In addition to that change, the official Bad Company site writes that further tweaks are coming, including technical performance fixes and the availability of bonus weapons, previously only available to those who had pre-ordered or opted in to the newsletter. Boosh! Wait... that's not right.

September 9th News Update [B Company News]

Look for the update this Thursday for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game.

Battlefield: Bad Company addresses just that issue, adding a full single-player experience to the Battlefield series, complete with colorful characters and questionable moral choices on top of the usual multiplayer mayhem. It's uncharted waters for EA DICE – lets see if they sink or swim.

Loved

Story Time: The single-player story mode isn't just a humorous chance to collect weapons and escape inept multiplayer teammates. It's effectively the best Battlefield tutorial ever, familiarizing you with the weapons and mechanics of the game before you even fire a single online shot.

Real Characters: Your single-player teammates might not be the most helpful rag-tag band of misfits, but at least they're entertaining. Monster truck-loving Haggard and Steve Buscemi-channeling Sweetwater are definitely two guys I'd love to hang with.

Go Your Own Way: The sandbox nature of the game's single-player levels make for a wide variety of ways to get from point A to point B. Want to sneak through the forest on foot? Go for it. Prefer to follow the main road in a heavily armed and armored tank? Knock yourself out. Even levels that see you piloting a tricked-out gold helicopter could theoretically be tackled by landing the copter early on and hoofing it. This makes for tons of replay value.

Ultimate Destruction: Nearly everything in Bad Company blows up real good. Buildings, sandbags, crates, etc. are only cover until hit with the right amount of firepower. Blowing away a wall with a rocket launcher to reveal the delicious candy center (and shoot them) never gets old.

Massive Multiplayer: Battlefield multiplayer has never been quite so entertaining. Splitting up large teams into four-man squads was a brilliant idea, and when your teammates are really communicating and coordinating the gameplay really shines.

Unlockable Arsenal: I really enjoyed the fact that leveling up in multiplayer gives the players unlock points, allowing them to choose which items and weapons they want to add to their arsenal as they grow. Do I want to start off with the devastating ability to call in air strikes, or should I go for the simple survivability added by the health injector? A variety of player builds leads to variety on the battlefield, which is good.

Hated

Implausible Healing: The military has a syringe you plunge into your chest that constantly brings you up to full health? Why haven't we taken over the world yet? The healing mechanic is a bit ridiculous, and coupled with the fact that you respawn exactly where you die in story mode makes the single-player game far too easy.

Real Dumb Characters: Your AI teammates in single-player are relatively useless. This isn't a squad-based game by any means, but I would have liked to think they had my back. Instead it felt like I was completely carrying them the whole way. They should have allowed me to shoot them all and take the gold for myself at the end of the game. After all, I'm the one who earned it.

My only other real qualm with Battlefield: Bad Company is the lack of any kind of co-op mode for single-player. With B Company comprised of four guys I would have liked to get my friends in on the action, but I can't really hold this against DICE. They've only just gotten the hang of the single-player experience. Maybe next time. Otherwise I found the game to be one of the more enjoyable FPS experiences I've had in quite awhile, both online and off.

Battlefield: Bad Company takes the established multiplayer excitement of the Battlefield series and adds a compelling single-player experience to create one of the most enjoyable installments of the franchise since the original.

Battlefield: Bad Company was developed by EA DICE, published by EA. Released on June 23rd on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Played single player campaign to completion at normal difficulty, rose five ranks in multiplayer.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Has EA DICE managed to provide a combination of solo and multiplayer experiences worthy of your gaming dollar, or has the mixed focus resulted in mix review scores? The critics arm themselves after the jump.

Eurogamer
...that famed Battlefield freedom has finally been translated into a coherent single player campaign, where your choice of route can have a distinct bearing on your chances of success. Governed by a linear succession of objectives, the route you take to get there can often be genuinely up to you. Be it stealthily on foot, sniping everything from afar or storming the gates in a tank, you simply use whatever hardware's at your disposal and set about taking down everyone in your way, in whichever way you can. With gunships and motorboats occasionally upping the ante further still, the moments when Bad Company is firing on all cylinders are thrillingly epic.

GameTrailers
Bad Company has a slightly different feel than other shooters, and not just because of the much higher things-blown-up to things-not-blown-up ratio. Weapons feel powerful—especially considering how destructible most of the world is—but accuracy isn’t as unnaturally precise as it is in some other shooters and this can make weapons feel less lethal. On the other hand, fans of shotguns will be very happy at the effectiveness of their weapon.

GameSpot
Be sure to crank the volume up to 11—Bad Company has some of the finest sound design out there. A sniper shot echoes perfectly through the mountains, while indoor firefights are so loud you may want earplugs. Visually the game does not fare as well. While it's by no means ugly, there is a strange graininess on each texture. Even looking into the clear blue sky in the first scene of the game, you'll be amazed at how fuzzy it looks. Of course, the destructible environments and exciting explosions make up for any graphical shortcomings.

TeamXbox
Battlefield: Bad Company knows what it wants to do and does it. The gameplay is simple and easy to wrap your mind around, but opens up to a lot of different strategies. The explosions are visceral and fun, and the game looks great too. Yeah, I bitched about the color palette, but there are moments when you realize they’re going for that smoky, hazy look that a battle-ravaged landscape would have and it’s O.K. It may not be a magnum opus like GTA IV, but Battlefield: Bad Company is a great piece of mindless fun to waste away some hours with this summer.

Not nearly as bad a company as I was expecting.

Fresh off a sendup of Metal Gear come two more amusing trailers flacking Battlefield: Bad Company. One (above) cracks on Gears of War's haunting "Mad World" campaign. The second (below, after the jump) goes after Rainbow Six.

Despite all that has gone on with this game in the past, I kinda do want to see what this one is all about. It gets really enervating playing tactical shooters that faithful adhere to painstaking rules of engagement, when all you want to do is huck a grenade and wade into the firefight. Whether indulging that release is enough to sustain an entire game, I dunno, but I at least wanna see it.

"This is supposed to be a stealth mission!"
"Why?"

You have no idea how many times I have had that same conversation with a game.

Battlefield: Bad Company Trailers Parody Gears of War, Rainbow Six [Joystiq, and thanks to Mike for the YouTube links yesterday.]

The Civilization Revolution demo also contains both multiplayer and single player gameplay, and while I am no expert I am going to go out on a limb and say there is some civilization building going on.

Both demos weigh in on the hefty side, with Battlefield at 1.5 GB and Civ at a slightly more modest 1.25 GB. Enjoy!

Demo: Battlefield: Bad Company [Xbox Live's Major Nelson]
Demo Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution [Same Guy]

Gold Fever Hits an All Time High With the Upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company Single-Player and Multi-Player Demo

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—You've been drafted to 'B' Company! DICE, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that a demo for its highly anticipated summer release, Battlefield: Bad Company™ will be available on Xbox LIVE™ Marketplace1 and PLAYSTATION® Store1 on June 5. Players will land on the battlefield as part of the 'B' or Bad Company, a wayward band of soldiers more interested in the pursuit of gold and personal financial gain than following the rules. Gamers will get a sneak peek at how tactical destruction changes the way shooters are played, both offline and online in the single player and multiplayer demo.

Players can also gain early access to the demo by pre-ordering the game through participating retailers in North America and Europe. More details on this special pre-order campaign can be found at http://www.battlefield.com/badcompany.

Players who missed their opportunity to participate in the closed beta get a second chance to experience the intense multiplayer Gold Rush mode on the Oasis map while the single player portion starts gamers at the beginning of their 'B' company career. The single player portion of the demo sets the stage for players as they're introduced to the humorous and sometimes irreverent set of characters that make up the 'B' company. As gamers embark on their quest for gold, they'll experience the same classic Battlefield gameplay including access to numerous vehicles, weapons and open maps as well as the new tactical destruction that only Battlefield: Bad Company can deliver.

In stores on June 25 in North America and June 27 in Europe, Battlefield: Bad Company is developed by Sweden-based developer DICE (Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment, www.dice.se). The game will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and is rated "T" by the ESRB and "16+" by PEGI.

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.

The Blockbuster Entertainment Experience of the Summer Isn't at the Movies... Battlefield: Bad Company Ships on June 23

Special Gold Edition Offers Fans Exclusive Content at Launch

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—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."

Developed by Sweden-based developer EA DICE (Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment, www.dice.se), Battlefield: Bad Company will be available for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The game is rated "T" by the ESRB and "16+" by PEGI.

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.

As for the remaining five weapons, those will be available to everyone free of charge via various marketing promotions run by EA, along the lines of 'Fill out this survey, get your gun code'. The fact that they were originally listed as purchasable via Xbox Live, according to Troedsson, was a simple miscommunication.

All of you noisy bastards who complained vehemently from day one should give yourselves a big pat on the back, as community voices were the reason the change was made.

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.

We Want Free Weapons! [IGN.com - Thanks Dave!]

"It's OK," I said. "Hey, is this the one that's free, or that other one?"

McWhertor tells me I'm confusing it with Battlefield Heroes.

"How much are they charging for it?"

"$60"

"WTF! That's insane, it's fun, but $60?"

But ten minutes later I'm back on the game and I can't seem to stop playing it. I even sneak in a piddly five minutes of playing between the time I put the Lemon Chicken in the stove and I need to come back up to check on it.

It's an addiction!

The thing is I'm not sure why I'm having so much fun with it. Battlefield: Bad Company, on it's surface, seems to be pretty much like every other Battlefield to come before it. You start off in a map by choosing your class and then drop into a rolling fight with live players.

In this particular Battlefield you're fighting to either defend some chests of gold or blow them up. The chests of gold are located at different points on the map and as they are destroyed the map enlarges to show more chests of gold that need to be blow to bits or saved.

There are some tweaks. For one thing you earn upgrade points by ranking up in combat and can drop out of the game and use those points to unlock weapons for use by the different classes. Most of the unlocked weapons are rifles of one sort or the other, but there are also some pretty neat gadgets, like anti-tank mines or sticks of dynamite.

There's also the destructible environment, which looks pretty damn cool and even effects gameplay quite a bit. As Mark explained in his earlier impressions of the game, the destruction is very controlled. You can't, for instance, totally level big buildings. You can though blow gaping holes in walls to avoid a map's natural choke points.
You can also use artillery to literally chew up the terrain, creating man-sized pot holes in the ground. You can also saw through trees with a machine gun, removing the cover that snipers find so tantalizing.

Like I said, this effects gameplay in a lot of interesting ways, but I almost find the visual effect much more impactful. It just looks kick ass to be chasing a running bad guy with a machine gun and have trees falling around him as you zero in. It's neat that when you're running away from tank fire walls are literally blowing up around you.

So I love the game, I can't stop playing the game, but something keeps telling me that I'm not sure if I would want to spend $60 on it. Maybe it's the knowledge that EA is also going to make a selection of weapons available through DLC purchase, or that by buying the Gold Edition of the game you get a wider selection of weapons. Looking over the weapons, I don't think they're really going to give anyone a distinct advantage, but it just feels wrong.

Bad Company is tremendous fun, but if EA wants to use it as a vehicle for DLC micro-transactions maybe they should cut down on the price a bit. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some gold to explode.

It's a bit too much work/questionable legality for our tastes, but let us know if you've a friend's cousin's roommate has had any success with stealing the otherwise free product. Oh, and if you're really interested in Bad Company, be sure to check out our impressions. We used the more traditional game art for that post.

Battlefield Bad Company beta leaked, playable? [Xbox360Fanboy]

Electronic Arts today got back to us with their take on the whole situation. In a nutshell, yes, they will be selling some weapons through microtransactions when the game comes out. But EA says that you can get those weapons for free if you buy the Gold Edition. They also say they will have plenty of other weapons they're giving away during promotions leading up to the launch.

Here's their official take:

Hey Brian,

Per our conversation, Battlefield: Bad Company features numerous weapons in the core game. In addition to the core set of weapons, 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.

Currently, the menu in the Battlefield: Bad Company beta notes all ten weapons; the five available free of charge pre-launch as well as the additional five available in the Gold Edition.

We will have more details on the pre-launch campaign and Gold Edition of Battlefield: Bad Company in the next few weeks.

While this makes it slightly less onorous than we initially thought, I still have to agree with Fahey on this. Making gamers pay extra for something that is essentially core to the game seems wrong. I realize they say the weapons are all balanced, but the fact is having a wider selection of weapons to choose from can be a tremendous advantage in a game. What worries me more is where this is all headed. I can't help but think that this is just EA testing the waters.

EA charging for weapons in Bad Company Beta [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Keys for the test, which start on March 25, will go out through FilePlanet, IGN, GameSpy, TeamXbox, Planet Battlefield and Voodoo Extreme. GameStop will also offer 5,000 keys on a first come, first serve basis for the Xbox Live beta.

The multiplayer beta test will let gamers check out two maps, access infantry kits and vehicles and blow shit up in the game. The beta will also have an unlimited upgrade tree and rewards.

Hit the jump for all of the details.

EA DICE ANNOUNCES MULTIPLAYER BETA PROGRAM FOR BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY SHIPPING JUNE 2008

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - March 20, 2008 - EA DICE, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced the multiplayer beta test for Battlefield: Bad Company™ on the Xbox 360® video game system from Microsoft. IGN Founders' Club and IGN Insider will offer keys to members and the public in North America and the UK to participate in the multiplayer beta test starting March 25 provided by IGN's popular game download site FilePlanet (http://www.fileplanet.com). In addition, keys will also be available through IGN Entertainment's gaming Web sites including IGN.com, GameSpy, TeamXbox, Planet Battlefield and Voodoo Extreme. Battlefield: Bad Company will launch on the Xbox 360 and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system in June 2008.

"We're really excited about this beta since it gives us a chance to let a wider audience play our new multiplayer game, 'Gold Rush'. 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," stated Karl-Magnus Troedsson, Senior Producer for Battlefield: Bad Company. "Battlefield and FPS fans get their first glimpse into how tactical destruction can be applied in multiplayer gameplay. We think offering two of the multiplayer maps will give gamers a fantastic experience and some great insight into the game."

In North America, GameStop will also offer keys on a first come, first serve basis for this Exclusive Beta Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network event. With only 5,000 beta keys available at GameStop, gamers should pre-order their copy now at www.gamestop.com/badcompanybeta

The Battlefield: Bad Company multiplayer beta test will give players a chance to return to the battlefield to embark on an exciting mission to capture the spoils of war. Gamers will battle through two different maps, access new infantry kits and vehicles as well as experience the unique tactical destruction in Battlefield: Bad Company that changes the way first-person shooter games are played. With an unlimited upgrade tree and rewards, the multiplayer beta gives players the exhilaration, excitement and fun that awaits them when the final game ships later this summer.

"Xbox LIVE has a tradition of hosting some of the greatest demo and beta events gamers can play," said Marc Whitten, General Manager of Xbox LIVE. "We continue this practice of awesome online gameplay with the new beta of Battlefield Bad Company."

Developed by Sweden-based developer EA DICE (Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment), Battlefield: Bad Company has not yet been rated by the ESRB or PEGI. For more information about the Battlefield franchise, please visit http://www.battlefield.com or our press web site at http://info.ea.com.

How was it? Fun, but not revolutionary.

Let's take a step back. Battlefield: Bad Company multiplayer is all about gold. One team has it, the other team wants it. And despite the multitude of technologically advanced armaments that you and your squad have access to throughout the game, this gold is kept in simple locked chests that can be blown up with, say, 4 or 5 grenades.

While it's your pretty standard Battlefield class-based gameplay (you choose your type of character with for which you have corresponding weapons/skills), this battle for gold adds some arcadey fun moments. You see, the gold is divided into several chests—with each chest the offense destroys, the more advantages they get. Respawn points become closer and advanced weapons and vehicles are unlocked.

The result is a game the will consistently start slow are grow more ludicrous as men on foot are replaced by men in tanks and plenty of the always fulfilling air support (nothing like airstriking a defenseless building).

And it works, aided by a pretty unique and complimentary respawn system. One can either choose to respawn at their current base, or, for the gamblers out there, respawn with your squad. In other words, you enter by the action, but you'll have to dodge bullets in a possibly outnumbered/outgunned situation.

But as for these promises of destructible environments—I'm not certain that it's a concept that designers have quite grasped yet.

As a DICE employee explained to me, destruction in games is complicated because gamers really don't want everything to be destructible. While leveling a building sounds fun, the map I played on was nothing but buildings. Imagine leveling the whole playing field and being left with a few withering blades of grass on an open plain. Maybe the first time the idea sounds fun. The second or third? Not so much.

So the way destructible environments work in Battlefield: Bad Company is pretty much this: trees can be knocked over and walls can be blown through. But a building's frame will always stay intact, even if a million bajillion nuclear bombs were to drop in close proximity.

I know, the compromise doesn't sound so bad. A guy is shooting you from a window. You shoot your grenade launcher, blowing away his cover. Then you shoot him in the ass until he dies.

This part is fun, no doubt. And it opens up a slew of new strategies.

But where the game becomes less fulfilling is during those McGuyeresque moments of improvisation. For instance, you are on the bottom floor of a two-story building and decide, what the hell, I'll blow the floor out from under the sniper who's upstairs. This doesn't work. And the same seemed to apply for the moments when you could get above a building and wanted to make a surprise entrance through the roof. Certain things don't blow up that really should.

The thing is, I don't even fault the game. It seems more likely to be a situation similar to the first 3D platformers; things weren't quite right and nobody knew why. That's how Bad Company felt...just a hair off of really grasping the exciting concept of truly destructible environments.

All of that said, I'm sure many will have loads of fun with the game. And I'll definitely give it another shot at launch. No pun intended.

While a dancing game has already been nixed by Cousins—Boogie's got that covered, anyway—the creative director is light on details about what the team wants to do after Bad Company. If I can make a suggestion, Ben, EA's very light in the cooking genre and your nation's meatballs are just fantastic.

That idea is free, contact me for others. Michael McWhertor

DICE promises to diversify with new projects [Games Industry]

A wealth of new releases this week although few of them merit a lot of fanfare. Bullet Witch looks interesting although it has gotten pretty craptacular reviews so far. Even with all these new titles though, this week my heart lies with an old classic: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Flynn De Marco

• Bullet Witch (X360) Slay demons as a sexy, scantily clad witch.
• SSX Blur (WII)
  Be a snowboarding sensation!
• Jade Empire: Special Edition (PC)
  Bioware's beautiful Chinese themed action RPG with enhanced graphics and added content for the PC
• Chili Con Carnage (PSP)
  South of the Border chicken exploding fun.
• Formula One Championship Edition (PS3)
  You can use your PSP as a side mirror in this formula one racing game.
• The Sims 2 Seasons (PC)
  Now your tiny minions can experience the magic and wonder of the seasons.
• Dance Dance Revolution Universe (X360)
  Flail around like a fool in the comfort of your own living room. Don't forget to close the curtains.
• 300: March to Glory (PSP)
  The game based on the movie based on the comic based on ancient history.
• Samurai Warriors 2 Empires (X360, PS2)
  Defend the honor of Feudal Japan.
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (WII VC)
  The Holy Grail of Zelda games makes its way to the Virtual Console

Electronic Arts today confirmed that they are working on Battlefield: Bad Company for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

The game, set to ship next year, is being created with Digital Illusions' Frostbite engine and will have gamers controlling a squad of renegade soldiers hunting up gold and revenge behind enemy lines. EA says the game will include a "cinematic single-player experience" and the series' "trademark sandbox gameplay in a universe where nearly everything is destructible."

"The heart of DICE's multiplayer games is the frenetic, unpredictable nature of the sandbox experience, where anything could happen at any moment, and that's what we're bringing to the core of Battlefield: Bad Company's single-player campaign, said Karl Magnus Troedsson, senior producer at DICE. "In a world that's 90 percent destructible, the gameplay possibilities are infinite - the battlefield is always changing, forcing players, teammates, and enemies to react accordingly. Gamers will have total freedom to adapt to and tackle challenges in creative Battlefield-style ways."

Wow, that screen is amazing. Brian Crecente