EA publicist Jino Talens says it better in this email:

Squad Deathmatch is a brand new mode to BFBC2, so we're still testing and building it out to the way we want it in the final game. The PS3 beta out now is a general term used in the industry when a game is released early to the public for testing purposes, but the game overall is still in early Alpha.

Glad we got that cleared up. Now I can get back to lusting after tanks.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2's multiplayer has a tank gimmick, as you may have guessed. I'm not completely sure if it's in every single mode of multiplayer, but it was the centerpiece of EA's game demo. The tank is supposed to change the nature of multiplayer by providing a mobile control point that acts as a magnet for all the action in the game. It also acts as a magnet for tank driving fanatics like myself.

What Is It?
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a first person war themed shooter set in various locations in and around Russia North and South America*. The multiplayer uses both custom versions of campaign mode maps and original maps — all of which are tailor made for the tank gameplay. We were told that up to four squads could face off at once in any map, for a total of 16 players in a multiplayer match. Matches are ranked and there's a hardcore mode that removes the kill cam, applies friendly fire, ditches your targeting reticule so that you actually have to use the gun's scope and abandons a lot of heads-up display elements. Additionally, there's an unrevealed squad-based multiplayer mode EA plans to announce later.

What We Saw
Due to some technical difficulties and my unfortunate need to leave a little early, I was only able to play three matches of the one vehicle gameplay with only two to three squads on the same jungle map (called Laguna Presa). I tried out all four classes (engineer, assault, scout and medic), but I wound up sticking to engineer because of my tank obsession as the engineer is the only class that can repair tanks and that comes with rocket-propelled grenades for the blowing up of tanks. That and I wasn't able to successfully attack anybody with my defibrillator while playing as the medic. Bummer.

How Far Along Is It?
Pre-alpha. The game isn't due out 'til March 2, 2010 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

What Needs Improvement?
Laguna Presa Map: There were two things about the map that didn't work for me. One, there were at least two places where you could drive the tank up onto a hill and rain down tank fire upon approaching enemies. It seemed a little unfair — but that may have been because we didn't have four squads in play for the necessary chaos to balance that out. Second, there were no physical boundaries on the map. So you could just be running toward what looks like likely cover and be told by the game that you're leaving the battlefield and you've got 10 seconds to turn around. It was pretty jarring.

What Should Stay The Same?
The TANK! It's nice to have a mobile magnet like the tank — it means spawn points suddenly become less important for would-be campers. It also gives players a way to switch up the gameplay if they're able to get to the tank before the other squad does. I was only able to get into the tank once, but for the time I had it, I loved it. It was easy to drive, it automatically fired at anybody within range and if I was really worried, I could change positions within the tank and fire out the sides while somebody else drove. Except I never let anybody else drive because I kept running them over. Then I got exploded and spent the next two matches trying to blow up the tank which kept getting occupied by other squads.

Final Thoughts
If not for the tank, I probably would have been very bored because not much else about the multiplayer stood out as special or different. It's also too hard to pull off the defibrillator attack — in theory, I should've been able to put that puppy in a puddle to shock an enemy within range. Sure, I might've died too, but at least I would've taken him out with me.

ETA: Here's the official reply from EA publicist, Jino Talens:

Squad Deathmatch is a brand new mode to BFBC2, so we're still testing and building it out to the way we want it in the final game. The PS3 beta out now is a general term used in the industry when a game is released early to the public for testing purposes, but the game overall is still in early Alpha.

*Additionally, Talens says, "The game is not set in various locations in and around Russia. It's in North and South America. We did say you are fighting against the Russians though."

Total kills recorded during the beta stand at 45.42 million, according to the Battlefield Blog. Other fun facts include 1.01 million marksman headshots, 380,000 houses destroyed, and more than 12,000 killed by defibrillator.

This isn't the work of 10 genocidal madmen killing 4.5 million each, of course. More than 300,000 are participating in the beta, which closes Dec. 21. Battlefield Bad Company 2 is due for a March 2010 release.

Here's the rest of the stats, according to Electronic Arts:

• 3.43M Vehicles Destroyed
• 1.01M Marksman Headshots
• Total number of points awarded: 10,100,094,360
• Total number of Revives: 2.52M
• Total Repair Tool kills: 15.58K
• Total Knife Kills: 1.69M
• Total C4 Kills: 730.81K

PS3 Beta Update! [Battlefield Blog]

[image via]

Both games run on the same engine, so both share the same specs. And those are:

Minimum Specs
Processor: Core 2 Duo @ 2.0GHz
Main memory: 2GB
Graphics card: GeForce 7800 GT / ATI X1900
Graphics memory: 256MB
OS: Windows XP
Free HDD space: 15GB for Digital Version, 10GB for Disc Version (BFBC2), 10GB for Digital Version, 4GB for Disc Version (BF1943)

Recommended Specs
Processor: Quadcore
Main memory: 2GB
Graphics card: GeForce GTX 260
Graphics memory: 512MB
OS: Windows Vista or Windows 7
Free HDD space: 15GB for Digital Version, 10GB for Disc Version (BFBC2), 10GB for Digital Version, 4GB for Disc Version (BF1943)

Please, now, bore us all with tales of whether or not this game will run on your PC, and how you say it'll make you go out and upgrade, but really won't.

"I'm not saying it's going to happen tomorrow, but in the way that Activision sort of alternates sequels of Modern Warfare and Call of Duty and owns the leadership position in FPS [first-person-shooter], between Medal of Honor and Battlefield, I want it back," EA boss John Riccitiello said in a morning interview in New York. "And we're going to get there with innovation and quality."

EA's Medal Of Honor used to be the leading brand in military first-person shooters. Activision's rival brand, Call of Duty surpassed it and has now spawned a Modern Warfare 2 that sold nearly five million copies in its first day of release.

It's no wonder Riccitiello wants to turn that around. He thinks his franchises can get there.

The EA CEO didn't detail the strategy for the Medal of Honor series, which moves to modern Afghanistan after a legacy of World War II releases, but he did enthuse about the prospects of Battlefield Bad Company 2, the March console and PC shooter also coming from EA and its development studio DICE. (Read Kotaku's recent preview of the game.)

"The first [Bad Company] did very well in its first outing," he said. "The next one is a heck of a lot better and it looks like a worthy competitor to Modern Warfare."

Not only can the game compete, said Riccitiello, but he expects it to do one better than publisher Activision and development studio Infinity Ward's latest Modern Warfare game.

"We think we've got an advantage over Modern Warfare 2 with our multiplayer," he said. "The guys at DICE do that really, really well."

What kind of advantage could EA have, given MW2's legacy of fans?

"Frankly, once you get past, sort of, four people on a map, I think our gameplay is better," Riccitiello answered. "That is a legacy of DICE and where they came from. The original Battlefield PC was a 16-on-16 product and they've optimized. The other thing is, I think things like vehicles and destructible environments are a fresh innovation." [Note from Kotaku: The original Battlefield on PC actually supported up to 64-player matches.]

Riccitiello continued: "I think the Infinity Ward guys are great. It's not about them being bad for us having to be great too. I'm a fan of a lot of our competitors' products. But if you've played Modern Warfare, and you've played the first one — and you've played the last Call of Duty — it's sort of starting to feel like they're making the same game again. And I personally think being able to control your vehicle as opposed to being able to ride on one [is good]. And I think there's something a little bit cool about taking a building out and getting the six guys in it. Personally, I get sort of a silly amount of pleasure out of it."

EA once had the war-game dominance. Whether they can wrest it back — in terms of quality, if not immediately in sales — will be seen next year.

"With the huge success of the PS3 Beta we decided to drastically increase the PC Beta's capacity to insure as many people as possible could participate" writes DICE's Gordon Van Dyke. "Unfortunately this meant we had to delay the Beta to very early next year giving us more planning time to make it happen and implement more optimizations."

So if you were one of those PC owners in a panic over rumours the beta had been cancelled...relax, will you?

The PC Beta Sky is Falling.... Not! [EA]

You can almost hear the two players hiding behind the opposite building snickering as they watch the enemy team flood the building they'd just filled with explodey goodness. I can certainly relate, although unfortunately I relate to the unfortunate people on the other team.

But at least one other military video game has their sights set on the popular first-person shooter, getting a bit of added traction thanks to some controversial design decisions made in the Activision blockbuster.

For the uninitiated, Electronic Arts' upcoming first-person shooter Battlefield: Bad Company 2 may sound an awful lot like Modern Warfare 2.

Both military games are set in modern times and pride themselves on realistic settings, weapons and combat. But where Modern Warfare 2's single player story is a narrative that leads players through the action along a scripted plot, Bad Company 2's developers say their game is a more open-ended experience.

"Battlefield: Bad Company 2 delivers an all-out war experience unlike any other FPS with its wide, open sand box environments, tactical destruction and of course the full range of player controlled vehicles," said Karl Magnus Troedsson, the executive producer of the Battlefield Franchise at Digital Illusions CE. "The game stands on more legs than this but these are the key areas which elevate Battlefield: Bad Company 2 above the rest of the pack."

While Troedsson calls Modern Warfare 2 and Bad Company 2 direct competitors, he knew better than to launch EA's up-and-coming shooter at the same time as titan Modern Warfare 2. Instead, Bad Company 2 will be hitting the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 about four months later, in early March.

"These games are direct competitors while still being different games with different experiences," Troedsson said. "The gamers who like one will probably like the other, at least if they could get into the groove of the different second-to-second experiences.

"Obviously I wouldn't want to launch at the same time (as Modern Warfare 2). However, we've seen a huge uptake in interest for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 even during the height of their marketing campaign. And we're just getting started."

Much of that increased interest in Bad Company 2 has been driven by gamers unhappy with some of the decisions made in the development of Modern Warfare 2. Most contentious among gamers was developer Infinity Ward's decision to limit the control PC gamers have over how they play Modern Warfare 2 online.

Shortly after news broke that Modern Warfare 2 wouldn't support the ability for gamers to run their own online games on dedicated servers, Digital Illusions CE announced that Bad Company 2 would have dedicated servers.

It may sound like a small issue, but the Infinity Ward's decision spurred an online petition that currently has more than 210,000 signatures. It also created a movement among some gamers to shift their game purchase from Modern Warfare 2 to Bad Company 2.

One gamer mailed a check to Digital Illusions CE, telling them to use the money he had earmarked for Modern Warfare 2 to improve Bad Company 2.

Troedsson wouldn't say how big a factor dedicated servers will be for gamers come March.

"I can't answer since it's up to the audience," he said. "What I can say is that we've always considered this a key factor to deliver the best online experience available and anyone caring equally much about this will probably get more out of the multiplayer experience in Battlefield: Bad Company 2."

And he notes that while there are plenty of vocal gamers currently pledging support for Bad Company 2 at the cost of Modern Warfare 2, it's still a small percentage of the entire audience.

"So far we've gotten a lot of positive feedback based upon what we've announced regarding Battlefield: Bad Company 2," he said. "Some of it has come in the form of proper fan dedication from new as well as old diehard fans. We greatly appreciate this. These are the people that are at the core of our audience, the players we often listen to and who can help shape our games into something even better.

"However, comparing to the vast number of people that will buy the game it's still a small percentage of people that actually get in direct contact with us. As for the fan mail, what we've gotten recently I can only hope is a sign that we're doing something right."

And there's always a chance that a fan base so fickle, so easily swayed by design decisions, could decide that something about Bad Company 2 isn't a good fit either.

Troedsson realizes the risk of winning over such die hard fans, gamers who could be intolerant of change.

"We can't fulfill everyone's wishes but we always build games that we truly believe our players will love to play," he said.

With Bad Company 2 that means new game modes, new weapons and a much higher level of polish. Improvements that Troedsson believes makes Bad Company 2 the better of the two games.

"Well, obviously I believe Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is better, especially looking at how our game incorporates an all-out war experience with vehicles, destruction, etc," he said. "But not without a large amount of respect for our competitor, they have a great product with a huge fan base. Don't expect us to be intimidated by sheer volume of sales though."

In the first 24 hours alone, Modern Warfare 2 pulled in an estimated $310 million in North America and the United Kingdom alone, selling 4.7 million copies.

"No matter what market or what products I'm a strong believer that there's always space for competition," Troedsson said. "It helps keep people on their toes and it helps drive development."

Well Played is a weekly news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Unless of course you are a game journalist like our own Stephen Totilo, who discussed his hands-on time with the game earlier today. Judging by this footage, I find myself a little envious. It looks endlessly entertaining.

The PS3 multiplayer beta kicks off on the 19th. After that, PC players get an open beta in December, and a full multiplayer demo drops everywhere next year. If this is your only taste, savor it!

A few weeks ago in New York I had the opportunity to try a map of Bad Company 2, the PC and console military first-person shooter from EA's DICE studio. The sandy Chilean map, called Arica Harbour, is the one that will be available in the game's PlayStation 3-exclusive multiplayer beta later this month.

A preview event gives a casual first-person shooter player like myself little opportunity to assess the quality of the map. I fought in the almost desert-like environment in buildings, on a bridge, all under a seemingly hot sun. I drove tanks, stormed across the bridge and knocked down walls. But I can't say whether it's balanced or whether it will prove as addictive to play as the best arenas in the genre.

I can say, however, that the feature list for this game and the sensory impression it leaves make clear what this game's potential is. EA's Medal of Honor series might be missing in action, but with Bad Company they've got a game that can gun for Activision's Call of Duty.

Screenshots and even the animated stills from yesterday's beta announcement already show how good the game looks. Bad Company 2's engine, an enhanced version of its predecessort's, supports the chipping and collapsing destructibility of any building in the game. Rockets punch through walls, as they did in the first Bad Company. But now tanks can crumple support beams to level even the interior frame. And, more subtly, an engineer with a drill can poke a hole in a wall and then shoot through it.

Multiplayer combat in the game is class-based. Each class, be it soldier, medic, engineer or recon can be outfitted with several items and attributes. Before entering combat you might switch your soldier's rifle but also alter his radar to add motion detection. Perks are unlockable, secured as the player earns experience points in each battle and levels up. Upgrades are scheduled and unlocked per class. As we reported last month, the limited edition of the game will provide gamers with six upgrades, including some that enhance the arms and armor of vehicles, immediately.

Players can also earn pins during battle, which serve as more granular Achievements or Trophies, rewarding, say, good shotgun performance. You gain these for bragging rights.

The essence of Battlefield is the openness of its combat zone. Players can fight on foot, in helicopters or on tanks. They can command any vehicle or post in the battlefield, opening the scene to a variety of tactical encounters. The map I played was set for a Rush challenge, which involved one team trying to secure several locations by reaching them and holding off any attackers. I had my moments, gunning some of the rival team down on the sidelines. But I'm the kind of guy who rolls in on a tank and then gets blasted by the RPG trooper hiding around the corner who somehow knew I'd be there.

Bad Company's battlefield is an impressive site and one theoretically open to a wide variety of multiplayer strategy. The brand may not have the momentum of a Call of Duty yet, but the intent to compete is there. call of Duty is still the king. This one's the hungry hopeful.

Bad Company 2 will be released in early March 2010.

Earlier this week EA DICE shot down rumors of a November 19th launch date for the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer beta for PS3 owners, but now it looks like they just wanted to announce it themselves instead of having GameStop doing it. To participate in the North American multiplayer beta test, PS3 owners need only reserve a copy of the game at the GameStop website or retail locations, at which point they will receive a key allowing them to join in the fun on the 19th.

The multiplayer beta takes place on the Arica Harbour map, pitting Americans against Russians in ground and vehicular combat for up to 24 players. You can check out the official beta announcement trailer below.

"With Battlefield: Bad Company 2 we're looking to raise the bar across all aspects of our multiplayer experience, setting a new standard for online play," says Patrick Bach, Senior Producer on Battlefield: Bad Company 2. "From the graphics to the vehicles, weapons and destruction, we are delivering the best online multiplayer game next year, and we want gamers to experience it themselves by playing the beta and demo."

What about the Xbox 360 and PC gamers out there? Don't fret too much. The PC open beta for the game kicks off next month, followed by a multiplayer demo for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 early next year.

Image courtesy of the PlayStation Blog.

The scramble started when GameStop published a 24-hour promising deal promising access to the PS3 beta beginning Nov. 19. EA DICE's Twitter shot down the story and the deal was later unpublished.

Then, to Blend Games, EA said: "As for the beta, we'll have more details later this week." So, there you go. While those beta invite emails were bogus, it looks like the beta isn't, and might be coming sooner than we thought.

EA Confirms Bad Company 2 Beta, Details Coming This Week [Blend Games via Blue's News]

Says the Battlefield producer Gordon Van Dyke on the Battlefield Blog:

As of today there is no official Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta and I wanted to warn people out there of fake/hoax sites perpetrating to have a sign-up for one. We do not have any form of beta sign-ups, nor would we ever endorse such a practice or shady url to do so. Please do not let these e-tards take advantage of your enthusiasm for BFBC2 in their scam and only give them the middle-finger if anything. So, unless you read it here or from our official Twitter page it isn't real.

Pretty sure EA's seen copies and sent them to their corporate security team, but If anyone's gotten one of these bogus sign-up come-ons, let me know. I'm curious what information it wanted, whether it was Steam ID and password or what.

Fake BFBC2 Beta Signup Sites! [Battlefield Blog via Blue's News]

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition isn't a collector's edition, weighed down with useless trinkets for an inflated price, but rather a limited version of the regular game packaged with some extras to make getting the game on day one a little more worthwhile. The six special customizations included in the LE are available to all players once they unlock them, but LE buyers will get them on day one, giving them a brief advantage in multiplayer. Think of it as a head start.

The four vehicle unlocks include improved armor, additional weapon mounts, a motion sensor that detects nearby enemies, and a tracer dart pistol that marks enemy vehicles to be tracked by rockets, even when outside of your line of sight.

Fans of Battlefield 1943 will feel right-at-home with the M1A1 submachine gun and the M1911 pistol, powerful weapons from more than 66 years in the past.

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition will be available on March 2nd in North America, sold at participating retailers while supplies last.

I'm sure there are clans and such that play with the level of communication displayed in this trailer for Battlefield Bad Company 2, due out early next year for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but I've never had the time nor the patience to play with a group long enough to achieve it. If that were me playing, I would have been off in a completely different direction, humming the Mission Impossible theme song until an enemy I never actually saw shot me in the head. Perhaps if they shot me in the head just so, I would develop mental powers, enabling me to play with the big kids.

Publisher EA announced that the DICE's next military shooter will ship for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 2 in the U.S. and March 5 in Europe. the news, tied to EA's ongoing Gamescom press conference, was announced today.

EA's press release notes that the game will include 15 vehicles in its single-player campaign and online modes, along with 46 customizable weapons and an enhanced environmental destruction system.

Check back for more EA Gamescom coverage all week.