E3 2016 – EA Press Conference
Well the first conference of E3 is out of the way. EA came to the stage and delivered a rather predictable show with very little in the way of surprises. But in saying that there was quite a bit there to be happy about.
– The show kicked off with Titanfall 2. Some exciting multiplayer footage was shown which allowed us to see the grappling hook in action for the first time. The most exciting part about the Titanfall presentation however was the single player trailer. It looks like it could be a lot of fun and go a long way to addressing the problems people had with the first game. Titanfall 2 is coming on the 28th of October.
– Next up was Madden. There is a big focus of eSports it seems with EA putting up a million dollars in prize money for a Madden championship. A host of new competitive game modes were also announced. Should keep Madden fans happy for another year.
– Then Bioware came on and gave us our biggest look yet at Mass Effect: Andromeda. There was a nice trailer on show but at the same time, they still gave very little away. It was a little disappointing that more gameplay wasn’t shown but honestly it is almost impossible to not be excited by this one.
– EA then announced Play to Give, a charity program that is set to give one million dollars to 5 different charities at the end of E3 week. All the charities are focused on education and diversity in gaming. It is a great move and to be honest a socially responsible one from a company with resources like EA. Here is hoping that some of the other big publishers follow suit.
– Then FIFA hit the stage. Personally, it went on for way too long but there were nuggets of excitement in there. FIFA will have a full single-player campaign mode ala NBA 2k16. That for me is super exciting, even if the writing will probably be a bit naff. Managers will also be in the game with 20 big name personalities getting the video game treatment. Of course, the biggest news for FIFA is the switch to the Frostbite engine so we all know it will look great.
– EA then went on to announce their EA Originals program. This program is basically designed to provide stability and publishing for indie devs. There was a big focus on the profits going back to the Devs as well so if that holds true it is hard to see this program as anything but a great initiative.
– The first EA Originals title was then shown. The game is called Fe and is a 3rd person adventure game with music and platforming based gameplay. It is a hard one to explain with the little detail we have but it is certainly worth checking out the trailer.
– Then Star Wars hit the stage. Battlefront 2 was confirmed for next year with Visceral’s game in 2018 and a Respawn 3rd person action game coming in 2019. There was a nice showreel of all the companies working on Star Wars titles at this time. My favourite part was the possible tease of something new from Bioware.
– Finally, Battlefield 1 had its time to shine. Massive machines of war such as a Zepplin or a Battle train will be controllable in-game, I am not sure how it will work but hopefully, they don’t mess with the balance too much. Also, I must say the game looks stunning and suitably epic. Check out the trailer for yourself.
And that is it for EA. Like I said not a super exciting show with almost no surprises which is a shame. Also it is worth nothing that NHL, NBA and PGA were all absent, not even in present in a showreel. I guess I will have to wait another year for Jade Empire 2. Perhaps there will be more EA stuff at the Microsoft or Sony show.
