Battlefield: Bad Company 2

There has been some confusion over how EA’s new Origin service will be integrated into Battlefield 3. Battlelog plays a big part, with the ability to browse servers and join a game directly from the browser. But according to DICE’s Daniel Martos, Origin will be required in order to play Battlefield 3 if the game is bought in retail. We don’t know whether this is true if the game is downloaded through a digital download service other than Origin, but we suspect Origin will be required no matter what.

This isn’t a big surprise, as many games these days require a client to run in the background, most notably games from Valve, where Steam is required. However, it can become an issue if the client is draining CPU power, which was the case with Origin during the Battlefield 3 alpha trial. Of course, it was only an alpha, so many tweaks and fixes are bound to happen. Another issue is memory usage among these clients, both Steam and Origin appear to use somewhere around 50 MB of memory during a game (but that can depend on the game and other system specs).

Last week, EA confirmed that Battlefield 3 would not be released on Steam due to certain Steam rules where DLC and patches must be provided via Steam.

Source : http://bf3blog.com/2011/08/origin-required-to-play-battlefield-3/

The expansion pack moves closer to release. Go to official website of BC2: Vietnam

GET READY FOR A WHOLE NEW WAR

Skimming the treetops in the legendary Huey helicopter, Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" blasts through its loudspeakers. Down in the jungles and rice fields below, the enemy is waiting for a chance to take you down with their T54 tanks and RPG launchers. Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2 just made the journey to a new place and time -- back to the 60's and the infamous Vietnam War.

Battlefield: Bad Company™ 2 Vietnam is a content-heavy expansion for the game that has sold more than 5 million copies and has been called "a better game than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" by The New York Times.

At the heart of this expansion lie four distinct, brand-new multiplayer maps based on the Vietnam War. Each map brings a new gameplay experience and fresh visuals, with characteristics such as foxholes, tunnels and dense jungles from where the enemy can launch surprise attacks. Also, 15 classic Vietnam-era weapons and 6 vehicles are available from the moment you go online.

All four multiplayer game modes from Battlefield: Bad Company 2, including the genre-defining Conquest Mode, will be playable in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam. The expansion is integrated with the full game persistence, so no matter what theatre of war you participate in, you will continue to level up your soldier as usual.

To set that unmistakable 60's atmosphere, the audio team at DICE has recorded all-new voice-overs for both sides of the conflict, based on authentic dialogue from the Vietnam War. On top of this, a rocking soundtrack with 2 hours worth of time typical tracks gives the expansion a truly characteristic sound.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is all-out multiplayer warfare at its absolute finest. With this new expansion, the battle moves to tropical Vietnam for a new chance to settle the score: Which team has the biggest skills, the smartest tactics, and the tightest squad play?

KEY FEATURES

4 Brand New Maps. From the rice fields of the Phu Bai Valley to the napalm scorched earth of Hill 137, four distinct Vietnam-based maps each bring a fresh visual and gameplay experience.

6 Immortalized Vehicles. Skim the treetops in the iconic American Huey helicopter. Drive the sturdy Russian T54 tank and the nimble US PBR "Pibber" patrol boat, plus three more vehicles immortalized in the Vietnam war.

15 Characteristic Weapons. Charge into battle with 15 new weapons modeled on their real life counter-parts, including the rare Navy SEAL XM22 machinegun and the characteristic M79 "Blooper" Grenade Launcher.

Rocking 60's Soundtrack. Listen to 8 radio channels in-game, featuring 49 time typical tracks, including "Ride of the Valkyries" and "Fortunate Son" by CCR.

True War Dialogue. All-new voiceovers for both American and Vietnamese forces, based on authentic communication from the Vietnam war for maximum immersion.

New Achievements/Trophies. Collect 10 new achievements/trophies, one for blowing up Vietnamese propaganda speakers. Earn new weapon proficiency stars specific to your skills with the weapons in the expansion.

2K Games has made it official: Duke Nukem Forever is alive and, well, in the hands of developer Gearbox Software, confirming our earlier reports that the Borderlands studio was helping to complete the game's absurdly long development cycle.

The publisher announced this morning in advance of PAX 2010 that Gearbox Software was on the job, picking up where developer 3D Realms left off. Gearbox plans to ship the game on the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 within the next year, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal—the WSJ says DNF is due "next year" and "currently expected to ship in 2010."

Given Duke Nukem Forever's epic development—it was first announced in 1997 as a sequel to Duke Nukem 3D—it might be wise to hedge on the later of those two release windows.

Gearbox and 2K will be showcasing the game to press and the public at this weekend's PAX convention. 2K Games is offering a publicly playable demo of Duke Nukem Forever at its booth.

After more than a decade in development, Duke Nukem Forever all but ended its production after the collapse of studio 3D Realms. Gearbox Software president Randy Pitchford tells the WSJ that his studio picked up development in late 2009 and that the game is currently in the "polishing" stages.

Source : http://kotaku.com/5628894/its-official-duke-nukem-forever-coming-from-gearbox-software