E3 2019 | EA Play E3 2019 Conference Thoughts

by Danny Bivens

*Yawn*

E3 2019 kicked off with EA and their EA Play conference in Hollywood on Saturday, June 8. Overall, the show was pretty underwhelming. No big reveals. Updates for existing titles. A lot of things that people just didn’t care about. Okay, that might be a little bit harsh. There are fans out there who are hoping for new information about some of their favorite games and series. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order is a game that lots of Star Wars fans have been looking forward to hearing about. The quality of the games on exhibit here is debatable, but one thing that could have used a change here was the layout. Three hours for just a handful of games - not a good look. Regardless, there were two games that got my attention, one of which for all the wrong reasons.

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order
As a huge Star Wars fan, I’ve been itching to get a look at EA’s new game in the universe. What was shown left me impressed. Visually, Fallen Order is a stunner. The demo had the player going through the planet Kashsyyyk in an attempt to free some enslaved Wookies. The environments looked sharp and the game ran smoothly with no hiccups. From just watching, gameplay was reminiscent of other action games such as Assassin’s Creed (which I’m a huge fan of). There were minor stealth elements, some light platforming and of course, combat.

The combat offered a lot of interesting things between force powers and lightsaber play. Force pushes and pulls all looked to be pulled off effortlessly. Lightsaber combat seemed pretty good, but I would have loved to see the lightsabers hack off limbs, etc. I mean, the thing can cut through huge metal doors. Stormtrooper armor can’t be that much more durable, right? At any rate, I thought the Scout Troopers and new Inquisitor troopers with melee weapons were pretty cool. I’ve heard some people on the net complaining that the staffs they’re using can block lightsabers. Well, we do have some precedent for that. Remember the staff wielding droids in Revenge of the Sith? These weapons look nearly identical to that. With all of the Jedi nearly wiped out and no sith (that we know of) other than Vader and Palpatine, these will probably be the next best thing to actual lightsaber battles.

Fallen Order is considered cannon for the Star Wars universe. With that in mind, it was cool to see an appearance by Saw Gerrera - the Rebel fighter who made appearances in The Clone Wars, Rebels and Rogue One. Hopefully we’ll see some more familiar faces when it’s all said and done. I’m looking forward to this game and am seriously considering picking it up.

FIFA 20

Lots of new modes and updates are coming to FIFA 20. A new street mode called “Volta Football,” enhancements to gameplay and of course the typical roster updates. Not being a huge fan of the series (but somewhat interested), it looks like there are some decent updates coming to this years version of the game. Well, that’s all well and good, but the Switch version is a completely different story. Per Eurogamer, EA revealed that the Switch version won’t be getting any of these new updates. Understandable. Since the series came to the Switch in 2017, we’ve seen serviceable soccer/football experiences, but noticeably inferior to visions on more powerful consoles. FIFA 20 on Switch will be a “legacy edition.” This is similar to versions of the game that appear on older consoles like the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. These versions of the game “continue to provide the same great gameplay, game modes, and game features you've come to expect with unmatched authenticity, leagues, licenses and with updated team kits and rosters, all at a great value. Minor improvements or enhancements may be integrated in select game modes, but there will not be any new innovation or game features.”

Again, I’m not really surprised by this. The precedent has been set by previous releases and doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon. It really sucks for fans that aren’t going to get anything more than a simple roster update.

Wrap-up

Again, the show was just kind of a snooze fest. Not a lot of interesting information came out of it. It’s a shame. I AM excited about several upcoming EA titles, but it would really behoove them to change up their presentation in future iterations. Good luck to ‘em.