I don't hate EA.
I constantly hear how they are the most hated company in the industry and how they are the cancer that is slowly stifling the creativity and innovative ideas in the industry. In some ways, this is true. EA is one of the kings of producing franchises that always seems to scream "me too" and appeal to the unwashed masses.
In another way, EA has put out many games that I have enjoyed over the years. While I haven't played a sports game since middle school (and back then they were always the Sega 2K games) and racing games like Need for Speed for the most part leave me feeling indifferent, there have been titles from EA I have enjoyed. Mirror's Edge, The Dead Space series (1 and 2), Shadow of the Damned and yes, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 3 have all had extended playtime from me.
That being said, there's quite a bit I don't like about EA. Again, I don't like the me too, focus group features that make it in to some games. For example, co-op in Dead Space 3 and multiplayer for Dead Space 2 were entirely unnecessary and seemed to exist just for the sake of having a feature that the publisher could bast about. I am also not a fan of their Origin service, an extremely restrictive and uncompromising distribution and game client that is pretty much a requirement for PC gamers wanting to play EA games. Let's not even get into the season pass and activation codes for games otherwise I'll never get to my point.
EA
For their E3 presentation this year, four games caught my eye. Titanfall, which I previously talked about in the Microsoft wrap up still looks like a ton of fun (no pun intended) with nimble and fast paced soldier on mech action. In many ways, this looks like the forward and radical thinking that most would have wanted from the Call of Duty games in order to prevent themselves from becoming stagnant. Coming from the guys who were responsible for the COD series up to Modern Warfare 2, I have really high expectations for this game.
Battlefield 4 looked awesome as well. Large maps, impressive visuals and a 64 player count makes this more like the game that Battlefield 3 should have been and in some ways, that makes me feel conflicted. Looking back, I can't help but feel that BF3 was a beta for EA, a way to test the Frostbite engine and have a placeholder title to compete against COD a few years before the next gen jump. That being said, BF4 still looks fantastic and a lot of fun. Even the single player, which I was initially cold towards looks more interesting as time goes on. Does it appear to be a linear corridor shooter? Yes, but it looks like to be a well made and intense corridor shooter and for me, that's just fine.
The last two announcements were both barely under a minute each but had me excitedly pondering the possibilities. Both a new Mirror's Edge and Star Wars Battlefront were announced. Again, barely any gameplay was shown but the promise of a new, open world Mirror's Edge and a Frostbite powered Star Wars Battlefront has me extremely excited. They are more likely at least a few years off but that won't stop me from getting excited now.
Ubisoft
Out of all the big, bad major publishers, Ubi Soft is one that for the most part is doing it right (expect for their U play and DRM). They produce the games casual audiences and gamers alike both enjoy and regardless of their audience, both audiences receive well made games with a strong emphasis on quality gameplay rather than a check list of things that games like. I can't count the number of Ubi titles I have enjoyed in the last two console generations and judging from their presentation this year, more interesting games are on the way.
First off, Watch Dogs. Nothing but good things have been coming from that game and the more details I hear, I get excited for this game. A large and detailed open world Chicago and the ability to manipulate the world around you rather than just driving fast or shooting your way out of situations (although you can still do that). It looks like a big leap forward for open world games and the fact that both current and next gen gamers get to play is a great thing. Really looking forward to this one.
Rayman Legends continues to look fantastic and just as fun and fast paced as its previous title, Rayman Origins. The bright and cartoon-like visuals give each character and environment an incredibly fluid sense of motion and pacing that most 2d platformers lack. I sincerely wished the New Mario series embraced a similar art style, as it looks so much better than the somewhat generic look of the New Mario Bros series.
Finally, the last game that caught my attention was the announcement of a new Tom Clancy game called The Division. Set in a world where a virus has quickly ravaged the US and martial law is in effect, players can team up into clans and make their way around the city seamlessly jumping from interaction with NPCs and real players. Its an interesting form of gameplay and an interesting setting that doesn't involve the overdone zombie apocalypse scenario we are all used to.
Overall, the conferences from EA and Ubisoft were what I expected. Some interesting glimpses mixed in with expected titles. While not every game interested me, there were quite a few that did. It goes without saying that any conferences with Mirror's Edge, Star Wars Battlefront and Rayman can't be too bad.
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