E3 2016 – EA

Let’s get stuck in with the first conference of E3 and the EA presentation.  There were a few announcements that I am incredibly excited about, and a few which I wasn’t so much a fan of.

EA kicked off with Titanfall 2, one franchise that I’ve never really looked into myself. From what I could tell, the game is moving from a solely multiplayer game, to include a single player mode.  The solo campaign will see the player learning of the relationship between titans and their pilots, how they met and came to working together, which I must admit does sound like an interesting idea. The game looks pretty, full of death and plenty of action – exciting I’m sure for any fans.

The Titanfall 2 reveal (or not so much reveal seeing as though the trailer was in fact leaked before the show) was then followed by a new Madden title. I can’t say that I paid much attention to this one, I don’t really get American Football, looked pretty standard though…

EA have made it pretty clear that they were wanting to break into the esports world, with competitions based all around the globe, giving players the chance to earn money for their hobby.  With the major sporting titles included, I’m sure that this will get the attention of many gamers out there.  Another interesting idea that was brought up later in the conference, was the Play to Give initiative, where gameplay challenges will result in charity donations. EA will be donating a grand total of $1,000,000 to their chosen charities which include Special Effect and HeforShe, so I can’t wait to hear a little more about that.

Mass effect: Andromeda was next on the agenda, and wow does this game look beautiful. The worlds look huge, the characters and story look as in depth as you’d expect the wonderful people at Bioware to produce.  I’ve always been interested in trying Mass Effect after how lost I got in the Dragon Age world, though with the heavy focus on gun-based combat, I have to say this is one that I will be watching, and not actually playing.  With the gorgeous snippets that have been shown off so far however, it looks like a delicious visual treat.

Next up was Fifa 17, where the career mode is clearly the focus this year. They’re really taking the career mode to the next level with the introduction of The Journey.  Kicked off with a live monologue on stage, we were soon following the journey of a young footballer named Alex Hunter. Instead of playing match after match, there appears to be a story to career mode, and if you’re not sure how that would play out in a football simulator, then you can check out the video here.  The Fifa reveal wouldn’t be the same without a strange cameo from a familiar face, and this year Jose Mourinho graced us with his presence in a bid to get some ultimate team swag for his son.  That can only mean one thing, managers are included this year, although I couldn’t help but feel the computer generated Jose did resemble Eamonn Holmes a little too much for my liking. Gameplay has been overhauled also, and with improved AI, Fifa 17 really does seem to be a new experience.

Last year, EA introduced the game Unravelled with its charming character Yarny who tugged on our heartstrings.  This year EA announced its third new initiative of the year following on from this – EA Originals. Developers will now have the chance to be funded and supported by EA, and the first title announced a heavily stylised title – Fe. Another breath of fresh air amongst the seemingly endless list of games based around death and devastation, Fe follows a journey through nature where creatures communicate by music.  Once again, this looks beautiful, but I’m going to let the trailer do the talking.

After all this excitement, I kind of switched off for the reveal of three new Star Wars titles (something to suit everyone apparently) and the final trailer of the show for Battlefield 1. Don’t get me wrong, the trailer looked beautiful and detail in the game fantastic, but there’s only so many violent gun-slinging games that I can hack in one sitting.  I’m sure if you’re a fan of war games, then this would be great, but in an already over-crowded market I can’t really comment.

So, to summarise, EA had a few exciting developments for me, both with the Play to Give initiative, Fe and of course the new Fifa instalment.  Slightly gutted that there was no talk about a new Dragon Age title, but with the promise of EA Originals, I think that we’re going to see a few more special offerings from EA throughout the year.

E3 2016 -Bring it On!

It’s come to that time of the year again, where all of the gamers unite and prepare to have their minds blown by magical announcements and teasers.  That’s right; E3 is nearly upon us.  For anyone who hasn’t experienced E3 for themselves, then you’re in for a treat.  Last year, I felt the show was stolen by Bethesda’s Fallout 4 and the Microsoft HoloLens, and I can see this year going in a similar fashion.

2016 so far seems to be the year of Virtual Reality, with the HTC Vive headset proving to be a marvel of technology, and Oculus Rift finally becoming a reality and not just a pipedream.  With all that considered, I’m expecting Sony to give a little more padding ahead of the October release of Playstation VR, maybe showing a little more of what the headset can do as opposed to the teaser released earlier in the year, which in all honesty left me feeling a little underwhelmed.  There’s also talk of a new Sony console being prepared, the Playstation Neo, and although this may not be shown fully at E3, I’m expecting it to have a look-in whilst they take to the big stage.

In other Sony news, apparently they won’t be announcing The Last of Us 2 this year, which I’m sure will leave many disappointed, but they will be showing off the VR functionality with No Man’s Sky, a title which I am already very much excited for if it lives up to the expectations it has set for itself. Crash Bandicoot is also said to be on the agenda, not with a new title but instead just making a return to the console world.  One can only hope.

Microsoft have been pretty tight lipped with what they intend to show off this year, other than the Xbox One’s anniversary update and potentially the Xbox One Slim.  There’s also talk of a new console, the Xbox One Scorpio, but that’s just in the rumour mill currently. Games wise, not much has been confirmed so far other than some Minecraft news, Gears of War 4 and a new Forza.  I’m excited to see if there’s any further development with the HoloLens after the impact that it made last year, if you haven’t seen the footage then take a look here, it looks as though it’s going to be pretty immense!

With Nintendo, well I don’t think that many people who watched E3 last year will be able to forget the unconventional Nintendo Digital Event that they put on with their puppets and comedy sketches. This year, they’re said to be taking to the stage, and I’m hoping that they may divulge some more details about Pokemon Sun/Moon in preparation for the release in November this year, plus hopefully some solid footage of Pokemon Go.  The latest console Nintendo NX is said to be missing from E3’s schedule this year, which is a shame, but not surprising considering not much has been revealed so far.  Whilst my interest is focused on the Pokemon offerings, there’s also likely to be a strong presence of The Legend of Zelda and some mobile phone titles including Animal Crossing.

In terms of publishers, Bethesda had a strong showing for their E3 debut last year, with the announcement of Fallout 4 taking the world by storm. This year I’m hoping for one of the many rumours to come true – a Skyrim remaster.  There have been talks of a re-master after images of Skyrim were leaked on the Playstation Store, and with no sources denying this rumour – I’m crossing my fingers to be able to explore Tamriel with the added power of the PS4.

Ubisoft is set to return again this year, and have already confirmed that Watch Dogs 2 will be showing at E3. Given the disappointment with the first title, it will be interesting to see if they’re going to be able to pick up momentum and show that this IP does have something more under it’s belt.  There are rumours of a few Ubisoft VR titles being revealed too, unsurprisingly.  Square Enix are also said to be revealing information on a new Kingdom Hearts installment, and as a franchise I’ve been wanting to get into, I’ll be keeping a beady eye on any announcements for that one.

EA is also of interest to me this year, the latest teaser of Fifa 17 has revealed that this year’s homage to the beautiful game will make the switch over to the Frostbite engine, which is the same engine that my beloved Dragon Age: Inquisition and the latest Need for Speed was made with. The visual capability of this engine is huge, and so I’m hoping for something special this year.  Let’s face it though, they’re going to find it hard to top their presentation from last year which oddly featured the football legend – Pele. I’m interested to see if they intend to share any information on what’s to become of The Sims 4, especially as the steady release of new content has slowed down to nearly a halt, will we see the return of pets? Bioware will feature with the upcoming Mass Effect: Andromeda, and EA have also said that they will showcase games coming in 2017/2018, could this mean a sneak peek at a new Dragon Age title? Please!

So when is E3? All the fun kicks off tonight at 9pm with the EA conference, though sadly  you may need to have a few late nights should you wish to watch them all live, with the Bethesda conference not scheduled until 3am tomorrow morning, and Sony not until 2am on Wednesday morning. This page will show you what times they are on depending on your time zone, as well as provide you with links on how to watch online. Youtube have kindly set up a hub this year also, so that you can check out all of the streams in one convenient place.

I can’t wait, it’s literally like Christmas all over again, fingers crossed for some exciting reveals!