EA Games has a massive back-to-school sale for digital download games. Time to stock up!

EA Games is offering some of their biggest hits, for a fraction of the cost. Currently Mass Effect 2 is only $24, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is $18, and Dragon Age Origin Digital Deluxe is $18. For those of you who also must have the hard copy, most of these games are also on sale, but a great deal more expensive.

[EA Games]

Battlefield Bad Company 2

Drink Dr. Pepper and get free gear for Battlefield Bad Company 2. Full details from the Bad Company Blog.

From the Battlefield Bad Company Blog:

There are 4 kits, one for each class, specific unique uniforms and camouflaged weapons gives you a visual edge. I mean what good is a camouflaged soldier if the gun sticks out like a sore thumb?

Recruited strictly from other high-level Special Operations units such as Delta Force and Spetsnaz, the Special Activities groups – SPECACT – are the elite of the elite, used mainly for covert operations and other high-risk missions in areas where conventional troops cannot be used.
With the 4 kit specific unique uniforms and the camouflaged SPECACT personal M16A2, UMP-45, MG3 and M95 SNIPER you have a visual edge on the Battlefield, showing that you’re a force to be reckoned with. The pack also includes 12 new awards and 4 Achievements.

In North America the kit upgrades are only available on Xbox 360 using the Dr Pepper codes printed on special promotional cans.

In Europe and the UK you can get hold of the kit upgrades for:

Xbox Live Marketplace
160 MS points per kit upgrade
440 MS points for bundle pack (all kits)

The kit upgrades will also be coming to PS3 and PC a little later on, we’ll post the exact release dates here as soon as we can.

Shot from the UAV helio and damn is it sweet.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 may not be out till March 2010, but we’ve got the first look and it is pretty.

Everything that was wrong about Battlefield Bad Company 2 seems to have been repair in the newest installment from DICE. Battlefield games are honestly one of our favorites, so this may just be a bit biased, and keep in mind that it’s still in beta testing. From the beta test we can inform you that there will be a much better form of destructibility, which DICE calls destruction 2.0. Rather than an entire wall just blowing up it now fragments and acts more realistic. Entire buildings can be destroyed by blowing out it’s infrastructure and you can even create improvise gun holes will a drill.

The next biggest upgrade to the game comes with fully customizable kits. You start with each of your basic weapons and every time you upgrade a kit, all classes get that same weapon. Clearly the assault and media class won’t get specialized guns like a sniper riffle, but you can mix and match them. Additionally, for each gun you choose under a class, you can choose the specific add ons.

Personal upgrades and add ons:

You can now upgrade your character will items that improve accuracy, damage, defense and additional weapons. Each sunsetting you set under a class will remember the personal upgrades you choose, which makes this a great improvement.

Goodbye old school artillery:

Remember that ridiculous large gun that you had to sit in to fire artillery at the enemy, only to get team killed? Well from what it seems, it’s finally gone. It has been replaced with a mobile computer that controls a small UAV helicopter (can be seen in the various screen shots), which can fire a missile that will pretty much take out anything. Every 40 seconds or so you can fire another missile, but the UAV helicopter is pretty weak, as one shot with a sniper rifle will take it down.

Graphics:

The details in the graphics have clearly been upgraded, which is always nice. It also doesn’t seem to slow down game performance of any kind.

Audio:

Where is the new remixed Battlefield theme? For shame DICE/EA! The sound in the game has also been upgraded. If you are camping in an area it’s not hard to hear those above you running around.

Kit improvements:

Guns are now more powerful, although are generally the same as the first Bad Company game. The medic now has paddles so if your teammates suck, you can do a bit more than just throwing health packs. Health packs themselves are now thrown down and heal all those who sit around it. Your health is no longer a static thing, as they took a card out of the Halo series and placed health regeneration into the game.

More to come as it’s discovered. Follow the various battlefield and Playstation names on Twitter, as you two can get your hands on the closed beta access. For those without a PS3 you can get it on your PC in the upcoming months and at the begging for 2010 it will be downloadable on the Xbox 360.