Here are the first six screenshots from Secret Weapons of WW2, the new Battlefield 1942 expansion which was announced this morning.

It was already confirmed a few weeks ago and now it has been officially announced, the new Battlefield 1942 expansion pack is Secret Weapons. This expansion will add some of the more unknown vehicles and weapons used during World War 2. A new objective based gameplay mode will be added to the game as well.

In Secret Weapons of WWII, players will engage in war with a choice of up to 46 vehicles to control. In addition to the 30 vehicles introduced in the original game such as fighter planes, tanks, and aircraft carriers, players can operate 16 new vehicles including the Horton HO 229 "Flying Wing" that is equipped with 30 mm machine guns and missiles. Other vehicles consist of a U.S. Sherman tank with a T-34 Calliope rocket launcher, U.S. T95/T28 Super Heavy Tank, the Sturmtiger (naval gun mounted on Tiger tank), U.S. Goblin jetfighter, C-47 cargo plane that will serve as a mobile spawn point, the American Armstrong Whitworth AW-52 advanced fighter, the German Wasserfall guided anti-air missile and the German Natter rocket plane. Also, for the first time, Secret Weapons of WWII will give players the chance to fly and fight at the same time with a top secret German prototype Rocket Pack.

More info here. A fall 2003 release is planned.

HomeLAN Fed has confirmed with someone from EA that there is indeed another Battlefield 1942 expansion on the way (story). Though no new info is mentioned, according to EA we'll hear more about Secret Weapons before this year's E3 in May.

If you just cant get enough Battlefield 1942, it looks like there is another expansion pack in the works according to a recent Electronic Arts release schedule over in New Zealand. Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons.

The latest New Zealand release schedule from Electronic Arts lists a new expansion pack for Battlefield 1942 due for release this September. The title of the pack is Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons. Other than the name and that it will have an R.R.P of $49.95, there are no other details. We'll keep you updated.

Thanks Eric, Mike, Blues, and of course the originator of the story, Gameplanet. Oh, that $49.95 price translates to just under $30 US currency.

A Friday surprise from Electronic Arts, as they have just released a new free level for Battlefield 1942 called Operation Aberdeen. If you run a server there is this file which will allow you to run this new map. Here's a description of the level.

Operation Aberdeen is the latest free map from DICE. It is an all armor battle set in the desert. There are 5 points to capture, and players will need to secure both outposts, and the area around the central town to ensure victory.

EA has just released a new patch for Battlefield 1942, updating the WW2 shooter to version 1.31. Here's what this patch takes care of

Network/Server Fixes
- We fixed a crash in co-op mode when restarting the map - this crash was known to occur right after a map switch
- We removed the default Remote Admin Password for servers - there was a default password in place that could be used as an exploit
- We changed the object collision system to prevent exploits involving players hiding inside of objects - more widely known as the "Coral Sea" bug
Client Fixes
- We locked out an exploit to prevent users from seeing through walls.
Sound Fixes
- We modified several attributes of the sound system to provide better sound performance.

And if you run a dedicated server, here's the updated release of that.

A new mod for Battlefield 1942 has just been released, the Codename Eagle mod. This modification adds some elements from Digital Illusion's previous game to their latest one. The official site is here. Thanks HomeLAN Fed.

EA's official Battlefield 1942 site has been updated with a new community update. It mentions that a 1.31 patch for the game is on the way, fixing wall hacking cheats among other things. They are also asking people to submit sound bug reports.

Gawyn let us know that BF1942.com is reporting on a new release of the Battlefield 1942 dedicated Linux server. Among other changes, it now uses the 1.3 codebase. You can find a mirror of the 62mb file on FileShack.

The guys at Quadract have a Desert Combat interview, asking some of the people involved about their work on this Battlefield 1942 modification.

A new version of the popular Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942 has been released, now supporting the new 1.3 patch for the game. There have been some balance changes as well.

ActionVault has a Q&A with a few different members of the Battlefield 1942 development team asking about their favorite maps included in the game as well as the just released expansion pack.

Battlefield 1942 Road to Rome is now trickling onto shelves today according to those hip kids in the know. Here's the press release saying as much. The expansion pack went gold on January 22nd and the v1.3 patch for BF1942 came out just a couple days ago.

The Road to Rome will focus exclusively on the key, yet largely underpublicized Italian and Sicilian campaigns of WWII. Players can choose to fight on six new maps including Operation Husky (Sicily), Operation Baytown and the battles for Anzio, Salerno, Santo Croce and Monte Cassino. Each map comes with highly detailed environments such as Italian houses, Mediterranean trees and even the ruined Monte Cassino Monastery. Controllable vehicles are the heart of the Battlefield 1942 experience and The Road to Rome will feature eight new vehicles in addition to the more than 30 in the original title.

Electronic Arts has just released the Battlefield 1942 1.3 patch which you can grab from FileShack. If you run a server you can also grab this updated dedicated server release. There are a number of changes, here are some of them.

- Optimization of server priorities to improve Net Performance
- Problems with SoundBlaster Live on WinXP and Win2000 systems are solved
- New and improved fire animations in 1st person view for the following weapons: stg44, bar1918, mp18, mp40
- New and improved models in 1st person view for the following weapons: stg44, bar1918
- Reloading time on sniper and engineer rifles reduced by 33%
- The AI in single player mode is much improved. Bots now focus on close range enemies over long ones, especially when their current weapon is not suited for long-range

The official Battlefield 1942 website has been updated, offering a new community update and in that linking to a new Road to Rome Quicktime clip showing plenty of footage from the expansion. Thanks n0v4.

GameSpy Daily has taken a look at two of the maps found in the Battlefield 1942 expansion Road to Rome, Salerno and Santo Croce. There's some info about the events there, and of course there are more screenshots.

EA sends along word that the first Battlefield 1942 expansion pack Road to Rome has gone gold! It will start shipping February 4 in North America.

The Road to Rome will focus exclusively on the key, yet largely underpublicized Italian and Sicilian campaigns of WWII. Players can choose to fight on six new maps including Operation Husky (Sicily), Operation Baytown and the battles for Anzio, Salerno, Santo Croce and Monte Cassino. Each map comes with highly detailed environments such as Italian houses, Mediterranean trees and even the ruined Monte Cassino Monastery. Controllable vehicles are the heart of the Battlefield 1942 experience and The Road to Rome will feature eight new vehicles in addition to the more than 30 in the original title. These include the German BF-110 and British Mosquito twin-engined fighter-bombers. Also debuting are Italian and new British and German tanks and anti-tank guns. The original Battlefield 1942 PC game will be required to play The Road to Rome.

In related news, EA's official Battlefield 1942 site has been updated with a new community update, which besides mentioning the new features in Road Rome, also has news about the upcoming Battlefield 1942 1.3 patch.

The guys at PC.IGN have an interview with Frank Delise and Tim Brophy, two of the guys working on the Battlefield 1942 mod Desert Combat. This mod is good stuff if you believe..oh pretty much anyone who's played it.

For those of you who still don't know all about Battlefield 1942: Road to Rome, there is another preview, this time at Gamer.tv. Thanks HomeLAN Fed.

HomeLAN Fed is the latest website to post some impressions of Road to Rome, the first expansion pack for Battlefield 1942. JCal tells you about the new setting, the new maps and new vehicles.