E3 2009: EA's RPG Offerings are High Levels of Hardcore

If you had told me two years ago that EA would be showing 3 hardcore RPGs at E3, I would have laughed in your face. EA? RPGs? Hardcore? Pfft. What planet are you from?

But since the publisher has decided to put a little more effort into making games for us ("us" meaning "gamers"), their efforts have paid off in spades (at least in reputation). Some of the fruits of their labours include BioWare's two upcoming WRPGs, Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2, both of which were shown off during their press conference yesterday. Take a look below.

Dragon Age: Origins



This appears to be one of the bloodiest, one of the most scandalous, and one of the most graphic RPGs of recent memory, and EA makes no apologies for it. In fact, they are releshing in it, as the above trailer so poignantly depicts. And I have to admit, I'm a little intimidated by it.

Dragon Age: Origins will be available for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on October 20, 2009 in North America.

Mass Effect 2



The follow-up to 2007's critically acclaimed science fiction WRPG, Mass Effect 2 looks to be shaping up to outdo its predecessor in every category. Perhaps its only downside is that we have to wait until 2010 to play it.

The above footage really only plays the pre-E3 trailer that we have already seen, which is a little disappointing, but I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about the game as the year presses forward.

Mass Effect 2 will be available for PC and Xbox 360 early next year in North America.

APB (All Points Bulletin)



Finally, EA announced that a strategic parterniship with Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds in order to publisher their upcoming gangs vs. cops MMORPG, APB. Origjnally announced for both Xbox 360 and PC, only the PC version has been confirmed so far. Since it's EA we're talking about, a release on multiple consoles in the future is definitely possible.

Unfortunately, we have no word on a release date other than '2010.'

It should also be noted that EA is publishing BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, though details are still very slim.

Pre-E3 Trailers to Get Your Feet Wet

E3, for all intents and purposes, starts Monday morning with Microsoft's press conference. But everyone's all excited this week, showing off new stuff, releasing info and trailers, the whole bit. Who are we to stop them?

So if you just can't wait until all the new stuff, here are a bunch of new trailers for a bunch of upcoming games. Hopefully all of this is just a shadow of things to come, as I certainly hope we don't spend next week just talking about these trailers...

Alpha Protocol
PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Obsidian, Sega
Q3 2009 (North America)



Dragon Age: Origins
PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
BioWare, EA
October 20, 2009 (North America)



Mass Effect 2
Xbox 360, PC
BioWare, EA
TBA



White Knight Chronicles
PlayStation 3
Level 5, Sony
TBA



None of the above are very long or show off much in terms of gameplay, and are clearly 100% focused on hype. That said, anyone have a favourite? :P

EA Officially Announces Mass Effect 2

I really hope this isn't surprising to anyone, but just in case: Electronic Arts has just announced that it will be releasing the sequel to the original Mass Effect. Are you surprised?

The game will reportedly be available for Xbox 360 and PC sometime next year, and will expand on the original in various ways. Dr. Ray Muzyka, CEO of BioWare and Vice President of EA elaborates:

"We're going to surpass the extraordinary gaming experience we brought our fans in Mass Effect by delivering intensified combat and expanded weapon options as well as increased depth of planet exploration, all while delivering a powerful, emotionally engaging story."

So yeah. No word on loading elevators at this time, but we'll keep you posted.

It's a little disappointing that the game won't be available until next year, but I guess it makes sense with Dragon Age hitting this year.

Anyone looking forward to more intergalactic exploration? I think I might be. :)

Speak of the Devil: Mass Effect 2 Teaser is Such a Tease

Wow. Okay, that was trippy.

EA has just dropped a short teaser of BioWare's follow-up to the critically acclaimed shooter/action-RPG Mass Effect, and it is definitely quite teaserific.

I won't say anymore until you watch it. Go ahead. (Unless you haven't finished the original and want to avoid possible spoilers.)



Yikes! KIA? Hmmmm...

Either way, it seems like the rumors about the game making a debut at the upcoming Game Developers Conference might hold a little more water than I thought.

Thoughts?

Dragon Age Delayed, Mass Effect 2 Vaguely Dated

EA held a press conference yesterday in which they announced vague release targets for two of their upcoming BioWare RPGs, Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.

Dragon Age, originally slated to release early this year on PC, then later on consoles, has been pushed back to the latter half of 2009, though now all three versions (PC, 360, PS3) will all ship at the same time.

Mass Effect 2, heavily rumored to drop this year, has been dated for the first quarter of 2010. The game was announced to be "multiplatform," though it is unclear exactly which platforms it will be. PC and Xbox 360 are probably a given, but anything beyond that remain uncertain.

I honestly forgot that Dragon Age was supposed to come out early this year. Nice to hear that the PC version will coincide with consoles. :)