IMO: E3 2014 EA - Showing A lot, Revealing A Little

At E3 2014 EA showed off very few games that we didn't know about already, which is a shame as noted in the preview to the conference (full recap here), which stated that EA has a lot of potential to surprise us. Putting the time-filling sports franchises aside, very little was spoken about that we didn't have at least some idea about all ready (well, we only just learned of Battlefield: Hardline, but still) Even when EA decided to show something we did know about, they showed us basically nothing and told us what the game will (hopefully to them) be like.

To get it out of the way, lets talk about what was new. We saw a look into a new Criterion game, but very little of it was shown. It seems to  focus heavily on vehicles of all kinds - literally all kinds - but we don't yet have the context for what that will be in. Will it be a sandbox game? Racing? Who knows.

The only other new things from EA were from Bioware. Bioware gave us a glimpse into what they want the new Mass Effect, but nothing more. No footage, not even a teaser, just people working on/talking about the game. They did emphasize that they wanted the new game to focus heavily on exploration, but they didn't do a whole lot more than remind us that something in the Mass Effect franchise is on the way.

Then EA said that Bioware is woking on a new IP. That is actually genuinely exciting, but then they gave us absolutely no indication of what that would actually be. Not even a hint. I suppose just the knowing is sort of enough and that we should all be on the look out for news about it in the future.

EA opened with the new Star Wars Battlefront game, but as was the theme of the conference, very little was shown. Again there was another teaser, and again, they went the route of Mass Effect, giving us a "behind the scenes" look at the game in its making. They showed us the game sure, but they didn't show us anything we could learn from.

It will sound repetitive, but the exact same criticism can be given to their presentation of Mirror's Edge 2. We were shown really nothing, as it was conceptual, and told what the game "will be," which in essence is meaningless. What "will be" will change dozens of times before we even get a release date for the game. We learned nothing new, but were given a reminder that the game was being worked on - again.

The exact same thing can be said for Dragon Age: Inquisition. Rather than continue the same criticism, you can read about it on the article inside.

The only saving grace for EA was Battlefield: Hardline. The multiplayer looked chaotic, fun, and fast-paced. It definitely looked like it had a very different feel from the main Battlefield series. The best part of the announcement was that the beta started today so we could get a much better look at it very soon, so it would be best to wait and see what that is like before going into it more.

All in all, at E3 2014 EA fell flat. They wasted the opportunity they had at hand to make a big splash, and what they announced will likely be drowned out by the other conferences.