Well it’s been quite the show already and it’s barely got started, Gamescom 2015 is turning out to be a very good show with a lot to see and a lot to talk about. I covered Microsoft in yesterday’s blog so today it’s EA’s turn after they had a press conference of their own.
What would a trade show be without an awful cringe worthy moment, at E3 Ubisoft brought us Jason Deluro but at Gamescom it was EA who “brought the party to the stage” when talking about The Sims 4 and more expansions. That moment will haunt my dreams for a while it was so terrible. EA had a good conference, excluding that part, okay I’ll admit there were quite a few games on there that I don’t really care about; Need for Speed, FIFA 16, The Sims 4 and Plants vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 are the culprits. If that’s what you like then I’m happy for you but for me personally they were not very interesting.
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst is looking mighty fine with smooth running gameplay, interesting combat and a lovely art style to match. EA have alluded to the story with it being a tale of how the main character, Faith, becomes the hero we met in the first game; It’s not a straight up prequel according to them but it is showing you events that took place in the past according to the franchises lore. It is interesting enough and colourful enough to really stand out in the press conferences here and at E3 which bodes well for it perhaps being a success when it launches.
I want to mention Unravel, it is not a game I’ll play at launch but I really appreciate what it’s doing. It’s taking a puzzle platformer and giving it real heart and soul which is evident every time you look at it or listen to the creator talk about it, which is another reason I wanted to mention Unravel. At E3 when he came on stage to tell his story and announce the game you could tell he was really nervous as anyone would be. He stuck with it and at Gamescom yesterday he came on stage with a lot more confidence and I really respect him for that, he came up with a cool idea and now he knows he can talk about it freely without being bombarded with abuse and I hope it encourages more of the creators to get up on stage, or in interviews, to tell us about their games and the inspirations behind it.
Now, of course, saving the best till last would be a cruel and obvious trick to get you to read on… Which is why I did exactly that.
That’s right, it’s Star Wars time!
The Old Republic is getting more DLC/ Expansions which is good for those already playing and offering a tempting reason for new players to jump in and join the fun. But the really big news that I wanted to talk about was a new mode revealed for Star Wars: Battlefront… Fighter Squadron! Where TIE Fighters and X-Wings will go head to head in mass dogfights featuring 20 players and 20 AI characters leading to what looked like chaotic and equally brilliant aerial battles. This is the sort of content we have all been waiting for but it makes me wonder why Dice and EA wouldn’t confirm there was more to the game than just straight up ground battles between Storm Troopers and Rebels? They took so much flak for it at the time, so was this always the plan or are these modes last minute rushed additions? That’s my only concern. If they are rushed and are rubbish and broken as a result then I will not be a happy bunny, but if it was always the plan and Fighter Squadron and the Heroes vs Villains stuff is as brilliant as it looks so far then I am 100% on board.
Are you excited about the Fighter Squadron mode or want to tell me why I’m an idiot for not caring about Need for Speed then let me know here in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter @adamthomas1994.
Thanks for reading! Check back tomorrow for more!
Duckhunt!
