Battlefield Heroes - two million strong and growing

Battlefield Heroes, EA and DICE’s “Play4Free” third-person shooter has managed to attract two million registered players. Battlefield Heroes is EA’s latest web-based free to download and play title which generates revenue through advertising and in-game item sales. To celebrate this milestone, on September 30, EA will release a free Heroes of the Fall update for the game, including a brand new map.

Starting today, EA is accepting names from fans for the new map at www.battlefieldheroes.com. Players can submit a proposed name for the soon-to-be released map, which could be selected by the Battlefield Heroes development team.

If you haven’t experienced Battlefield Heroes first-hand, I encourage you to, because it’s a pretty fun little game. Battlefield Heroes is rated “T” by the ESRB and “16+” by PEGI.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey demo now on PlayStation Network

505 Games U.S. and 1C Company have released a demo for their upcoming flight combat simulation game, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey on PlayStation Network. The single-player demo gives players a taste of two of the game’s scenarios: The Battle of Britain and The Battle of the Bulge.

The demo managed to garner a respectable 625,000 downloads on Xbox Live and 505 Games hopes for a similar number on PlayStation Network.

In Battle of Britain: Red Skies Over Dover, players are given the role of a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot commanding the Mk. II Spitfire with B wing armament (two canons, four machine guns). What starts off as a routine clean up mission on a few stray He-111 German bombers soon develops into an all-out battle in which the RAF face their finest hour.

In Battle of the Bulge: Tiger Hunt, the US Air Force P-51D Mustang is the weapon of choice, as players are tasked with taking out Germans ripping through the Ardennes. Defending FW-190 fighters will also have to be dispatched to help overcome the Tigers as US forces aim to stem the German advance and defend the front line. The mission will allow players to try rocket attacks on ground targets as well as sample the snow-capped vistas of the Belgian landscape in December.

505 Games and 1C Company, will release IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey in North America on September 15, 2009 for Xbox 360, PS3, DS and PSP platforms. For all of the latest information, visit the official Web site at www.il2game.com.

The triumphant return of Silent Hunter

Today, Ubisoft announced what it hopes will be the triumphant return of the classic submarine simulation games series Silent Hunter. The fifth iteration of the game, aptly titled Silent Hunter 5 is being developed by Ubisoft Romania and will be released for the PC in early 2010.

Silent Hunter 5 lets players take command of a German U-boat, fighting off Allied Forces in famous battles across Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea during World War II. For the first time in the series, players can see the game from a first-person perspective, which, from what i’m guessing, is a pretty big deal.

Other key features according to Ubisoft include the ability to observe and interact with your crew, the ability to select your targets with a new objective-driven campaign system, enemy AI that allegedly adjusts dynamically to your approach, a new user interface, and the promise of a more cinematic experience all around.

You can learn more about the game by visiting www.silenthunter5.com.

Hearts of Iron III demo released

Paradox Interactive has released a playable demo for Hearts of Iron III, the third installment in its popular World War II strategy game series. The playable demo gives players a taste of what they can expect from the complete game upon its release. It contains a tutorial and the single player Campaign of 1939. The Hearts of Iron III demo allows you to play as either Germany, France, Poland or the United Kingdom for the first four months of World War II.

Demo mirror links can be found on on www.paradoxplaza.com.

Hearts of Iron III will be in stores in North America and via all major digital download portals on August 7th. Releases in Europe will follow on August 14 (UK, Scandinavia) and August 28 (France and Germany).

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey demo lands on XBLA

505 Games U.S. and 1C Company have released a demo for their upcoming flight combat simulation game, IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey. The single-player demo is now available for download on the Xbox LIVE Arcade and gives players a taste of two of the game’s scenarios: The Battle of Britain and The Battle of the Bulge.

In Battle of Britain: Red Skies Over Dover, players are given the role of a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot commanding the Mk. II Spitfire with B wing armament (two canons, four machine guns). What starts off as a routine clean up mission on a few stray He-111 German bombers soon develops into an all-out battle in which the RAF face their finest hour.

In Battle of the Bulge: Tiger Hunt, the US Air Force P-51D Mustang is the weapon of choice, as players are tasked with taking out Germans ripping through the Ardennes. Defending FW-190 fighters will also have to be dispatched to help overcome the Tigers as US forces aim to stem the German advance and defend the front line. The mission will allow players to try rocket attacks on ground targets as well as sample the snow-capped vistas of the Belgian landscape in December.

505 Games and 1C Company, will release IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey in North America on September 15, 2009 for Xbox 360, PS3, DS and PSP platforms. For all of the latest information, visit the official Web site at www.il2game.com.

Hearts of Iron 3 development complete

Paradox Interactive announced that production has been completed on Hearts of Iron 3 - or, as we like to say in the news department - the game has gone gold. The third installment of the World War II-themed grand strategy series, Hearts of Iron 3 is ready for release North American retail shelves and all major digital download portals on August 7. The game will hit stores in the UK and Scandinavia on August 14 and Germany and France on August 28.

Featuring turn-based battle simulations that occur throughout 1936-1948, Hearts of Iron 3 will promises to appeal to both veteran players and newcomers with brand new features, including a game map with more than 14,000 land and sea provinces. Players will have the opportunity to take control of countries ranging from larger superpowers such as Russia or the United States, to smaller nations such as Costa Rica.

For more details on Hearts of Iron 3, check out www.paradoxplaza.com.

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.