To elaborate on a few things – you can follow the Official Battlefield Bad Company 2 Twitter here, and one of those sites giving out beta codes is… this one.

We’ll be giving out beta vouchers starting Thursday afternoon (PST) via our Twitter and Facebook accounts. So start following!

My name is Jeremy Dunham (PSN ID: zpr_DunhamSmash), Zipper Interactive’s new Senior Community Manager, and I wanted to share some news regarding our latest MAG beta program that we’re kicking off right now. Starting today, we’ve officially moved into our next Beta phase – Beta 4. We’ve made more than 6,000 changes from our last phase to Beta 4, not the least of which include an increased level cap from 40 to 60, a retooled skill tree and experience curve, and an improved ranking system – all based on the feedback from our diligent testing crew.

We’ve also introduced two new major features to Beta 4. We’ve implemented the oft-asked about “proximity chat” feature that allows you to hear enemies communicating as you get closer, or trash talk them yourself as you punch ‘em full of lead. We’ve also introduced Shadow War bonuses. Depending on which PMCs are leading in the number of contracts owned, the entire PMC will earn different bonuses based on gametype. Leading in Sabotage adds experience points, leading in Acquisition increases leadership aura distance, and leading in Domination decreases tactical strike cooldown time.

Other new additions to Beta 4 include improvements to character hit detection and reactions, skill tuning that sees many of the existing skills amped up, refined Leadership abilities and experience points, and numerous other changes that our eagle-eyed testers have spotted over the last cycle.

Beta 4 is exclusive to GameStop pre-orders, and we’ve moved away from our limited pre-scheduled play times and are keeping the servers open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With the change in versions and the last phase now at its end, many of the testers who spent their evenings with us over these last weeks are moving on to other pastures. With that in mind, it’s with great respect that on behalf of the entire MAG team, I want to say thanks to each and every one of you who participated for your hard work, patience, and dedication. Just remember, though, you don’t have to say goodbye just yet. If you still want to participate in our current beta that ends on November 20, all you have to do is pre-order MAG at your local GameStop in the USA and EB Games in Canada to get you the exclusive code you need.

Finally, I wanted to take a moment to let you know that over at MAG.com, we’ve launched our developer blog, which will provide an ongoing behind-the-scenes look at MAG over the next few months before the game launches on January 26, 2010.

Thanks again and I’ll see you on the battlefield.

I’m Gordon Van Dyke and I’m the Associate Producer for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 here at EA’s DICE studio in Stockholm.

Today we’re excited to announce that our forthcoming multiplayer beta is coming exclusively to PS3, so you’ll have a chance to experience all the action, destruction and vehicular warfare ahead of our full release in March 2010.

Starting on November 19, the beta will feature the huge ‘Arica Harbour’ map where up to 24 players compete to secure valuable crates in the ‘Rush’ game mode as the action moves across a variety of different locations. From an initial vehicle assault on a military outpost the war winds through streets of a deserted town to an intense final fire-fight in an industrial harbour.

Check out our announcement video here.

For a preview on the beta itself click here.

Getting access to the beta will differ from country to country, but here are a few specific ways of getting hold of a key:

• We’ll be holding a special limited giveaway right here on the PlayStation Blog (details TBA)
• Pre-ordering the game at participating retailer
• Checking out selected gaming sites such as IGN or GameSpot in North America.

That’s it for now…although if you have any questions then let me know. Be sure to check back here tomorrow when we have a brand Battlefield: Bad Company 2 new trailer.

Some of the patch highlights are:

• Framerate improvements in all environments
• Vote/ Kick implemented
• Art and lighting updates to all levels
• Art updates to weapons, vehicles and objects
• Animation improvement and updates
• Client patching improvements
• Design tuning on all environments (attacker/defender, out of bounds, sightlines, routing…)
• Tuned all skills (skill point expense, skill trees, skill effects)
• Tuning pass on experience rewarded for all actions (resuscitate, heal other, destroy turret, destroy motor pool….)
• Tuning pass on player & leadership experience progressions
• Full audio tuning pass
• Bunker, APC, and Spawn camera adjustments
• Lowered initial spawn times for attackers and defenders for all gametypes
• Update Major/Minor victory and loss percentages and conditions for all gametypes
• Updated Domination gametype scoring values
• Improved weapon feel and hit feedback

A lot of the changes are based directly on feedback from the MAG Public Beta community. Please keep this feedback coming, it really helps us improve the title.

If you are not yet a part of the MAG Public Beta there is still time. If you pre-order MAG at GameStop in the US or EB Games in Canada you receive access to the MAG Public Beta. And remember, from November 9th until November 20th the only way to access the MAG Public Beta in North America is to pre-order MAG.

We look forward to seeing you in battle.

The hours for this phase of the MAG Public Beta are:

Monday – Friday:
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT
8:00 PM – 12:00 AM EDT

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM CDT
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM CDT

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM MDT
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM MDT

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM PDT
5:00 PM – 9:00 PM PDT

Later this week or early next, we will be releasing a new version of the MAG Public Beta client. This will be a major update to the MAG Public Beta client and server set.

Remember, in North America the MAG Public Beta access from November 9 to November 20 will be available exclusively to people who pre-order MAG from GameStop or EB Games (in Canada). If you live in North America and you want to continue playing MAG you will need to get your pre-order in to GameStop or EB Games and get your MAG Public Beta voucher code. This will also be the first time the MAG Public Beta will be available 24/7 with unlimited server hours (with the exception of server maintenance).

In conjunction with the next phase of the MAG Public Beta, we are also introducing a ton of new features for our Web site, MAG.com. The updated site will include a community section with access to the MAG forums, RSS feeds, and new media and downloads for fans, including wallpapers, AIM icons, and XMB themes for each of the PMCs. You can also read more background on each of the PMCs and enlist in your favorite private army. Check it out now at MAG.com. The Shadow War is coming 1.26.10.

“You’re in: Welcome to the MAG Beta”

And, the email voucher will look like this:

Remember, you only have 4 days left to get in on the action as the Public Beta entry deadline for Qore subscribers is this Thursday, September 17. Please allow at least 5 business days for delivery once you subscribe.

Qore subscribers will have access to the MAG Beta Test from September 17 through November 8. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 10am-1pm and 5-8pm Pacific (PDT).

Once again, here are the eligibility requirements:

• The Qore MAG Beta offer is open to Qore subscribers only, not to single episode purchasers.
• All Beta invitations are restricted to persons 18 years and older.
• We must have your current, valid e-mail address on file.
• You must be opted in to receiving communications from PlayStation.
• Vouchers will be sent to the e-mail associated with the PSN account that purchased the Qore subscription, not to any sub-accounts.

You can update your e-mail address and check your notification preferences via your profile on PS.com or on the PS3 itself under Account Management/Account Information. Be sure that you have “opted in” to receive our communications.

We hope you enjoy the MAG Beta, and don’t forget to leave your feedback at Beta Central by following the instructions in the voucher e-mail. As this is a Beta is a work-in-progress and not representative of the final game, your input is vital.

We’re so excited, in fact, that we’d like some of you readers to join us even if you can’t make it to the Emerald City and our Now-Sold-Out-Even–Though-We-Weren’t-Selling-Tickets Event.

No matter where you may be this holiday weekend, we want you to join the Shadow War with Zipper Interactive developers and your fellow PS.Blog readers, so we’ll be giving away some super-exclusive MAG closed beta codes throughout the day via Twitter!

Here’s what you need to know:

Contest Instructions:

• Follow us on Twitter!
• The PlayStation Twitter account will tweet out 4 MAG-related questions throughout the day (9/3/2009). That’s TODAY.
• The first 6 people to @reply the @SonyPlayStation account with the correct answer for each question will win a MAG beta code.
• There will be 6 winners for each question – 24 winners total.
• PlayStation will direct message the codes to the winners by the end of the day.

Giveaway Terms and Conditions:

• US residents only.
• The beta code winners will still be under a NDA (aka, you can’t write or blog about your experiences, or take screenshots, etc. We’ll know it was you!!)
• PlayStation.Blog will giveaway 24 beta codes on Thursday, Sept. 3rd via Twitter.
• One MAG question will be tweeted every hour starting at 10:00 am PT.
• First 6 followers to @reply the @SonyPlayStation account with the correct answer get a beta code.

E3 09 has wrapped up and we hope you’re as hyped for all the announcements, like Uncharted 2 as we are! As you know, we’ve been tweeting clues, so you at home can hopefully win an Uncharted 2 Beta code and the E3 Uncharted 2 Schwag Bag. To recap, you must use the clues from Tuesday – Thursday, to figure out the final questions below.

Instructions:

• The answers to the first three clues will contain the letters that make up the final word answer (kind of like the Jumble in the newspaper). We’ll use an asterisk (*) to indicate which letters will be in the final answer.
• Today (Friday, June 5th) at 9 am PST, we’ll ask the final question on the Blog/Twitter, the answer to which will be made of the letters you’ve collected up to that point. We’ll also provide the link to where you can submit your answer.
• The first 300 qualifying people to submit the correct answer will receive an Uncharted 2 Beta Code… and the E3 Uncharted 2 Schwag Bag.

Giveaway Terms and Conditions

• Must be a US resident to participate, age 13 years or more.
• Participants will not be told where to submit their answers until Friday, June 5th at 9:00 am PST.
• Participants have the weekend (Friday, June 5 at 9:00 am PST – Monday, June 9 at 12:00 am PST) to submit the correct answer.

Clues so far:
Remember:
_ = a letter
* = the special letter
/ = a word break:

Clue #1: According to Neil Druckmann, who is Drake’s love interest in Uncharted 2?

*_ _ _ _ /_ _ *_ _ _

Clue #2: According to this post, you can use a _ _ _ _* *_ tank as a weapon in Uncharted 2?

Clue #3: Who am I?

_ _ _* *_ /_*_ _*_*_

Now, onto the final clue!

Clue #4: This is the item Lazarevic is after in Uncharted 2.

Once you unscramble the letters indicated above (with a *), it will make up the word answer to this final clue.

Now, submit your answer (refer to giveaway terms and conditions) to Survey Monkey. The first 300 qualifying people to submit the correct answer will receive an Uncharted 2 Beta Code and the E3 Uncharted 2 Schwag Bag.

FYI: We’ve disabled the comments for this post.

Everything in the Uncharted 2 multiplayer experience has been designed to get you into the game and playing quickly, so you can just skip this blog post if you’re really that impatient. Just kidding.

When you boot up the beta you’ll find we’ve included 2 playlists for you to try out: co-op and competitive. If you’ve got friends, we’ve made it easy to play together – just hit the triangle button to see your PSN friends list and you can send them an invite, join their party, or just check out their profile. Keep in mind that for the beta, the party size is limited to 5 for competitive and 3 for co-op!

Let’s give you a quick rundown of our two playlists so you can be ready day one…

The competitive playlists contains 2 maps, with 2 game types available on each: Deathmatch and Plunder. Deathmatch is pretty similar to what you’ve come to expect out of “team deathmatch” in other games. Plunder is Naughty Dog’s take on “capture the flag.” At the start of a round, we’ve placed a treasure in a neutral location on the map and the first team to bring it back to their capture chest scores a point – three points to win. What takes this mode into the UNCHARTED universe? Easy; you can now throw the treasure quite a ways in any direction – in some cases, you’ll HAVE to if you want to score a point.

The biggest thing to keep in mind while playing in competitive matches is to keep thinking three dimensionally. There are many, many different places to climb, hide, and shoot from above ground level. The best advice I can give: remember to look up. And keep moving – if you stay in one place too long, you are likely to have your neck snapped from behind or even be pulled off the ledge you are perched on!

As for the cooperative playlist, we’ve put in a snippet of one of our co-op experiences. Our co-op setups are really rocking right now with three people playing as Drake, Sully, and Chloe as they fight their way through a war-torn city to recover a treasure worth a fortune. In this mode, teamwork is everything and running off alone is a sure way to get killed. Thankfully, in most cases – except for, say, being blown up —you’re not out of the game. If you’ve been downed, you can be revived by one of the other players before your timer runs out! If everyone wipes, you start at the last checkpoint you passed, but be careful, if everyone wipes three times the match is over and you have to start over again. Oh, and keep an eye out on the combo meter on the upper right of the screen. Keep your combo meter increasing by getting kills, picking up treasures or completing objectives and you’ll get a multiplier to the points and cash you’re accumulating. Enemy kills are worth different point amounts depending on what gun you used, so experiment to get the best results. I’ll give you a hint, pistols are awesome.

A quick note on your rank and the Profile screen. You are ranked on the total amount of online cash you have earned. This includes both the co-op and competitive modes, so you can rank up either way. In competitive, you earn cash for defeating enemies, and earning medals. In co-op, you earn cash for your point score and by earning medals. You can see your rank both next to your name in the lobby and scoreboard, as well as in the Profile screen. In the Profile screen you can see your rank and how far until the next level, you can select Boosters to give yourself a leg up in competitive multiplayer, and select your player skins for competitive multiplayer. Remember to select your boosters before playing competitive multiplayer, and be aware that boosters do not apply in the co-op playlist.

Before I go, I want to let you know that we are asking all of you for your help. To make this the best game it can possibly be, we want to hear from you. Comments, concerns, things you like, things you hate, we want to hear it all. Keep an eye on the “message of the day screen” in our beta to find out where to leave us feedback and for dates and times you can play with the Dogs!

Hope to see you in the beta!

Justin Richmond
PSN: wildspeculation
Multiplayer Designer
Naughty Dog

As you’re reading this, your PlayStation.Blog team is currently neck deep in tamales at our E3 Meet-up. As attendees showed up, we not only invited the first 100 into our press conference, we also presented the first 200 with an Uncharted 2 Nathan Drake-style long-sleeve shirt, perfect for a half-tuck. While I’m sure we’re having a lot of fun (we’ll report back soon, with pics), we don’t want those of you who couldn’t make it to feel left out.

While we were planning this meetup, we decided to “over order” the schwag: extra Uncharted 2 beta codes, extra shirts, and of course, extra schwag bags. Whoops!

Here’s how we’re going to give them out to you, our dear readers:

On Friday (9am Pacific), we’re going to ask a question about Uncharted 2. Be one of the first 300 to answer it, and you win. Simple!

Actually, it’s not *that* simple – because that question isn’t really easy. So here’s what you’re going to want to do to have a chance: This Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 9am we’ll be asking some easier-to-solve Uncharted questions via our Twitter account (you’re following us, right?), which will help you piece together that final answer.

More details below.

Contest Instructions:

• Four clues will be given on the PlayStation Twitter from June 2 – 5 at 9 am PST.
• The answers to the first three clues will contain the letters that make up the final word answer (kind of like the Jumble in the newspaper). We’ll use an asterisk (*) to indicate which letters will be in the final answer.
• On Friday, June 5th at 9 am PST, we’ll ask the final question on the Blog/Twitter, the answer to which will be made of the letters you’ve collected up to that point. We’ll also provide the link to where you can submit your answer.
• The first 300 qualifying people to submit the correct answer will receive an Uncharted 2 Beta Code… and the E3 Uncharted 2 Schwag Bag.

Giveaway Terms and Conditions:

• Must be a US resident to participate, age 13 years or more.
• Participants will not be told where to submit their answers until Friday, June 5th at 9:00 am PST.
• Participants have the weekend (Friday, June 5 at 9:00 am PST – Monday, June 9 at 12:00 am PST) to submit the correct answer.

Read the Uncharted 2 @ E3 Contest OFFICIAL RULES

I know it’s not quite the same as being at E3, but between this and our coverage this week, you should be able to enjoy the week’s festivities without having to deal with LAX (this is a good thing).