Battlefield Heroes

[livemusic]

Big news from the Digital Life, Digital Design Conference in Munich today, as EA reveals the latest game in their online warfare series - Battlefield Heroes. Abandoning the series'' knack for processor-heavy realistic graphics, this new title features a cartoony look akin to Valve's Team Fortress 2, perfect for fast-action and accessible to a much wider audience. On top of the change in graphical direction, the game also features an all-new price point for an EA PC title: free.
That's right. EA is taking a stab at the free to play pricing structure, delivering the game to anyone with the bandwidth to pull it down this summer at no charge whatsoever. Revenue comes in the way of in-game advertising as well as microtransactions, though the exact nature of said microtransactions hasn't quite been fleshed out yet. Hopefully you won't have to buy bullets.

"Online gaming garners a massive audience," said Gerhard Florin, EVP Publishing Americas-Europe at EA. "People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play."

It's hard not to think cartoony online shooter without thinking Team Fortress 2 ripoff, but I think the change in direction is an excellent idea. A Battlefield game where I don't have to worry about the graphics taking away from the real hero of the battlefield - the gameplay - sounds absolutely blissful, and you can't beat the price. Look for more details on the game in the March issue of Games for Windows magazine, which features a world exclusive cover story on the game.
BATTLEFIELD HEROES LEADS THE WAY FOR EA'S NEW 'PLAY 4 FREE' BUSINESS MODEL
Unique Cartoon Shooter Introduces a New Way to Play Battlefield
Chertsey, UK January 21, 2008 - At the Digital, Life, Design Conference (DLD) in Munich, Electronic Arts Inc., (NASDAQ: ERTS) today unveiled Battlefield Heroes™, an all-new Play 4 Free cartoon-style shooter that will bring classic Battlefield gameplay to an all new mass audience. Available for download at www.battlefield-heroes.com this summer, Battlefield Heroes is EA's first title that is offered completely for free, and features a built-in matchmaking system to ensure that players of equal skill are paired together for fair play. Developed by DICE in Stockholm, Battlefield Heroes is leading EA's new web-focused free to download, free to play business model which generates revenue through advertising and micro-transactions. With zero barriers to entry, now anyone can be a hero on the battlefield!
"Online gaming garners a massive audience," said Gerhard Florin, EVP Publishing Americas-Europe at EA. "People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play."
Battlefield Heroes is a brand new game from the team behind Battlefield 1942™ and Battlefield 2™. It's fun cartoon-style graphics and gameplay caters to players of all skill levels. It is easy to pick up and play but with robust character customization and a deep online meta-game, gamers can spend hours building up their characters and conquering the world.
"We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics and gameplay," added Ben Cousins, Senior Producer at EA DICE. "There's something here for all types of players -- be it our core Battlefield fans or casual gamers. With the new online model, we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games."
Battlefield Heroes will be released for the PC as a free download in summer 2008. This product is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB. For more information on EA DICE, please visit www.dice.se or www.ea.com

I was thinking of buying BF2 for online playing but now I think I'll wait for this one since it's free. People say Team Fortress 2 is one of the best multiplayer FPS' out there so I don't mind the cartoonish style.

 

[alba]

I never played any battlefield but i'm going to give it a go, mainly because they ripped tf2's art direction which is a great thing

too bad it's only third person view

 

[livemusic]

Some low quality screens:

 

[livemusic]

Digging up the thread to see if there's someone else at GTP playing this game. It's currently in closed beta stage and I've been playing it for a couple of months now.

I think the game is pretty near of its official release, or maybe an open beta stage first, because we're already able to buy items with real money. When I started playing this was not possible, you won the game money just by playing.

Battlefield Heroes is simple but cool, you don't need a powerfull computer to run it. There's currently three maps available, and the game mode is similar to the Battlefield online series. Two teams, each one has a base and you can conquer flags around the map. Each team starts with 50 tickets, and as players get killed the team will lose tickets. The flags a team holds serve as a multiplier, making the other team lose more tickets per kill.

There's jeeps, tanks and planes depending on the map and you start off with two weapons, a special ability and dynamite.

You can buy better weapons, grenades and such, and you can also evolve new abilities and upgrade them. The cool thing is this doesn't require real money, you get the points to buy weapons and stars to upgrade the abilities just by playing and leveling up your character. The only items you have to pay for are costumes and boosts that make you upgrade your character faster or gain more points to buy weapons.

Anyway, if someone else is playing this put your username here so we can play togheter. My username is livemusic, feel free to add me to your friend list.

To apply for a beta key go here: http://www.battlefield-heroes.com/news/battlefield-heroes-beta-key-signup

 

[Aldo]

That game looks like a carbon copy pretty much of Team Fortress
Hopefully the gameplay is as good as TF2
Ill download and try it and then post back here sometime 👍

 

[LeftyWright69]

I'd love to team up w/ someone for a BFH squad, are there any players out there?