The Battlefield franchise is simply huge. If you have any doubts about the size and scope of the Battlefield franchise and its player base, last month 780,000 people played Battlefield 2. This comes more than nine months after the initial release of the game. So it's no surprise that the team at Digital Illusions (better known as D.I.C.E.) has been working on Battlefield 2142 for the last 18 months.

At Digital Illusions, the name of the game is balance, and the development team feels the balance is what keeps players coming back to the Battlefield titles. If you have a certain character class that's far superior to others, players will flock to that one class and the game will quickly become boring and repetitious. Battlefield 2142 takes the balanced nature of Battlefield 2 and kicks things up a notch.

In Battlefield 2142, the new enemy is ice. Global warming may be a fear in modern society, but in the world of 2142, ice has covered most of the globe, and the inhabitable areas are in high demand. When anything is in high demand, people are going to fight over it. This time around the European Coalition is fighting against the Pan-Asian Coalition. These are the two sides you will choose when you take the battlefield.

As the name implies, Battlefield 2142 will offer a whole new array of weaponry and technology to battle with. New to the field is active camouflage, which allows a soldier to become nearly invisible. Keeping balance in mind, players will have to use the active camo wisely. If you move around too much you will be seen, just like Arnold saw the Predator in the classic film. In addition, players will have no offense when using active camouflage. You'll have to become visible if you want to attack.

Also new to the fray is the P-11 carrier, which can hold up to eight players. With a built-in cloaking device and heavy armor, the P-11 will allow teams to transport troops in the midst of a heavy fire fight. If you still don't see a use for the P-11, don't worry, there's a brand new mode of play that requires heavy use of the P-11 that we'll be discussing a bit later in the article.

No futuristic battlefield would be complete without your standard issue mech assault unit. The T-39 is what the team at Digital Illusions has decided upon for this very task. The two man attack unit houses anti-air guns with heavy defense against rockets and grenades. In addition, the T-39 can enter a sitting position to hide behind buildings. However, once again keeping balance in mind, the T-39 will have one very big weakness. Anyone with an EMP grenade will be able to shut down the T-39 for a period of time. Once an EMP has been detonated, the T-39 is a sitting duck.

The last new vehicle shown to us in our special demo session with Electronic Arts was the Type-2 Titan. This beast hovers far above the ground and serves as the aircraft carrier would in a naval battle. The Titan is a super large transport that can deploy reinforcements in the form of troops, vehicles, or even T-39 units. The Titan has been added to the Battlefield series for one very specific reason: the all new Titan Mode.

Battlefield has always offered a heavy emphasis on squad-based play, and 2142 will be no different. PC owners will be able to play collectively to earn points that will be used to upgrade their characters. Squad leaders will be able to set spawn points with a squad beckon, but these beckons can be taken out by enemies as well. Century drones can also be used for close range combat as they float above your character and offer a good amount of offense. However, they will also allow your character to be easily seen by the enemy. All of this comes to a massive finale in the Titan Mode.

The Titan Mode consists of two Type-2 Titan units at opposite ends of the battlefield (at least at the start of the battle). The only way to win in Titan Mode is to take out the opposing Titan unit, and the only way to do that is with the P-11 transport. Using the P-11, players will be able to launch troops high up into the air and onto the top of the Titan unit. From here, players will have to infiltrate the Titan, blow up several consoles to gain access to the core, and then blow it with well-placed nukes. But that's not where it ends, because those same troops will have to get out of the Titan before it blows, if they value their lives. Digital Illusions is currently aiming for 32 players in Titan Mode, and from the looks of things, it will be an amazing experience.

Last, but certainly not least, is the character customization in Battlefield 2142. There are over 1500 different combinations of character types in 2142 at the highest rank. As you move up in rank you'll open up more sub classes for your character as well as more weapons and abilities. Players will also earn medals, badges, pins, dog tags, and other various items as you take down enemy soldiers during combat.

From our early look at Battlefield 2142, the game is shaping up to be a blockbuster title. With the new addition of Titan Mode, as well as the return of the 64 player Conquest Mode, 2142 will be a must have title for the PC this Fall. If you don't have friends to play with online, you can even play single player or against bots. Whatever your pleasure, Battlefield 2142 looks to meet and exceed it. We'll have more on 2142 over the next few months.