by Jacob Saylor
Mass Effect 3
An epic Mass Effect showing was displayed at the beginning of the EA Briefing. The series has shifted its focus even more so towards the shooter aspect of video games, and we are even introduced to an on-rail segment of the game. March 6th, 2012 is the date all the Mass Effect fans have been waiting for, as the third iteration is now slated for release.
See more of Mass Effect 3 at Origin.com.
Need for Speed: The Run
Jason DeLong came out next to introduce us to the next Need for Speed game. For the first time ever in the Need for Speed series, players will take the action out of the car and onto their feet.
Next Mr. DeLong came out and began to show us a gameplay demo. The demo featured a racing sequence in which our unnamed main character is being pursued by mobsters and police alike. The chase is then brought to an on-foot pursuit whereupon our character dispatches a police officer and steals his car, making his escape through explosions, crashes, and gunfire. This eventually results in a crash, surprisingly enough on train tracks; the main character barely escapes through a quick time event.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
Next was the game many had been waiting to hear more about: The Old Republic MMO. Beginning with a brand new trailer, the game reintroduced us to the game’s story content and got the crowd excited once again with flashy CG.
No other information of news was released about the game.
SSX
The Old Republic trailer merged straight into a CG trailer for SSX. Crazy acrobatics, death-defying falls, and worldwide playing map all aspects of the game, SSX is set to reignite the series. The game is set for release in January 2012. The game uses a technology from NASA that takes pictures of the world’s surface, and you are offered the chance to play upon many of them.
FIFA 12
Next was FIFA 12, after spouting out some stats, the announcer went on to introduce Matt Bilbey. Touting it as the “Best FIFA ever.”, Mr. Bilbey went on to talk about precision dribbling and player impact physics.
Next, a trailer for FIFA featuring various players and seemingly unrelated celebrities like Drake was shown. The trailer put forth the idea that players could gain a better insight to the world of football by using FIFA and its gameplay system.
Mr. Bilbey went in to talk about the EA Football club. The club connects FIFA players from all over the world, letting them compete and gain ‘experience points’. Working much like achievements, the club is very much a veritable Facebook for FIFA players.
Madden NFL 12
After FIFA, the next iteration of Madden was introduced. The presentation began with a trailer and three star football players gracing the stage. (Ray Louis, Payton Hillis, and Clay Matthews)
Kicking off August 30th, the game is the first in EA’s new ‘dynasty’ of groundbreaking video games.
Reckoning
Kurt Schilling walked on to the stage next to talk about ‘Reckoning’. Placing you at the middle of a huge war, the game gives you the chance to make choices and affect the world around you.
A trailer was then shown featuring sword battles, spell casting, RPG elements, and much more. Kingdoms of Amalur is set for an anonymous 2012 release.
Overstrike
Present and CEO of Insomniac Games, Ted Price then came to the stage to talk about their multiplatform game – ‘Overstrike’. Centered on an organization that threatens to take over the world, Overstrike-9 is a group that intends to stop them.
A trailer displaying how the game works and each of Overstrike-9s members’ personalities was shown after Ted’s stint on the stage. The game looks to feature the same comedic elements we have become accustomed to in the Ratchet and Clank series while still having that triple A game feel.
Battlefield 3
The trailer then blacked out to a Battlefield 3 montage. Karl Magnus Troedsson from the game’s studio then started talking to the crowd about the game’s brand new game engine – Frostbite 2. Amazing animations, destruction physics, scale, rendering and audio mechanics were all shown as a part of Frostbite’s example video.
A live demo then began. Tanks crossing a desert-looking terrain is what the game opened to, and before much had passed the convey was under fire from enemy fire. After dispatching the enemy, the tanks continued towards an enemy base that is being protected by large cannons. You then take control of an air-strike module and dispatch of the cannons, allowing the convoy to advance towards the base virtually unharmed.
The game now has a release date of October 25th. A multiplatform beta of the game’s multiplayer is set for launch in September 2011 as well.
