Before reading this article, I have a few questions.

1.  Did you ever wish that a door was bigger?  Or maybe that you could somehow blow up a wall to get into a building faster?
2.  Have you ever thought about Jihad and ATVs at the same time?
3.  At any point in your day, do you contemplate what it might be like to cut down a tree...with bullets?

If you answered yes or even maybe, to any of these questions, then I urge you to check out the Battlefield Bad Company 2 beta.

It may be difficult to procure a beta key without preordering the game, yet preorder you should.  After all, this game looks to be a superb pub game.  At first, it may be difficult to dive into, given its relatively high list of requirments in the GPU and CPU departments.  However, it ran smoothly enough for me, and eventually I was fragging away.  The biggest complaint that most users will probably have is that there is no way to prone.  I never expected, for instance, a key allowing me to lean, yet toggle crouch or prone would be something I expected out of the Battlefield series.  Sadly, though, it appears that DICE is taking a page out of IW's book and labeling BFBC2 "UNBALANCED FOR PRONE."  Still, I am clinging to hope that prone may be reintroduced into the game by its release date.

The one map that the beta offered was Port Valdez.  This is an interesting map, firstly because it is snow-covered, and secondly because it offers a wide array of vehicles and terrain.  It was definitely fun scooting around on the ATV or flying a drone helicopter to scout out the enemy positions.  I also found it quite entertaining to load up c4 on an atv, then hop on with a buddy and run straight into the middle of the enemy encampment.  The fun in this is derived from the no friendly fire aspect of the beta.  The fellow that is riding on the back of the ATV can blow up the c4 on the atv to get several kills when surrounded by the enemy as well as give his living friend a significant boost in speed and elevation.  If you're quick enough you can even jump off before hand and save yourself the death.

Similarly, though not new to the Bad Company side of the Battlefield series, it is nevertheless still entertaining to blow apart buildings and portions of the environment.  Walls can be exploded and trees mowed down by machine guns or other ordinance.  This versatile environment is definitely a great addition to the game, and allows for unique maneuvering in each match.

The beta client itself is fairly streamlined.  It includes options to add friends, and self patches more often than not.  The server browser works, though it is not altogether precise.  Finally, there are unlocks (provided you are on a ranked server) in the beta which will help to provide goals and rewards to refresh and revitalize your experience.  I for one, am likely purchasing BFBC2 when it is released.

On a side note:
There is very little competition value in the game in its stock state.  A lot of the eye-candy and "oh my" effects would have little place in competition.  Similarly, the machine guns are overpowered, the sniper is inaccurrate and has very little stopping power, and the only manner in which to effectively use the assault rifle you begin with is to tap-shoot due to the massive recoil.  The game could easily and minimally be modded to forge it into competition, but with DICE and EA stating that mod tools will not be available, look for it solely in the realm of pubbing.