Not so long ago EA relinquished the crown of evil to their mega publisher rival Activision. Lately through many missteps, like the launch of SimCity, they seem bound and determined to regain that stature. As much as it sucks for those that bought into it, I believe the removal of the online pass is a step in the right direction. Lets see if they continue those steps with today’s briefing.
Peter Moore was front and center for the beginning of the EA press briefing. Everything they are showing is for the PS4 and XboxOne.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
First up is the rumored Plants vs. Zombies shooter. PvZ:Garden Warfare is a Team Fortress 2 style shooter but in the 3rd person. PvZ: Garden Warfare heads to the XboxOne before moving to the 360. This four player co-op pits you as plants against the hordes of zombies we know and love. Even Crazy Dave makes an appearance! Each plant has their own class such as the peashooter as engineer, chomper as close quarter combat, sunflower as medic, and cactus as sniper. If you loved the original be forewarned as PvZ:Garden Warfare has awesome written all over it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShMootQvl_0
Peggle 2
Two words or a word and a number that can destroy lives. I wonder if Popcap really truly understands what their crack does to people and their families?
Titanfall
Coming to both XboxOne and 360 as well as the PC. We saw most of the gameplay at the Xbox conference but the mech and human battles look intense. Titanfall has shades of Mechassault and Mechassult 2 for the original Xbox...but turned up to 11. Check it out below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goe6IB1DLZU
Star Wars Battlefront
All we saw was a frozen world and then the foot of an AT-AT came crashing down. My gaming life flashed before my eyes. Star Wars Battlefront is being developed by Dice using the Frostbite 3 engine....I got chills
Need for Speed Rivals
Similar to Need for Speed world but for consoles (and pc's too!). NfS:Rivals features a mode they call All-drive that eliminates lobbies and wait time between single and multipayer mode. Players can play as Racers and/or cops and while you're involved in an (illegal) street race your buddy can drop in as the 5-0 and take you down.
Not to be outdone by the numerous Need for Speed ripoff movies, EA finally decided the franchise needed one of its own. Starring Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad, the trailer had me in tears as million dollar vehicles were tossed around and destroyed...
Dragon Age Inquisition
Releasing fall 2014, this trailer looked gorgeous. Not sure if pre-rendered or in game but I am sure there is more to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh8v3Et4tGE
EA Sports and EA Sports Ignite (their new engine)
NBA Live
All ignite games are exclusive for the PS4 and XboxOne. They are going to redfine the dribble...my kids did that 10 years ago...oh they mean the ball. Bouncetek allows the ball to have its own physics...soon it will be self aware. All NBA data will be pushed to the player on an hourly basis just like the teams.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAwdHWkZXQ4
Madden 25
It’s Madden, is there anymore to say? Well maybe that Adrian Peterson is the next victim of the Madden curse and it looks phenomenal but better yet sounds crunchy-er...like football should.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VWVSwEtJQU
FIFA14
This beautiful game benefits from Ignite as well. FIFA14 comes alive with live stadiums, better player animations, ball control and physics. EA brought out Drake (really?) to setup FIFA 14 for us. Surprisingly he was the best guest speaker performance of the whole thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AL1ZkIJ2zQ
UFC
EA Sports UFC was announced by announcer extraordinaire Bruce Buffer. Along comes Dana White and several UFC champions whose names I totally missed. Dana believes that fighting was the first sport. To paraphrase “someone threw the first punch and someone nearby stood and watched”...he is probably right. “Full body deformation” headed your way spring 2014.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCTk7pCCfG4
Battlefield 4
Now with sound...and 64 player online warfare. Commander mode allows a birds eye view to forward assets and supply info. While the rest of the players are tied to their consoles, the commander can interact with a tablet or other mobile devices. During E3, EA will host 64 player live matches on the show floor. These matches are streamed on battlefield.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nJY7n8KaOY
Mirrors Edge
I am not quite sure if it's Mirrors Edge 2 or a reboot. Developed by Dice, in next Gen, with Frostbite 3 engine...it looks phenomenal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6PXba8X6N8
All in all I would say EA did a fine job showing the games in their wheelhouse. Let's hope they don’t completely mess things up.
