The year 2007 is going to be very memorable for gamers in India. So many gaming tournaments and so many game and game-related product launches! Last month, we had the Halo 3 event and yesterday we were invited to the EA Experience at the Hilton Towers in South Mumbai. What can we say, there were Xbox 360s, PS3s, high-end PCs and many EA games.
Present at the event was EA India’s General Manager, Ajay Khanna. He spoke on the games as well as on what EA had to offer to the Indian gamers. He said, “India has huge potential for gaming. It is a strategic market for EA. Since, 2006 we hit several milestones and have contributed significantly to the growth of the gaming industry in India. This holiday season we plan to release a line-up of leading titles simultaneously with their worldwide release. We look forward to sharing EA Experience, with our partner and gamers.”
Most of the EA games such as Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08, NBA Live 08, FIFA 08, SKATE and Medal of Honor Airborne were there to lay our hands on. However, we had to be content with videos of amazing games like Army Of Two, Crysis, The Orange Box and The Simpsons Game.
Here are the details of the EA games and our impressions about them:
- FIFA 08
FIFA 08 challenges players to master the skills required to play like a professional soccer player. Fans around the world can experience the same highs and lows of real-world players and tackle the challenges they face on a daily basis. The FIFA 08 next-gen gameplay engine delivers animations and ball control that is so responsive you feel like you are actually on the pitch. Players are now aware of their surroundings, reacting authentically to threats and opportunities to make intelligent decisions. With the FIFA Soccer 08 shooting system you can enjoy even more control and precision in front of the goal to become a true marksman. For the first time ever, fans playing FIFA 08 will face the pressure to improve their game that real-world players endure every day. A new play mode called Be A Pro locks you in the role of a single player and challenges you to master the same disciplines as a real professional player—from positioning and tackling to reading the field and passing. FIFA Soccer 08 now gives every football fan the chance to perform pro skills with a true next-generation organic ‘building-block’ system. You can combine tricks and skill moves together to recreate signature moves from the real-world superstars or define your own style of play. You can even capture video of your best moves and goals in-game and upload to the FIFA 08 website to show off your style and celebrate your glory with friends across the globe. The award-winning Interactive Leagues debuts on the Xbox 360TM and the PLAYSTATION 3 as part of the deepest online feature set to date. Represent your club online* against your rivals throughout the season in the F.A. Premier League, Bundesliga, French League or Mexican 1st Division. When they play, you play. Plus, create and organize your own multiplayer Friends Leagues and tournaments with all the tools in-game. In addition, FIFA Soccer 08 is dramatically more real and exhilarating with the inclusion of 620 licensed teams, 30 official leagues, and more than 15,000 players.
GG Impressions: There were two versions of FIFA 08, one on the Xbox 360 and one on the PS3. The latter did look great, but then you cannot ignore the fact that the PS3 consoles were connected to amazing Sony Bravia TVs. It was a great to play FIFA 08, but I have normally played the FIFA games on the PC and it was a totally different experience playing the game on the consoles. However, I did observe many people out there complaining about the controls of the PS3 controller! Anyways, it’s an amazing game and football lovers should be buying it.
- Need for Speed ProStreet
Compete at the highest level of street racing with Need for Speed ProStreet. It’s no longer good enough to simply rule your local neighborhood you need to dominate on a global stage. Build the ultimate battle machine, take it to multi-disciplinary showdowns and pit your skills and reputation against the world’s best street racers. This is your chance to prove that you have what it takes to be crowned the next Street King. ProStreet is your ultimate taste of the chaos and unbridled adrenaline of street racing. Every dent, every scratch and every crumpled body panel is a battle scar, proof of your commitment and competitive mettle. The atmosphere is electric – complete with energetic crowds, photo-realistic cars and billowing smoke – all designed to embody the pressure and intensity of the gladiatorial challenge known as Show Down. Need for Speed ProStreet is the realization of the raw power, visceral aggression and intense rivalry that embodies street racing culture. Need for Speed ProStreet races into stores November, 2007.
GG Impressions: We didn’t get to play the game, but we did see the preview trailers. The sound effects were amazing and the graphics were just mind-blowing. I know many of the NFS enthusiasts would be a little wary of purchasing ProStreet after they got their hands burnt with Carbon. However, EA is not that sorta company that would repeat the same mistake twice.
- SKATE
SKATE is the closest thing to skateboarding without actually putting your feet on a board. With innovative Flickit controls that take advantage of the dual analog sticks, SKATE delivers an authentic boarding experience like no other videogame. Players will explore, find and skate the best spots in the fictitious city of San Vanelona. This enormous environment will provide gamers with hours and hours of skating bliss. Players can skate it their way; from finding and owning the hottest spots in the city to downhill racing to entering big contest including the X Games. Players will meet and skate with legends like Danny Way and Mark Gonzales as well as up-and-coming pros including Chris Cole and P.J. Ladd. Along the way, players can capture video footage of their skate sessions at any time to share or brag with their friends across the country via the game’s innovative skate reel feature. Without footage, it’s fiction. SKATE is shipping in October 2007 for the Xbox 360TM and PLAYSTATION 3.
GG Impressions: As we told you before, SKATE was playable and we just loved it. I have played Tony Hawk before and controls-wise, I enjoyed it. The much hyped ‘Flickit controls’ are worth the whole hullabaloo. We met a gamer over there, Ankit, 18, who told us of all the games that he played; he enjoyed SKATE the most mainly because of the controls. However, EA needs to work on the graphics of SKATE as compared to other games, it looked pale.
- NBA LIVE 08
When the game is on the line and the ball is in your hands, what will you do? Will you penetrate, drive the lane and rise above the rim for a monster dunk, or find an opening on the perimeter and sink a game-winning three? Take control of the game with a full arsenal to win the one-on-one match-up from every spot on the floor. Building upon a solid foundation of 5-on-5 gameplay, NBA LIVE 08 introduces a set of 4 all-new features – Quickstrike Ballhandling, own the paint, hot spots and signature go-to moves to increase user control, while providing an unrivaled level of authenticity to the sport of basketball. Now you can dominate with your Go-To Move with NBA LIVE 08.
GG Impressions: NBA LIVE 08 looked good at the first glance. We played it, the graphics were very decent and looked next-gen. But it seems that the game has been made specially for the people who love basketball.
- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 08
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 for the Xbox 360TM and PLAYSTATION 3 is brimming with new features that will excite the fans of the game, fans of golf and fans of video games in general. There is an emphasis this year of user created content, which includes created characters, highlights or playable scenarios. Challenge your fellow golfers in an exciting new form of competition with EA SPORTS GamerNet. Save replays of a shot, hole, front nine, back nine, or entire round and post it online for other players to challenge. EA SPORTS GamerNet gives you the chance to share your greatest golf moments whenever they happen with other golfers around the world. Using Photo Game Face, gamers can easily create realistic faces for their created characters using digital photography. Photo Game Face takes user customization in video games to the next level.
GG Impressions: Golf, a game that Indians see on TV and think wtf is that? Anyways, the game was playable but not many seemed interested in it. All the other games received so much attention; people were literally crowding the booths. But for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, all we saw was a EA helper.
- Medal of Honor Airborne
Medal of Honor Airborne is set to redefine the series and will change the way shooters are played. For the first time in an FPS, players airdrop into combat and land anywhere in an open battlefield. Conflict on the ground offers unprecedented tactical choice in open battle spaces with a wealth of attack routes and flanking opportunities. Medal of Honor Airborne is the newest installment in EA’s critically acclaimed Medal of Honor franchise, credited with pioneering the WWII FPS genre when it debuted in 1999. Developed at EA Los Angeles under the EA brand, Medal of Honor Airborne is available for the Xbox 360 system and PC and in November for the PLAYSTATION 3 system.
GG Impressions: The first thing that comes to your mind, when you play Medal of Honor Airborne is ‘WOW!’ The graphics are amazing and the gameplay is fantastic. The game is a must-have for all gamers who love first person shooters. The Xbox 360 as well as the PC version of Airborne looked great.
- Army of Two
Never go into battle alone! The deadliest two-man private military outfit a government can buy is hitting retail shelves this winter. Delivering a groundbreaking strategic 3rd person co-op shooter unparalleled in the action genre, EA Montreal’s ARMY OF TWO focuses on gameplay centered around TWO man missions, TWO man strategies, TWO man tactics and a TWO man advantage. The breakthrough gameplay in ARMY OF TWO, with a live or adaptive AI partner, enables you to take advantage of two-man strategies like customizable weapons, vehicles, and tactical shooting. ARMY OF TWO is launching this winter on the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment systems and the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system.
GG Impressions: The part that we hated about Army of Two and EA is that the game was not playable! Once you see the trailers of Army of Two, you would want to play it badly! The graphics look truly next-gen.
- Crysis
Get ready to break out your Nanosuits. From Crytek, the award-winning developers of Far Cry, comes one of the year’s most anticipated PC games and first person shooters Crysis. Powered by Crytek’s CryENGINE 2, Crysis is a technical achievement featuring stunning visuals, cunning gameplay and an epic storyline. A mysterious artifact found on an island in the South China Sea leads to a power struggle between the US and North Korea. An elite squad of Special Forces operatives is sent on what turns out to be more than just a standard search and rescue mission when it is discovered the artifact is a Trojan Horse for a massive alien invasion. Both global super powers will have to unite to battle this mysterious, menacing threat amidst a dynamic, ever-changing environment including frightening zero gravity conditions. To defeat the aliens, players will have to change their tactics on the fly, fully utilizing a revolutionary Nanosuit that enhances their ability to use strength, speed, armor or cloak to their advantage, and an arsenal of highly customizable weaponry. The planet’s fate will be determined by your ability to adapt to survive. Crysis is slated to ship for the PC in winter 2007.
GG Impressions: Finally, something for the PC gamers, but the game was not playable. We did have a word with Mr. Khanna, who said that he will be specially buying a high-end PC for the game.
- The Orange Box
The Orange Box delivers five innovative action games from Valve – creators of the blockbuster Half Life franchise, in one box. The Orange Box includes Half Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2 in addition to full versions of award-winning Half Life 2 and Half Life 2: Episode One for the most complete first-person action experience anywhere. The Orange Box will be available for Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 in October 2007.
GG Impressions: Half Life is one of the most eagerly awaited games in India and when you see the trailers of The Orange Box, you know why! But the game we liked the most from the Orange Box is Team Fortress 2.
- The Simpsons Game
THE SIMPSONS GAME features a hilarious, sprawling, and mind-busting storyline crafted by the TV show’s Emmy Award-winning writers. The action-comedy will also feature the full cast of voice actors from the TV show who will reprise their roles for the game. In THE SIMPSONS GAME, Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa use exciting, all-new powers to save the world from rising chaos. To help the Simpsons, gamers at home must journey through all of Springfield (as well as vast worlds beyond!), vanquish an amazing array of villains, and fight their way through parodies of popular games.
GG Impressions: The Simpsons Game has given a chance to EA to poke fun at the video gamming industry and from the videos you could make out the game has been aptly made. There are millions of Simpsons fans in India and they would love to play the game.
Well these are our impressions, share yours’ too with us. After the event we had a chat with Ajay Khanna. We will be shortly publishing the interview. Keep watching this space for the feature.