com

Battlefield Boycott?

It appears that Electronic Arts is once again making waves in the digital distribution community with a questionable pricing structure for the weapons in Battlefield: Bad Company. We originally reported the story after leaked screenshots showed price tags attached to certain weapons in the Multiplayer Beta, but outraged fans have taken the fight to the virtual streets in the form of a boycott.

Once again, here's the quote from the original story, straight from an EA spokesperson regarding the specifics of the deal:

"Battlefield: Bad Company will release five unique weapons free of charge through five different promotional programs prior to launch. EA will again make these weapons available to players free of charge after launch, in case anyone missed the pre-launch promotions. At launch, EA will release a Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company which will feature an additional five new weapons. For players who do not purchase the Gold Edition of the game, they can still buy the five weapons at a small individualized price per item. All weapons are balanced for gameplay. More weapons offer players more choices but do not create an advantage/disadvantage for players who do not opt to buy new items."

We contacted EA again today to see if their policy or specifics of the pricing had changed with the recent public outcry. While we weren't able to get a direct quote on the subject, we were told that EA Games is listening to the feedback of gamers and has an announcement in store for next week with regard to the pricing for the Gold Edition weapons.

Needless to say we'll have more to report next week. Battlefield: Bad Company is scheduled for release on June 23.

[Raider1one]

from ign.com

Let them have FREE Weapons!!!

When the Multiplayer Beta launched a couple of weeks ago, early adopters of the download were greeted with some daunting news if they went fishing through Bad Company's list of weapons. It appeared as though Electronic Arts -- as they've done in the past with such games as NCAA Football -- would be charging for components of Battlefield: Bad Company that should be free, and would have been last generation. The early peek into the beta showed five weapons that needed to be purchased via Xbox Live Marketplace. The outcry from the public was feverish.

Luckily their shrieks of horror did not fall on deaf ears. No weapons – we repeat: NO WEAPONS – will have a price tag attached to them.

We sat down for a talk with Karl-Magnus Troedsson, Senior Producer at DICE working on Battlefield: Bad Company, to get the final word on exactly what users will find in both the standard edition for Battlefield: Bad Company as well as the Gold Edition, and how all that works into the wonderful world of microtransactions.

---

IGN: Let's say I go out and buy the standard edition for $59.99 and my buddy goes out and buys the Gold Edition for ten dollars more. What am I going to have to do to be able to play the same game with the same content as my buddy?

Karl-Magnus Troedsson: This is what the big confusion is about. I think we clarified what the other five weapons were. You have to do the marketing programs that we're going to announce further ahead. The last five Gold Edition weapons, this is where the confusion is and this is what we want to clarify. We are not charging for any guns that are out there. We read the forums, we read all of the articles and listening to the storm that is out there, we're not going to charge for any of those guns.

IGN: So there's no charge for the Gold Edition guns?

Karl-Magnus: No, there's no charge for any of the guns in the game. All of the guns in the game can be achieved without purchasing them. All guns are available to everyone. However, we want to give some exclusivity to those who buy the Gold Edition. They will get the five Gold Edition weapons from Day One when they put the disc in. People that don't buy the Gold Edition can get the five additional weapons by getting to the final rank in the game. There will be a golden, shiny five-weapon unlock when they hit level 25 in the game.

IGN: Oh okay, that'll likely weather the storm a bit from what people are saying, I would think. Any other microtransaction stuff that you guys are planning later down the line that could rustle feathers? Aside from maps and themes and whatnot.

Karl-Magnus: No, the whole idea of looking at microtransactions in the game was something that, when we started on this game a long time ago, everyone was looking on news ways for revenue. We're not doing that now. It's not about the money. We're not going to make that much money off of it. It's more about what we can offer to the people out there. If people don't, it sounds a bit like people didn't see the value of the Gold Edition, and those who didn't want the Gold Edition were unhappy that they'd be missing out on these weapons and that's what we're trying to remedy. Sure, there might be some themes and gamer pictures, but there won't be anything else like what we're dealing with now.

It's really important for us to get across that we do listen to what people say out there. We don't have time to run around and comment on everything but we do listen to what people say out in the community. It's really important feedback and that's why we make changes like this.

IGN: Was this something that was discussed? Saying, "this is something people might not like this but let's see how they react to it" or was it more of a shock that people reacted the way they did?

Karl-Magnus: It was actually a more complex internal problem then that. In the Beta, when you go into the unlock page, you can see there are five weapons that say "will be purchasable through Xbox Live", but those are actually the five weapons that will be released as marketing programs. That was actually a big bug in the Beta, an internal miscommunication that we had. The Gold Edition weapons, that's where we had a lot of discussion and that's why we listened and made the decision to not charge.

---

So just so every single one of our readers is clear on what they'll need to do to get every single weapon in Battlefield: Bad Company, here's a quick summary. The Gold Edition, priced at $69.99, will have five weapons not seen in the launch disc in the Standard Edition. Those who purchased the Standard Edition can unlock these guns by reaching the level cap of 25. Both Gold Edition and Standard Edition users will have to participate in five separate EA marketing programs (no purchase necessary, we're told it will be easy as signing up for a newsletter), each of which will have one weapon.

Battlefield: Bad Company launches on June 23 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

[Raider1one]

Battlefield: Bad Company Closed Beta Impressions

from gamespot.com


If you can't find a beta key, we've got some details to share.
By Shaun McInnisPosted Apr 9, 2008 8:57 am PT


Like Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 before it, Battlefield: Bad Company is going a step above the usual prerelease demo with a limited-access multiplayer beta. Despite the fact that the full version will arrive on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, this sneak peek is being delivered only to Microsoft's console. If you've found yourself among the unlucky masses unable to secure a download key from the various promotions offering them, we've got some hands-on impressions that should interest Battlefield veterans and series newcomers alike.


It doesn't take long for peaceful villages to become uninhabitable wastelands.


The beta offers two maps: one that displays what the series has been known for, and the other where it's headed. The bigger of the two is known as Oasis. This one is set in a Middle Eastern desert. In terms of layout, it's a long, narrow map flanked by a river on one side and sniper-friendly hills on the other. The long stretches of dusty road make this map friendly to vehicles, which is good because there are plenty to choose. You've got the standard Humvee, a dune buggy, a high-speed boat, light and heavy tanks, and a helicopter. Those who prefer to remain stationary can entertain themselves on the numerous turrets, cannons, and mortar launchers stationed all around. Fans of the series will feel the most at home on this map. Though the number of players has been reduced from 64 to 24, there's still a fair amount of chaos going on at any moment with all the vehicles careening around and exploding near you. You'll also notice that the series' trademark emphasis on teamwork and coordination hasn't gone anywhere, thanks to the number of passenger seats available and the sheer amount of terrain that needs to be crossed from one base to another.
The other map is called Ascension. This one is set in a rural mountain village with an elevation that dramatically rises from one end to the other. Though the village you're fighting in seems to be located in the middle of nowhere, the level is densely populated with numerous two- and three-story houses (plus one massive cathedral). The presence of all of these buildings in such close proximity turns Ascension into a playground for testing Bad Company's most noticeable addition: the destructible environments. Nearly everything besides a building's frame and ceiling can be blown away with explosives. We often found ourselves blowing up walls for no real reason other than to witness the realistic-looking damage. Besides the walls, grenades and mortar blasts leave canyons of varying sizes on the outside ground, and trees and fences are also fair game (even against a simple knife).
All of this destruction isn't just for show; it manages to influence team strategy in a number of ways. This is primarily because the one gameplay mode offered, Gold Rush, is essentially a territories mode in which teams will need to either defend or attack specific points in a building. In Gold Rush, it's the goal of the attackers to destroy two gold crates in the defending team's base. Once those crates are destroyed, another pair of crates pops up farther down the map. If the defending team can keep the attackers from getting the final pair of crates by either holding the attackers back or forcing them to exhaust all of their respawns, the defenders win. Given that these crates are located indoors, the attacking team will usually try to knock down the walls of the buildings to allow for easy entry. The job of the defenders becomes much more difficult when the building with a crate gets aired out for any invader to waltz into. Likewise, the defending team can use altered terrain to their advantage by littering the roads leading to their base with explosive-blown canyons to slow down the attackers' vehicles--think of them as wartime speed bumps.
Although the destructible environments look great, we have noticed one or two minor issues. The most nagging one is that buildings get destroyed rather swiftly. Oftentimes you'll join a match that's been going on for just a few short minutes only to see a crumbled wasteland all around you. We won't deny that blowing out a wall is so much fun partly because of how quickly you can see the fruits of your labor, but considering that this building is gone for the duration of the match--which generally last in the neighborhood of 20 minutes--it sometimes feels as if the fate of the environments are decided much too quickly. However, this issue is minimized by the fact that a new section of the level is unlocked every time the defending team is pushed back.
Once you move beyond crashing helicopters and adding new windows to people's homes, the rest of Bad Company feels pretty standard. You can choose from five classes, which include your usual assault class, sniper class, and one particularly interesting catchall class that's one part medic, one part light machine gunner, and one part auto repairman. These classes, each with varying loadouts and unlockable weaponry at later ranks, provide a good sense of balance to the action found in the beta. In the two maps featured, none of the classes seemed to dominate the others.


There are still plenty of fun vehicles to cruise around in, including heavily armed speedboats.


PC gamers making the transition to the 360 or PS3 will find the controls familiar. The controls feel good, though fans of some of the more popular console shooters will notice a slower pace in the action, thanks to a combination of slightly slower movement and a 10-second respawn timer when you die. In our experience, that inability to really run and gun required us to rely that much more on our teammates, which is very rewarding when you pull together for a win.
All in all, this beta succeeds in making us hopeful for the final version. The sheer size and enormity of the battles might have been scaled back from what veterans of the series have come to expect, but there's still a lot to impress those who've spent their lives playing consoles. Battlefield: Bad Company is scheduled to arrive on June 23.
-GameSpot.com

[jdmgoldcivic]

I like what I've seen so far on youtube of this game

[rocdhog]

All u can say is WOW!!! this game will own all the other shooters before it

[Raider1one]

Cant wait for this one!!! like COD4 but with jets, tanks, jeeps, helis, boats and more you can roll in.... if you preorder you get a bad ass sniper rifle... All walls, trees, buildings destructible... HELL YA!

[Raider1one]

Just found out that they will be releasing the Conquest game mode from BF2 as a free DLC after the release... That is cool as hell cap the flag.