E3 Recap: Five Fun facts from EA Play

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EA kicked off the show at E3 2017 with EA Play, which featured a fistful of games one or two surprises and some passion. Here's five notable moments from the show.

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by James Michael Parry

@james_parry

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Star Wars: Battlefront II

Jumping straight into the highlight of the show, Battlefront II was no surprise to see but looking at the game in action (even in a supposedly 'Pre-Alpha' build) looks impressive.

One of the very welcome changes to last time around is the fact that unlocking heroes will no longer be a frantic search of the battlefield for tokens, instead players earn battle points for kills, assists and completing objectives which can then be spent on unlocking heroes and specialist units like tanks and walkers.​

The game was presented by the star of its single player Janina Gavankar, who plays Inferno Squad Commander Iden Versio in the previously revealed campaign, and her genuine passion went down well with an otherwise fairly lukewarm crowd.

John Boyega, who plays Finn in the film side of the Star Wars universe, also turned up via a video to confirm that both Finn and Captain Phasma will appear in the game in the first series of free downloadable content. That's right, DLC is looking like it will be free, to avoid fracturing the player base - an issue the first game suffered from.

The multiplayer missions also have more distinct stages, more involved than just a change of location, which gives us hope for some more varied experiences and Overwatch-esque changing of the tide mid-game.

No word on release date yet, but you can be fairly confident it'll be here by Christmas.

A Way Out from Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons creator

Curious reveal of the show was co-op focused action title A Way Out from the newly formed Hazelight studios. The creator and team behind Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons wanted to break out on their own and have more freedom, so found some support with EA's Originals programme, designed to support more indie developers.

The game is specifically designed to be enjoyed in split-screen co-op, and follows two convicts trying to get out of prison. A few features specific to split-screen include the split itself shifting depending on the action going on on screen and the ability for one player to move around while another is in a cutscene.

There will be multiple ways to complete objectives, leaning on the strengths of each character, and the presentation looks like an experience you would expect from a fully fledged AAA title.

You will be able to play co-op with someone online, but by the sounds of it it's very much designed to be a couch co-up experience so to get the most out of it you'll need to find a friend and get them around.

New IP from BioWare revealed as Anthem

The new offering from the makers of Mass Effect​ has a post-apocalyptic vibe, but not much is known yet about ​Anthem.

Apart from bringing back memories of Good Charlotte and Blink-182 songs, the game’s teaser talks about a wall, presumably to keep out some unspeakable evil, and the fact that beyond it “you either live with the choices you make, or die trying to change them.”

We see some mechanical armour and get a few Inception-esque musical stings before being told that “the story doesn't end here.” The reason for that is because the gameplay reveal is coming as part of tonight’s Xbox event, so there's not too long to wait to get a fuller helping.

Take a look at the teaser yourself, and speculate in the comments!

Battlefield 1 - In the Name of the Tsar

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Battlefield 1 has been a big success for EA, and so the next step is to continue delivering great experiences and take it to the next level. The team plan to do just that with the next DLC offering - In the Name of the Tsar.

The DLC takes players to the largest battlefield of the war, the Eastern front, as soldiers battle the harsh conditions as well as each other.

There'll be the first appearance of the women’s battalion of death (sounds cheerful…) and plenty more epic destruction on show across six new maps when the DLC drops in September.​

There was also a tease of a new, tighter type of competitive mode, which be revealed at Gamescom later in the year.

And yes, there was sports...

Last but not least (about 40% of the show, if we're honest), was sports. There were no new franchises talked about, only the latest updates to Madden, NBA and FIFA titles, all of which have put emphasis on a single player story after the success of The Journey in last year's FIFA.

NBA Live 18, a series which has recently taken a break, shifts the focus from a fictional footballer to you in The One.

Choosing between building street cred and flexing your competitive muscles in formal competitions, you can build up your player however you like.

The Madden reveal also featured the first mention of Microsoft's Project Scorpio, as the console was brought up when talking about the sort of visual detail you can expect from the game - showing off some true 4K knee pads (yes, you read that right).

The much touted six teraflops came up too, as EA talked about a special 'stealthy’ team within EA that had been set up called SEED, to focus on developing AI and machine learning. PlayStation received plenty of nods too, so EA is playing its hand well.

So that was the sum total of EA Play (aside from some more on Need for Speed Payback’s single player, which takes so many leaves out of 'The Fast and the Furious’ book it may as well be a tree). What stuck out for you? Let us know in the comments and don't forget to join us for the next press conference, Xbox, at 10.00pm tonight.