Holiday? Steam sales don't rest, ladies and gents! In today's second last set of special summer prices, the highlights include Just Cause 2 for 50% off, Portal for $1.99 and the Freedom Force double pack for $1.87.

Steam Sales - July 3, 2010
• Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse - $17.49 (50% off from $34.99) Read more »

Throughout the week Direct2Drive has had an ongoing promotion where one title per day is being discounted to celebrate the site's recent redesign. Today's "Quest for the Chosen One" promotion slashes the price on the DICE-developed Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to $29.95, down 40% from $49.95.If you're looking for some structure shattering multiplayer mayhem, act fast. The sale ends at the end of the day.

The long delayed PC patch for Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which packs a large amount of fixes, changes, and balance tweaks, is finally through QA testing. DICE has given a timetable for the update.

Servers should begin patching tomorrow night at midnight EST and should be finished by 4AM EST. The updated client, weighing in at 890MB, will also be released during this time and should auto-update. Everyone should be good to go by the waking hours of Wednesday. Read more »

Though released on PlayStation 3 as planned, the downloadable "Onslaught" add-on for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 suffered a last minute delay on Xbox 360, with developer DICE now expecting the paid download to hit Xbox 360 tomorrow, June 24.

"I'm very happy to announce that Onslaught will be released tomorrow on the 24th on Xbox Live," wrote Bazajaytee, the new community manager for the Battlefield series. Read more »

Battlefield: Bad Company 2's new 'Onslaught' downloadable content mode is shown off in a new trailer released to celebrate its North American launch today.

Onslaught mode brings four-player co-op to four repurposed and revamped multiplayer maps, hitting Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 today for $10 (800 Microsoft Points). It remains uncertain whether a PC edition will be released, due to concerns that the multiplayer community might be harmed by 24-player servers switching to the four-player mode. Read more »

EA's E3 2010 press conference saw the unveiling of its 'Gun Club,' an "affinity program" which "rewards gamers for doing what they love best"--buying EA shooters.

"Benefits ranging from in-game content unlocks, early access to beta tests and demos" are promised to Gun Club members, plus "exclusive access to development teams."

Read more »

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will head to 'Nam in a multiplayer "digital expansion" due to be released this winter, EA announced today during its E3 press conference.

Set during the Vietnam War, the expansion to DICE's shooter will arm players with "authentic vehicles and weapons" as they battle on "four new maps playable in classic Battlefield modes including Conquest and Rush." EA promises "enhanced persistence, new weapons, vehicles, unlocks, awards, achievements and trophies." Read more »

The four-player cooperative "Onslaught" mode for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be available as an 800 Microsoft Point / $10 download beginning June 22, publisher Eletronic Arts and developer DICE have revealed.

Xbox 360 owners worldwide and PlayStation 3 owners in North America will be able to buy the add-on Tuesday, June 22, while European PS3 owners must wait until June 23. Read more »

The third "VIP Map Pack" for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will hit PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 9, maker DICE has revealed, bringing the Squad Deathmatch multiplayer mode to the Nelson Bay map and Squad Rush to Laguna Alta.

The add-on will be available free to those that bought the game new on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 and then redeemed the "VIP Code" included in its packaging. Those with a second-hand copy of the game, meanwhile, must pay a one-time fee of 1200 Microsoft Points / $15 for the "VIP Membership" needed to obtain the otherwise free content. Read more »

Earlier this month, Electronic Arts and DICE announced "Onslaught Mode" as downloadable content for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which puts a squad of up to four players up against AI-controlled enemies as players move to capture control points across four maps.

I had a chance to get some hands-on time at EA Redwood Shores and Onslaught is definitely a lot of fun. The mode plays out like a game of Rush, only your squad of four is up against enemy AI instead of other players. You can respawn as long as one team member is left standing and you'll want a good mix of classes in your squad as ammo will run low, vehicles will menace you, and allies will need healing. Read more »

Prima, longtime provider of video game strategy guides, will now be offering digital guides through Steam. Using the Steam overlay, guides can also be accessed within a game. The digital guides also include videos, which are obviously not available in print.

Regularly priced at $19.99, all guides are 50% off to celebrate the launch. Currently, guides are available for: Read more »

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 developer DICE has announced a co-op mission mode for the shooter on consoles, though it's yet to decide whether this will ever come to PC.

'Onslaught' mode pits up to four players "against an onslaught of enemy AI" to complete objectives on the multiplayer maps Atacama Desert, Isla Inocentes, Valparaiso, Nelson Bay, redesigned with "new lighting, time of day, added vehicles and other effects." Read more »

On its 2010 fiscal year earnings call, Electronic Arts revealed that over 70% of purchasers of its recent titles that include free, one-time DLC codes with all new copies have redeemed the codes. This includes Mass Effect 2's Cerberus Network, Battlefield: Bad Company 2's console VIP code, and Dragon Age: Origin's The Stone Prisoner.

Additionally, EA is seeing a single-digit percentage of the overall player-base purchase this content instead of redeeming codes. It is unclear, however, is this is due to a small percentage of players actually purchasing these games used without codes or if many do not wish to purchase this content with a used copy. Read more »

EA DICE's first-person shooter Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has sold five million copies since it hit PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2010, Electronic Arts said today.

Amazingly, it seems that at least four million were sold during the game's first month at retail, as Electronic Arts noted that Bad Company 2 was among five games that sold over four million copies within its past fiscal year, which ended on March 31, 2010. Read more »

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will on May 11 receive the balance update that hit PC in April, developer DICE has announced, alongside a new round of tweaks that'll also hit PC "in the very near future."

Read more »