E3 2019 is here but EA forgoed the traditional press conference for a collection of livestreams, giving updates about some of their biggest games. While it was lacking in any major surprises or reveals there were still some interesting and exciting things to come out of the two hour event. But what were the 9 best and most intriguing bits of EA Play 2019? Well, how about this lot?
Jedi Fallen Order gameplay looks fantastic
The first game that was shown at the EA Play event was arguably the biggest one – Respawn Studios’ upcoming Jedi: Fallen Order.
Vince Zampella came out and revealed a 15 minute unedited gameplay demo, and it looked killer. Showing off a mission set on Kashyyyk, the player character was fighting to save a group of imprisoned wookies. It immediately set to mind the “Uncharted” series with its camera and platforming, however the real highlight was the combat which featured deliberate melee combat using the lightsaber.
The player character locked on, parried, dodged, and blocked. It reminded me of a FromSoftware experience, like the force wielding version of Dark Souls.
Vince Zampella seems inspired by that, calling the gameplay experience as “thoughtful combat.” The frostbite engine was used for great effect as well; absolutely gorgeous throughout.
Apex Legends has a new event starting now
At the opening of the Apex Legends showcase EA revealed a new event that’s starting now and running through until June 18th. The Legendary Hunt is the name and the major update that it offers is the introduction of the Elite Queue – essentially a game mode that only allows squads that have made it into the top five; an expert club of the best players that the game has to offer.
In addition to that, there are new challenges available that let you unlock exclusive skins tied to the event.
Apex Legends Season 2 has some major changes
Apex was a big part of the show and more info about Season Two which is coming July 2nd to Apex Legends was also revealed.
It comes with a new care package weapon – the L-Star (which was a awesome laser machine gun in Titanfall 2) – more skins to unlock, and most importantly a major change to the battle pass. See, in Season 1 all levelling up on the battle pass was XP based, leaving many players finding it to be a slow grind. In Season 2 they are taking a path very similar to Fortnite in which levelling up the battle pass is based more on daily and weekly challenges.
Apex will be getting a new legend named Watson
The final piece of info revealed during the Apex Legends segment was the new legend for Season 2 – Watson. She seems to be a rather heavy defense based character, more aligned to careful planning then aggressive tactics, with members of the team describing it as inspired by an “RTS” play style.
Her main ability is dropping down electric fences that hurt and ping enemies when they pass through them, while her ultimate is an AOE defense that stops bombardments, grenades, charges teammates shields, and speeds her cooldown of her regular ability.
Her passive is really interesting however – all ultimate accelerants (which normally help to speed up the cool down on ultimates) fills her ultimate to full. So a player can stack ultimates by carrying multiple ultimate accelerants.
She looks like an incredibly interesting character that will shake up the common aggressive play styles in Apex right now.
Battlefield 5’s Chapter Four will have a heavier focus on tight maps
Once EA managed to get round to the Battlefield V segment, they started showing new maps that will be available on the upcoming Chapter Four. They started with the focus on a map, Berita, set on rural mountainside village, which will be a close experience. It’s more infantry focused with less emphasis on the vehicles. This seems to be the focus of Chapter Four, and despite them showing another map called Al Sundad which is a large classic Battlefield map, all the others they teased showed a self proclaimed focus on tight focused infantry combat.
This was even more pushed in the final map they showed – an updated version of the fan favourite “Metro” from Battlefield 3 – which is an almost completely enclosed area, favouring flanks and deft manoeuvres.
Battlefield 5’s Chapter Five will be set in the Pacific Theater
The final Battlefield 5 reveal was that Chapter Five will be set in the Pacific Theater, with the US and the Japanese involved.
This is a throwback to the series past with “Battlefield 1945” which was completely focused on that area of the war. Maps will be set in classic locations like “Iwo Jima” that will be featured. This also comes with new weapons and vehicles, and as the Pacific has been major fan request, it’s nice to see them really listening to the fan base.
FIFA 20 shows off the new Volta mode
FIFA 20 showed off its newest mode for the next release in the annual series – Volta Football.
This is both a single player and multiplayer experience, in which you can customize your own character, playing with several game variants and alternate rules. Inspired by the street culture of football, courts are varied urban environments from a rooftop in Tokyo to an underpass in Amsterdam, with all being really unique affairs that come with a lot more character then the fields regularly played in.
Madden 20 reveals the face of the franchise and new X-Factor abilities
The major takeaway from the Madden segment of EA Play was the introduction of the “Face of the Franchise” – the new career mode in which players will start at college football, go through the NFL Draft, and then move into the NFL as a new quarterback.
The other major new update is the X-Factor abilities based on famous players that unlock special moves when you complete specific objectives during a game. This could come in the form of increased throwing distances or a better success rate on possessions. The opposing player can cancel out these bonuses if they complete their own set of objectives, adding another layer of depth to the matches in Madden when EA drop Madden 20 later in the year.
The Sims 4 has a new expansion – Island Living
The Sims 4 segment of the livestream showed the new expansion – Island Living.
This next addition comes with new outfits, ocean activities like snorkelling and boating, pets in the form of dolphins, and new homes that you can own on the tropical island that is the setting of the expansion.
The final big part of the expansion was the introduction of the new career – that of a Conservationist – reflecting the isolated environment of the island, which changes depending on how you take care of it.
So there we have it – they may have ignored the main E3 draw but EA Play 2019 was one that delivered. What were your takeaways from the event? What are you looking for from EA? Let us know in the comments below.
