Bad Company 2 Limited Edition Provides Early Multiplayer Advantages

Purchasing the Battlefield Bad Company 2 limited edition will get you six early unlocks that could be quite advantageous.

EA has just announced a limited edition of DICE’s Battlefield: Bad Company 2 that will include six early weapon and customization unlocks to give day one players an advantage. While this immediately sounds unfair, the limited edition of the game will apparently go on sale for the same price as the regular edition, making me think that this is just an incentive for pre-orders rather than a way to grab some extra cash.

The accompanying video shows each unlock in action. From the press release, the limited edition will net you:

Four vehicle warfare unlocks
? Improved Vehicle Armor – An up-armor package is mounted on all vehicle types, decreasing the effect of both explosive and penetrating warheads, significantly improving vehicle survivability.
? Supreme Vehicle Firepower – Additional weapon packages are mounted for the driver of all armored vehicles, greatly expanding the range of targets the vehicle can successfully engage and destroy.
? Vehicle Motion Sensor – Use this electronics warfare package to locate enemy units in direct proximity to the vehicle.
? Tracer Dart Pistol – This magnetic dart attaches to any vehicle surface, allowing squad members to track, lock on, and fire rockets onto moving targets even beyond line of sight.

Two classic Battlefield 1943™ weapons
? M1A1 Submachine Gun – Reliable but heavy this classic weapon is a powerful force in the hands of any Battlefield veteran.
? M1911 Pistol – Highly customized M1911 are favored for its dependability and the power of its large .45 caliber round.

The item that stands out to me here is the Vehicle Motion Sensor, essentially a form of short distance radar. Adding increased vehicle armor and firepower to that mix seems like it could cause a stir. The M1911 Pistol also seems like it could provide a nice advantage. I’m not a heavy Bad Company player, so maybe these things are not as extreme as they appear to me. The key word to remember is that these are being billed as “early” and not “exclusive.”

So are these limited edition advantages fair? If these items aren’t naturally unlocked until later experience levels, some could be a little too hefty. I can understand developers and publishers needing desperately to get pre-orders and early sales of high-budget titles, but care also has to go into making sure too much isn’t given away. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is scheduled to release in North America on March 2, 2010 and in Europe on March 5, 2010.