EA held their Gamescom 2013 press conference to announce well, stuff. The stuff they announced was not particularly surprising, but it was pretty plentiful.
They kicked off by revealing the first gameplay footage for The Sims 4. And we promptly switched off. Around ten minutes later, Command & Conquer changed the pace completely.
To be fair, we should say that the Sims 4 will be out in 2014 and if you’re actually interested in finding out more about the game, there’s plenty of information here.
Command & Conquer on the other hand had people killing people in multiplayer. Command& Conquer will feature episodic single-player and co-op missions and will be out in 2014, with a beta coming for which you can register now.
Dragon Age: Inquisition was up next, and BioWare are slaving away on the game which will bring moral decisions to the “visually stunning next-generation RPG experience”.
http://youtu.be/sgzTlyw9w_E
PopCap are busy with the first major content update for Plants Vs Zombies 2. They also discussed the zombie classes in Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare. How on earth zombies have the brains to be an engineer will be one of life’s mysteries. A Boss Mode for Garden Warfare was also confirmed and features Doctor Zomboss asone of the characters who is voiced by Russell Brand. And there’s Peggle 2. Again.
http://youtu.be/1v2kJ-Djb5Q
http://youtu.be/b_VDMe9uqAQ
UFC! UFC! UFC! I don’t really get the sport. It’s a bunch of sweaty men hurting each other. The game is out in Spring 2014, so there’s plenty of time for EA to get the sweat glistening perfectly…
Need for Speed Rivals races on to shelves on 21 November for Xbox 360 and PS3. Next-gen release dates are to be confirmed. The game is a “dynamic open world powered by AllDrive”, which “dissolves the line between single-player, co-op and multiplayer”. It also features the Ferrari 458 Spider for the first time in a Need For Speed in seven years. There are three careers you can choose as a policeman in NFS Rivals: patrol, enforcer, and undercover.
Respawn will be “adding cinematic moments and set-pieces typically found in single-player campaigns and bringing them to multiplayer” for Titanfall. A new multiplayer mode called Attrition was shown off. And you can use your mech to pull the pilot out of another mech. Thinking about it makes me feel so darn macho.
FIFA 14 – like you weren’t expecting it. Actually FIFA 3 Online first. The game is coming to China following its success in Korea. Brazil and Russia meanwhile are getting the free-to-play FIFA World in the next 12 months, while FIFA 14 on mobiles will also be free-to-play.
FIFA 14 will be getting a demo on 10 September, which will let you experience Real ball physics, precision movement and PureShot. The full game will feature 33 official leagues, 600 clubs, Chilean and Argentinian leagues, new Italian clubs and the Brazilian national team… which we’re pretty sure have been in it every year previously. You will be able to carry your career over from current-gen to next-gen – in fact FIFA Ultimate Team, FIFA Seasons stats, Virtual Pro and EA Sports Football Club all will carry over.
FIFA Ultimate Team Legends was confirmed again as an exclusive for Xbox 360 and Xbox One and will feature around 40 old wrinklies like Pelé, Gullit, Bergkamp, Ljundberg and Lineker.
The stadium will “come to life” with ‘Match flow’. This sounds a little worrying at first, but it merely means players will interact with the ballboys, and stuff like that. There will be more than 100 different broadcast cameras around the pitch to bring dramatic replay angles.
Of course, the main draw for many (or me at least) was Battlefield 4. And EA ended with the first-person shooter. “Levolution” was the catch phrase of the demonstration and it shows how stages transform as you play. You can reduce a city to total chaos by blowing up trains, triggering alarms, shooting out lights and making buildings collapse. Levolution also creates huge waves, so if your boat driving skills are crap, they’ve just got worse.
You will be able to do this over the five planned expansion packs for the game. In fact Battlefield Premium was confirmed (no surprise there then), and will offer the DLC, plus weekly weekly content and unique personalization options for $50.
- Battlefield 4 Second Assault – “Includes four fan-favorite Battlefield 3 maps now re-imagined with the power of Frostbite 3. Available first on Xbox One.”
- Battlefield 4 China Rising – “Players fight for dominance across the vast and majestic Chinese mainland. Available December 2013.”
- Battlefield 4 Naval Strike – “Experience dynamic ocean combat as the Chinese armada takes the fight to the sea. Available Spring 2014.”
- Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth – “The US strikes back engaging in all-out urban warfare. Available Summer 2014.”
- Battlefield 4 Final Stand – “Bring the war to its epic conclusion. Available Summer 2014.”
A new mode – called Obliteration – sees you having to destroy an enemy target before they destroy yours. To do this you need to find the bomb that is randomly placed on the map, and take it to the target.
An open beta for all gamers featuring the Siege of Shanghai map and Conquest mode was announced for early October with early access (a whole three days) for Battlefield 3 Premium members, those that pre-ordered Battlefield 4 Digital Deluxe, and owners of Medal of Honor Warfighter Digital Deluxe and Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition.
The map ‘Paracel Storm’ was shown off as EA and DICE bid adieu. The game hits current-gen consoles on 29 October in the US and 31 October in Europe.
http://youtu.be/ztA4eKV-PeU
http://youtu.be/oDnSw4v6PcA
