Early in the morning today (Sunday in Los Angeles), EA kicked off E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) week with their press conference, giving us information on several of their triple-A titles like Titanfall 2, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Battlefield 1 and more! EA Sports franchises were also on display and plenty more, so here’s all the information you need to know!
TITANFALL 2
Vince Zampella of Respawn Studios was the first presenter on the stage, bringing us wondrous news of Titanfall 2 coming to the PS4, a new Single-player campaign, and 2 scorching trailers showcasing the trademark high-speed and adrenaline pumping action of Titanfall and the Single-player campaign. Grappling hooks and Iron Man-esque unibeam? Sign me up!
MADDEN NFL 17
American football is back, and with an all-new commentary team and a huge emphasis on eSports. Peter Moore of EA spoke more about the new direction EA is taking to make eSports a more legitimised experience, with 4 global “EA Majors” set to give away more than $1 million in prize money, and accompanied by smaller Challenger and Premiere Events.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEmQEFCBp2c
MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA
No actual gameplay footage here, which is disappointing, but we do know more details will follow later this year. Bioware’s Aaryn Flynn drove home the point that this time, we are the aliens in the Andromeda system, and the game is all about exploring the unknown. The behind-the-scenes footage also revealed several new species of aliens, and what seems to be the female version of the protagonist.
FIFA 17
The massive success of FIFA is set to continue this year, and the major new innovation of FIFA 17 goes beyond the usual gameplay tweaks. A new single-player campaign, “The Journey”, will allow players to determine the fate of one Alex Hunter. From his personal life to the events on the pitch, you will rise and fall based on what you do. Definitely an interesting take but not something we’ve never see before. Of course, FIFA 17 will have improvements having moved to the Frostbite engine, citing a greater emphasis on set pieces, an “active intelligence system”, more physical play and new attacking techniques.
EA ORIGINALS
Another surprise this year is the introduction of EA’s new indie publishing label, EA Originals. They plan to partner with and fund smaller game makers each year to bring these indie projects to market and expose them via the EA Originals label. The first game announced under the new initiative is Fe, a new adventure game from Swedish developers Zoink Games, which looks awesome. Fe is described as a “game without words,” where players assume the role of a lone cub in a ominous-looking forest, meeting different creatures and learning their “songs” and gaining access to other parts of the forest. Keep a lookout for Fe!
STAR WARS UPDATE
With a number of games using the Star Wars license in development, EA gave us some updates on some of these projects, but sadly, they are all in the distant future. News is news though, Battlefront 2 has been confirmed to come out in 2017, and is being developed by DICE together with Jade Raymond’s new studio Motive. This time, it will contain content from the new movies.
Ex Naughty Dog writer Amy Hennig’s story-driven Star Wars title will be released in 2018, and will feature an original story and characters. Respawn’s third person action Star Wars game will be exploring a “different” time of the Star Wars universe, so fans can begin to go nuts!
BATTLEFIELD 1
Closing out the conference with one of the more anticipated titles this year, we had more details for Battlefield 1. Dynamic battles will bring the ever-present destruction, and unpredictable weather will make maps play out differently. So expect fog and rain to affect your vision and the like. “Behemoth” vehicles such as the airships, trains and battleships can all be piloted. Battlefield 1 will hit stores October 21st worldwide.
That’s it for EA’s press conference this year, next up we will have news from Bethesda, followed by Microsoft, Ubisoft and Sony. So keep your eyes peeled here!
Jake is a full-time trophy hunter and achievement gatherer on consoles, and part-time Steam Sale victim. He has a thing for Batman and awesome statues, and running out of space for both. Send help.
Natalie
