EA DICE announced early this year that it would be releasing a free, ad-subsidized version of its Battlefield franchise by summer. Sign-ups for the beta of this upcoming game have opened.

Battlefield: Heroes has drawn a lot of comparison to Team Fortress, taking what would otherwise be a serious game, and turning up the cartoon factor. The result is like if Pixar did a version of "The Longest Day." The story is ridiculous, and the characters are over-the-top.

Since the game will be free, it has been designed around monetization, much of the initial setup of the game must be done on EA DICE's Web Site, and it must be visited each time the user wishes to launch the game client. This, however, eliminates the need for in-game advertisement.

To sign up for the beta, click here.