Battlefield Heroes passed the two million player mark in September, prompting EA to celebrate with the Heroes of the Fall game update. Now at three million, the company has released the new Sunset Showdown map. Set on an island with only one control point, it looks like the sort of place many people will die in. Then again, any shooter map looks like that to me.

"Battlefield Heroes continues to grow fast with well over 50,000 new players joining us every week. Our players have already logged in over 1,300 years' worth of game time and nearly 300million kills over 150million five-minute game rounds," said Ben Cousins, General Manager, Battlefield Heroes team. "The vast majority of our players play for free, but if they want to customize their character or enhance their game with weapon upgrades or widgets then there is a cool item for them in our store."

Visit the official Battlefield Heroes website to play the game for free.

The game's economy, which had always walked the tight-rope between allowing people to play for free/very little and encouraging people to spend money, has this week been turned on its head. And the game's rather sizeable player base is upset.

See, many items in the game used to be available in one of two ways: valor points (VP), which you earned in combat and through playtime, and BattleFunds (BF), which were earned by spending real cash. Sure, some superficial things like outfits were BattleFunds-only, but all the important stuff - like better weapons - could be earned solely through consistent play.

Not anymore. EA have made sweeping changes to the game's online store, drastically raising the cost of almost everything bought via VP and lowering the price of almost everything bought via BF. "Rentals" have also been altered, so that important items can only be leased for 1-3 days, not for entire months as was previously possible.

This means that, according to some user calculations posted over on Ars Technica, "the amount of rounds you need to play each day to keep ONE weapon [is] about 60, which is about 5 hours playtime, every day". Obviously, that's not going to happen.

Which means the game, which by all accounts had been doing just fine allowing people to play for free then charging for the odd outfit or upgrade (example: I'd spent around $20 on it so far), is now for all intents and purposes subscriber-based, with those electing to play the game for free - which was one of the main "selling" points of Heroes in the first place - locked on the outer and stuck with the game's crummy standard weapons.

Makes you wonder, if EA felt the need to start squeezing players for microtransactions so drastically and so suddenly, whether the game was actually doing as great as we'd been led to believe...

Appears to be an infantry map, and a tight, close-range one at that, so gunners should be thrilled. Those (like me) hoping for another expansive level ala Seaside Skirmish, well, you keep on hoping.

The Battlefield Heroes community continues to grow in leaps and bounds, having added an additional 1 million players since the first million was announced back in June of this year. It turns out gamers love free things. They also love free updates to free things, and that's what EA is giving them with the "Heroes of the Fall" game update, due out September 30th, in celebration of this latest milestone.

The fall update includes changes to the gunner class that our resident BFH enthusiast Luke mentioned previously, a new ranking system, and a new fall-themed map that players can submit names for at the official website.

"Along with this new map, ‘Heroes of the Fall' includes a slew of changes including upgrades of the Gunner class and improvements to the friends system," said Ben Cousins, General Manager, Battlefield Heroes team. "We've also added a brand new ranking system for the game – players can earn cool new titles for their heroes as they play – showing everyone on the battlefield how dedicated they are."

Dedication comes quite easily when the price of entry is free. A lesson for all of us!

That class is the gunner, for whom three of his abilities have now been modified.

- The gunner's "grenade", the explosive keg, now not only inflicts damage, but slows nearby enemies as well.

- When in frenzy fire mode, gunners will now heal. The more enemies you bring down in FF mode, the more you'll heal.

- When activating shield mode, any nearby team-mates - including soldiers and commandos - will be shielded as well.

EA will also implement some features that will help distinguish higher-ranked players from rookies.

These changes, the first of several promised updated, will go live later this fall. As an avid BFH player (yes, really), I can't wait to try 'em out. You see a Royal commando by the name of "BrothelFire" running around largely unaffected by all these changes, you say hi.

Going by these numbers, I'd say "very." EA have sat down with the game's statistics and whittled them down into some palatable, practical numbers. Like:

- There are around 1.5 million people counted as "users". Whether they're active users or that's the all-time registration count wasn't specified.

- 50.4% of players are Nationals, 49.6% are Royals. That's an amazingly narrow margin for a game played by so many people.

- 40% of players choose to play as Commandos, 37% are Soldiers, and 23% are Gunners.

- EA say that, on average, each player in the game has spent $20, mostly on upgraded outfits for their soldiers. Multiply $20 by 1.5 million people and you get $30 million. Not bad for a game that's supposedly "free."

Seeing as I'm a Royal Commando who's spent around $10 on the game, I'd say those numbers are spot-on. Except for maybe the class breakdowns. I seem to always end up on maps full of Gunners...

By the Numbers: Battlefield Heroes [IGN]

UPDATE - EA got in touch to let us know that the IGN piece was a little off. They say that the average buyer is spending $20, not the average player. So revise that number - and your respect for the sum - downwards a touch.

The cartoon version of DICE's award-winning combat sandbox game slipped quietly into open beta last month, and the lure of the word 'free' worked it's magic, bringing in the hungry, tired, huddled masses yearning for something they didn't have to pay for if they didn't want to.

"The team is really proud to have hit 1 million registrations at this early stage," said Ben Cousins, General Manager, Battlefield Heroes Team. "Creating a character and gameplay experience that is totally yours is what sets this game apart – your hero can be anything from a bazooka-toting pirate, a grenade-throwing ninja or even a mime assassin!"

Now that the reviews have begun trickling out and EA has seen fit to issue a press release, those numbers will only grow.

The premise is simple: take Battlefield, then make it absolutely free to play, by stripping some elements out and reserving them for paying customers, while supporting the whole thing via front-end advertising.

Such a move is like walking a knife's edge. Make too much free and there's no point running it as a product. Make too much paid content and you'll piss people off who want to play for free.

Question is, then, can Battlefield Heroes manage to walk that line?

LOVED
War Is Not Hell, It Is Gorgeous: Battlefield Heroes' design initially drew "TF2 clone" accusations, but those are unfounded. This game has a look all of its own, part Max Headroom, part, well, Wind Waker. It's charming, it's attractive. Even the theme song is catchy, and we haven't stopped whistling it all week long.

Learner's Permit: Being a Battlefield title, vehicular control is a big part of whether the game succeeds or fails, and Battlefield Heroes manages just fine. Land vehicles are quick and responsive (the tank's power has been reduced in exchange for added speed), while planes can even be controlled semi-successfully with a mouse.

Money Can't Buy You…Poisoned Knives: Had EA restricted certain special powers and weapons to paying customers, this game would be an instant failure. Thankfully, that's not the case. Money can only buy you a few things; mostly avatar clothing, along with a few upgrades that do things like level you up faster. Everything else is paid for via XP, gained only through playtime and accomplishing missions, and while paying customers can get access to higher level weapons faster, they're not locked out for those playing for free. If you think that's slightly unfair, remember, you're playing for free.

Walk Right In, Sit Right Down: Battlefield Heroes is all about jumping right into the action, and once in, staying there. To play, you just visit the site, login, then hit a giant yellow button that says "PLAY NOW". You'll be automatically whisked away to a server. Then, while in the game, respawn times are kept to an absolute minimum, at most 6-8 seconds, but sometimes only 3-4.

Smooth As Ice: We played Battlefield Heroes for a week, and in that whole time, only once encountered connection or server issues. Considering the game is still technically in beta, that's not too shabby.

Spongeheads: There's only a single one-shot kill in this game, and that's if you're run over by a land vehicle. Everything else, from sniper headshots to grenades to dynamite, only takes off part of a player's health. It means that you're never blindsided, and never killed off instantly because of something you never saw coming.

HATED
Spongeheads: Yet this is a double-edged sword. It's great that you can't instantly be killed by a camping sniper from across the map. But if you're the camping sniper – or anyone else tricky enough to lay something like an ambush – it's frustrating as hell. Vehicle damage could also do with a tune-up, as it shouldn't take 3-4 shots from a tank to kill infantry. 2-3 would do just fine.

Matchmaker: Like we said, Battlefield Heroes is all about jumping into the action. Which in some ways is great, but in others, quite frustrating. We only want to play vehicle maps, for example. Just vehicle maps. But there's no way of selecting this. You can prefer to play vehicle maps, but when you hit PLAY NOW, you're automatically taken to a server, and half the time, it's for an infantry map. Nothankyou. Favourite servers can be bookmarked, but we'd love a server list option where we can filter for specific maps, or map types.

Class Warfare: Maybe we've played too much Team Fortress 2 of late, but if a map is stacked with heavies, and we join as a heavy, we'd love to be able to respawn as a commando. Mix things up. But you can't. Because when you create a character, you're bound to that character, as is all the XP you accrue while playing as it. You can create additional characters, sure, but you can only play as one at a time.

There's just something about the mix of clean, cartoon visuals and refined multiplayer mechanics that make Battlefield Heroes an absolute blast. The fact you can play it effectively without paying a cent probably helps. Series purists may turn their noses up at the new visual style and slightly more "arcade" feel of the game, but that's fine. For those people, there's alway other Battlefield games. That they have to pay for.

For everyone else, though, Battlefield Heroes is a fun, accessible shooter that retains the best strategic elements of the series while making the game appealing to a broader range of people. If EA can add a few more matchmaking/server options to the game, Battlefield Heroes could be one of the sleeper hits of the year on PC.

Battlefield Heroes was developed by DICE, and published by EA for the PC. Launched on June 25, and is free to play, worldwide. Created two characters, a level 7 Gunner and a level 10 Commando, in the Royal Army.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

We're trying, and failing, to see the point. Well, aside from the obvious point, that being there's a buck to be made from the death of the King of Pop.

As you can see in the pic here, the game will next month be offering two new costumes, one for the good guys, one for the bad guys. The good guys get a Smooth Criminal Outfit. The bad guys, a Bad outfit.

They're a little out of place, we know, but potentially most galling is that when you click on the advertisement on the game's site, you're prompted to cough up for "Battlefunds", the games currency (that's paid for with real money). Classy, EA. Classy. Hopefully that's just an administrative oversight, and when they do go live, they're free.

UPDATE - Yup, was an administrative oversight. EA contacted us this morning to let us know that the outfits will indeed be free.

I've found no big launch announcement, and other than the new trailer on the front page of the site, it doesn't seem like much fanfare is being made. If you would like to play, feel free and head on over and knock yourself out. Just be quiet, because we don't want to accidentally wake up the marketing team.

Battlefield Heroes Play 4 Free [Official Site via ShackNews]

While various closed betas have been kicking around for months now, the "open beta" - in other words the release of the game - will begin "this summer", according to Electronic Arts.

So if you've been hangin' out to pilot a cartoon spitfire with a guy who has a handlebar moustache and a peg-leg, you've only got a few months left to wait.

Battlefield Heroes Finally Open This Summer [Giant Bomb]

The free-to-play cartoony shooter from DICE is currently undergoing more public playtesting, which, if you participated in previous Battlefield Heroes beta-ing, you should have access to thanks to your previous key. For those new to Battlefield Heroes beta fun, you can still apply. You just may have to wait a little while.

There's a handy FAQ that explains all this. Go read it! And have fun!

Battlefield Heroes Closed Beta starts February 11th [Official Site - thanks, Jump4816!]

If you're interested in testing the game out - and really, it does look like a lot of fun - you can go here, though be warned: those already in the old beta will be given preference for places in the new beta, so if you miss out, that'll be why.

Battlefield Heroes Beta Signups Reopen [1UP]

To Toon Town, it looks like. And that’s not a bad move if the idea is to net the casual crowd and attract people who aren’t into any of the other Battlefields. Heroes aims to be for everyone with its charming, cartoon-y look, basic gameplay mechanics, and extensive online community support. Like Team Fortress 2, Battlefield Heroes will feature special abilities depending on what class of soldier you play (invisibility for snipers, whoo-hoo!) – but the similarities stop there. For one thing (and this is most important), it’s free to play. You’d think that’d count against the game in terms of depth and detail, but Heroes is actually way deeper than it’s cartoonish looks and $0 price tag lead people to believe.

The character customization stands out as the most complex – it hogged the limelight at the EA Showcase, even. How can you not like peg-legged snipers sporting bunny ears? You unlock even more options for your avatar’s appearance by going through missions to earn special items that work kind of like Achievements – because the whole community will see those bunny ears and know that you completed a mission to get them.

The community aspect of Battlefield Heroes also adds a whole other layer of depth. Ben Cousins, Executive Producer of the Battlefield franchise, explained that Heroes is as much a game as a web project. There are going to be friend lists, community boards and Facebook type apps for people to get into surrounding actual gameplay.

All of this goes live in winter (hopefully the 2008 side of it). Digital Illusions Studios CE has already started the closed beta phase with dev personnel and their families. This will go to a larger pool of core users in the fall and by winter, when (if) the game goes live, EA and DICE hope it will be the “world’s largest PC action game.”

Hit the link below to sign up, and be sure to read through the entire exhaustive agreeement before putting your name to it, as that is the responsible thing to do.

Skim away!
Battlefield Heroes Beta Sign Up Page [QABoss via EvoGamer]

DICE's free-to-play upcoming shooter features Team Fortress 2-like graphics and a definite Battlefield Lite feel, but what really captured my interest was the game's use of customization.

To create your character you have to first choose between a soldier, gunner and commando. Once you've selected the basic type of character you are playing you can go in and customize his look by adding objects to the ten provided slots. Like in many role-playing games, each slot changes a specific part of a character's look.

For instance with my character, a long mustachioed gunner, I gave him skull make up on his face, a dragon tattoo on his back, a bandolero of ammo slung from a shoulder, black pants and a peg leg. Yes, a peg leg. Really, I could have stopped playing at this point because any World War II -themed shooter that features a cartoon like art-style and the ability to slap peg legs on anyone is going to have a hard time convincing me not to play it.

But there is more. Besides customizing the look of your characters, you can also customize the way they play. By playing the game you unlock abilities which you can then bind to hotkeys, like you would in a massively multiplayer or role-playing game. The first few are typically reserved for weapons, but then you can use the rest for rechargeable powers like the ability to heal yourself, run, toughen your skin for a short time.

I didn't have tons of time to actually play the game, what with the time I spent marveling over the peg legs, but from what I saw it looks like it's going to be quite a bit of fun: A shooter that in many ways looks and feels like an RPG.

Character customization in DICE's Battlefield Heroes certainly looks deep, but we suspect the majority of the good stuff will be had via microtransaction only. I mean, they can't possibly give away the ability to sport a wooden leg for free, can they? The many ways one can primp out their character can be seen in the new trailer above, with screen shots below for the bandwidth starved. It's so cute!

I suppose that makes sense. Still, we're not much for microtransactions and the ability to buy your way into experience with time-limited multipliers that cost real money. It just makes us want to wash the pain away.

EA Goes Free-To-Play: Battlefield Heroes' Producer Speaks [Gamasutra]