EA recently announced the newest edition of their critically acclaimed first person shooter series, Battlefield, would be having it’s latest instalment launching in October. Weirdly named Battlefield V. I say weirdly named because they went from Battlefield 4, to Battlefield 1, to Battlefield V. They need to work on some consistency with the naming convention….
Category: EA
Things are Looking Up: EQ2, PC Gaming
I spent the weekend thinking about gaming, and playing a bit. I kind of realized that I don’t envy being a developer trying to make games right now. I read somewhere that Battlefront 2 probably “only” sold 1.2 to 1.5 million boxes in it’s first month of sales – and is considered a complete failure….
Go the Way of the Dodo : Single Player
Andromeda has been my favorite game this year. I love long, single player rpgs in expansive universes where my decisions impact the gameplay. While I understand some of the arguments against Andromeda and the ambitions it tried to live up to – as a standalone product it probably would have been better received. Either way…
The Beauty of Complexity
Simple is always good but sometimes you find beauty in complexity – even if you trip over it. Time and time again in The Secret World (blog sites, forums, etc. I have been doing a lot of reading!) I am discovering suggestions to build your own decks and pay attention to different states. These states…
Modern Cars and TSW
Features on new cars have taught us to be really terrible drivers. I haven’t looked over my shoulder to go backwards in three years (reverse cam) and I drive a truck. I was driving in a colleague’s Mercedes Benz and he doesn’t have to do shoulder checks because his car tells him if someone is…
EA Earning Their Reputation
Shocker to many of you, I know. For me historically I have been an EA supporter. I remember back in the 80s if your game had the EA logo pop up during loading screens you were in for a treat – a good game Even publically on this blog I had defended EA due to…
How to Lose a MMO Gamer in 10 Ways
In the romantic comedy “How to lose a guy in 10 days” A reporter is writing an article with that name – and wants to prove she can lose a guy in 10 days. On the other side, the guy, a big advertising exec takes a bet that he can make a woman fall in…
Be Verwy Qwiet – We Hunting Zombiesh-Type-Creatures!
I picked up Dead Space a while ago (for free, thank you EA) and have been picking away at it. Throughout the first hour of Dead Space I realized something. I haven’t said a single word. Actually, my character hasn’t even made a sound. I don’t even think he grunts or groans. That’s odd. I can assure you, that…
EA Innovating?
I have a Love/Hate relationship with Electronic Arts. When I was a young gamer on my $3500 386 SX-16 (price is a date reference. I worked all summer to afford it..) getting a box with the EA logo was getting a good game. It was synonymous for me. They really did have some blockbusters. Perennial…
Dead Space is Free
In what looks like an effort to increase Origin downloads/logins, EA is giving away Dead Space and it’s either out of the goodness of their hearts or just an incentive to give up your soul to the Origin platform. I never played Dead Space and it received a lot of accolades so I am doing it. Free…
My Influential 15
One of my favorite blogs to visit is The Ancient Gaming Noob (TAGN) and he recently posted an Influential 15Â list – started by another blogger and other sites are also playing along. The parts I read indicated not too many rules, but just do not overthink it – only take 15 minutes, and list…
Corporate Governance
This sat in drafts and I never got around to finishing it. Now the info is really outdated, but still – wanted to talk about companies that make games really briefly. First, we have this nice reminder of EA being voted worst company to work for (again) Then, we have FUNCOM being raided for suspected…
Auf Wiedersehen WAR! 4 of 4
The final comic is the Choppa – the Orc mirror to the Hammerer. Violent, ugly, and viscious – WAR players were angry because the Choppa was an iconic WAR class and having them cut from the launch was not something they were “happy” about. So, how to write a comic about an evil dummy? (click…
EA’s Hat Trick
CEO resign? Check. Voted America’s WORST Company (again!) ? Check. Part of a class action settlement, that anyone in the USA who bought any (or all) of three titles, on any (or all) of four platforms? And you can make up to 8 claims for a total of $162.96. ? Check. http://www.easportslitigation.com/ This is old…
2008, 184 Posts, 18 months of (mostly) silence, and missing you!
I can’t believe I started this blog in 2008. Yes, it only has 184 (often misguided) posts, and no, I haven’t really checked in in a year and a half. And yes, I do miss you. ‘You’ having two contexts, of course. One, is writing. I think critically all the time for work, and write…
Tell Me What You Want (What You Really, Really, Want)
I think MMO nostalgia makes us funny people. Just yesterday I was thinking about EQ and the amazing times had there with people I still consider ‘amazing’. Hell, I even went to my first ever guild message boards (circa 1999) after a 3 year hiatus to go say “hi” and see who was still kicking around…
Fun Police for Jedi
EA and Bioware are wrapping everything into their ‘hail mary pass’ launch of SWTOR (pardon the pun) to do everything imaginable (and then some) to recoup their eleventy billion dollar investment. For those of you who don’t clicky links on blogs, they are releasing a PVP warzone based on a neutral planet where the good guys and the bad…
Feast or Famine
Going to a new blogging style. The exciting ‘when I can/feel like it’. When I blogged regularly I blogged pretty hard, 3+ posts a week, keeping on top of current events and all the “excitement”. I took an extended break once, and in the same breadth kept lurking and reading my favorites without posting. I…
Lambs to The Slaughter
After reading the comments of SWTOR’s latest QA from Friday, I noticed a couple of things: Seems to be a lot of MMO rookies following this closely There will be major disappointment for those rookies Some random ones, amid the rabid fanboyism: Can you imagine a small smuggler ship entering in Coruscant atmosphere with two passengers(you and…
How Not to Blog
Sorry, Peter Moore, your “blog” is a pretty big embarrassment. I was surfing EA sites to find anyplace to complain that they stopped their major sports title development for the PC. Yes, I have complained about it a couple times already. I really want to play some football. 1) Most of the comments on that…
Bioware’s New Game is Shattered Steel (probably).
A lot of speculation out there, but here’s a visual cue on why it is probably a remake of Shattered Steel. Capture from the video See those two, round black bulb things above his head (and to the left?) He’s not shooting out of a window, he’s shooting out of a cockpit. Oh look at…
Straws, Backs, and Camels
Ok. I’m going to see how long I can NOT buy an EA product. I’m disconnecting my cash from the company. I’ve never had a major issue with the company, either. Their support (for me) has been just awesome. I’ve been buying their titles for as long as I have been gaming. Sometimes, you just…
What I Don’t Get About the Gaming Industry
“As you know, seasonal roll-offs that follow game launches are common and vital to maintaining a healthy business” – EA Spokesperson Jeff Brown Why is it that this statement seems only true for the gaming industry? I’m probably missing a few other industries that do this so nonchalantly in tone. It seems impossible to maintain…
Steam Sale Stings! (also – my Baseball Game is now a RPG)
I picked up MLB 2k10 from 2k sports over the weekend. I enjoyed 2k9, and the $20 price tag is a nice entry level. Today I check out steam, and that same title is now on sale for $1.99. 90% off! While that is indeed impressive, now my valued purchase makes me feel like I…
Star Wars The Old Republic : Hopes and Dreams
I have writers block. I have 7 drafts written on various topics but am having a hard time piecing them together. Some of them are related, and I think, can I combine them? Do they make sense? I have lost my groove, and working to find it. My time off blogging was spent playing 3…