If you were somehow still holding out hope that the long delayed Battlefield 1943 for the PC would ever become more than a promise, give up now. Developer DICE has finally officially canceled that game (and another Battlefield project).

DICE GM Karl Magnus Troedsson writes on the Battlefield Blog today that the World War II online shooter Battlefield 1943 is kaput. So is the Onslaught expansion for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. "Our talented teams will focus on delivering the greatest possible gaming experience in our next behemoth release," Troedsson writes, referring to Battlefield 3. "We're confident this will lead to an even better experience in Battlefield 3, not only on PC, but on all platforms."

Troedsson calls the PC cancellation of those products a "hard decision," but promises to "continue supporting Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and previous games."

Looking Ahead [Battlefield Blog]

When was the last time you heard an a capella send up of shooter Battlefield: Bad Company 2? Never? Me too!

Sit back and enjoy this wonderful, voices-only original song that waxes poetic about Electronic Arts' 2010 shooter at the expense of those playing it, and, of course, shooter rival Call of Duty: Black Ops.

It's pretty freakin great.

Lyrics
I hear a gunshot echo in the night
It's quiet here on Nelson Bay when wookies get their camp on
I take him out with my 4x Noob sight But he'll be back
To piss me off as soon as he can respawn

I see a camping asshole in our base
Waiting to steal our chopper so he can fly around and rape us
I take my engineer kit in my hand and say
Hurry Boys! The Hind is after you!

Chorus:
Gonna take more than Black Ops to drive me away from you
Ain't nothing that a million C4 Whores could ever do
Let's bring the pain down in Arica
While we're at it let's tear them a new one on Port Valdez Too

Gonna squad up and play some rush tonight
Hoping to find a lobby that isn't mostly full of douchebags
C4 on the UAV ain't right, If that's their plan
We'll raid their base and steal the driver's dog tags
Better fall back 'cause victory's in sight
Hurry Boys! The Tank is after you!

Chorus

[Thanks excaliburps, especially for getting Toto's Africa stuck in my head... REALLY!!!!]

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 wanted to see a team spirit on its new Vietnam DLC package before unlocking a remastered Operation: Hastings map. PC players have answered the call first, passing the 69 million "team action" threshold required earlier today.

By comparison, the Xbox 360 community is about halfway there (37 million team actions), and the PS3 community trails that total by 10 million. What's a team action? It's the three Rs and an H. And an S. Resupply, revive, repair, heal and spot. Any of those carried out in BFBC2 Vietnam, retroactive to its release date, counts toward the unlock total.

The glorious PC community's triumph could be attributed to any number of factors. Maybe it has more players, or more players putting in more time. Or maybe they are more selfless and public-spirited.

Naaaaah.

Battle for Hastings [Battlefield: Bad Company 2 official site, via The Escapist]

On sale right now for just four bucks, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is the iPhone game I'm spending the most time playing these days.

It's not because of the campaign, I've barely scratched the surface of the 15 or so levels, it that the controls seem fairly responsive and local multiplayer is a blast. I've spent enough time playing matches against my son and dad on our three iPhones to more than warrant the price.

If you're looking for an iPhone shooter, and don't mind the frustrations that sometimes come along with twin stick mobile games, then pick this up.

December will be very generous to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 players, as EA and developer DICE will release all-new ways to play the excellent first-person shooter, including the promised tour of duty in Vietnam.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2's "VIP Map Pack 7" will kick off December (tomorrow!) with the release of four new maps: Oasis, Harvest Day, Cold War and Heavy Metal, maps lifted from the original Bad Company and the sequel's single-player campaign.

Later in the month, December 21 specifically, the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam expansion arrives. Actually, for PC gamers it arrives earlier on December 18. It has flamethrowers! Actually, it has a long list of new things.

If you want to know more about the VIP Map Pack, Vietnam and Multiplayer Update 3, you might want to delve a little deeper at the Battlefield Bad Company 2 Blog.

Release dates set for VIP Map Pack 7 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam [Battlefield Blog]

A transportation strike in Romania, of all things, is being blamed for a delay in the next Battlefield: Bad Company 2 patch on the PC.

In a thread on the EA UK forums, DICE producer Barrie Tingle confirmed the patch has been sent to EA Europe's QA department in Romania, but it isn't being worked on because the testers can't get into the office. "Transportation companies are apparently on strike, so they can't get to work," Tingle said.

Gamers expressed their characteristic sympathy for both Electronic Arts and the working man:

"Then why the hell are they striking," wrote one. "They'r [sic] salaries are not getting reduced by our awesome president. Lazy noob team."

Tingle replied: "They aren't. It is the transport systems striking not QA. QA aren't in cos they can't get into work."

Another gamer: "No QA in the west that can give it a whirl? Looks like the strike was planed [sic] ahead of time based on the article. Why not prepare for this by having another QA studio ready just in case?"

Tingle: "Hire a new QA studio for 2 days?"

People, it's a patch.

Romanian Strike Preventing QA on Bad Company 2 Patch [Planet Battlefield via Blue's News]

Much as I want to headline this as a "free map download," that would be misleading. Because these aren't playable maps, but they are high resolution overhead shots of the 10 used in Battlefield: Bad Company 2's multiplayer.

The Battlefield guys made 'em available through the game's download page, figuring some folks might appreciate the assist in marking all the choke points, ambush spots and hiding places.

The 137 MB file contains 20 images, two of each of the game's 10 maps released through the third pack. The map kit is now live on the game's download page, so run go get it if you're one of those crazy crazy people who actually use tactics in your online multiplayer.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Map Kit Available for Download [Battlefield Blog]

Tomorrow's batch of downloadable content for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the Xbox 360 lets players dress their soldiers with new outfits and weapons, because the most important thing on the battlefield is making sure you stand out.

Available tomorrow on the Xbox Live Marketplace in Europe and the United Kingdom, the Kit Upgrade DLC contains four new outfits and four camouflaged weapons to help give your combatant a unique look on the bullet-riddled battlegrounds of Bad Company 2. The new outfits represent members of the SPECACT - special activities groups - elite soldiers recruited from the cream of the crop of organizations like Delta Force and Spetsnaz.

Yes, whatever, they look neat.

There are four kits to choose from, one for each class, consisting of a new outfit and a special camouflaged weapon.

In Europe and the UK, the downloadable content will run players 160 Microsoft points per kit, or 440 points for the whole bundle.

In North America, the kits will cost you plenty of Dr. Pepper burps.

Look for the kits to come to the PlayStation 3 and PC versions of Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at a later date.

Give your soldier some style with the Kit Upgrade DLC [Battlefield Blog - Thanks Kevin!]