Electronic Arts' E3 Keynote 2011
We won't parade celebs around on stage, except for the ones we do.
EA is a publisher with their hands in many sinister soups. Battlefield, the EA sports division, Mass Effect 3, and the upcoming Star Wars MMO are among their bigger shares in the industry. So what do they have on offer in 2011? (Edit - Jesus I have tons of Freudian slips here, I'm in a daze or some shit)
Bullet Points of Convenience:
- Mass Effect 3 opens the keynote - Shepard is taking out a Reaper base, and *SPOILERS* it's a huge fucking Reaper!; 3-6-12
- Riccitiello takes the stage, rips on bringing celebs on stage for promotion
- Need for Speed: The Run - race from San Francisco to New York; Auto-Log tracks your progress across the country compared to your friends online; also known as Quick-Time-Event: The Game
- Bioware takes the stage - Star Wars: The Old Republic - Mostly a mash-up trailer of trailers already seen, with new dialog placed over, which was a tradeoff of someone from the Republic and someone from the Empire narrating the lead-up to the war
- And then snowboarding suddenly! - SSX - "Defy reality"; game goal is to capture every major mountainrange on the planet; "Race it, trick it, and survive it"
- EA really seems to be pushing Origin.com for more info, by the way
- FIFA 2012 - controls more detailed and tight, such as dribbling the ball in close range; despite the head of EA saying otherwise, soccer players are on screen talking about how great FIFA is as a series; Futball Club no additional charge, online matchmaker system, cross-platform
- Madden 2012 - "True to Victory, True to the Game"; players marched on stage to repeat the phrases, including the freakin' Heisman Trophy being carried on stage by Clay of the Packers; new collision system in-game but no details given;
- The Sims Social - Facebook; socially acceptable cyber-sex, where everyone you know can see
- Reckoning - celebs not brought on stage, but sure are emphasized and photo'd; fantasy setting, big-time emphasized smashy-stuff and magic
- Insomniac president takes the stage, mentions going multi-platform; "WOO!" from the crowd
- Overstrike - comical special-ops-team game, watch the trailer because it looks fucking great
The End-Keynote Megaton:
Battlefield 3 - no live demonstration, montage of gameplay shown in Paris; looks pretty; "Battle Log" is the social service, also free; open beta in September; multiplayer trailer online at Origin site; oh, there is a live-demo!; turret sequence shown, apparently looking at the sun doesn't blind the fuck out of you; cursing was bleeped out on TV, tee-hee; apparently whoever is playing is getting fucked up big-time by artillery fire, thank goodness for God-mode; October 25; free online
The Bottom-Line:
Video games. Emphasis on the Origin website. Emphasis on free-online / social tools.
Various Nonsense:images and shit forthcoming
Posts
Wish I could see the entire Blur trailer for TOR.
Pokemon White Friend Code: 0046-2121-0723/White 2 Friend Code: 0519-5126-2990
"Did ya hear the one about the mussel that wanted to purchase Valve? Seems like the bivalve had a juicy offer on the table but the company flat-out refused and decided to immediately clam up!"
Granted we all know how huge Battlefield maps can get but still, the idea of being that asshole in a tank hiding in the smoke killing everyone cause they're too dumb to use thermal is appealing to me.
Also the sound was awesome, not bad for pre-alpha apparently.
nope, i noticed it too and was just as mesmerized.
It's the first game in a while, since maybe Gears of War 1, that has looked head and shoulders above everything else at the show. It looks next gen. That's what next gen console games will look like.
That said, it was just driving across the desert in an Abrams. Not only have I done that in games for years but I've done it for real, so it's a little played out.
All style no substance? Well it definitely has a flavour to it, the Battlefield games. But I think it sits in the awkward middle ground between a full on sim, something akin to a hyper real Arma or an Il-2 on foot, and the Jerry Bruckheimer fuckfest that is COD.
Personally, I think if you're going to do a war game these days you have to make a Jerry Bruckheimer fuckfest. Because everything else looks a little flat by comparison and that's what most people want.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Also, playing a magic dude is pretty bad ass.
Pokemon White Friend Code: 0046-2121-0723/White 2 Friend Code: 0519-5126-2990
"Did ya hear the one about the mussel that wanted to purchase Valve? Seems like the bivalve had a juicy offer on the table but the company flat-out refused and decided to immediately clam up!"
Wait where is that first picture from?
The BF3 live demo.
It's on my wait and see list. Lack of gameplay makes it hard to judge.