Battlefield Bad Company's Beta is a two map, one game type romp that is surprisingly fun.
The game type for the beta is called "Gold Rush" which is an objective style game where
the attackers are trying to blow up two crates of Gold while the defenders are trying to
keep them intact. The interesting take on this is that every time you blow up the two crates,
the attackers base moves forward and the defenders base moves back with two new crates
of gold to defend. So, as the game progresses, the map and objectives move. Sniper
positions, attack strategies, and vehicles change as the map moves deeper and deeper in
the defenders home base. The terrain of the map also starts to change dramatically. The
"Oasis" map starts in an desert environment and eventually devolves into a swamp/urban
battleground.

The gameplay is quick and deadly. Only a couple hits are needed to get a kill ala COD 4.
However, the tedious walk to the battlefield is removed with a new feature that can have
you spawn with your squad instead of at the base. If your squad mate is in a vehicle, you
can actually spawn in the vehicle! This proves really useful when you notice your squad
mate is in some heavy action and you spawn right behind them all of a sudden turning the
tide of a battle.

One disappointment is the poor game balancing in the game type. Very rarely have I been
on a team that has been able to win as Attackers. It also appears that Ascension, the
mountain top map, has much shorter games with Attackers having an easy time winning
than the Oasis map. This game type seems to have some serious balance issues related to
map structure, game type, and player/vehicle abilities. It is still fun but as an attacker, you
will only win if the other team is clueless.

Weapon types and classes are sufficient and numerous. Additional weapons are
purchasable with experience points. However, some guns have to be purchased through the
marketplace or are part of the limited collectors edition which totally blows monkey chunks!

Is this the COD4/Halo 3 killer. No. I played the betas for both of those and they were more
compelling, fun, and balanced. Battlefield Bad Company is a good game, but not the best
one out there. As far as betas go, this is also the weakest of the three. It really feels like an
improved Frontlines: Fuel of War demo at this point.