E3 2010: Electronic Arts Press Conference
EA has jammed hundreds of attendees into the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles, handing each person entering a pair of 3D glasses labeled Crysis 2 . Considering the size of the stage, I can only imagine the size of the screen we'll see the game on.
While this is all being posted at once and I'm not live-blogging it (horrendous internet connection here), I'm still writing it chronologically, so follow along if you weren't watching one of the live feeds already.
We've just past 2pm, the projected start time for the conference. Plenty of people still mulling about and no warnings to sit down. Since EA has already announced their full lineup for the show, curious to see what kind of surprises (if any) they'll throw into the mix. Perhaps they consider seeing Crysis 2 on a giant screen surprise enough.
First up is a brand new Need for Speed trailer. It's Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, coming out on November 16th from Criterion Games. Craig Sullivan, the Criterion Creative Director, says they want to take it back to the series “roots.” That means exotic cars, epic drives and hot pursuits. It includes a full career as both a racer and a cop.
Next up was the new online service for the game called Need for Speed Autolog. It connects features for players to connect, compare and compete with friends. The program recommends ways to play. It says when you've been beaten and what your rankings are. Now they're going into a head-to-head mode, showing both viewpoints. The track is called Seacrest County. A yellow lamborghini on a bridge overlook with four cop cars in pursuit. It integrates player names into the intro of the games. There are damage meters for the getaway car and a tracked pursuit bounty for good driving. Cops can drop road blocks which gives huge damage for getaway car. Bonus points for close pursuit, high speed, and other such racing elements. Epic wreck shots. Once again, hitting stores on November 16th of this year.
Autolog is the feature they're promoting the most. John Riccitiello walks on stage, EA's CEO. He tries to say that EA's conference is the Sundance to Hollywood's Academy Awards, this is after Microsoft gave out the new Xbox to all attendees of their press conference. But I wouldn't quite equate EA to Sundance...
Steve Papoutsis, EP of Dead Space 2 is up now. Takes place on The Sprawl, a full city. Isaac takes the action “to the enemy.”
Rich Briggs, Producer, discusses the game.
Gameplay demonstration. Starts in the Church of Unitology. Breathing effects have great sound design. Isaac is being dragged around by an enormous monster. Trying to hit its weak spot. Once chased off, he's pursued by creepy baby monsters with multiple heads and sharp claws. Seriously, they look like horrible, horrible babies. Great melee moves. He's got a weapon that freezes enemies. Lots of close-combat struggles with the enemy. He's got a nail javelin gun that pins enemies to the wall across the room, much like Crackdown's harpoon. It looks fantastic. The city is enormous. Long draw distances across the full game world.
Smooth transitions from gameplay into set pieces. Like windows being blown out and Isaac is sucked out towards space where the angle changes and he must hit a button to hang on. The release date is revealed to be 1/25/2011. A bit of a wait, but it's looking good.
John is back. They want to “take back the quality bar” in the FPS genre.
Sean Decker, General Manager of EA LA, walks out to talk Medal of Honor .
EA LA is building the single player, Dice is building multiplayer. They're hoping to bring over the quality of Battlefield's multiplayer prowess. To show it off, they're doing a live 24-player demo of the game's multiplayer.
Team Assault – Deathmatch in which each side struggles to hit a predetermined number of points in order to win. Every map is inspired by real world location. The one we're being shown takes place in Kabul. It's a close-quarter combat map. Key to survival is to “keep moving.”
We're being shown each individual screen. So they're actually pretty tiny from a distance, now they're zooming in. Lots of + points for kills, assists, headshots. Player was awarded a ribbon for their performance mid-game. You get tomahawk missile control. Each point adds to the team totals. So headshots and such add up the score more quickly. Game is coming out on October 12th.
Not ones to let Halo steal the beta thunder, Medal of Honor is launching a beta on June 21st for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC users.
They're showing the first multiplayer trailer. “Based on the Military's Tier 1 Operations.”
Car bombs. Hellmand Valley. The trailer looks really good, though the gameplay – being another entry into the “modern” era – can't help but be compared to its counterparts. But they might just pull off the multiplayer aspect.
Katrina Strafford, Senior Director Online is up.
Gun Club – award program. Rewards players for playing Dead Space , Medal of Honor , Battlefield .
People who join the Club get early access to news and events.Weapon unlocks, early demos, beta access, early news: gunclub.ea.com
Looks like you might have join it in order to play the MoH beta.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 BC2 gets a downloadable expansion pack this winter: Vietnam. Seems like the kind of thing everyone has been waiting for.
Peter Moore has stepped out to talk about EA Sports.
EA Sports MMA. Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko will grace the cover of the game. It's been in development for over two years. They really want this franchise to take off. Each fighter recreated authentically (it's true, you've seen the screenshots) Fighting styles stay authentic.
Now they're talking EA Sports Live Broadcast. “Perform in front of thousands of fans.” You create an MMA fighter, create a hype video full of trash talk, upload it and then hope you get picked by EA recruiters to have your fights televised online and through consoles. They're hiring real sportscasters to announce the events and you can win real prizes. There's no mention of how often these events will occur.
EA Sports MMA comes out on October 19th.
Now it's time for EA Sports Active 2
It's multi-platform, wireless and online. It has distance running, a Heart Rate Monitor. 70+ exercises. Track your progress online. Instant uploads. Coming November 16, 2010.
Heart Monitor is on all platforms, just on your wrist and leg. Monitored in real time. Mountain Biking which includes jumping, crouching, and running in order to pedal.
The Xbox 360 Kinect version has high-fidelity full body training. 1-1 motion. The stage demo showcased punching a heavy bag. It registers the whole body, bobbing and weaving. All the data jumps into EA's website. You can join friends and workout groups around the world.
Peter Moore is back.
Time to talk Madden.
They're making football “simpler, quicker and deeper.” Changing the way plays are called to simplify the experience. Games take half the time. It's got 3 vs 3 co-op online. The new play calling system is called Gameflow...puts you in the huddle.
Joe Montana shows up on stage to talk about it. Audio cues give you an idea of plays to run. And the whole experience does indeed look more simple. But is this a good thing for the series? Were people really complaining that football was too complicated?
Rod Humble, President EA Play, is talking about fate. Which in turn leads to the random nature of The Sims 3 . Within the next few years they'll be toying with: theme, time, and space expansion. They're calling it“incredibly sophisticated” software on consoles. They “crammed a lot in.”
New trailer showcases some backwards stories. A kind of cause and effect karma situation. They didn't specifically talk about how The Sims 3 Console will be different.
John takes it on to EA Partners and introduces Insomniac Games and Respawn (the new West and Zampella venture).
They're showing off two new games from the partners.First up Crytek shows off Crysis 2 . Time for the glasses? Not yet. They're calling it a “new kind of sandbox.” You're given New York and get the “tools, guns, grenades, and nanosuit” to make it your sandbox. Save New York.Crytek claims it has the “most intelligent enemies of any FPS.” We're now looking at a gameplay demonstration. Looks like they're inside the New York Stock Exchange. Graphics are looking great (it's Crytek) and the AI does indeed look for new ways to kill you. The gameplay looks intense. He's just killed a Pinger with C4 underneath. The game takes on a scripted event where the entire building over the stock exchange is falling down.
Now we're putting on the 3D glasses. The game releases this holiday season in 3D on all platforms.
Tney're showing off a cinematic trailer in 3D now. It looks fantastic, but it's all cinematics, no gameplay. Looks good, but like I said...no gameplay.
Next up is Bulletstorm .
Adrian Chmielarz of People Can Fly, and Cliff Bleszinski and Tanya Jessen from Epic take the stage. They claim that while sequels and familiar Ips are great, there's “something magical about creating a new world.”
They are the first to admit that it's pulpy and over the top. It's releasing on February 22, 2011.
They then break into a gameplay demo of one of the first levels. It's definitely an Unreal Engine game, but it looks solid. Has kind of a post-apocalyptic, sunset look to it. They give “rewards for creative mayhem” called the “Skillshot” system.
One of the first tools shown is the leash. It's like a grappling hook and can both hit switches and snag enemies off their feet. There seems to be a lot of interaction with the environment including zip lines, exploding electrical equipment and much more. Lots of things are destructible.
The characters chatter constantly through the game including such catchy gems as “scared the dick off me,” and that the “imminent danger means an imminent get the fuck out of here.” Like they said...pulpy. The biggest reaction from the crowd came from the “fire in the hole” kill which involved setting an enemy ablaze via their...hole.
Last up is Bioware. They're showing off Star Wars: The Old Republic. Not exactly our territory, but the new CG trailer looks amazing...just like the last one. Now only if their PC game could look that good.
That appears to be it. John thanks everyone for coming and people begin filing out.
Lost Planet 2 PreRelease Trailer
