Electronic Arts kicked off E3 2010 with a showy press conference at the Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles. Interestingly, the company also geared up for the spectacle to come by handing out all of those present “Crysis 2″-branded 3D glasses.
The event specified “ten new games” including new additions to the “Medal of Honor,” “Need for Speed,” “Crysis,” and “Dead Space” franchises. Also on display was a new “Star Wars” title and the latest “Madden game”, the latter of which was presided over by football legend, Joe Montana.
The event started with a quick and loud trailer for “Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit”. The latest adding up to the popular racing series lets the user decide whether to play as a cop or racer, with the two sides pitted against one another in the titular “hot pursuit.” The game will be available on November 16.
Next up was a brief “cliff hanger” demo for “Dead Space 2″. Steve Papoutsis, the game’s executive producer, claimed that the remainder of the demo would be shown during the Sony PlayStation media event tomorrow morning. The game is due out on January 25 of next year.
The latest “Medal of Honor” game got debatably the flashiest demo of the event, as PCs diminished from the theater ceiling on a rig for a 24-person multi-player game. The game dumps the series’ familiar WWII settings for the deserts of Afghanistan. It will be accessible on the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on October 12. A playable beta will be made available on June 21st.
There was a brief reprieve from the parade of games as an EA employee came out on stage to talk Gun Club, a new online club that offers such perks as game news and early betas for titles like “Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” which will be available exclusively to club members in Winter 2010.
EA Sports introduced a slew of titles at the event, as well, starting things off with a new MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) game built around an online multi-player mode called “broadcast live”, which lets users customize characters and compete for real world prizes and “online fame”. The game will hit store shelves in October.
The latest version of EA’s fitness title, “EA Sports Active 2,” meanwhile, features 70 plus exercises, online charts, heart monitors, and fully wireless controllers. EA took the opportunity to showcase how the game works with Microsoft’s new Kinect controller, for a seamless, full-body workout.
By far the highlight of the EA Sports presentation, however, was the debut of “Madden NFL 11″. The latest version of the perennial favorite football game features a new “Gameflow Engine,” which EA says improves play making in a radical way. To celebrate, EA brought former San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe Montana on stage to talk about the art of play making.
A brief demo of the “Sims 3″ followed next. The PC title will be coming to the major consoles this fall.
Next up was a demo of “Crysis 2″. The sequel moves the FPS from the jungle to the streets of New York City. Due out on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC this holiday season, the game features full stereoscopic 3D, a feature the company was more than happy to show off to the packed theater.
EA ended up the occasion with a joint presentation from Lucasarts and Bioware. The companies showcased a brand new trailer for the forthcoming online title, “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” in which the player much choose to be a Jedi or Sith.
Tags: battlefield bad company, cliff hanger, crysis, crysis 2, crytek, ea, ea games, medal of honor game, mixed martial arts, need for speed hot pursuit, star wars title, Xbox 360