So, this year, Electronic Arts once again held its press conference at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, where hundreds of journalists piled in to see what the company had to offer. And it was quite a bit, from nine different publishing teams. So, let’s get started with the recap. Leading us off was Mass Effect 3 from Bioware. The presentation featured in-game footage, with Shepard and his team invading a possible Reaper site. Upon doing so, however, they unleashed a mighty robotic force that came chasing after them, stomping after them and threatening to skoosh the hell out of them. The clip introduced some fantastic gameplay elements, including the new Omniblade, which Shepard uses to cut enemies down to size melee-style. There was also a rather cool turret sequence in the game, though it was pretty easy to power down the enemy chasing after you. After that, the presentation ended, but not before revealing a release date – March 6, 2012.
Following that, EA went into Need For Speed: The Run, featuring several high-octane car chases that eventually evolved into on-foot sequences, where players have to hit a certain mixture of buttons in order to successfully escape a situation, whether they’re outrunning the cops or trying to escape an oncoming train. Though this was pretty basic at best, they add a small strategic element to the Need For Speed games, and it’s an interesting one at that. Plus, the game looks VERY good. A small presentation for Star Wars: The Old Republic followed, along with a sequence from SSX, featuring an elaborate trick system and detailed environments that basically let you carve out your own path as you trick your way down the mountain, trying to obtain the highest score possible. This game looks excellent at this point, though the frame rate needs a slight bit of work. That said, the January 2012 release date is still a ways off.
Peter Moore came out next to talk FIFA 12 and its expanded engine, including better player animation and ability to “dribble” the bal, should you want to dilly-dally a little before shooting. From there, a brief presentation for Madden NFL 12 followed, featuring Ray Lewis, cover star Peyton Hillis and Green Bay Packer Clay Matthews talking realistic action in the game. Not much in-game footage was shown, but it was impressive, albeit brief. After a brief showing of 38 Studios’ somewhat impressive Kingdom of Alamut: Reckoning (which will be on 360 next year), EA led into Insomniac Games’ new multi-platform project, Overstrike, featuring a cast of unique characters and a fun cinematic trailer. Though we didn’t get an exact idea of what gameplay would be like, we did get an idea of the kind of “fun action” we were in for. Can’t wait.
Following that, EA concluded its press conference with an extremely impressive clip from Battlefield 3. Featuring in-tank action where you shoot enemies from a distance and ravage your way through an enemy-filled town, the engine in play showed exactly what kind of work DICE was putting into the game. And you won’t have to wait long for it, as the action drops on retail October 25. And that was the EA press conference in a nutshell. Very few surprises, but a lot of excellent games. Good stuff all around; now stay tuned for a bunch of hands-on (and eyes-on) previews of games from all over the E3 2011 show floor, right here at PlanetXbox360.com.
