Intergalactic Comics: EA Play Press Conference News Round-Up

Monday, June 13, 2016

EA Play Press Conference News Round-Up

By: David Coleman

Electronic Arts kicked off E3 week with the jam-packed EA Play, a new alternative event to E3 held at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. This event featured cinematic trailers and gameplay of fan favorite games Mass Effect: Andromeda; Battlefield 1; Star Wars; Titanfall; FIFA; Madden; and Fe, a new title from Zoink, in partnership with EA.

TITANFALL 2

The press conference blasted off with Vince Zampella of Respawn Entertainment introducing the sequel to the 2014 EA/Respawn shooter Titanfall. We received our first look at a new and improved multiplayer experience, which introduced us to six new titans each with their own unique abilities and weapons. In addition, new parkour advantages and weapons make playing as a human much more formidable. We were also treated to a cinematic trailer for a single player offline campaign – a feature fans have been begging for since the original was released. A Beta version will be available soon.

Titanfall 2 will be released on October 28, 2016 for the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

MADDEN 17

EA announced the next addition in the long-running Madden football franchise with Madden 17. Rob Gronkowski will grace the cover of the latest installment. Madden 17 features new and improved game mechanics and graphics, and will see the return of both Madden Ultimate Team and Franchise Mode.

Madden 17 will be released on August 23rd, 2016, on all major consoles.

MASS EFFECT: ANDROMEDA

Fan-favorite franchise Mass Effect returns with an all new installment for the series. Mass Effect: Andromeda explores the reaches of our own galaxy with all new characters, species, and planets, promising a huge sci-fi galaxy of mystery and intrigue. Andromeda will be using Frostbite, a smooth-running game engine, which has extended from the Battlefield franchise to a slew of EA games.

Mass Effect: Andromeda will be released sometime early 2017 on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

FIFA 17

The popular soccer franchise returns with a revolutionary new addition in the FIFA franchise. FIFA 17 has a new story mode called The Journey, following a rookie moving up the ranks of professional futbol. One of the most exciting announcements to come out of this game is that it will be powered by EA’s signature Frostbite engine that is also used in the Battlefield and Star Wars games. FIFA Ultimate Team and Franchise Mode will also be returning.

FIFA 17 will be released on September 27th, 2016.

STAR WARS

EA announced not one, not two, but THREE new Star Wars games. In addition to announcing future DLC for Battlefront, they announced that Battlefront 2 will be released in 2017 and feature content from the new films. They also announced that Visceral Games is working on an action-adventure game set in the Star Wars universe, followed by Respawn Entertainment announcing their own standalone title. While very little footage was shown, it is clear that Star Wars fans are in for a treat in the coming years.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 will be released sometime in 2017 on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC. There is no release date yet for the Visceral or Respawn games.

FE

After a slate of big-budget titles, EA announced a new indie publishing program called EA Originals. The new program started off with gameplay of Fe, a title about an animal living in a dark forest, trying to find his place in the world. In a unique display of creativity, the developers decided to create a game experience without dialogue. Instead, each character has their own unique song that helps players advance in the game. The footage was beautiful while remaining minimalistic, showing lots of promise for EA Originals and their future titles.

EA Originals has not set a specific release date for Fe… yet.

BATTLEFIELD 1

EA’s final and most anticipated showcase of the event was the first taste of gameplay from DICE’s newest installment in the long-running Battlefield franchise, bringing to life the land, air, and sea combat of The Great War, WW1. Presented was a cinematic gameplay trailer, followed by 60 minutes of Battlefield I multiplayer. I was able to play a multiplayer demo, and rest assured, the game is terrific. You can choose to have intense dog fights with historic planes, engage in explosive tank battles, or put your boots on the ground and have a good old-fashioned firefight. And like always, environments are fully destructible. It’s going to be epic.

Battlefield I will be released on October 21st, 2016 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

EA also took time to talk about their Xbox One exclusive app, EA Access, giving players over fifteen games free to play in the EA Vault for only $30/yr, with more games being added each month. Some games already in the vault include Madden 16, FIFA 16, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Battlefield 4, and Dead Space. They also discussed their Play to Give charity, where they will donate $1 million to charity in “celebration of players.”

What are your thoughts on the direction EA is going in? Which game(s) are you most excited to play? Let us know in the comments.