Video game giant Electronic Arts took the stage at E3 to announce a bevy of upcoming titles. Here’s a look at some of the highlights.
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Criterion games will “take the game back to its roots” with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit “for a connected generation.” You play through a full career as a racer and a cop. There’s a big online element now called “Autolog” that shows you what your friends have accomplished in the game and lets you jump in for quick head-to-head challenges online where one of you plays the cop and the other plays the bad guy. If you played Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit when it came out back in 1998, you’ll feel right at home with this one.
Dead Space 2
Promised to be “a truly epic sequel,” Dead Space 2 takes place in a fully thriving city called The Sprawl with a wide variety of environments. Might want to play this game with the lights on unless your couch is covered in plastic; it looks pretty creepy. It’s due out in January 2011. EA showed a demo and said “find out how it ends tomorrow at the Sony show.” Interesting.
Medal of Honor
For the first time, Medal of Honor is leaving World War II and picking up the battle in Afghanistan. DICE is building the multiplayer aspect, EA is building the single-player part. EA demonstrated a live 24-player gaming session called “Team Assault,” a deathmatch-type mode where teams try to hit a certain number of target points in close-quarters combat. It’s due out October 12th, 2010 but a multiplayer beta test goes live on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on June 21st if you can’t wait that long.
Gun Club
A rewards program for gamers. Members receive early access to news, events, downloadable content, and beta programs. Join at GunClub.EA.com for access to the aforementioned Medal of Honor beta.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam
Expansion pack for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 coming “Winter 2010.”
EA Sports MMA
Intuitive controls, different fighting styles, rings and rule-sets from around the world, live broadcasts of online multiplayer fights–called EA Sports Live Broadcast. You create your own fighter using your own face, if you want, and then record yourself making trash talking hype videos. If chosen for promotion, your character will fight live online with two actual broadcasters calling the event.
EA Sports Active 2
Wireless freedom of motion, heart rate monitor, track your progress online with instant uploads. Available November 16th on Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3. For the Wii, there’s a wireless heart rate monitor worn on the right arm and a wireless leg band. For the PS3, it looks like two arm bands and a single leg band. You can use your own hand weights now, which is good. The Xbox 360 version will use Kinect for 1:1 motion and will register full body movement.
Madden NFL 11
The newest version of Madden promises to be simpler, quicker, and deeper. New simplified play-calling mechanism, games can be played in half the time, there’s a new 3-on-3 online play mode, and more. Gameflow play calling engine “puts you inside the huddle.” Joe Montana takes the stage to introduce Gameflow and talks about coach Bill Walsh sending plays into the huddle from the sideline. Plays categorized by down, category, yards needed, etc., plus in-helmet quarterback audio so the coach can communicate with the QB. Looks really easy to tweak plays on the line and call audibles.
The Sims 3
Sims are given free will for “a very sophisticated ecosystem” that’s “impossible to predict.” Due on consoles October 26th. The slogan is “Play With Lif3.” See what they did with the 3 there?
Crysis 2
Delivers a new type of futuristic warfare. The game is set in New York and your player wears a special suit that can be used for various things like armor and invisibility. Everything’s pretty open. “We don’t tell you how to play, we give you the guns and bullets and armor to play.” The game demo EA showed off takes place in Grand Central Station and had kind of a Halo-type feel to it. It’s due out in time for the holidays and will be available as a 3D version on all consoles as well.
Bulletstorm
A “pulpy, over-the-top first person shooter” from Epic as introduced by Cliff Bleszinski. Due out February 22, 2011. Gameplay demo feels like a futuristic Bioshock except with explosions going off all over the place and Duke Nukem-style dialog. The character holds a gun in one hand and uses the other hand to shoot lightning and whatnot.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Every player will get his or her own starship “to represent a rite of passage” and to provide a customized home base. Choose Jedi or Sith as your alliance. First ground battle takes place on Alderaan. The demo shown looks absolutely amazing though it appears to be a cutscene of some type, not actual gameplay. Still, it’s going to be a must-buy for Star Wars fans.
(More on Techland: Complete E3 2010 Coverage)