Join the beta for the new battlefield game right now if you are an IGN Insider. Go to IGN.com.

Heck yes I got my Beta code. Should be cool.

Is there any other way of entry?

when does the beta start?

when does the beta start?

Mar 25th

Looks like you can also get in by preordering from gamestop...

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/20/battlefield-bad-company-beta-to-start-next-week/

just got my key. thanks for the heads up.

Just got mines, old IGN account, havn't been to that site in at least 2 and a half years. Glad I didn't close it out. See ya on the 25th.

fileplanet member, got my key. ready to see just how destructible everything is.

Got the key. Forgot I even had an IGN account.

been an ign member for 8 or 10 years.

"You have passed screening, but only subscriber keys are left. Select a package to the right to continue the beta signup."

so... i gotta pay for ign to play in the beta?

been an ign member for 8 or 10 years.

"You have passed screening, but only subscriber keys are left. Select a package to the right to continue the beta signup."

so... i gotta pay for ign to play in the beta?

Your looking at it the wrong way. Read up about the Insider account and what the account offers and has always offered before this beta came out.

ign = garbage

so, aside from basically charging me for the beta, this is worth nothing.

ign = garbage

so, aside from basically charging me for the beta, this is worth nothing.

:D Formula it isn't charging you for the beta it is charging you for the services they offer on the site compared to the regular account. Look make it easier on yourself and just check with Gamestop and see if the key is available if you pre-order it.

IGN does have the best video game message boars out there. The beta is just a nice reward for being a member.

Got my key. I'm in on the 25th

Any way to get a key for free?

preorder at gamestop, get the key, cancel preorder

Damn. My IGN expired a month ago, never used it. Not paying $15 to re-up for a key..

Finally a new BF game for the console. Hopefully they get back to what got them here. Make the game look like BF:1942 even graphic wise with the 64 players.

Thanks for the heads up! Got me key and downloading now! :)

I dont understand why you guys think you have to pay. I had an ign account a long time ago just for message boards. I logged in using that yesturday afternoon and recieved a key. I have no paid subscription to ign.

I dont understand why you guys think you have to pay. I had an ign account a long time ago just for message boards. I logged in using that yesturday afternoon and recieved a key. I have no paid subscription to ign.

Same here. I was wondering why people were saying it costs $. I thought I got lucky.

I wasn't a member of IGN. I just read the article, hit the beta signup link, filled out a questionnaire, signed up for some free account and immediately got my key.

There's a rumour that EA is charging for weapons in the beta:

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/03/21/ea-charging-for-weapons-in-bad-company-beta/

Anyone who has downloaded the beta seen anything to confirm this?

There's a rumour that EA is charging for weapons in the beta:

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/03/21/ea-charging-for-weapons-in-bad-company-beta/

Anyone who has downloaded the beta seen anything to confirm this?

It is probably just a "buy the weapon instead of spending the time to unlock it" thing. EA does this with a lot of their games.

I don't see why it is even a problem as far as multiplayer game play because someone who does that instead of playing the game to unlock those weapons isn't going to be very good at the game.

I dont understand why you guys think you have to pay. I had an ign account a long time ago just for message boards. I logged in using that yesturday afternoon and recieved a key. I have no paid subscription to ign.

The public keys are gone. Now you have to be a subscriber to IGN (ie: "IGN Insider")

The public keys went very quickly. :(

They tease you with the logging into the demo and selecting multiplayer and choosing quickmatch only to be denied. I am off with the military all next week so it is all good

Got my key. I'm a Comcast subscriber, to Blast!, and IGN/Fileplanet/etc. membership is included.

I've never played a Battlefield game before, so this beta it's going to be my first time.

Got my key. I'm a Comcast subscriber, to Blast!, and IGN/Fileplanet/etc. membership is included.

I've never played a Battlefield game before, so this beta it's going to be my first time.

So am I and what did you have to do?

If some you are not already aware you can download the demo and log into the game. You will be treated to an introduction on how to play the game and if you wait during the menu you will get to see some gameplay action.

So am I and what did you have to do?

are you a subscriber to "blast!"? its only available in fios markets, it's the 6/1 package.

are you a subscriber to "blast!"? its only available in fios markets, it's the 6/1 package.

FIOS? Isn't that Verizon? I thought he said Comcast.

Battlefield: Bad Company Beta 2nd Wave

For those who didn't make the cut during the first wave of beta keys are in luck today. We have opened the second key release form for those still trying to enlist in this amazing beta program for Battlefield: Bad Company. So hurry up and click the graphic below to secure yourself in the beta program and to grab your beta key. Hustle soldier, keys are limited!

We also invite you to take a look at our new FAQ Battlefield: Bad Company Section. Oh, and do not forget to check out the latest killer Battlefield: Bad Company Video

http://planetbattlefield.gamespy.com/fullstory.php?id=149422

I have a free IGN founders club account through Comcast but never got around to activating it. Guess I'll go get right on that. lol

So they'd rather have people who pay to subscribe to a website be beta testers than people who have previous experience with Battlefield games, beta programs, etc.? Ok. :rolleyes:

So they'd rather have people who pay to subscribe to a website be beta testers than people who have previous experience with Battlefield games, beta programs, etc.? Ok. :rolleyes:

I got a key. I didn't pay for any subscription. You could get a key without a paid subscription to IGN. If you didn't, it is because you weren't quick enough on the draw.

I got a key. I didn't pay for any subscription. You could get a key without a paid subscription to IGN. If you didn't, it is because you weren't quick enough on the draw.

Yeah, I just tried. No luck with a regular IGN sub.

getting mine for the preorder. get code then cancel preorder if you don't like it.

So they'd rather have people who pay to subscribe to a website be beta testers than people who have previous experience with Battlefield games, beta programs, etc.? Ok. :rolleyes:

I doubt they really care who is in the beta, just as long as there are lots of people on there so they can run tests, observe, and develop. So, if they can make a little extra money and farm out the signup codes, why not?

Any idea when on the 25th this starts? Midnight tonight?

i read 4am pst

whatever time it starts i'm game.

Tried to get a key this morning, no luck have to be an insider...oh well mabye more keys will come out soon

First screens from the demo looked pretty good to me. How is the game? I'm at work...wont be on until 6 or so.

not bad. played for about an hour. not COD graphics but still good. reminds me of GRAW. you can pretty much destroy anything that you want. i will post more after i play more.

First screens from the demo looked pretty good to me. How is the game? I'm at work...wont be on until 6 or so.

Ditto......I think I have some sick leave saved up. Muahahahah!

lol, i will try and post some screen shot's from the beta. they aren't going to be that good but i will throw them up.

Message saying heavy demand on the servers when trying to join both rank and unranked games.

Message saying heavy demand on the servers when trying to join both rank and unranked games.

Wow, and that's during the day. Wonder if the thing will collapse early evening when folks with 8-5 jobs try and check it out.

just preordered 2 copies of bad company i got the key chain, where do i get the codes from

Wow, and that's during the day. Wonder if the thing will collapse early evening when folks with 8-5 jobs try and check it out.

It is Spring Break across the nation for alot of schools and colleges. I am at home with mine this week.

That's true. Didn't think about Spring Break. There's hope yet...

Working now? Played for 5 mins before work this morning...can't wait to get home and play!

i know this is probably useless but if anyone has an extra code i would be thankful.

just preordered 2 copies of bad company i got the key chain, where do i get the codes from

you dont get any codes. there were only 5000 codes for pre-order, and they're long gone.

So, any thoughts for the lucky few who played it today already?

How does it compare to COD4? How about Battlefield 2?
Graphics? Guns? Are the vehicles fun? are there helicopters? How bad ass is it to point a tank turret at a house a guy is hiding in and blowing out the walls?

you dont get any codes. there were only 5000 codes for pre-order, and they're long gone.

I preordered last night and got my code this morning, so I dont think they're gone yet.

I preordered last night and got my code this morning, so I dont think they're gone yet.

maybe certain regions had their own allotments of codes?

I just got a code from IGN. You have to answer their questions correctly or it won't let you get a code. you have to have had played a battlefield game, you have to have a live account and I think you had to have had previous beta experience.

I had to clear my cookies and try again as I haven't played battlefield before and I haven't done beta testing before. Now I got my code..lol.

are you an insider member? i meet all the criteria and keep passing the screening, but still not getting a key.

Public keys are gone...insider ones aren't doesn't matter since game isn't working right now anyway

wont allow me to join a online match wtf.!

wont allow me to join a online match wtf.!

You didn't see the message that was posted earlier. Or see the scrolling message at the top about the problem on the join screen?

Finally got in some matches today. The game is essentially Battlefield 2 with slightly better visuals, more destruction, no planes and simplified controls.

Finally got in some matches today. The game is essentially Battlefield 2 with slightly better visuals, more destruction, no planes and simplified controls.

So pretty much COD4, with destruction? Pass, atleast theres the free PC battlefield coming out.

I'm diggin it.

First time playing any type of Battlefield game. It's kinda fun but definitely not a buy for me. COD4 is still a better game IMO.

Thanks EA. Sounds like another BF:2142. Crap

While I have no first hand knowledge of this battlefield, a friend of mine played last night for a short time. he quickly returned to COD and said that the graphics in battlefield are terrible and the gameplay is not much better. the only draw is being able to blow stuff up.

So pretty much COD4, with destruction? Pass, atleast theres the free PC battlefield coming out.

I was thinking the same thing as I was playing last night..... COD4 with destruction and vehicles, minus the graphic quality of COD4 (though it looks good... just not at the COD4 level).

I've got it pre-ordered, but will probably cancel it. There's nothing at this point that makes it stand out enough to justify buying it. I'm going to keep playing to see if I can get into it more.

For those that have played...

How is the destruction?
Is it semi-realistic, or can you use a submachine gun to bring down a Building???
If you bump into a tree does it fall down?
Do vehicles blow up with a few shots from a pistol?

Heres my $.03 review.

Yes... I know its a Beta and everything may turn around, but damn they need to work on a lot of things-


Graphics - 7.0 - Framerate is chop-city. Characters look decent, move stiffly. Guns are nice but not COD4 quality. Backgrounds are sparse and kind of last generation. Environments are huge and destructable in the sense that you can destory doors, fences, trees and walls. Relatively realistic in the sense that a machine gun wont blow a concrete wall out, etc... Its cool but then you stop noticing it. There are all types of glitchy pop up and random screen noise bugs. Distracting and annoying.

Gameplay - 6.5- Confusing controller setup for me. Grenades are pure shyte. Tough to aim, throw or detonate correctly. Cycling thru weapons is cumbersome and not natural. Shooting people sometimes feels good, most times doesnt. Slowest reload on a beginner sniper rifle,ever. After COD4 I absolutely loathe having to wait up to 10 seconds to respawn. I understand the nature of the game so its just a random gripe. Attack and Defend Gold Crates was confusing and haphazard for most people involved.

Sound - 8.0- Decent. Its war, we've heard it (in videogames) all before. The tanks and turrets sound great.

Overall Experience - 7.5 - Vehicles are cool. Everything else is mediocre. The environment graphics border on horrid a lot of the time. I could SWEAR even the original 360 Battlefield was much, much better than this. I remember wanting to play that beta continuously. Not so here. I was frustrated most of the time. There were times that things got into a groove but then some thing (control,graphic,lag) would suck me right out of it.

Bottom line - Do NOT be jealous that you cant play this Beta yet. At the time of the COD4 beta, it was already looking like genius. This feels very underwhelming at best. If I could gift my key to you after the fact, I totally would. 10 dollars for 4 more COD4 maps is sounding like heaven right now.

They have a lot of work to do.

I am new to the battlefield franchise so I cant compare but I really dig this game. The mics seem to be hit and miss on the beta but when they do work and teams are talking the game is a lot of fun.


the only negatives for me are

1. too dark inside buidlings

2. No prone

3. Seems to take a lot of bullets to kill someone

there are a lot of positives. I will be buying this game.

I've never played a Battlefield game before, maybe that's why I like it. But I do agree with some of the negatives: Choppy,Choppy framerate, takes way to many bullets to score a kill, and grenades suck.

For those that have played...

How is the destruction?
Is it semi-realistic, or can you use a submachine gun to bring down a Building???
If you bump into a tree does it fall down?
Do vehicles blow up with a few shots from a pistol?


it works great. you need high power explosives. nothing better than blowing up a building where a sniper is camping.

If some you are not already aware you can download the demo and log into the game. You will be treated to an introduction on how to play the game and if you wait during the menu you will get to see some gameplay action.

Any beta test that doesn't use a lottery or some requirements-based selection process is really just a big advertisement for the game. You're not going to get any type of valuable bug reports from the people who self-select to participate in this sort of thing. The only thing you get out of this is a server load test.

Same thing happens with the World of Warcraft test realms--everyone complains that bugs are screwing everything up, and seem oblivious to the fact that they're SUPPOSED to find bugs.

Is it at least better than Frontlines: Fuel for Crap

It's a beta! It's a beta!

Which means anyone who says they are going back to COD because the graphics suck, well it's a beta. And that COD has mind blowing graphics and a fantastic game (Prestige 4, here)

The game did remind me of some of the great things in BF2, as well as some of the negative things.

Pros:
-many "WTF did you see that" moments, Playing on such a large map with many people and vehicles can present many opportunities for crazy, unsuspecting things to happen. The first time you hunt a guy down in a building, kill him, then hear an explosion and turn around to see the walls missing and your staring at a tank is pretty bad ass.
-Sniping is actually fun. Again, due to the large maps, you can really find a spot and take a few people out from LONG range.
-Sound is really immersive. You can tell when something blows up next to you, or around a corner, or a mile away. I know they worked really hard on this and it shows promise.
-Classes- They got rid of the point whoring medic class, but now the support class handles that task, as well as engineering. We'll see how they end up working, this could be the new point whore class.


Cons:
-helos are still hard to master/fly, but seem fun.
-Tanks are hard to kill on foot. Hopefully they have a way for it to be more balanced. And hopefully they don't have the overpowered fighter jets. (they ruined BF2 IMHO)
-Sound-although it is great, it is hit or miss. The guns feel tinny, the effects aren't consistent.
-no prone ( how do I snipe?)
-controls- seemed a little off, but I think it was because I was knew and thee classes are pretty different wrt what equipment/guns they carry, more so than COD.
-Mics aren't working, which is needed for this game immensely.

Overall, it seemed pretty chaotic. I think this will be less of a problem once people learn the game. Also, playing through the campaign usually helps people understand the games mechanics, versus just throwing noobs into a firefight.

It's a beta! It's a beta!

I know! I know! :p

Seriously though, maybe more time with it is needed. The maps are around 200-300 percent larger than COD4 (pure BS number I just made up), so I totally understand the graphics and framerate will take a hit.

And everything else you mentioned is cool too (walls blowing up, sniping)...

Its just that to date, I personally have not seen a beta turn a game around sufficiently in the end to not be concerned when I see the way it is in its current state.

Maybe you have, and Im sure some have. I guess for me personally It felt like a slightly upgraded Frontlines demo from a different developer. It didnt even feel like BF2 to me, honestly.

Any beta test that doesn't use a lottery or some requirements-based selection process is really just a big advertisement for the game. You're not going to get any type of valuable bug reports from the people who self-select to participate in this sort of thing. The only thing you get out of this is a server load test.

Same thing happens with the World of Warcraft test realms--everyone complains that bugs are screwing everything up, and seem oblivious to the fact that they're SUPPOSED to find bugs.

All I said was look at the intro JEEZ :D. Did you mean to respond to someone elses comment?

I know! I know! :p

Seriously though, maybe more time with it is needed. The maps are around 200-300 percent larger than COD4 (pure BS number I just made up), so I totally understand the graphics and framerate will take a hit.

And everything else you mentioned is cool too (walls blowing up, sniping)...

Its just that to date, I personally have not seen a beta turn a game around sufficiently in the end to not be concerned when I see the way it is in its current state.

Maybe you have, and Im sure some have. I guess for me personally It felt like a slightly upgraded Frontlines demo from a different developer. It didnt even feel like BF2 to me, honestly.


Upgraded Frontlines....ouch.:D
I agree the game does need a lot of polish, and the aliasing was pretty bad, and the level of detail of the maps is not GoW/COD level, but this brings up the old huge Halo levels with a bunch of stuff going on VS. tight, detailed levels. I don't know if they can turn it around or not, but I don't think it's impossible.

Also, does anyone else feel like the controls are SLOOOOOOOOW. I use a higher sensitivity on COD4, about 4-5 out of 10, and I cranked it all the way up on BF and it still felt like it took a week to turn around and shoot someone.

I got an email from EA last night, saying a key was avail to me if I emailed them back. Maybe I will end up with one - who knows.

They have me pegged since I bought most of the Battlefield stuff over the years, stopped when the "booster" packs (read as - pay for your upgrade and new content for the PC) but they still send me deals.

Will be my first experience with Battlefield on a console.

played the beta for a while....and i knew coming in not to prejudge the graphics....but i dont think i'll like the gameplay much!

not my style sorry .


cod4/vegas2 owns

I really liked the PC BF2 game and was looking forward to the PS3 release ( No XBox). Sounds like the general consensus isn't that great. I'm still holding out some hope but this thread has definitely taken some of the wind out of my sails. :cool:

Can anyone post some screenshots for those of us behind a company firewall?

So pretty much COD4, with destruction? Pass, atleast theres the free PC battlefield coming out.

COD4 doesn't have vehicles and destruction is not minor thing.

I'm new to the BF franchise. IMO it's not bad at all. I'm mostly a console gamer, and most of my FPS multiplayer is done on Halo 3. To me, BF feels like CoD4 mixed with Black, the FPS on the Xbox/PS2 made by Criterion. I'm going to give it a second chance tonight and see how it goes.

upgraded frontlines? honestly i think frontlines is better.... that being said, i really liked frontlines, and i dont dislike this game in beta form, and i'm sure it'll only get better.

biggest problem? looks just like graw... well without the crappy overused bloom effects from graw.... something about it just doesnt feel right.

and for everyone who didnt get a key, the key was just to download via XBLM, if you get it elsewhere, it plays fine from dvd :)

I played the beta for about an hour last night and I also think Frontlines is better. The "feel" of it is just better. But I'll play some more tonight. I'm sure it will grow on me.

It's a beta! It's a beta!

Which means anyone who says they are going back to COD because the graphics suck, well it's a beta. And that COD has mind blowing graphics and a fantastic game (Prestige 4, here)



They also said the samething for Halo 3 and that looked exactly like the retail. And this just sounds like an expansion for full retail price. Wow, they added new maps and world damage. I'm skipping it. Milk the sheep EA.

How do I unlock the third item for each of the kits???

As you rank up you get Unlock points. Don't remember where the option is but you can choose alternate weapons for each kit and the special items to unlock with your points. Think you have to do it between matches in the character screen that shows your stats and such.

upgraded frontlines? honestly i think frontlines is better.... that being said, i really liked frontlines, and i dont dislike this game in beta form, and i'm sure it'll only get better.

biggest problem? looks just like graw... well without the crappy overused bloom effects from graw.... something about it just doesnt feel right.

and for everyone who didnt get a key, the key was just to download via XBLM, if you get it elsewhere, it plays fine from dvd :)

Upon playing it again last night and then comparing them, I will adjust my "upgraded Frontline" comment and agree with those of you who say Frontline is better.

I tried giving this demo another chance. Tried for about 30 minutes and then just gave up. Ill definitely download the demo in the future to see what has changed.

Upon playing it again last night and then comparing them, I will adjust my "upgraded Frontline" comment and agree with those of you who say Frontline is better.

I tried giving this demo another chance. Tried for about 30 minutes and then just gave up. Ill definitely download the demo in the future to see what has changed.

As a Frontline player I will concur I enjoy Frontline more than the BF Beta. When I first played the Frontline demo (purchased full version) it was very intuitive right from the start - for everything. I do not get that feeling with the BF beta. (For those "comparers"...yes I play COD4 also)

I agree, as you mentioned earlier, that this BF does not remotely even feel like BF Modern Combat did. When that demo came out a long time ago it was one of the first online war games I tried. THAT demo felt very intuitive...and FUN.

I'll stay away from the graphics debate as heck, I accept Frontline's graphics:p. But the mechanics of shooting, gun recoil, they way people die, grenade throwing, body physics,etc...just not well done...at all.

My initial impressions (if I didn't obviously know) are that this looks like a company's first attempt at putting out an online multi-player war game. Beta....fine. But that excuse only goes so far. This just does not play right....for me.

I actually enjoyed playing the game. My wishes are for a better tutorial though. I knew the objective of the match but was lost about weapons. It was a little overwhelming at first. The greneade indicator needs to be larger.

The desert stage looks beautiful but something is off with the visuals. When you spawn inside a building it was almost pitch black. Buildings are way too dark. I will try going into the options menu and adjusting brightness and contrast.

Overall, I think the game has major potential. There is nothing like destroying a building with a tank. Or running a humvee into a building.

PS3 guy chiming in... With only having seen the youtube vids it seems pretty true to PC BF2. The building interiors do look very dark though.

Well, here is my detailed review.

Communication - Very dissapointing. None of the comms were working yet so there is no in game communication with your teammates.

Vehicles - Waay too much fun. From the jeeps, hum-vees, tanks, choppers, and APC's they are all fun to drive. The sounds are very realistic. I love getting the the Abrams and listening to the turbine deisel engines rev up.
The controls can get a bit tricky on some of the vehicles for some people. I had no issues with the chopper when I changed to "Type 2" controls. It seemed like a better button layout for me.

Classes - Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses. There is no feeling like when you see a group of tanks come over the hill and you have NOTHING to stop them. RUN!!!
My personal fav classes are:

Support (LMG, Power tool for reparing, Heath packs, and the unlockable GPS Mortar launcher(useful against troops, not so much on armor)

Recon - This is the sniper class. I have unlocked the Barret .50 cal but find it not very accurate so I am using the default sniper rifle. This class also has a unlockable Laser Deisnator with which you can "paint" armor hot and bring own a remote controlled bomb from the heavens. This took me a bit to figure out how to control it but once you realise it is controlled with the right thumb stick. BOOM! Big explosions. Very pretty to watch.

Graphics - The graphics are amazing, blowing up buildings is really cool and very realistic. The hole in the wall you can make is directly related to the weapon you choose to create that hole. RPG? BIG Hole. 203? Medium Hole. Tank shell? Umm...it's not so much a hole as it is taking off the side of a building. Oh and Yeti, you had a concern that after 10 mins of playing there would be no building left. Well, when they say completely destructable, it's not entirely accurate as you canot blow up floors or stairs/ladders in a building, so you can still navigate through them. You can however, blow the lid off a house and expose the sniper hiding in the attic. (That happened to me once...i felt naked.)
I did see a few glitches when it came to graphics, I had "black snow" on my screen for a while until i rebooted. The game was still playable but just a little annoying. Beta bug.

Gameplay - What can I say. I already said that this game is capable of being "Game of the Year". It's smooth transition from being in a tank, piloting an attack helicopter to sneaking through narrow alley ways while trying to flank that enemy sniper is unreal. You really do feel like you are in the Battlefield.

Apart from the minor annoyances that everyone else has already posted I cannot find anything that will prevent me from buying this game.

Beta Review Score - 8.7/10
I would have rated higher but since we cannot play together, or communicate with randoms, this prevented me from scoring higher.

Well, here is my detailed review...

Wow... "Game of the Year"... Bit early, no? :confused:

Styxx, by any chance did you ever have a chance to play Frontlines? Wondering what you thought of that...

It may be early, but I truly believe that this games' potential is great.

No, I have not yet played frontlines.

I agree with ^. The more I play this game the more I like it. I can actually see this taking CD4's place (for me).

So how is the damage thing? gimmic or no shi*?? Can you see seams in walls before the wall is blown up or can you make a hole in anything? Its not prerendered crumble points is it?

So how is the damage thing? gimmic or no shi*?? Can you see seams in walls before the wall is blown up or can you make a hole in anything? Its not prerendered crumble points is it?

basically any fence or wall/roof can be destroyed, you cant see any crumble points, but the foundation always stays up.

so with a 2 story house, you can blow up four walls on bottom, leaving only the floor, corner beams holding up the second story floor and the stairs leading to the second floor, of course on the second floor you can destroy the roof and the walls, leaving nothing but a platform to stand on.

any fence surrounding an area can be destroyed, except for earth wall which is used as an explosive barrier in real life, you cant destroy that.

you can also destroy bridges, so ground vehicles cant cross them, but can still ford the shallow rivers and streams they once covered.

imo, the destruction aspect works pretty well, but is more of a gimmick than anything, a lot of gold crates are protected by sandbags and stuff, so even if all the buildings are gone, it's still fairly balanced.

you can also cut down tree's, billboards, etc... and the walls do have crumble spots, though you cant see them... you can take your support class with the truck tool (an impact wrench it looks like) and cut through walls pretty quickly, which is pretty unrealistic.....

another cool thing to do is sneak up on an enemy tank if you can, and dismantle it with your truck tool :P

its pretty cool to flank an enemy base all the way to the back, only to be stopped by a fence.... press RB to switch to M203, bam, hole in fence, proceed to flank and stab a few ppl, collecting their dog tags along the way.

Anyone know if they plan on opening it to the public?

Anyone know if they plan on opening it to the public?



a few posts up i hinted at how anyone with an internet connection and a DVD burner can get into this beta.

Well, here is my detailed review.

Communication - Very dissapointing. None of the comms were working yet so there is no in game communication with your teammates.

....

Beta Review Score - 8.7/10
I would have rated higher but since we cannot play together, or communicate with randoms, this prevented me from scoring higher.

I thought there were no communications but yesterday when I was playing a couple of people in my squad were chatting it up.... I don't like how it puts you in a squad.

I thought there were no communications but yesterday when I was playing a couple of people in my squad were chatting it up.... I don't like how it puts you in a squad.

its just for the beta i think, later you should be able change squads.... yesterday i had a bunch of crappy squads, but i did have one that was pretty good... helps when your squad has different roles, and good communication.

a few posts up i hinted at how anyone with an internet connection and a DVD burner can get into this beta.

I'd be too scared to try it.

Getting banned for the chance to play a one month beta... :rolleyes:

I really want to try it out, but that doesn't seem worth it.

People burning it to DVD is probably why the servers are going crazy.

you can also cut down tree's, billboards, etc... and the walls do have crumble spots, though you cant see them... you can take your support class with the truck tool (an impact wrench it looks like) and cut through walls pretty quickly, which is pretty unrealistic.....


You can also cut down a tree with exactly 5 knife slashes, which is also pretty unrealistic. ;)

The game is ok so far, I'm not loving it as much as I did the BF2:MC beta on the original Xbox. The whole respawn wait screen really pulls you out of the action, and since you die so quickly and often you end up sitting in silence a little to much to keep you in the flow of the game.

The realism for this game isn't fully accurate but, it's a video game. They put a lot work into this game. If you shoot a tree to knock it down, it breaks where you shot it.


Another thing that wasn't mentioned are the boats. The grenade launcher on the boat is awesome. There is no greater feeling then taking a base by sea.

I agree they need to change the death screen and the respawn screen. You feel out of the game. They should allow you to continue to see the battlefield.

Well, here is my detailed review.



Great review. I'd agree with all of it and add a few things:

-Nice plus of forcing the action to a few points (crates) before expanding the map. Its something I like with Frontlines and hated about the PC BF2. The action is very concentrated at a 'front' vs. some yahoo taking a hummer back to your back flag and capping it and folks running everywhere to get 'flags'.

-The interface took me a bit to get used to. With no tutorial (its a beta) it took a bit to get the hang of things.

-How to get your unlocks (you basically get an 'unlock point' for each promotion level) wasn't intuitive either. It took me 4 or 5 rounds before I 'found' where to cash them in. I do like that I can pick my unlocks and thereby spec how I want vs. being locked into whatever unlock the promotion gives me ala COD4. Although after the first 5 or 6 unlocks basically everyone has the cool toys. :D

-Vehicles rock! Don't forget the boats. Plus the respawn time is quick so there's always vehicles moving around.

-Big Maps with great street fighting and lots of ways to get to your objective.

-I don't like the inability to pick my squad but the squad spawn does add a nice strategic element to the game. If you're the last guy in the squad alive and close to a strategic point you can stay put and continue to have your squad mates form up on you and attack the objective vs. having to hump their way from the last home point. Compare that to COD4's seemingly random (at times) spawn algorithm.

-There's friendly fire - which is a pro/con all in itself.

-Voice has been hit/miss. Sometimes its there and there's lots of chatter, other times its not.

Basically it feels like BF2 with realism dumbed down a bit and forced frontline action. I'll take it!

Is there a commander position like BF2? What about the UAV, laser designator and morters/artillery ?

BF2 PC gave the option to squad up but it was benificial and you got more points as I recall. At the end of a round there was "Best in Class', 'Best Squad", 'Top Player' etc... how are the stats in this version?

You do get points for 'squad assist' and I think there's a trophy.

No commander, no UAV.

Snipers can throw out motion detectors that have a pretty good radius. They function similar to a UAV just in a smaller area. If you are sighted you show up on the HUD as well. Snipers can also call in a guided missile which you have to guide (very cool).
It requires about 5 seconds for a 'lock' and then you hear audio that 'missile strike approved' and then your view switches to a top down view of the map with your missile falling toward the target which you right stick to guide it in.

Mortars are an unlock for one of the classes. Very good against infantry - vehicles, not so much.

Artillery is a 'vehicle' that one person can use anywhere on the map. Don't know that much about it as I haven't gotten in it to use. Works well though :D

You do get points for 'squad assist' and I think there's a trophy.

No commander, no UAV.

Snipers can throw out motion detectors that have a pretty good radius. They function similar to a UAV just in a smaller area. If you are sighted you show up on the HUD as well. Snipers can also call in a guided missile which you have to guide (very cool).
It requires about 5 seconds for a 'lock' and then you hear audio that 'missile strike approved' and then your view switches to a top down view of the map with your missile falling toward the target which you right stick to guide it in.

Mortars are an unlock for one of the classes. Very good against infantry - vehicles, not so much.

Artillery is a 'vehicle' that one person can use anywhere on the map. Don't know that much about it as I haven't gotten in it to use. Works well though :D


Interesting....

So the HUD sighting.... do you have to call out the enemy for them to show up? BF2 was used this it addition the the UAV. BF2 you could take out a ciommucations shack and disable their UAV.

I assume then that only the snipers have use of the detector?

How is the Artillery use determined? Is it fixed or mobile ? Can you destroy the enemy artillery?

Are there Squad leaders or any general squad directive?

You can't 'call out' the enemy like PC BF2. It happens when you take a shot at the enemy. If you shoot at a tank it'll say 'enemy tank sighted', etc. Its not like BF2 where you could 'recon' everything without taking a shot.

Not sure on who 'sees' what the motion detector shows. I assumed it was everyone but not sure. Its probably just the snipers.

Artillery is fixed at your starting base, ranges the entire map, and can be destroyed but respawns fairly quickly.

No squad leaders or squad directive. Chat works in 'squads'. Spawning is on the squad person alive the longest.

a few posts up i hinted at how anyone with an internet connection and a DVD burner can get into this beta.

thanks for the heads up, I used that same method to play the guitar hero 3 demo last year.

You can't 'call out' the enemy like PC BF2. It happens when you take a shot at the enemy. If you shoot at a tank it'll say 'enemy tank sighted', etc. Its not like BF2 where you could 'recon' everything without taking a shot..

That kind of sucks. I would assume firing a shot would put you on the enemy radar as well?


Artillery is fixed at your starting base, ranges the entire map, and can be destroyed but respawns fairly quickly..
I liked it when you had to get the Artillery repaired or drop supplies on it. Hopefully it stays down for a reasonable amount of time.


No squad leaders or squad directive. Chat works in 'squads'. Spawning is on the squad person alive the longest.

In the past some Squad leaders kind of hung back so they could kind of act as a forward spawn point. This was a benefit to having a good squad leader. The new method seems that it would give that advantage to everyone and not just those who worked for it.

Scratch that...you have to be shot at to be seen. You shooting doesn't show you on the HUD.

The arty issues I heard had less to do with respawn than with time between firings. Its a bit too short between barrages.

The squad issues are mixed. I would like to be able to pick my squad mates and kick who I don't want. Its random assignment now. So you could say yeah it gives the advantage to everyone, IF your squad spawn guy isn't a knucklehead (ie, dropping grenades, sitting in a tank in the middle of a firefight, etc.)

Btw, no parachute, no prone.