E310: EA Keynote Impressions

So … someone rescheduled our airport pickup time due to his plane being delayed. That same someone informed me of this via a text message that I received after landing in LAX at noon. I was told in said message, that in addition to no longer having a ride, I was now responsible for attending the EA press conference at the Orpheum Theatre. After hailing a cab, I stumbled into the Orpheum Theatre 20 minutes late, during the kick off of the EA Sports “next generation” of games.

First off was EA MMA, their foray into the MMA world. The game itself looks rather solid, but the immense online aspect looks as if EA has bitten off a little more than they can chew. I don’t know if any game can possibly have the following to support such an online system.

Next they brought out Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana to discuss the upcoming changes in Madden 2011, mainly what they consider to be a revolution in playcalling. I didn’t quite get what was so different about it, but everyone sure seemed excited.

Next up was EA Active 2. Available on all consoles, this exercise system makes it easier and more fun than ever to convince yourself you are working out, when in fact you are just jumping up and down playing videogames with a heart rate monitor on. Oh what fun. Just when I was about to fall asleep, the EA sports segment was over, and it was time for some the awesome.

I’ve been waiting for more Crysis 2, since I finished Crysis 1, and today EA did not dissapoint. We were hit with an entire gameplay session of Crysis taking place in Grand Central Station. The station was being invaded by the alien force, and it was up to you and your nano suit to save the day. The graphics look amazing, the gameplay looked tighter than ever, and it was ALL IN 3D! Glasses not included. However, just when I thought Crysis 2 was the most badass FPS I’d ever seen, EA booted up Bulletstorm.

Bulletstorm looks like one hell of a ride, and I cant wait to get my hands on it tomorrow. Imagine a game that looks like Crysis, plays like Borderlands, and has all the campy arcade goodness of Guitar Hero — then crank everything up to 11. That’s a basic idea of what Bulletstorm is like. And then, just like that, it was all over.

Last but not least, EA and LucasArts hyped the hell out of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the highly anticipated MMO. After a ton of hype, they followed by showing no gameplay footage and one very awesome pre rendered cgi video

I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these titles tomorrow, and to hook you all up with tons of in-depth coverage and gameplay footage very soon. Stay tuned for more E3 2010 goodness.

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