You can almost hear the two players hiding behind the opposite building snickering as they watch the enemy team flood the building they’d just filled with explode-y goodness. I can certainly relate, although unfortunately I relate to the unfortunate people on the other team.

But at least one other military video game has their sights set on the popular first-person shooter, getting a bit of added traction thanks to some controversial design decisions made in the Activision blockbuster.

For the uninitiated, Electronic Arts’ upcoming first-person shooter Battlefield: Bad Company 2 may sound an awful lot like Modern Warfare 2.

Both military games are set in modern times and pride themselves on realistic settings, weapons and combat. But where Modern Warfare 2’s single player story is a narrative that leads players through the action along a scripted plot, Bad Company 2’s developers say their game is a more open-ended experience.

“Battlefield: Bad Company 2 delivers an all-out war experience unlike any other FPS with its wide, open sand box environments, tactical destruction and of course the full range of player controlled vehicles,” said Karl Magnus-Troedsson, the executive producer of the Battlefield Franchise at Digital Illusions CE. “The game stands on more legs than this but these are the key areas which elevate Battlefield: Bad Company 2 above the rest of the pack.”

While Magnus-Troedsson calls Modern Warfare 2 and Bad Company 2 direct competitors, he knew better than to launch EA’s up-and-coming shooter at the same time as titan Modern Warfare 2. Instead, Bad Company 2 will be hitting the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 about four months later, in early March.

“These games are direct competitors while still being different games with different experiences,” Magnus-Troedsson said. “The gamers who like one will probably like the other, at least if they could get into the groove of the different second-to-second experiences.

“Obviously I wouldn’t want to launch at the same time (as Modern Warfare 2). However, we’ve seen a huge uptake in interest for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 even during the height of their marketing campaign. And we’re just getting started.”

Much of that increased interest in Bad Company 2 has been driven by gamers unhappy with some of the decisions made in the development of Modern Warfare 2. Most contentious among gamers was developer Infinity Ward’s decision to limit the control PC gamers have over how they play Modern Warfare 2 online.

Shortly after news broke that Modern Warfare 2 wouldn’t support the ability for gamers to run their own online games on dedicated servers, Digital Interactive CE announced that Bad Company 2 would have dedicated servers.

It may sound like a small issue, but the Infinity Ward’s decision spurred an online petition that currently has more than 210,000 signatures. It also created a movement among some gamers to shift their game purchase from Modern Warfare 2 to Bad Company 2.

One gamer mailed a cheque to Digital Illusions CE, telling them to use the money he had earmarked for Modern Warfare 2 to improve Bad Company 2.

Magnus-Troedsson wouldn’t say how big a factor dedicated servers will be for gamers come March.

“I can’t answer since it’s up to the audience,” he said. “What I can say is that we’ve always considered this a key factor to deliver the best online experience available and anyone caring equally much about this will probably get more out of the multiplayer experience in Battlefield: Bad Company 2.”

And he notes that while there are plenty of vocal gamers currently pledging support for Bad Company 2 at the cost of Modern Warfare 2, it’s still a small percentage of the entire audience.

“So far we’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback based upon what we’ve announced regarding Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” he said. “Some of it has come in the form of proper fan dedication from new as well as old diehard fans. We greatly appreciate this. These are the people that are at the core of our audience, the players we often listen to and who can help shape our games into something even better.

“However, comparing to the vast number of people that will buy the game it’s still a small percentage of people that actually get in direct contact with us. As for the fan mail, what we’ve gotten recently I can only hope is a sign that we’re doing something right.”

And there’s always a chance that a fan base so fickle, so easily swayed by design decisions, could decide that something about Bad Company 2 isn’t a good fit either.

Magnus-Troedsson realises the risk of winning over such die hard fans, gamers who could be intolerant of change.

“We can’t fulfil everyone’s wishes but we always build games that we truly believe our players will love to play,” he said.

With Bad Company 2 that means new game modes, new weapons and a much higher level of polish. Improvements that Magnus-Troedsson believes makes Bad Company 2 the better of the two games.

“Well, obviously I believe Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is better, especially looking at how our game incorporates an all-out war experience with vehicles, destruction, etc,” he said. “But not without a large amount of respect for our competitor, they have a great product with a huge fan base. Don’t expect us to be intimidated by sheer volume of sales though.”

In the first 24 hours alone, Modern Warfare 2 pulled in an estimated $US310 million in North America and the United Kingdom alone, selling 4.7 million copies.

“No matter what market or what products I’m a strong believer that there’s always space for competition,” Magnus Troedsson said. “It helps keep people on their toes and it helps drive development.”

Unless of course you are a game journalist like our own Stephen Totilo, who discussed his hands-on time with the game earlier today. Judging by this footage, I find myself a little envious. It looks endlessly entertaining.

The PS3 multiplayer beta kicks off on the 19th. After that, PC players get an open beta in December, and a full multiplayer demo drops everywhere next year. If this is your only taste, savour it!

Earlier this week EA DICE shot down rumours of a November 19 launch date for the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer beta for PS3 owners, but now it looks like they just wanted to announce it themselves instead of having GameStop doing it. To participate in the North American multiplayer beta test, PS3 owners need only reserve a copy of the game at the GameStop website or retail locations, at which point they will receive a key allowing them to join in the fun on the 19th.

The multiplayer beta takes place on the Arica Harbour map, pitting Americans against Russians in ground and vehicular combat for up to 24 players. You can check out the official beta announcement trailer below.

“With Battlefield: Bad Company 2 we’re looking to raise the bar across all aspects of our multiplayer experience, setting a new standard for online play,” says Patrick Bach, Senior Producer on Battlefield: Bad Company 2. “From the graphics to the vehicles, weapons and destruction, we are delivering the best online multiplayer game next year, and we want gamers to experience it themselves by playing the beta and demo.”

What about the Xbox 360 and PC gamers out there? Don’t fret too much. The PC open beta for the game kicks off next month, followed by a multiplayer demo for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 early next year.

Image courtesy of the PlayStation Blog.

The scramble started when GameStop published a 24-hour promising deal promising access to the PS3 beta beginning Nov. 19. EA DICE’s Twitter shot down the story and the deal was later unpublished.

Then, to Blend Games, EA said: “As for the beta, we’ll have more details later this week.” So, there you go. While those beta invite emails were bogus, it looks like the beta isn’t, and might be coming sooner than we thought.

EA Confirms Bad Company 2 Beta, Details Coming This Week [Blend Games via Blue's News]

Says the Battlefield producer Gordon Van Dyke on the Battlefield Blog:

As of today there is no official Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta and I wanted to warn people out there of fake/hoax sites perpetrating to have a sign-up for one. We do not have any form of beta sign-ups, nor would we ever endorse such a practice or shady url to do so. Please do not let these e-tards take advantage of your enthusiasm for BFBC2 in their scam and only give them the middle-finger if anything. So, unless you read it here or from our official Twitter page it isn’t real.

Pretty sure EA’s seen copies and sent them to their corporate security team, but If anyone’s gotten one of these bogus sign-up come-ons, let me know. I’m curious what information it wanted, whether it was Steam ID and password or what.

Fake BFBC2 Beta Signup Sites! [Battlefield Blog via Blue's News]

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition isn’t a collector’s edition, weighed down with useless trinkets for an inflated price, but rather a limited version of the regular game packaged with some extras to make getting the game on day one a little more worthwhile. The six special customisations included in the LE are available to all players once they unlock them, but LE buyers will get them on day one, giving them a brief advantage in multiplayer. Think of it as a head start.

The four vehicle unlocks include improved armour, additional weapon mounts, a motion sensor that detects nearby enemies, and a tracer dart pistol that marks enemy vehicles to be tracked by rockets, even when outside of your line of sight.

Fans of Battlefield 1943 will feel right-at-home with the M1A1 submachine gun and the M1911 pistol, powerful weapons from more than 66 years in the past.

The Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition will be available on March 2 in North America, sold at participating retailers while supplies last.

“Dedicated servers FTW. What ever secures a better online experience is a given for us,” Tweeted DICE’s K.M. Troedsson.

KM Troedsson (L_Twin) on Twitter [thanks Cirap]

Let’s take a look at how well a round of Battlefield Bad Company 2 multiplayer can go if your entire team possesses some kind of bizarre mind link.

I’m sure there are clans and such that play with the level of communication displayed in this trailer for Battlefield Bad Company 2, due out early next year for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but I’ve never had the time nor the patience to play with a group long enough to achieve it. If that were me playing, I would have been off in a completely different direction, humming the Mission Impossible theme song until an enemy I never actually saw shot me in the head. Perhaps if they shot me in the head just so, I would develop mental powers, enabling me to play with the big kids.

Appears to be an infantry map, and a tight, close-range one at that, so gunners should be thrilled. Those (like me) hoping for another expansive level ala Seaside Skirmish, well, you keep on hoping.