"Prepare for the gold rush! This summer, the blockbuster action event of the season will not be in theatres. EA DICE, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that Battlefield: Bad Company™ will ship to retail outlets on June 23. Action fans and gamers worldwide will get their chance to join the ‘B’ company on exciting, sometimes irreverent, missions that take them through deserts, cities and mountain terrain to capture the spoils of war. Players will experience the tactical, destructive power in the deep single player campaign or go online for intense multiplayer action that only the Battlefield team can deliver.

For a limited time only, gamers will be able to purchase the Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company. The Gold Edition pack features exclusive content with behind-the-scenes action and strategy videos giving Battlefield: Bad Company players tricks and tips on how to own the battlefield. The Gold Edition also gives gamers early access to five unique weapons that players can take into battle. These weapons can also be unlocked after the launch of the game by ranking up to the highest level in multiplayer mode.

“Players can forget about using walls as cover as we’ve fundamentally changed the way to play shooters offline and online through the use of tactical destruction,” says Karl-Magnus Troedsson, Senior Producer for Battlefield: Bad Company. “Players will get the chance to reap the spoils of war this summer as they annihilate the enemy and search for gold in the dark, character-driven, single player storyline while returning Battlefield fans will love the intense and vehicle-heavy multiplayer.”"

"So, why did we go and make a Character Customisation system? Well, as I was saying back in the blog ‘Character Classes, Cameras and Computers‘; we wanted you to own your own Hero. What better way to do that, than to make the game so you can decide exactly how your Hero looks?

Your decisions about how your Hero will appear start with the Create a Hero section on the website. You select a faction, a class, set some default characteristics (like skin tone, hair colour, hair style and facial hair) and finally, name your Hero. Once that’s complete you can start the game and get into deciding on your Hero’s weapons, abilities and clothing."

"At the end of March, EA invited a select number of gamers to participate in an online multiplayer beta for the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield: Bad Company. Shortly after the Xbox Live server opened, gamers discovered that while many weapons would be available out of the box, 10 firearms appeared to be available only as downloadable content or through the purchase of the collector's edition of the game.

A firestorm of controversy followed, with fan site Sarcastic Gamer organizing Battlefield fans into a boycott of sorts due to the downloadable content for the title. EA moved quickly to diffuse some of the complaints, saying that five of the 10 locked weapons will actually be given away as part of a promotional campaign, and as such were incorrectly flagged. However, the publisher also noted that the remaining five would indeed be premium content, available only in the Gold Edition of the game or as downloadable extras purchasable over Xbox Live. "

"We are launching with two maps, but we already have one other in development - we are playtesting it as we speak and it’s great. Should be ready in the months, if not weeks, directly after launch. We have a full-time level designer assigned in the game’s post-launch team to keep making new maps (if you want more that is, we can make vehicles or game modes if you want instead) and we will be polling the community to find out what type of content you want to play."

"We go through the all-new Gold Rush multiplayer game mode and explain why defenders seem to be winning more often as the attackers.

The new objective based multiplayer mode for Battlefield: Bad Company, Gold Rush, sees defenders fighting/holding off attacking forces in a fight over gold stashed in crates scattered across a variety of locations. From mountainous tundra to scorched deserts, pit your wits against wily opponents and line your pockets using a full array of state of the art vehicles and weapons."

"Tipsters are telling us that the Battlefield: Bad Company beta has not only leaked to online download sites but that it may also be playable via a burnt DVD-R, much like the demo for Guitar Hero III. The ability to clone the download of the beta and release it to other consoles also reminds us of the Call of Duty 4 beta glitch which allowed gamers to use the account recovery feature to circumvent the barriers in place of people who hadn't been selected to participate in the closed test."

"As soon as you know you are going ahead with launching a game, you start thinking about it’s name. Battlefield Heroes wasn’t always called that — DICE gives products codenames so that information can’t be leaked about them before announcement. James Salt codenamed Battlefield 2142 ‘Stella’ (after the sci-fi setting and the Belgian beer), Battlefield Bad Company was codenamed ‘Next’ (as in ‘Next-Gen’) and Battlefield Heroes was simply called ‘West’ for the majority of the project (as in a South Korean-style Play 4 Free game brought to the ‘western’ world)."

"Overall, Battlefield: Bad Company has a lot of potential. From my brief time with it I did enjoy it for what it was, and the game wasn’t short on fun. I’m sure the game will have a fare share of fans, just for the vehicle and destructible aspects alone. I just hope some of the complaints that I made were just a result of the game being in beta and don’t make it to the final version. Fingers crossed that EA and DICE are listening closely. But, we’ll have to wait until June to find out!"

""Battlefield: Bad Company will release five unique weapons free of charge through five different promotional programs prior to launch," the rep noted. "EA will again make these weapons available to players free of charge after launch, in case anyone missed the pre-launch promotions."

The other five weapons will be made available to players who purchase the Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company, which will be released alongside the standard retail release this June. "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," the representative continued."

"We're really excited about this beta since it gives us a chance to let a wider audience play our new multiplayer game [mode], Gold Rush," said senior producer Karl-Magnus. "The feedback coming back from something like this is crucial for us as developers and will help us with the final changes and polish in the game."

"Listen up soldiers... This is your chance to land yourself in the Battlefield: Bad Company multiplayer beta test. This beta will give players a chance to revisit the glory of the battlefield and enter an exciting mission to recapture the rewards of war and the agony of defeat. You will be able to battle through two new diverse maps, access new infantry kits and vehicles as well as experience the new tactical destruction in Battlefield: Bad Company that is aiming to change how first-person shooters are played.

In this beta you will be confronted with the new multiplayer mode for Battlefield: Bad Company, dubbed Gold Rush. This new mode will let defenders fighting and holding off attacking forces in a fight over gold stashed in crates strewn across many locations. This will add a new level of excitement and danger to any battlefield vet. From mountainous tundra to scorched deserts, pit your wits against wily opponents and line your pockets using a full array of state of the art vehicles and weapons. Level up and unlock the weapons and gadgets that suit your playing style, and earn awards and tags that will keep you coming back for more.

Attackers need to destroy gold crates, either by shooting the crates or by placing a special charge on them if they manage to get in close. For each set of crates they take, they'll get a boost to their reinforcements pool. If they destroy all the crates, they win the round and are set up for life!

Defenders need to kill off all the attackers' reinforcement reserves before they manage to open all the crates. Each set of crates destroyed will open up a new area on the map to fight over. To win the fight, they need to eliminate all the attackers, but then they'll begin a luxurious early retirement...until the next round begins!

In this Beta, players will be able to fight on two of the maps that will be available at launch. The first map, Ascension, puts you in the middle of intense close quarter fighting through the back yards of a mountaintop village, culminating in the twisting dark corridors of an imposing monastery. The second map, Oasis, pits you in the full vehicle arsenal unleashed in a flooded desert valley. Tanks, choppers and boats will be your main weapons as you work your way through battered city streets.

Click the shinny graphic below to submit your chance in being drafted for this highly anticipated beta!"

"Exactly 1 year, 1 month, and 1 day after the last release of BattleDirector, we've got a new version ready for all you Battlefield filmmakers! Most importantly, it fixes the rampant crashes when viewing & rendering Battlerecorder files with the 1.4 patch for Battlefield 2142. Also, it adds support for the custom shaders used by the Project Reality and Forgotten Hope 2 modifications. There is also a small change to the filenames of camera track files for easier organization, so you may need to rename some existing camera tracks after updating.

The full changelog:
- Fixed crashes occurring with BF2142 version 1.40
- Added support for Project Reality and Forgotten Hope 2 custom launchers
- Added automatic detection of BF2 & BF2142 install locations
- Fixed a crash that occurred when Global.con was set to read-only
- BattleDirector now asks for administrator rights in Windows Vista
- Removed "Save Settings" button, settings are now saved automatically
- Camera track naming convention is now bfrname-trackname to match the default tracks Battlefield generates, you need to manually rename your existing camera tracks to this format if you want to use them with BattleDirector 1.7 "

"There's a lot of other stuff in there that will appeal to the FaceSpace generation: respawns occur every five seconds; there's no mini-map or friendly fire to worry about; holding "Q" brings up a 3x3 grid of emote shortcuts, so you can give someone a thumbs-up; weapons and abilities are lined up at the bottom of the screen so they sit above the number keys on your keyboard, making it obvious you need to hit "8" to heal; behind-the-scenes match-making offers "a fairly extensive way of matching up your skills and experience" with other players'; you can record and distribute videos of your bouts; and the basic game mode is simpler than ever."

"Total PC Gaming features an exclusive preview of Battlefield Heroes
Plus the chance to win one of 100 exclusive closed-beta keys

Fans of the Battlefield series can get an exclusive look at the latest incarnation, Battlefield Heroes, in the current issue of newly launched UK gaming magazine Total PC Gaming.

On sale February 21, issue four of Total PC Gaming features never-seen-before screenshots, game info and in-depth interviews with Battlefield’s developer DICE. The preview reveals the reasons behind the switch from first to third-person, plus full details of the innovative, free-to-play model."

"In this second volume of our Battlefield Heroes Comic, Yooglee annoys Einfachsten with is pet cricket and Roger tries to calm him down with reason. Check out the latests BFZeroes comic!

"

"Five enemies all in the same war have been captured and locked away in a World War II prison camp not knowing if they will ever get out. Forced to live life in close quarters, these five men conquer their differences and slowly begin to make friends. Their goal is to eventually escape and return to the different parts of the world where they came from."

"It is always our commitment to work to prevent cheating and stat padding as part of an ongoing process. After the problems brought to light recently we have been working with the Ranked Server Providers to bring the stat padding to an end as well as dealing with those who have been using the exploit to boost their scores. Since the problem was detected, we have reset over 700 accounts of players found to be padding and will continue to do so whilst we secure the ranking system from future attacks. Please report any servers or players you suspect of cheating and/or padding to EA Customer Support through the website at http://support.ea.com. "

"General Information:
- Community management team a lot larger than any other Battlefield game
- Game has "telemetry technology" that gives feedback on items people buy and how characters are setup
- Entire game is 3rd person so you can see the customizations your player has. Also allows you to see your player blown into the air. If 1st person is really wanted it can be changed over time.
- Assorted taunts and emotes
- Any abilities you have show at the bottom of the HUD
- No command rose like BF2
- Holding Q opens 6 panels each allows you to select a jeer, wisecrack, or suggestive body language. These can be bought with points just like abilities
- Players have a lot more health
- Weapons less lethal
- Spawn time shorter (5 seconds)
- Firefights last longer giving time to use unlockable abilities
- Vehicles spawn when you arrive at the point (no waiting)
- "Intelligent Spawn System" spawns players close to the action
- Both lone wolf and competitive clan play encouraged
- Cannot switch kits mid match
- Choose abilities before you start a game
- Idea to do a cartoon Battlefield dates back to Battlefield 1942, Lars Gustavsson envisioned something like BFH

Point System:
- Called "metagame" Just a temporary name not official
- You character picks what faction to play for and you fight for territorial position, all your points you gain go into your faction / army's pool. At the end of the week amount of area conquered by each faction is added up and each is awarded "money" depending on the percentage of conquered land.

Customizable Features: (in-game money will get you this)
- Heads, faces, necks, chests, hands, waists, legs, feet

Items:
- Eye patches, badges, hats, boots, helmets, goggles, belts, gloves

Classes:
Solider
- Best at determining an enemy's location
- Has a See-the-Enemy power - outlines nearby opponents even through walls. Lasts 10 seconds, 30 seconds to recharge

Solider Abilities
- Incendiary rounds
- Health boost - Heals all allies around you
- Recharge over time


Commando
- Specializes in stealth, stab kills, sniping
- Few hit points
- Fast moving
- Slips in and out of cover
- Partial cloak
- Weapons do high damage, but not a lot of ammo


Gunner
- Well armed and armored
- Slow moving
- Uses rapid-fire machine guns, rocket launchers, possibly flamethrowers in the future
- Can throw grenades back

General Abilities Information
- Other abilities can combat each other
- Bomb Bouquet (non official name) - throw 15 grenades at a time, basically handheld artillery strike
- Possibility of 15 abilities at launch and 50 in the first year"

"January 23, 2008 - Looks like fans will have to wait a little bit longer to be part of Battlefield: Bad Company. The upcoming title, which focuses on a squad of renegade soldiers who are seeking gold and revenge behind enemy lines was originally scheduled to be released in March. However, according to a recent email sent out by Electronic Arts, the DICE FPS has slipped from its early 2008 ship date to a general 2008 release date. We contacted Electronic Arts but were not able to receive a comment as to why the game had been pushed back. We'll make sure to keep everyone informed as soon as we find out when the game has a firm date. "

"If you were looking forward to trying out DiCE's Battlefield Heroes, the free-to-play game announced by EA earlier this week, think again. EA Australia has informed us that the game will not be available to audiences outside of the US and Europe."

"EA was unable to explain why the game won't be released outside the aforementioned territories, but the words "for the moment" were tossed around, so we may see the title eventually. Just not right now."

"Unique Cartoon Shooter Introduces a New Way to Play Battlefield

Munich, Germany, January 21, 2008 – At the Digital, Life, Design Conference (DLD) in Munich, Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) today unveiled Battlefield Heroes™, an all-new Play 4 Free cartoon-style shooter that will bring classic Battlefield gameplay to an all new mass audience. Available for download at www.battlefield-heroes.com this summer, Battlefield Heroes is EA's first title that is offered completely for free, and features a built-in matchmaking system to ensure that players of equal skill are paired together for fair play. Developed by DICE in Stockholm, Battlefield Heroes is leading EA's new web-focused free to download, free to play business model which generates revenue through advertising and micro-transactions. With zero barriers to entry, now anyone can be a hero on the battlefield!

“Online gaming garners a massive audience,” said Gerhard Florin, EVP Publishing Americas-Europe at EA. “People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play.”

Battlefield Heroes is a brand new game from the team behind Battlefield 1942™ and Battlefield 2™. It's fun cartoon-style graphics and gameplay caters to players of all skill levels. It is easy to pick up and play but with robust character customization and a deep online meta-game, gamers can spend hours building up their characters and conquering the world.

“We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics and gameplay,” added Ben Cousins, Senior Producer at EA DICE. “There's something here for all types of players -- be it our core Battlefield fans or casual gamers. With the new online model, we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games.”

Battlefield Heroes will be released for the PC as a free download in summer 2008. This product is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB. For more information on EA DICE, please visit www.dice.se or www.ea.com."