Battlefield 1943 on Xbox Live now, on PSN tomorrow

DICE has released Battlefield 1943 on Xbox LIVE Marketplace today, with its PlayStation Network launching tomorrow - both for a mere $15. Battlefield 1943 is essentially a redux of the popular team-based large-scale warfare game, Battlefield 1942 for home consoles and Windows. The game features all the wonderful combat on foot, in the air and on land of the original, but with streamlined play for Xbox Live and PSN, re-imagined classic maps and overall polish to make it appealing to a modern audience.

Battlefield 1943 also introduces two new modes that allow up to 24 players to compete across four classic WWII Battlefield maps: Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Coral Sea. These maps are inspired by the selfsame maps from the Battlefield 1942 game, but have been redesigned and reengineered using the DICE Frostbite engine allowing for more destructive environments and explosive situations. The free trial version will feature Wake Island and give players the freedom to choose from the full arsenal of weapons and vehicles on both sides of the battle, either the US Marines or Imperial Japanese Navy.

Another battleground, the Coral Sea map, will be unlocked as part of a worldwide community challenge, where players will work together to reach 43 million kills on both Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network. The official countdown begins on July 10, 2009 at 19:43 GMT.

Download the trial now on Xbox Live and get started or wait for it tomorrow on PSN. More info can be found at www.battlefield1943.com.

Battlefield 1943 to be released next week

DICE and Electronic Arts will release Battlefield 1943 July 8th on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and July 9th on the PlayStation Network. Battlefield 1943 is an all-new download-only action game that brings DICE’s popular World War II-themed vehicular and class-based first-person shooter to gamers for $15, or 1200 MS Points.

Battlefield 1943 introduces two new modes that can be played across four classic Battlefield tropical WWII maps: Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Coral Sea. These maps are inspired by Battlefield 1942, but have been redesigned and reengineered using the DICE destructible Frostbite engine which takes down walls, blockades and cover spots, leaving players with almost nowhere to hide.

The Coral Sea map which is included in the game will be unlocked as part of a worldwide community challenge, where players will work together to reach 43M kills on both Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network. To help gamers reach that goal, up to 24 players can play together online in at once. They will have the freedom to compete by land, air and sea as either the US Marines or the Imperial Japanese Navy.

For more information on Battlefield 1943 visit www.battlefield.com/1943.. The game will be available on the PC in September.

Battlefield: Bad Company Conquest This Week

The number one reason anyone is still playing Battlefield: Bad Company is because of its multiplayer and EA wants players to continue the fun with some new content. That new content will come in the form of an update on August 7 which will deliver a brand new and familiar mode called Conquest.

Made famous by Battlefield 1942, Conquest mode pits players against each other in a fast-paced battle to eliminate the opposing team’s tickets. Players deplete their opponent’s tickets by one point per kill and can cause their opponents tickets to spiral downwards by capturing control points. Four maps that are currently available for online play in Gold Rush mode will be available in Conquest mode.

The new Conquest mode will be a free download on the PlayStation Store and Xbox 360 Marketplace later this week.