The beta for Command & Conquer (of course powered by Frostbite 2) is now beta, meaning you can register for free and play it! Click here to play the game. You need an Origin (EA) account for it, but you can register for that free and easily here.

Unconvinced this is something you shouldn’t miss? Check this gameplay trailer:

With my laptop taken from me, my online options became very limited. I wandered around online gaming portals like partypoker and started playing some serious poker. As it turns out, I’m a natural at being aggressive, having shot people just for being in the line of fire multiple times, it does set a tone for how you do things. Playing poker, as it turns out, is more than just taking another man’s money; it’s also about strategy and making the right decisions when the cards are stacked up against you. Poker teaches you the perfect balance between being aggressive and being passive and learning to apply both to confuse your enemy to win multiple hands. So this forced moratorium on shooting games had given me a fresh outlook on how to do things. I enjoyed the scenery Paris had to offer and tried to visit as many notable places as I could. While I still occasionally sneak a peek at what’s new in the world of FPS at GamesRadar and occasionally look at cool looking guns at WorldGuns, I enjoyed my short vacation on shooting games. It’s too bad that I didn’t get to meet any French women; I still haven’t learned how to deal with those yet. But I’m sure I’ll get there eventually.

So after getting back from vacation, I surprised everyone by not immediately going through my usual routine and going online faster than you can say “Frag it!” Having a good balance between life and play has made me a better person (at least to other people). I still play poker on a regular basis as I find the mental challenge stimulating and I believe it improves my overall shooting game. It also helps me unwind physically while still keeping my mind sharp and alert. I find myself using less bullets and my strategy has improved from the usual storm-the-front-with-guns-blazing routine. Apart from that, my team mates appreciate that I don’t shoot them just to kill the guy in front, anymore. It is true that to appreciate something, one must take a step back and look at it from a different perspective. Yes, the art enthusiast in Paris has gotten to me.

While I still see myself shooting noobs in the foreseeable future, it’s comforting to know that my horizon is not so limited as before. Before my Paris tryst with poker, I loved FPS games; now I love what they bring to my life. I’m glad there’s a distinction now.

The last Frostbite powered NFS game was NFS The Run. A year later Need for Speed Most Wanted was (re-)released, but that was powered by another game engine. However, the next one will most likely be a Frostbite 2 powered race game.

More info here. (Eurogamer)

Also here. (VG24/7)

The recommended system requirements are an Intel Core 2 Quad 3 GHz, 4GB RAM and a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560…

This video is a demo montage made by DICE Senior VFX Artist Nadab Göksu to check the quality of the HD Destruction effects in Battlefield 3™: Close Quarters. This video is part of an “Inside DICE” blog post on the Battlefield Blog. Head here for the full post: blogs.battlefield.com/2012/05/inside-dice-close-quarters-vfx

Released
Battlefield 3 – 2011
Need for Speed: The Run – 2011

Announced
Medal of Honor: Warfighter – 2012
Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel – 2013
Command & Conquer Generals 2 – 2013
Battlefield 4 – 2013/2014
Dragon Age III: Inquisition – 2013

Rumors of future Frostbite 2 games
Mirror’s Edge 2…
The next Mass Effect game…

Enjoy!

Make sure to set it to 720p!

Release date: Oktober 23rd 2012