E3 2014 – EA Games
EA kicked off with Star Wars: Battlefront from DICE. Niklas Fegreaus, design director at DICE, explained that they visited the LucasArts archives “to stay as true to the films as possible”. By capturing the props, DICE wants to create the most authentic Star Wars experience ever seen in a video game. They even went to the original movie locations to get a feel of the environment and the emotions that these locations evoke. More information on Star Wars: Battlefront will come in Spring 2015.
Next stop is Dragon Age: Inquisition which deserved a whole article on its own. You can read all about it, right here.
Fans of Mass Effect mentioned that they want to travel to new places and have new characters that they can learn about. BioWare Montreal is trying to deliver just that by having several planets that you can visit with vast landscapes. So we now know that the studio at Montreal is working on the newest installment in the Mass Effect series. The team over at Edmonton is creating a completely new IP. Much information about this brand-new game is not given but the vast landscapes and ever-changing weather tries to be as realistic as possible. I have to say, the conceptual footage is amazing.
According to Rachel Franklin, executive producer of The Sims, you were able to control the body and mind of your Sims previously. “In Sims 4, you control their hearts”, says Rachel and while designing your new sim, you will also be able to define who they are. Are they ambitious and outgoing or are they a hot-headed athlete that loves to dive in the books? “The Sims 4 features lively, vibrant neighborhoods”, mentioned Rachel with “rich communities where anything can happen.” Because every sim now has their own personality, other sims will be able to work with those emotions. Create your own character, download a friend’s sim into your game and much more in the all new Sims 4 which is set to release on September 2nd, 2014.
The upcoming MMA brawler for Xbox One and PS4, EA Sports UFC, features Bruce Lee in all his glory. Brian Haves, creative director for EA Sports UFC claims that “this year, anyone can be Bruce Lee. Virtually speaking of course.” The trailer shows us that the graphics are beautifully rendered and the combat looks amazing. Running on EA Sports’ new Ignite Engine, the game is set to launch on June 17th for Xbox One and PS4.
NHL 15 will feature a new generation of hockey players, better controls and improved physics to all players and the puck. This will bring the gameplay to a whole new level of toughness and unpredictability. The game will also feature the most detailed arenas EA has ever built. NHL 15 is currently still in development for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360 and PS3. A release date is yet to be announced.
Criterion Games, the creators of the epic racing game Burnout that is all about speed and huge crashes. Their new IP is able to “move beyond cars” and features “ATVs, helicopters, boats, wing suits, parachute and more crazy combinations of vehicles of jumping over each other, through each other and under each other.” The still nameless IP is all about the first-person perspective and it looks astonishingly fast.
Cam Weber, the studio group general manager of EA Sports Golf tells us about the new PGA Tour game. “For the first time ever in a sports game, we’re leveraging Frostbite 3.”, says Weber. The newest EA Sports PGA Tour is “golf without limits” and they surely delivered what they mean in the trailer. You will be able to play in authentic golf courses or you can play in the most extreme fantasy courses such as a battlefield. EA Sports PGA Tour will be available in Spring 2015.
Madden NFL ’15 has hundreds of improved player emotions and reactions, defensive tactics such as open-field tackling, and even more new defensive stuff. It is set to launch on August 26th for Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360. Did I mention already that the defensive mode has been incredibly improved? Good, so did EA.
MOBA enthusiasts will fall in love with what is coming now. Dawngate is a free to play PC game that is being developed by Waystone Games. Designed by a group of hardcore MOBA players, Dawngate brings you more than any other MOBA game you might have played such as League of Legends. “We have broken down the genre to its component parts and build a new game that doesn’t just clone the classic MOBA but builds on it by focusing on a flexible metagame”, says Waystone Games. Everyone will be able to enjoy the class that they love to play, from bookreading wizards to fierce warriors. Dawngate is available right now!
It has been a year ago since DICE mentioned that they are working on a new Mirror’s Edge and today they delivered some incredible concept gameplay videos. Faith is looking more fierce than ever, even if the visuals are elegant and minimalistic. However, looking at the concepts that we have seen, the game is not that far along and will take quite some time to actually resemble a true Mirror’s Edge game. A release date has yet to be announced and we still don’t know on which platforms Mirror’s Edge 2 will be released.
Battlefield Hardline is not your average wargame, in fact, I feel that it is not a wargame at all. While the concept of criminals vs. cops is fine by all means, it does not feel like a true Battlefield experience. The main features in Battlefield Hardline are team play, strategy, vehicles and destruction and that is clearly visible in the gameplay video of the game’s Heist multiplayer mode. A few seconds in the video, a clear sense of GTA meets first-person mode came over me and it stayed there until the end. Instead of fighting it out on a battlefield, they are in the middle of a city that is not yet broken but will be soon. Step in vehicles with your package, or be the driver, break some windows, crash with your vehicle, pick up melee weapons such as bats to knock your opponent’s teeth out, … it is all there. Battlefield Hardline beta is available as of today on PC and PS4. Signing up can be done via the Battlefield website but you will need to be fast as supplies are not endless. It will launch on October 21 on PC and consoles.
That’s about it for the EA panel at E3 2014. It was slightly short but packed with action that sports enthusiasts will absolutely indulge in. What games are you looking forward to the most?
Related Items
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] second new gameplay trailer at PlayStation shows us grappling hooks and zip lines! As I said in the EA Games overview, Battlefield Hardline is not your average war shooter. Next up is Disney Infinity 2.0 […]