Just over a month ago EA released its online real time strategy (RTS)-trading card game (TCG) hybrid, Battleforge. The game infuses tried and tested RTS mechanics alongside the gameplay dynamics employed in popular TCGs such as Magic the Gathering.

In a rather surprising move, EA has announced that players can now download the entire game free of charge.

The “Play 4 Free” version of Battleforge includes all of the game’s scenarios, community features as well as the single player campaign. The only difference between the Play 4 Free download version and the retail version is that it starts players off with just 32 cards, while the full retail version gives players 64 cards as well as 3000 Battleforge points which they can use to purchase additional cards.

Players are limited with the cards that they can buy and sell in the auction house in the beginning, and must reach level 4 in PVE matches and level 10 in PVP matches before they can put a card in the auction house.

Direct trades and sending in-game mail with attachments are also blocked until players reach this experience level.

The Play 4 Free version cleverly gives players just 8 cards from each of the 4 different magic schools, making it difficult to build a decent deck in the beginning without paying for additional cards.

It is clear that EA’s strategy with the “Play 4 Free” version of the game is to try and coax players into getting involved in the game so that they will then purchase Battleforge points in order to buy booster packs and therefore build a proper deck. Players can buy 500 Battleforge points for $6.60 (R55) which they can then use to buy two booster packs which each contain 8 cards.

No changes have been made to the retail box version of Battleforge, which offers players double the amount of cards to start off with as well as around R330.00 worth of Battleforge points making it a better deal for those willing to pay the price.

The 84.2Mb download client is currently available at www.battleforge.com. 

Note

The full download will require just under 3Gb of international bandwidth.