Last year’s Star Wars Battlefront reboot will receive its third add-on DLC in just a few weeks. We’ve known for a while that players would be taking to the lower orbit above the Death Star to fight alongside Luke or Vader and now we’ve got some more details about $14.99 DLC – which two new heroic units will be joining, two of the new vehicles and a brand new mechanics for the Death Star’s included maps.
Players will build up a separate experience level tied to the individual maps, based upon the level earned your objectives will change. In example: a player with low experience may fight above the Death Star while a more experienced pilot may take on the icon Trench Run from A New Hope.
New Vehicles
Darth Vader’s Advanced Tie Fighter
Luke’s Episode IV Red 5 X-Wing
New Map Mechanics
Dynamic map objectives based upon unique map-based experience
No specific launch date for the Death Star expansion has been confirmed yet, however it is expected to be launched either in late August or early September for Season’s Pass holders. It will be released two weeks later for everyone else on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and EA Origin for Windows PC.
Last year’s street racing focused reboot of the Need For Speed franchise is making its way to both the EA Access vault on Xbox One as well as Origin Access’ game vault on Windows PC this week. The latest NFS title received a mediocre reception – averaging just 66 on Metacritic but surely this won’t stop subscribers from getting at least a few hours of enjoyment out of the title.
Alongside the racer EA’s absolutely adorable Unravel will join the collection on both platforms this week as well. I played the 2-hour trial when that hit EA Access this past February and found that Yarny’s unraveling antics were very captivating. This brand new platformer was so successful in its initial launch that EA greenlit a sequel, and now subscribers to both services can try out the full game for free.
Another 7 titles will be added to the PC centric Origin Access vault later this summer. Among them are some oldies from Maxis, Bioware and the game that made PopCap a household name, at least for awhile.
What do you think of these additions to EA’s subscription services? Are they enough to get you to sign up? I signed up for EA Access last year and I’ve got my monies worth out of Titanfall alone. Alongside the free, unlimited access games, EA Access also gives subscribers access to six hour trials for some of EA’s newest games like Star Wars Battlefront. Do you think that we will see Battlefront added to the Origin/EA Access freebie list once the inevitable sequel is announced?
Respawn’sTitanfall sequel that they have been teasing for weeks now has a solid release window according to the recent EA investor’s call. Listed in the publically available PowerPoint presentation shown during the call were 8 already announced titles, with Titanfall 2 sharing the same release window as the recently announced Battlefield 1, meaning that we will see Respawn’s next game sometime this Fall.
The 8 games featured on this particular slide included:
Mirrors Edge Catalyst (Q1 FY 2017)
FIFA 17 / Madden 17 / NHL 17 (Q2 FY 2017)
Battlefield 1 (Q3 2017)
Titanfall 2(Q3 FY 2017)
NBA LIVE (Q4 FY 2017)
Mass Effect: Andromeda (Q4 FY 2017)
Respawn released a teaser trailer for Titanfall 2 last week and more information is expected to be released before E3 2016 during EA’s “EA Play” event. The original Titanfall was released exclusively on Xbox One and Windows PC. Its’ sequel will be coming to those platforms in addition to the PlayStation 4.
Demo animations from the next Mass Effect title may have leaked thanks to an animation reel from “a certain developer” who previously worked on the next installment of Bioware’s futuristic space opera RPG series. According to this very brief animation reel this particular animator worked on fire effects for objects like barrels, rain / fog and other environment weather effects, pollen plumes and a jet pack animation.
According to well known industry insider – shinobi602 – this particular footage is from a 2014 build of the game and the game “doesn’t look like that anymore”. As any long time video game fan knows the style and even mechanics of a game can change during years of development.
Adding to the legitimate of this leak, the in-game HUD matches the one teased by Bioware last year on Twitter:
The original video of the Mass Effect: Andromeda has been taken down but for now a mirror exists here. If you can’t get the video to load here are some GIFs that the community has created:
As soon as more information about Mass Effect Andromeda is available we will be sure to bring it to you.
Popcap’s long-running feud between photosynthesizing plants and armies of the undead returns to the 8th generation of consoles in Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 for Windows PC, Xbox One and Windows PC. With a little under two years between backyard brawls should players revive their interest in this team-based shooter based upon a mobile game? After playing the Xbox One version for several hours I’m ready to rate Electronic Art’s latest title.Read More
According to a now delisted item on Australian retailer JB Hi-Fi Electronic Arts could be poised to release the first current generation entry in their long-running Skate franchise – Skate 4- as soon as this August.
Alongside the supposed release date of August 23rd 2016 the website entry also featured cover-art for the game that reveals that copies of Skate 4 will also include a downloadable copy of the Xbox 360 title Skate 3 bundled with the Xbox One version.
The Skate franchise has been going strong for 9 years now, with the first entry debuting on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 back in 2007. Skate titles are known for their unique control scheme which uses the twin sticks on the Xbox / PlayStation controller to represent the borders’ foot movements, providing an additional degree of control not found in competing titles like Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater.
Do you think that EA will surprise the world with a Skate 4 reveal at GDC or E3 this year? After the failure that was Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 I’m sure skateboarding fanatics can give another publisher a go at recreating the thrill of riding on a board.
When EA unveiled Unravel to the world last year during E3 I wasn’t exactly enthralled with the idea of yet another side scrolling platformer featuring a main character made out of cloth. To be honest, I always kind of pegged that as Sony’s thing and comparisons between Unravel and Little Big Planet are almost inevitable (creation tools aside) given the similarities between the two titles. This past weekend I sat down with the final build of Unravel and played through the first two of the game’s stages. After experiencing part of Yarny’s adventures, I can see what makes this game so unique from its peers.
Mechanically Unravel can easily be described as a physics-based side-scrolling puzzle game but that kind of distilled description does absolutely nothing to convey the sense of wonder, joy and happiness that will swell up inside of you when the music, art direction, and main character all work in harmony.
Unravel stars the charming Yarny who is a small doll made out of red yarn probably no bigger than the size of your hand. As players traverse the environments the doll slowly leaves behind a single thread of red yarn that trails behind. Managing your amount of yarn is absolutely pivotal to succeeding in the two stages that I got the chance to play. As the material that comprises Yarny begins to literally unravel Yarny’s appearance becomes thinner and thinner until you can no longer travel any further. Thankfully players do have at least trick up their sleeve to help manage the output of yarn – by pressing the left skin our little red friend will pull taught on the yarn tail until there is no more slack, increasing the amount of space you can move.
Because Yarny is so small the world’s sense of scale a more of a micro scale when compared to other platformers. Things like chairs, seesaws, cupboards and gates are quite the obstacle for our little yarn friend to overcome. This is a game all about environmental puzzles – the game will set you up with all of the tools that you’ll need but it is up to you to put all the pieces together. Yarny might just be heavy enough to tip an empty seesaw when standing on it but the little doll will have to find an apple or another object to weigh down the playset. There is no way to throw items or really attack enemies, instead, gameplay focuses on finding clever ways to your environment while avoiding enemies or tricking them with distractions.
Upon first glance Unravel is a charming game with unique yarn based mechanics like limiting player movement, adding more yarn to our hero with checkpoints and the ability for players to lasso themselves from tree branch to tree branch. Not wanting to spoil what little the initial levels teased me with in terms of story it feels like Unravel is going to spin a narrative that will tug at the heart strings. The developers at ColdWood have taken the time to craft the world that feels interesting, unique and also warm – like visiting an old friend’s house after being away for a long time. After playing the first few levels, you’ll surely be wanting to return to his beautifully colorful world to find all of the secrets that Unravel’s world has to find.
Fans of giant mechs, parkour-infused combat and future warfare rejoice because details about the single-player campaign, setting and spin-off television series for Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall 2 have final landed.
The lead writer of the sequel, Jesse Stern spoke to financial focused major news outlet Forbes and the juiciest tidbits finally found their way onto the popular gaming forum Neogaf.
In bullet form here are some of the things that Jesse revealed about the world of Titanfall 2 and how it will change when compared to the 2014 original:
The world of Titanfall 2 will include the use of magic – an element that was absent entirely from the original game. Stern promises that the use of magic will still be grounded in a world that was primarily centered on humanities’ early attempts at space colonization with no pristine Star Trek-esque future tech to be found.
A dedicated single-player campaign has been confirmed for Titanfall 2. The original game was an online only multiplayer-focused affair that offered narrative details in the form of pre / post-match dialogue sequences.
A tie-in television series is currently in development at Lion’s Gate TV which will be episodic in nature.
The developers are currently targeting a multiplatform release for Titanfall 2. This presumably means that the game will be available on Windows PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
America’s founding Revolutionary War and the American Civil War are cited as influences for the game’s setting and narrative. Respawn wants to explore the consequences of the first groups of humanity’s refugees colonizing the far reaches of space.
Respawn is only a year into development and publisher Electronic Arts expects to ship the title before March 31st 2017
A brand new trailer for Coldwood’s Unravel has spun its way on to YouTube. This new video gives you some information on the inspiration behind protagonist Yarny , as the game’s creative director Martin Sahlin discusses how a family camping influenced the game’s creation.
In his recent blog post Martin Sahlin described his vision for Yarny:
I really wanted Yarny to be brave, and to accomplish great things despite being so small. I hoped when we were making the game that Yarny would be empathetic and relatable, and based on your support, I can see that Yarny is already reaching people.
Check out the trailer in the embedded player below. Unravel will be released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Feb 9th.
With just seven days until Christmas Day it is no surprise that publishers are rolling out some great deals on some of this year’s hottest games as well as excellent releases from years past. Electronic Art’s Origin service pulls the trigger on this year’s sale ahead of competitor Valve. They’re not only offering some fantastic prices on some of our favorite games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and the entire Mass Effect trilogy but also the lowest price I’ve ever seen for Battlefront, and that game is only a month old.
The hype for The Force Awakens is very real and with that film being officially released today I’m sure Star Wars: The Old Republic will experience an influx of some fresh players. Despite the game going the dreaded free-to-play route several years ago it still provides an excellent Lvl 1 – 50 experience for free to all players. If you’re an MMO player I would heavily consider the Old Republic bundle available on Origin during the holiday sale: You gain access to all 3 paid expansions, 60 days of game time and a whole bunch of Cash Shop credits for the price of two months’ subscription time. Maybe it’s time to pick the light saber back up!
Competitive gaming is huge business – estimated to be worth around $194 as of current – and the latest industry giant to enter the scene is none other than Electronic Arts. News broke today that long time Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore will step down from his existing role and assume the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Competition office with the formation of the EA Competitive Gaming Division.
EA holds the keys to some of gaming’s most well known franchise including Battlefield, The Sims, Need For Speed, Peggle as well as exclusive licenses with FIFA, the NFL, NHL and more recently Star Wars.
Speaking about the role that the new EA Competitive Gaming Division will have within the e-sports community current CEO Andrew Willson said:
“EA’s CGD will seek to build a best-in-class program to centralize our efforts with new events, as well as the infrastructure to bring you the world’s preeminent EA competitive experiences.”
Electronic Arts has already been preparing its existing franchises for this shift to e-sports. Speaking with IGN Peter Moore said this of the company’s development teams:
“We’re already very engaged with our development teams around the world to make sure our games have got modes that lend themselves very well to competitive gaming, built-in from the get-go. Not as something that’s put in as an add-on mode or a last-minute afterthought”
Will EA be able to make a name for itself in a market that is dominated by free-to-play titles and older titles that never were necessarily $60 annualized experiences? It’s hard to say – as of the writing of this article the following are the top 5 games as ranked by competitive earnings:
DOTA 2 – $54 Million +
League of Legends – $26 Million +
Starcraft II – $18 Million +
Counter Strike (original) – $10 Million +
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – $9 Million +
It might take some time before we see the next Battlefield or Battlefront to crack into the top ten, let alone the top five competitive e-sports games. Rival publisher Activision announced a Call of Duty: World League earlier in the year that focuses on competitive COD.
It’s as if dozens of critics cried out in terror that one of the most anticipated games of 2015 might not live up to fan’s monumental expectations. Today is November 17th and it is probably the second most hyped days this year for long time fans of The Force – save for the December 18th launch of The Force Awakens – today is the day that EA unleashes the highly anticipated Star Wars Battlefront on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One.Read More
Whether they jumped on for a short time and hated it or loved it and stuck it through the entire beta phase, the game’s senior producer, Sigurlina Ingvarsdottir, revealed the the beta is officially the largest open beta in Electronic Arts history by accruing over nine million active users through the course of its tenure.
Considering that a lot of Star Wars franchise fans have been salivating for a Battlefront game for a very, very long time, now, this isn’t entirely surprising. What is surprising, however, is the mixed responses it’s gotten from those who have played. While there are reports that this game is one of the most anticipated of the last quarter of the year, after playing the beta, there seems to be some hesitation among some of the people I know that are playing the game, hoping, at the very least, that it will improve.
Star Wars: Battlefront is coming on November 17th of this year, putting it in direct competition with another titan of a franchise being release around the same time: Fallout 4, which is coming out a week earlier. The season pass, which will set you back fifty dollars, will give you access to all planned expansion content.
Electronic Arts and developer Ghost Games have announced a reboot of the popular racing franchise Need For Speed. They’ve been quietly listening to the NFS community for feedback regarding what fans want to see in future instalments. This latest entry apparently takes cues from the Need For Speed: Underground games featuring a focus on “urban care culture”, car customization and a nocturnal open world.
Alongside this announcement EA released the game’s logo which you can see below and a brief teaser trailer. The full trailer will be revealed at E3 on June 15th!
Need For Speed will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC this fall.
Over the weekend Electronic Arts revealed the first in-engine trailer for their upcoming reboot of the Star Wars: Battlefront series during the annual Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim California. If you were expecting a gameplay trailer you might be a little disappointed as the trailer released by EA is full of up-close shots of in-engine assets and cinematic cuts. There is no doubt that the trailer is absolutely gorgeous and action packed but the looming question is of course ‘does it represent the final game?’ with no gameplay footage available that is a question we don’t have the answer to right now.Read More
