Battlefield Bad Company 2 Multiplayer Beta Coming Soon

It's a great day for PS3 owners today, as DICE, the Swedish game studio behind the always entertaining Battlefield series, has announced that the first multiplayer beta for its upcoming Battlefield Bad Company 2 is coming November 19, exclusively for the Sony console.  The multiplayer beta will include a new map, Arica Harbour, and one new game mode, Rush, for up to 24 players to play.  (The full game, due out in March 2010, will feature four multiplayer modes.) This map is said to feature a balance of vehicle and infantry combat, with the American forces attacking a Russian army base and moving through a desert town on its way towards trying to overtake the Arica Harbor.

PC and Xbox 360 fans? Yeah, we hear you.  We're crying a little inside, too.  But don't despair completely: Your turn shall come. DICE will be inviting PC gamers to participate in an open beta in December, while another multiplayer demo for all platforms is due to arrive early next year.  Actually PC gamers shouldn't do much but rejoice, since the first game wasn't available for them at all, so a big huzzah there for bringing this newer wing of the Battlefield franchise back to the platform it all started on.  (And good grief, has it really been seven years already since Battlefield 1942? That's just frightening.)

So, yay for PS3 owners, and DOH, for now, for everyone else. And what have we learned? That the only safe bet is to just own every platform, all the time.  Be platform agnostic.  Sony's happy, Microsoft is happy, you're happy. Everybody wins.

For the full report, read the official press release. And for more information about the game, visit the Official Website.

--Jeff Green