EA is doubling down with its free-to-play strategy, this time with a brand-new Battlefield title that will be "a deep PC shooter featuring signature Battlefield vehicular warfare, sandbox gameplay and intense 32-player online battles."

This won't be any cartoony, casual-friendly game, however. "With its advanced graphics, polished production values, depth and realism, Battlefield Play4Free takes the genre to the next level and is positioned to compete with top console titles," EA announced. The game is coming in spring 2011, although you can now sign up for the closed beta.

The game will be an odd combination of past releases.

Combining the most popular maps from Battlefield 2 with the familiar classes and powerful weapons of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, players have access to 16 vehicles including the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, its nemesis the F35 VTOL jet fighter, the massive Russian T-90 main battle tank, and the hard to catch LSV light strike vehicle. Players progress through the game to learn new combat skills, and earn in-game currency to spend on a massive array of devastating weapons and equipment.

We know just about as much as you do at this point, and we think this sounds pretty cool. These games were great fun when they were released, and free is always a great price. The company needs to make money somehow, however, so expect a combination of aesthetic items and in-game buffs making a play for your wallet.

Before you get too excited... has any EA online game lauched without significant problems? Any Battlefield games in particular come out of the gate ready to go?