It's that time of year again! Mike from Foul ENT is here to take you through the biggest event of the gaming calender; E3! Read on to see the highs and lows of EA's Press Conference!
THE GOOD
TitanFall 2
Image Credit: extremetech.com
Whilst not a huge departure from the original, TitanFall 2 at least looks like there will be plenty of new gadgets and guns to play with, including a grappling rope, six brand new mechs and a promised (read: leaked) full offline single-player campaign. It seems that we are getting a much better and deeper look into the world of TitanFall, including that interesting story surrounding the link between soldiers and their Titans, which likens itself to TransFormers and Gundam. It all looks very promising. Don't call it a comeback!
TitanFall 2 arrives October 28th 2016, on Xbox One, Pc and finally on PS4.
TitanFall 2 arrives October 28th 2016, on Xbox One, Pc and finally on PS4.
EA Originals / Fe
Image Credit: kotaku.com
Whilst it is essentially a thinly-veiled licencing agreement, the idea that a bone-headed company like EA would decide to jump into the indie market is at in the least bit progressive. Working off the charming success of Unravel from last years conference, EA found another nervous Scandinavian to present a heavily stylised, humanitarian, emotionally conscious game. This years game du jour was Fe, an open world platforming/stealth game based around the beauty of nature and the environment. Indie fans should get a kick out of this games touching nature and striking art style. I'll take this over more bloody sports any day.
Battlefield 1
Image Credit: ytimg.com
Say what you want about the Battlefield series, but the move to take shooters back to their World War roots is frankly a breath of fresh air. Enter the stupidly titled Battlefield 1. Aside from some overly awkward cameos from Zac Efron and Jamie Foxx touting the multiplayer event, the new trailer showed us some stunning and varied gameplay from both multiplayer and single player moments. Tank warfare resembling that found in Fury, the inclusion of controllable blimps, horses vs trains, awesome destruction physics, beautiful varied terrain and maps, and all of it was pretty impressive. This meaty showing is exactly what players were hyped for and wanted. EA delivered with this finale showing.
Battlefield 1 arrives on October 21st 2016 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
Battlefield 1 arrives on October 21st 2016 for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
THE BAD
All The Sports Stuff
Image Credit: easports.com
Who saw this coming? Everyone? I thought so. EA have always spent way too long on their sports franchises. Admittedly, they constitute for some of EA's most profitable franchises, but surely EA must be aware that the average gamer would rather boot up Rocket League than FIFA. Madden, NHL, whatever, it's all pretty boring. Admittedly, they did show that they're at least aware of the E-Sports scene with their own 'events', but it's not enough. Just drop it, lads, we're just not interested.
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Image Credit: ytimg.com
Put the pitchforks away! Don't get me wrong, there was an interesting look at the behind the scenes of the game, with fun snippets from the game which showed off a good number of planets, the CG quality, Krogans, Asaris, mo-cap scenes and more, but it was just such a retread of what we already know. No new information, no speculative release date, no plot info, nada. For all the hype, it was a bit of a missed opportunity. We're told we'll learn more in the fall of this year, meaning the game is also nowhere near being finished and is being touted far too early. Did anybody else get a whiff of Watch Dogs watching this?
FIFA '17
Image Credit: kotaku.com
I know we've already said that all the sports stuff sucks, but can someone remind me why FIFA needed a full on story mode ala Tony Hawk Underground? Oh wait, nobody can. FIFA ate up way too much of EA's conference, once again, for a game series that comes out every year with minimal changes for a game only idiots care about. I can guarantee that nobody will give a shit about Alex Hunter, FIFA 17: The Journey or any of the plot, because your average sports gamer can barely hold a conversation for ten minutes, never mind understand this fan fiction nonsense. Also, managers. Also, a comedy sketch with Jose Mourihno for some reason. Yaaay...
Star Wars
Image Credit: starwars.ea.com
"Hey Guys, stay tuned, there's totally gonna be new Star Wars game footage!" Aaaaand it's an overproduced sizzle reel that basically tells us nothing. We did get semi-confirmations of Battlefront 2 with sequel trilogy content, a new 3rd person game set in the Old Republic era and a bunch of other tiny, tiny fragmental details. But none of it was substantial. And that's maddening. They basically told us 100% what we already knew, but with an artistic lens. This poor showing after the hollow shell that was Battlefront last year is pretty pathetic.
THE VERDICT
EA started strong and finished strong, but everything in-between was pretty lacklustre and, of course, had too heavy an emphasis on sports games. They continued to make questionable decisions and deliver presentations that just didn't justify the time spent making them. It was full of non-news and sadly some of the best details leaked. Overall, a weak opener for this years gaming event.
Keep your eyes peeled for more E3 roundups, reactions and criticisms after each conference this week!
Keep your eyes peeled for more E3 roundups, reactions and criticisms after each conference this week!
By Mike Owen
@ThatMikeOwen
The Editor in Chief of Foul Entertainment, Mike edits most of what you see on the site. He runs the production of our podcasts, and currently pens Pop Culture Club and The Death of Video Games
@ThatMikeOwen
The Editor in Chief of Foul Entertainment, Mike edits most of what you see on the site. He runs the production of our podcasts, and currently pens Pop Culture Club and The Death of Video Games