Maps

Maps
Northern Strike offers three new maps, Bridge at Remagen, Liberation of Leipzig, and Port Bavaria. The new maps which are the only available maps for Assault Lines, are the only maps that spawn either of the new vehicles, and feature relatively large numbers of Battlewalkers but no tanks and little air support outside of Titan Mode, which is also available on the Port Bavaria and Bridge at Remagen maps. They also feature a new "Horizontal Pod Launcher" structure that functions similarly to the Pod Launchers found on the Titans (but with reduced range and a maximum time after you get in until the pod is automatically launched).

Assault Lines
Assault Lines mode is similar to Conquest, but with a couple of major differences. Most asymmetrical conquest maps feature the PAC as the attacking force with the EU defending, whereas Assault Lines reverses the roles. In Assault Lines, all APCs and the Goliath are spawn points for troops, much like they are in Titan mode, however the Goliath may not be stolen by the other team. Finally, the PAC home base cannot be captured until every other base on the map belongs to the EU team before they can begin claiming the base as their own. Completion of this awards a pin to those playing as EU at the time, players who switch teams after the home base has been captured do not receive the pin. If the PAC successfully recaptures the base and controls at least one other point on the map then it becomes locked again while the EU can not lock this point even through controlling all other points on the map.

Demo
EA released an online-only standalone demo of the retail game, featuring the Sidi Power Plant map with either conquest or Titan modes. Demo versions are limited to demo-only servers, of which a few are official EA-run. Points may be earned on the demo, but unlocks cannot be achieved or used, rendering the points worthless unless the user purchases the retail game, which then they may use the points for unlocks. The demo has not been updated with the complete game, and so several exploitable glitches remain.

Development
Battlefield 2142 was rumored to be in development ever since a 30 second video was leaked to the internet in January 2006. The video described itself as an "internal test." The proof of concept depicts the games' various vehicles storming through a futuristic city. A photo depicting the walker was taken from this video and subsequently used in marketing for the game.
The rumors began in earnest following a February 2006 interview with Dan Blackstone, a senior producer from EA, in which he mentioned:
“
We’re about to announce something very big, so stay tuned. One other interviewer asked this and I gave him a hint, so it’s only fair that I do the same for you: 3213/3*2. Or said another way: S.R. 4588164.[10]
”
The S.R. (Square Root) of 4588164 is 2142 (3213÷3×2 equals 2142 as well), hence the rumors. The only proof of existence was the cover story of the PC Gamer magazine and the trailer, published on the very same magazine, until March 21, 2006, when EA/DICE announced that, the next game in the Battlefield series would be Battlefield 2142, in their March 21, 2006 Community Update.[11] In the Battlefield 2 Armored Fury Booster Pack map Midnight Sun, there was a drivable muscle car with the license plate number 2142. Additionally in Armored Fury, there was a billboard advertising a digital wrist watch, which displays '21:42' as the time, and a Mushroom cloud with the caption message, "Watch For The Future." Additionally in Armored Fury, the drivable semi-truck had a magazine on the passenger seat that reads "Ice Age Approaches."
Battlefield 2142 was officially announced and playable at E3 2006."[12][13]
The Battlefield 2142 beta was released in the third week of August, after generating immense hype.[14] However, it was revealed that the beta was not a complete "open" beta upon its release, which disappointed many fans. At first, the general belief was that it was to be a FilePlanet subscriber-only beta,[15] but it was later revealed to additionally have an invite system. At that time the beta was only available to certain Fileplanet subscribers (keys were given out on a first-come, first-serve basis) and those who were invited. Some fansites had been holding contests giving out invitations to the BF2142 beta as prizes. On August 31, a large number of keys were given out by Fileplanet for free, and the beta client was upgraded. However, as of September 2, the beta was closed as all the keys had been given out. The Fileplanet beta ended on September 12, 2006.

Retail bonuses

Collector's Edition
A Collector's Edition of the game was released on DVD, which came in a numbered metal box. This edition came with a Battlefield 2142 chain and handphone strap, as well as a free rank.

Best Buy
Players who pre-ordered Battlefield 2142 from Best Buy were not only given a free 64MB dog tag styled flash drive, but also a free "downloadable assault weapon", which replaced the existing standard EU assault rifle (Scar 11), with the "Bofors Defense Machine Gun", which was a reskinned version of the same weapon. While some players like the replacement, it has been criticized by others for the excessive size of the gun taking up around one quarter of the screen and potentially blocking out enemies.[16]. There is currently no way to restore the original assault rifle apart from asking EA support to deactivate your old CD key and issue you a new one on a new account without existing stats, unlocks or rewards. Electronic Arts customer service currently has no way to remove the pre-order key from an EA account, which would restore the original skin.[17]
On March 23, 2007, EA community management posted a locked and stickied thread on the Battlefield 2142 forums, acknowledging customers' dissatisfaction with the promotional weapon skin, and that EA and DICE were discussing the best way to implement an option to remove the skin for those who did not want it. The forum post was never updated with information from either company. As of June 20, 2007, the forum thread has been removed. There is still no option to disable the weapon skin.[18]

GameStop
Players who pre-ordered Battlefield 2142 from Game Stop received a free in-game rank. This rank was stackable with the Battlefield 2 Veteran's Program promotion, allowing players to begin halfway through the second rank upon release of the retail game.

BF2 Veterans Program
People that played Battlefield 2 could participate in a "Veterans Program" that let them reserve their name for Battlefield 2142 before launch, get an immediate in-game rank-up, receive an in-game notification icon that lets other players know they played Battlefield 2, and receive exclusive verbal taunts to use against other players in Battlefield 2.[19]