Free Warfare, Summer 08

Here’s a switch. How about a free PC game? Free to download. Free to play as long as you want. No restrictions, just a few ads here and there to support the fledgling game developers.

You’re probably thinkin, yeah, that’s nuthin new. Now how about the game devs just happen to be Electronic Arts. Interested? How about if this free title is part of the Battlefield franchise? Ah, there I’ve got your attention.

Due in Summer 08, Battlefield Heroes introduces a new title to the shooter franchise as well as a new business model for EA, dubbed ‘Play 4 Free’. The game is described as a ‘cartoon-style shooter that will bring classic Battlefield gameplay to an all new mass audience’. Built in matchmaking for online play should make the game more fun and less frustrating than previous iterations, which saw great success but lacked a guarantee of keeping a player ‘in their league’ skillwise.

Sadly, that’s about the extent of the details on the shooter. The official website (www.battlefield-heroes.com) has but one screenshot, or rather a preview for the cover of the March issue of Games for Windows magazine. That single shot bears a striking resemblance to another cartoony shooter, Team Fortress 2. Knowing that, I have one question: What editor decided to put Battlefield Heroes on the cover RIGHT ABOVE a shot for a TF2 article?!?! It only helps to strengthen the resemblance.

Despite all that, Battlefield games have always been fun for me, and the price promised in this case is certainly a good one. Only time will tell whether the gameplay lives up to its older siblings’ standards or whether the in-game advertising will get in the way.