IDL NEWS – And Tuesday Blues . . .

I slept through Monday, so here’s some news.

So this week I’ll be just rattling off a few things as I prep for my trip down to Seattle for PAX Prime 2015. As I mentioned on Sunday, I’m not sure what my internet connection will be like so I don’t know if I’ll be posting a daily update or not, but expect a full report when I return.

Today I’ll discuss the new games and deal, and the news. I’ll have a review for Far Cry 4 up before I leave, and some discussions on what I’ll be playing next.


Dirt Rally Gets Multiplayer
One of my favourite racing games have been the Dirt series by Codemasters. They’re currently working on the pivotal rally game in Dirt Rally, currently only available on the PC through Steam Early Access. Good and bad I suppose. Good in that they’re funding the game as they go along, working out all the bugs before they release it on the consoles. BAD, in that I can’t play it yet. With Xbox’s Game Preview, maybe they can work something out.

Codemasters has recently added rallycross mode which is their head-to-head multiplayer mode. The free update also includes 3 new cars and a new map set in Hell, Sweden.

Master Chief’s Face
343 Industries has confirmed that that Master Chief’s face will not be revealed in Halo 5: Guardians. Only Bungie knows that little secret anyways ;).

NHL 16’s GM Mode
Recently revealed in the latest NHL 16 video was the game’s bolstered GM mode, and how to help shape the future of your favourite franchise by handling teammate relationships and morale.


September’s Games With Gold
Microsoft has revealed its monthly Games With Gold free games for September:

Xbox One
The Deer God. Available from Sept 1 – 31
Tomb Raider: The Definitive Edition. Available from Sept 16 – Oct 15. Check out my review from the 360 version and just add visual quality to the pluses ;).

Xbox 360
Battlestations: Pacific. available from Sept 1 – 15
Crysis 3. Available 16 – 31


This Week’s Deals With Gold

Xbox One

  • EA SPORTS Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR – 33%
  • Life is Strange – 50%
  • Life is Strange Complete Season (Episodes 1-5) – 20%
  • Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty – 33%
  • Stealth Inc. 2: A Game of Clones – 50%
  • The Swapper – 33%
  • BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition – 50%
  • Worms Battlegrounds – 50%

I don’t know what the difference is between Life is Strange and Life is Strange Complete Season? Rory McIlroy’s golf game I am looking forward to, but I will wait till it hits the EA Access vault. And make sure to check out my review of The Swapper and BADLAND.

Xbox 360

  • All Gears of War 3 DLC and Map Packs – 50%
  • Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – 50%
  • Life is Strange – 50%
  • Life is Strange Season Pass (Episodes 2-5) – 20%
  • GRID 2 – 60%
  • GRID 2 All-in-Pack – 60%

I’m gonna go listen to Rick and Morty’s DOTA 2 Announcer lines now, having never played or watched the game.

-iRogan

E3 2015 – EA Press Conference – LIVE

EA E3 2015 Press Conference:

*Live blog. Please refresh*


Just a few minutes away. Quick hopefuls: Mass Effect 4, Star Wars Battlefront and Mirror’s Edge 2. I’m also expecting all the sports line-up 2016. More info about NHL 16. Hopefully more info about the Need for Speed reboot too.


Mass Effect Andromeda

-1:00pm: Time for EA. Starts with Mass Effect 4 concept art trailer, and zooms out to our new Shepherd with the Omnitool. Show’s space.

“Discover a new Galaxy”

-Shows the planet vehicle and new combat. Mass Effect: Andromeda. Holiday 2016.

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– Sizzle reel to showcase 3 new original IP. New sports titles, and Mirror’s Edge later in the show, and finally Star Wars. Games for console, PC, and mobile, with the finale of the show is Battlefront.


Need for Speed

-Up next is the return of Need for Speed. Live action story trailer. Definitely Need for Speed underground feel. Night driving in an open city. Inspired by the history of the series. Customization of NFS Underground, and open world of Carbon. Multiplayer and connectivity of Rivals. 2x the size of the Rivals map. Realistic world and iconic cars. Richest customization ever in a NFS game.

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-Fully open world. The 5 pillars of a Need for Speed game combined into one game: Speed / Style / Build / Crew and Outlaw, all combined into one game. November 3rd, 2015.

-In-game cutscenes are live action, transitions into the customization window for the car. Dozen of points of customization for the vehicle. Transition into the open streets and racing. Game looks gorgeous. Cinematic chase camera. Cops get involved almost immediately. Minimal HUD. Very much on the DICE Frostbite engine with particles and HUD artifacts. Race ends and the play needs to escape the cops.


Star Wars The Old Republic

Star Wars The Old Republic – New expansion: Knights of the Fallen Empire. Bioware style story. Free expansion for all subscribers. Quick pre-rendered story trailer.


Unravel

-EA plans on having more trials and Betas to get more fan feedback earlier. New IP up next.

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-First one up: an emotional and creative experience centered on a character with a huge heart. This is Unravel.

-Yarn game, sort of like Sackboy, Little Big Planet. Yarn unravels as we move. Yarny is the main character. Exploration game to find the proper path. Physics based gameplay to overcome obstacles. Quick trailer to show the story and gameplay. Very heartwarming game. player uses the yarn to swing or pull objects, and is always leaving a trail of yarn.


Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2

Plant’s Vs Zombie mascot hits the stage to music. Gets quickly escorted off the stage.

“You can’t take zombies anywhere.”

Plants vs Zombie Garden Warfare 2. Plants on the attack for the first time in game’s history. New strategic layer of depth to the levels. Game game play demo. Shown the ZomBoss factory, a new level. Zombies have taken over and created Zomburbia. Now plants are on the attack to get their world back.

-New class – Imp. Playing as zombies, defending the factory from the invading plants. Live gameplay being shown. Smallest and fastest class. Next up. SuperBrainz, new melee class. CaptainDeadbeard is shown next, the zombies new sniper class. New power ups and weapons are shown. Imp calls down a Titan, and now its time to evacuate after the level has been completed. Sensing  a Titanfall vibe here :).

-GW2 now supports a solo play against AI or local split-screen. Transfer characters from GW1 over to 2 on launch. GW2 will launch Spring 2016. Game will support free content updates after launch. Game promises to be fun, and hilarious. Quick trailer sends us off showing a slew on new maps.


EA Sports

NHL 16 up next. Voiceover of a coach behind the scenes hyping up the players in the dressing room. Team is at the heart of NHL 16. EA Sports Hockey League is back.

Rory McIlroy PGA Golf now uses the Frostbite Engine. Real course and fantasy courses.

NHL and Madden incorporate training modes to help you become a better player

NBA Live 16 up next. Gameface HD scanning tech. You can use a mobile phone to capture the face, incorporates into the game. 5 secs to generate a preview. Pretty impressive. Sept 29th release for NBA Live 16. new free-flowing movement engine, 1000’s of new animations. Completely rebuilt passing and dribbling animations. New shot system to release the ball when you want. New game mode to be revealed later this summer. Quick trailer – captured in-game.


-Mobile games time. Need for Speed No Limits. Fifa 15 Ultimate Team 2nd screen on the Apple Watch.

Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes CCG card playing game. Across the whole Star War Universe.

Minions Paradise. A builder game. Quick trailer about the main character, Phil, who ruins everything. Seems like a mobile micromanagement game. Available later this year.


FIFA 16

FIFA 16 is up next. Quick historical trailer is shown. Pele comes to the stage – “the greatest football player of all time”. Story time about the history of the sport and the introduction to the sport in the USA. Football – the beautiful game.

-More innovation this year. Compete at a higher level, and new ways to play. better defense mechanics. Interception intelligence. No-touch dribbling. New trainer also incorporated into FIFA.

-For the first time ever, women’s teams are now in the game. More news throughout the summer.

-Quick trailer wraps up the FIFA portion- Play Beautiful.


Mirror’s Edge

-Experience the rise of faith. Mirror’s Edge is an origin story for faith. Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. More colour. Shows a new city. Trailer shows the backstory to Faith. New traversal and parkour.

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-To be released February 23rd, 2016. In-game footage trailer.


Madden NFL 16

-Draft champions discusses Fantasy Football. Similar to Madden mobile and Ultimate Team, but incorporated into the console version of Madden 16. Taking fantasy to another level. Can bring your drafted team solo or online.

-Passing mechanic has been overhauled.  Focused on 3 new positions. Quarterbacks has new body relative passes. Receivers has new catch types: possession catch, run-after-catch, and aggressive catch. Defenders. We can now play the receiver, and can interrupt passes as defenders. Game launches August 25th. E3 Trailer player – captured in-game.


Star Wars Battlefront

-An array of multiplayer modes. Ability to fly X-Wings. Play as one of the legends. Solo and Split-screen missions also available.

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-Gameplay: Walker Assault one of the largest modes. Empire must escort the AT-AT walkers. As the rebels, you must stop them. Captured from PS4 from both perspectives. Battle of Hoth. Shows the rebels running around the Hoth base defending incoming enemies. TIE fighters overhead and AT-AT incoming. Game is a first-person shooter or 3rd person shooter. Can call in orbital strikes. Can fly as the bombers. Looks amazing and sounds authentic. Bombers have the tow cable to trip the walkers. Can fly as the TIE fighters. Pilot the AT-AT. Explosions seem authentic. Lots of sparks. First person and 3rd person flying. Legends are on the battlefield too. Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are shown.

-Coming November 17th, 2015.


EA’s press conference is over. Ubisoft is up right quick at 3PM.

-iRogan