EA Conference Recap - E3 2015

The second conference of the day is held by EA. Things start with a trailer showing a variety of planetary locations from the perspective of a distinctly Mass Effect looking character, confirmed by a glimpse of the Mass Effect logo. The new game is called Mass Effect Andromada, coming Holiday 2016. Patrick Soderlund then comes on stage for an opening speech.

The first game being shown is the new Need for Speed. A CGI trailer hints at an underground street-racing focused entry, simply titled Need for Speed. A developer comes on to describe an open-world experience with a focus on customization. The game will have five overlapping stories, one focused on speed, one on style, one on build (car customization), one on crews (multiplayer) and one on outlaws (cop chases). You can specialize in one or switch between them as desired. The game will be coming on November 3rd of this year. The showcase ends with a live-action trailer that transitions to gameplay revealing vehicle customization, open world driving and then a drift event. Lens flares abound, though the game does look visually impressive.

Jeff Hickman of Bioware is on next to talk about Star Wars: The Old Republic. He announces a new narrative-focused expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire, releasing this October. The expansion will focus on new environments, companions and a story that changes based on player choices. This expansion will be free to those who subscribe to the MMO.

Patrick returns to discuss the importance of player feedback, leading into the unveiling of a new IP. The game is from Swedish developers Coldwood, called Unravel. The dev who comes on stage to talk about the game indicates it is a physics-based puzzle platformer where you play as a character made of yarn that unravels as you play. Some gameplay is shown with the little yarn character traversing various environments with yarn and escaping an enraged gerbil.

“Highway to the Danger Zone” starts blasting and a man in a Zombie suit from Plants vs. Zombies is on stage, indicating what will be coming next. Jeremy Vanhoozer is on to talk about Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2, showing some co-op zombie gameplay. The new playable classes are shown, including a new Sniper class for the zombies. The inclusion of solo and split-screen play is also announced, as well as the ability for returning players to carry over their unlocked characters from the first game. Garden Warfare 2 will be coming spring 2016. A final trailer runs, showcasing a variety of maps.

Now it’s on to sports with a trailer for NHL 16. Matt Bilbey from EA Sports is on to discuss the sports lineup, emphasizing a focus on fan feedback. He quickly moves on to Rory Mcilroy Golf, showcasing some impressive new courses, and then touches on Ultimate Team Management, FIFA, and Madden, before landing on NBA Live 16. A new App featuring face-scanning technology will be released alongside the game, with a demo showing how it works to generate a player’s face in the game. On the court, there will be a focus on a physics-based movement system with new animations to create more realistic player movement. More control over movement and shooting the ball is also mentioned, and a new game mode is hinted at. NBA Live 16 will come out September 29th, with the companion face-scanning App coming sooner.

Now it’s on to mobile gaming. Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes is announced as a new mobile game that will span the entire Star Wars universe, though gameplay details are not discussed beyond collecting and battling. Minions Paradise is the next object of focus, a builder game focusing on the new character Phil who gets stranded on a desert island with cruise-ship mates and must build up an island resort to accommodate them.

FIFA 16 is next, with famed footballer Pele taking the stage alongside EA’s David Rutter to promote the sport by telling some stories about his career. After this, David moves on to the game, describing improved defensive agility, more mid-field control and more ‘moments of magic’ with motion-capture from Messi himself. FIFA Trainer will be a new mode that helps players hone their skills, and women’s teams will for the first time be included in the game. A final trailer is shown, narrated by Pele.

Sara Jansson from DICE is on next to talk about the new Mirrors Edge, subtitled Catalyst, which will be the origin story for protagonist Faith. The game will run on Frostbite technology, in a city run by an evil corporation. Catalyst is revealed to be open-world, representing a major departure from the largely linear original. A trailer is shown which sets up the narrative premise with a few bits of gameplay thrown in, showing there will once again be a combat component mixed in with the parkour. Catalyst will be launching on February 23rd 2016.

We return to sports for Madden NFL 16. Senior game producer and ESPN fantasy football host both come on to discuss the game. ‘Draft Champions’ is unveiled as a new way to draft fantasy teams for both the console version and Madden Mobile. Improved ball-throwing mechanics and increased catch control are described, after which a trailer is shown.

Last up, Peter Moore is on stage to talk about Star Wars Battlefront, also powered by Frostbite. A DICE developer comes on to talk more about the game, showing off models for characters and vehicles. Finally, gameplay is shown from the Playstation 4 version of one of the largest modes in the game, with one team attacking a base with Walkers and another defending. Infantry mechanics look unsurprisingly Battlefield-esque when using the first-person camera, though gameplay from a third-person view is also shown. The game mode appears to promote teamwork as each team focuses on a single objective. Vehicle gameplay is shown from a Walker and also an aircraft. Unique characters like Darth Vader and Hans Solo are also seen running around with light-sabers on the battlefield. The game will be coming on November 17th.

Patrick returns to close things up, and EA’s 2015 conference is over.