Star Wars Battlefront BETA starts today!

In case you haven't heard, forgot or just don't care...

EA has seen fit to allow the rest of us to get a taste of Star Wars: Battlefront a month before its official launch.  Described as a "test period" running from October 8th to October 12th players can experience 3 game modes including:

Walker Assault on Hoth: Fight in epic 40-player battles as a Rebel to destroy the Empire’s onslaught of AT-AT’s by calling in Y-wing bombers. Or, side with the Empire and protect your walkers while utilizing their mighty weaponry to crush the Rebel objective.

Drop Zone on Sullust: Escape pods are crashing down and you and your team must fight to control them. With its frantic 8v8 matches, Drop Zone is sure to put your combat and strategy skills to the test.   

Survival Mission on Tatooine: Play alone or with a friend via co-op or split-screen as you battle to hold off waves of Imperial forces including AT-ST’s, TIE fighters, elite stormtroopers and more.

Source: EA's official Beta page...

But be warned!  The game has fairly steep hardware requirements.  You're going to need either a current gen console (PS4, XBox 1) or a current gen PC with at least the following:

·         OS: 64-bit Windows 7 or later

·         Processor (Intel): Intel i3 6300T or equivalent

·         Memory: 8GB RAM

·         Hard Drive: At least 40 GB of free space

·         Graphics card (NVIDIA): nVidia GeForce GTX 660 2GB

·         Graphics card (ATI): ATI Radeon HD 7850 2GB

·         DirectX: 11.0 Compatible video card or equivalent

·         Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection

Source: Gamespot...

Remember, this is a BETA release.  In other words, things are going to get wonky at times and server outages/availability are likely to be part of the experience.  Past BETA experience with EA titles has shown that this is likely to be a stress test on both the server infrastructure and code integrity.

Don't get to attached to your achievements either.  None of your stats will transfer and your level will be capped at 5 according to EA's official BETA page for the game.

So if you're at all interested and have the hardware to handle it, the closest you're ever going to get to a demo is yours for the taking.  Assuming you've got nothing better to do next weekend that is...

Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 - Free on EA's Origin service

Did you ever play the board game Stratego as a kid?

Did you dream of commanding armies against an enemy bent on your destruction?

Command and Conquer from Westwood studios fulfilled that dream for gamers in the late 90's.  In 2000 EA bought the development studio and produced what was then and still is one of the most entertaining Real Time Strategy games in the genre, Command and Conquer Red Alert 2. 

If you're a fan of games like Syndicate, Company of Heroes or Starcraft then this latest freebie from EA is right up your alley.  That's right, Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 is the current offering from EA's "On the House" promotion.

If you don't know anything about Real-time Strategy Games then this may be a good introduction for you.  Set against a backdrop of a cold war gone hot, your goal is pretty simple.  Wipe out the other guy by destroying or taking over his stuff before he does the same to you.  

At your disposal are troops, buildings and vehicles.  That is, assuming you've got enough of an economy to afford them.  Lest we forget, this is war so don't be surprised if the enemy is constantly attacking you hoping to cripple your ability to fight.

Your perspective is somewhere between 2D and 3D ( most call it 2.5D ) meaning you look at the game world from a diagonal perspective hovering over the playfield.

Unlike most properties that EA buys, they somehow managed to not screw this one up.  The game is more lighthearted than its predecessor and keeps you engaged with amusing dialog and well acted video clips. 

BTW, Kari Wuhrer never looked better than she did playing Special Agent Tanya Adams in this game.

The interface is simple and the gameplay fairly intuitive.  It's primarily a single player game but there is an Internet (online) option in the main menu although it's doubtful there are any active EA servers.

For a game that EA's giving away, this is one of the better deals they've offered up since Syndicate or Battlefield 3.  

They're also including the 2001 expansion, Yuri's Revenge.

All it takes is 1.5 GB of hard drive space and a bit of patience.  When EA offered up C&C 2 they found their download servers besieged and had to temporarily take them down to deal with the demand.  So if you open your Origin Client and find Theme Hospital instead of C&C2, know it's only a stand-in till EA can ramp up the servers.

Get your copy while you can.  I've never been a big fan of RTS games but so far this one's got me hooked and who can argue with the price?

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 with the Yuri's Revenge expansion is available now (soon as the servers are back up) on EA's Origin service.

Here's an example of what to expect...