TheBigDave

Anyone else get in on the Battlefield: Bad Company beta for the Xbox 360?

You can get a beta code if you pre-order at Gamestop:

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/swoffers/default.asp

They're giving away some free beta codes, but I think the only ones left are for IGN subscribers:

http://www.fileplanet.com/promotions/bfbc/na/

The servers go live on March 25th (Tuesday).

TheBigDave

Here's some video of the beta game mode:

<embed src='http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf' flashvars='object_ID=713943&downloadURL=http://xbox360movies.ign.com/xbox360/video/article/860/860847/BFBC_081908_flvlowwide.flv&allownetworking="all"' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='433' height='360' ></embed>

Here's some more info. And there's a rundown of the beta's weapons, gadgets and vehicles at IGN.

astrochimp

Dont have the beta but im looking forward to this game.The previews look amazing and im a huge fan of the BF series.

lordwow

I downloaded the beta yesterday, I'll probably give it some time next week.

REL77

I got lucky and got a key, Cant wait till its live next week... I plan on putting in some good time to this, assuming it fun, and by the looks of it, it has to be

Nausicaa

I'm confused. I might sign up for Insider so I can play this. Before I do though, I want to make sure of some things. It says I'm just getting a key here, is that all I need? How do I actually play the game? Will they have something available for download? Is it available for download now?

K&AJones

I went over to Teamxbox and pulled up the stills and must say pretty impressive. The landscape and environment especially look very detailed. I really like the use of the mist and fog. Explosions shots really look good. The one in shot 33 of 62 looks as real as I've ever seen.

http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/scre...d-Bad-Company/

Kenny J - Buzz Starhopper

TheBigDave

You enter the key code into XBL, and it unlocks the beta download (around 1GB). It's just like downloading a demo. You can start up the game, and browse through the menu, but the multiplayer servers won't be online until Tuesday (so you can't actually play anything yet).

Raul3

Yep.
I got a code from Fileplanet. They show the video linked here in the demo.

xmiyux

Got my code and downloading the demo now. It should be neat to check out.

mrglass

I downloaded it this morning and fired it up just for the heck of it...the menu music took me by surprise! I was expecting some standard ho-hum war type theme, but it's a catchy jazz tune. I did some digging around and it's "The Beast" by Milt Buckner. Never heard of it before, but I'm a fan now.

Maxwell Smart

when';s the game supposed to come out?

I played the hell out of BF2 on pc, never played the futuristic one.

astrochimp

IGN shows a release date of June 23rd for thats worth.

Nausicaa

Got to play the beta for about 20 minutes before work this morning before work (thanks Dave, for filling me in). I was experiencing some lag initially, but once it went away, I have to say that this game is a TON of fun. The graphics are excellent. While the destructable environments aren't quite as dynamic as I was hoping, it's still ridiculously cool. The explosions are some of the best I've ever seen. Helicoptors crashing in the distance looked real. The sound effects are excellent, and give the battle a very realistic, almost frightening feel.

Controls were solid as well. Your character really feels like he has some weight, and the guns feel big and chunky when you fire them. Vehicles controls were fluid as well. All in all, very impressive for a beta.

4 'o clock can't roll around soon enough.

CKMorpheus

Downloaded it yesterday. I hope it's good. I've always liked the Battlefield series but was disapointed with the console versions of it. It's just not the same without 64 player servers.

Raul3

how does it compares with COD4? Who is IMO the best MP shooter right now.

Binger

I preordered at Gamestop today and was given a DVD case with a Key chain and code. The guy told me that was the Beta code so I thought I was set. Got in the car and looked at the code only to find out that it was for a sniper rifle and not the beta. Guess I'm screwed, but what is the deal with the sniper rifle? In Battlefield 2 I could spawn with the sniper kit, in BC do you have to buy additional kits? I guess I shouldn't be suprised since its EA, but still.

Sticky Bomb

I have to disagree with the possitive review of the beta. I also played about 20 minutes this morning, and thought it was pretty bad. IMO it looks horrible. Very Slow, Iron sighting a weapon takes up your whole screen, and the vehicles are very hard to drive. Plus I dont think this gold rush game type is going to work, since it didnt seem like the defenders really knew what they were doing. It seems a little too easy to infitrate and destroy the crates. I was not impressed and would not even begin to compare this to COD4.

Nausicaa

After many, many more hours of solid play time with this beta, I have to reiterate my initial enthusiasm, and then some. :P

This is definitely one to look forward to guys. I'm definitely enjoying this title more than COD4. I never cared for the standard COD4 multiplayer matches, so I stuck mostly to the hardcore rooms, where the gameplay was more methodical and strategic. In my opinion, Battlefield Bad Company takes the aspects that I loved from the COD Hardcore, namely the stealth aspect and the more realistic combat, and improves upon it. Rather than confining you to a small map though, and being forced to rely on the strength of your reflexes, you have room the breath and focus more on strategy. This is where Battlefield titles have always succeeded, and this one really takes it to the next level.

There are so many options presented in terms of how you want to assist your team. As usual there are a number of classes ranging from attackers with assault rifles to recon units with sniper rifles and engineers, etc. There are a multitude of vehicles, land, sea, and air. The controls on the vehicles were tough at first, but I changed it to a more conventional set up (move with right joystick, look with right), and it worked much better. This should be the default set-up. Anyone complaining about controls should change it. There's lots of cool mounted weapons on the map. My favorite is the artillery canon. You get to a aim with a real-time satellite view of the map, and then the camera switches to the target and you get to watch the destruction.

The explosions and damage modeling are most excellent. The buildings sort of break apart in predetermined places, so the destruction system isn't as dynamic as many would like. However, after some play time, I prefer it this way. It sort of allowed the developers to plan the way the city would fall apart, so there is always a strategic place to hide. Besides that, the buildings to fall almost completely apart, and everything is destructable. The land gets reshaped by the tank blasts, grenades and artilery shells, buildings collapse all around you and vehicles explode in massive balls of flames. I honestly think this is one of the most graphically impressive recreations of battle.

The sound is excellent as well. Everything sounds loud, harsh, and scary. It really sweeps you into the battle. You'll be driving along a road, and all of a sudden you'll pull into a town and you hear tank shells buzzing past you and loud, metallic bangs and crumbling brick. Helicopters sweep over and their rockets make this crazy screeching sound. It's really impressive and lends a huge degree of scope.

The gameplay is great, and the battles felt very fluid. There is a bit of a learning curve, but once you figure out the layout of the maps and the way they progress, it's easy. You can always spawn behind a squad mate and get right back into battle. The game really does a good job of keeping the battle in one place, with shifting spawn points and battle zones. The maps can be huge, like Oasis. There are tons of places to battle. This is why I love these titles, is the freedom they offer. It presents far more gameplay variety than titles like Call of Duty 4.

For example, I was a sniper this last game, and camping (I know, I know) out in this house across a bridge from where the battle was taking place on the opposite side of the river. I was raking up quite a bit of kills. Every once in a while, I would detect enemies on my carefully placed radar sensors (awesome), and the battle would come to me. The maps are so detailed it's easy to hide around in houses and gardens, unlike previous battlefield titles. I carefully avoided and killed a couple enemies. Tanks came around and a full out battle broke out around me. I manage to stay alive and kill a few enemies, and eventually the battle moves away. I look around, the house and surrounding area is totally blown to pieces, and I go take cover behind a blown out wall and keep sniping. I must have gotten 20 kills before I got taken down.

You don't die as often in battlefield if you're clever. You can stay alive for a long time and move from vehicle to vehicle or location to location, healing along the way. It's pretty fun. Makes you feel like you're in a real battle. I don't know what else to say but, this game is really, really freakin fun.

xmiyux

I finally got the beta to work on the 360 this afternoon. So far, not so impressed.

Raul3

I played just a few minutes yesterday and there was this message scrolling trough the top of the screen saying they were having problems with the load.

I just played like 20 minutes and it sounded good and looked good for the most part. There were some issues with the graphics but that's something expected from a beta. I need to play it more to make a more formal opinion. But although I liked it, right now I think COD4 is better.

TheBigDave

I love the stuff you can find in a beta. Check out the bouncing meds.

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mrglass

Here's an extra beta key if anyone is interested...post if you use it!

DWMQP-3W23C-XRPKV-XVD6Q-BCCVY

Wick

I got a beta key from IGN on the 24th, but I've yet to have a chance to try it out. Hopefully I can check it out tonight.

Edison

Thanks! Used it.