Hands-On: Need for Speed Most Wanted

I’d been jonesing to play Need for Speed Most Wanted ever since I’d first seen gameplay footage from the title, and after getting hands-on time with the title, Criterion looks to be firing on all cylinders on this one.

The build I played contained a single-player race followed by an evasion of the police and a 3-event multiplayer session.  The biggest thing I was looking for was to see how the cars handled and how it was driving in the open world.  The handling is like you would expect in any other Criterion title, which for my tastes is perfect.  The cars have a solid sweet spot between loose and tight steering.  The travelling around the open-world city harkened back to the days of Burnout Paradise, which I really enjoyed.  While racing, the route suggested on the mini-map is just that: a suggestion.  There are a variety of short cuts and off the beaten path areas to explore that could help or hinder your ability to get ahead of the rest of the pack.

As Criterion has been touting, you’re always earning Speed Points while driving around the world.  You can get them from almost everything in the game, whether it’s smashing through billboards, taking out other racers, or even mowing down small fixtures in the world.  Speed Points are the name of the game in Most Wanted, as earning them will move you up on the Autolog 2.0 leaderboard so you can become the “Most Wanted” among your friends.

The single player race is very basic: travel through checkpoints and try to finish first.  After the race ends, the fun begins again as you try to get away from the group of cop cars looking to bust you.  You can either evade the police by out-racing them or using the different jump and alleys to hide from them.  Your other alternative is to takedown the police yourself.  Either way, you will earn more Speed Points by successfully lowering your heat level.

The multiplayer was up next.  The mode we played was a three-event series: a speed camera challenge, a street race, and a long jump competition.  As the event starts, you actually have to drive yourself to the meet up area.  As you would expect, you earn SP for being among the first to get there to start things.  The speed camera challenge was to simply see who could build the highest speed when going through a marked speed camera on the map.  The races work online the same as they do in the regular game, and the long jump category is fairly straight forward also.  At the end of all three events, the person with the most SP is declared the winner, so you don’t necessarily have to win any of the events to win the match, though the boost you receive from winning certainly helps.

The other fun part is you can take out your opponents to hamper them.  Not only does taking out other players earn you precious SP, if an opponent gets taken out of an event leg, they won’t be able to earn additional SP for that leg.  This adds a greater layer of strategy to the action, as once you’re sitting in the catbird seat in an event, you start going after your competitors to keep them from supplanting you.

Need for Speed Most Wanted hits stores on October 30.  It was already one of my most anticipated games of this fall, and after spending some time with it, my anticipation has only grown.

Hilarious Madden 13 Ads Feature Ray Lewis, Paul Rudd, And Hate

Holy crap, there’s a Madden coming out this year? I nearly forgot. Thank God EA and their genius marketing team are here to remind us, with this hilarious set of ads featuring Paul Rudd and the greatest linebacker to ever play the game of football, our very own Ray Lewis. Now, I’ll warn you: the ads are funny, but if you hate the Steelers with the kind of fiery passion I do, you just really want to see Ray get up and punch Paul in the face by the end.

EA Sports Season Ticket Looks to be Much Better Deal Than Last Season

I was a purchaser of EA Sports’ new Season Ticket premium membership when they initially offered it last year.  For $24.99, I got 3 days of early access to their core 5 sports titles (Madden 12, NHL 12, FIFA 12, Tiger Woods 13, and NCAA Football 13) as well as a 20% discount on any DLC I purchased for those games.  To be honest, I really didn’t buy too much DLC (just a few Ultimate Team packs for NHL), and the 3 days early access wasn’t much of a benefit, especially considering some of the game modes I really wanted to check out, like the Ultimate Team mode, weren’t available in the early access download.

I wasn’t planning on renewing the service this year.  That was until I found out EA is upping the ante.

An eagle-eyed forum member on Operation Sports noticed yesterday EA updated the Season Ticket page, and it looks to bring a lot more value to the table this season.  In addition to the early access and 20% discount, there will be free DLC handed out for all five titles involved in the package.  What will you get for free?  Glad you asked!

• 1 Legendary and 24 Pro Packs for Madden Ultimate Team in Madden 13
• 24 NHL Premium Gold Packs for Hockey Ultimate Team in NHL 13
• 24 FIFA Premium Gold Packs for Football (the non-American kind for all us Yanks) Ultimate Team in FIFA 13
• As yet unannounced content for Tiger Woods 14 and NCAA Football 14

All in all, those freebies add up to over $100 in value.  If I had to speculate, I would guess the Tiger content will be a few courses, and the NCAA content will likely revolve around the Heisman Challenge Mode or purchases for created athletes.

If you are an Ultimate Team player in one or more of these games (which I am), this certainly has become almost a must-buy.  Add that to the 24 free Gold Packs for pre-ordering FIFA and the 16 free Gold Packs for doing the same for NHL, and my Ultimate Team looks to be quite the force this season.  Kudos to EA for re-evaluating what was previously a pretty lame package, and re-branding it into one that looks pretty awesome.

Also pointed out in the forum post was the lack of mention for NBA Live 13.  Is that game still happening, you know, since we haven’t seen a damn thing about it for what seems like months?  The latest rumor is that it may end up being a download-only title, but considering EA is bound by NBA policies to release the game by the real-life NBA season tip-off, I sincerely hope they are further along than we know.

Source: Operation Sports

Apparently Someone Wanted More Army of TWO; The Devil’s Cartel Releasing in 2013

I must confess: I haven’t played either of the Army of TWO (and yes, the “TWO” is seriously in all caps, it’s both an acronym and a not-so-clever pun!) games.  It seemed like fairly standard fare to me: co-op, cover-based bro shooting with lots of action, violence, and terrible one-liners.  From people I’ve spoken to about them, they’re fairly fun if looking for something to play with a buddy.  Still, they never set the critical world ablaze, and I figured they were modest commercial successes at best.  I guess I was wrong, because we’re getting a third AoT title in 2013.

The new hotness will be titled Army of TWO: The Devil’s Cartel.  From a story standpoint, this third game in the series will be either a prequel of reboot of sorts, as it follows two new operatives, with the unique and original names Alpha and Bravo, to the drug war-infested streets of Mexico for some action packed co-op gun shootin’.  The title is being developed by Visceral games, best known for the Dead Space series, and will release in March 2013.

Wait…Visceral is developing Dead Space 3, a co-op third-person shooter releasing in February 2013, and Army of TWO: The Devil’s Cartel, a co-op third-person shooter releasing in March 2013.  Uh…how about we space these two out a little bit, guys?  Maybe hold back AoT for the lean Summer months?  Besides, March is already jam-packed next year anyway, what with a new God of War, Tomb Raider, Gears of War (hey, another third-person shooter!), and likely more.  Also disappointing: the lack of former series protagonists Salem and Rios means no Nolan North!  Bummer!  How is that man supposed to eat now?

Any of you dear readers excited for more Army of TWO?

Calvin Johnson Is Already Dead; Madden Curse Reinforced By Evil Sorcerer John Madden

I’m sorry, Detroit Lions fans. John Madden is apparently rolling around the country with fellow warlock NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and they made a special trip yesterday to stop by your team’s training facility to sentence your best wide receiver to death.

During an interview with the Detroit Free Press yesterday, Madden insisted that the infamous “Madden Curse” does not actually exist, despite the fact that almost every athlete featured on the Madden cover has suffered some kind of issue that either ruined their season, or their lives.

I guess it’s not enough for John that since Megatron was announced as the Madden 13 cover athlete, four Lions players have combined for seven arrests. He actually had to come out and beg for the universe to destroy CJ.

“If there was such a thing (as a curse), you couldn’t ask for a better man to prove that wrong than who we’ve got this year,” Madden said about Johnson. “He might be as close to indestructible as we’ve ever had on the cover. Maybe I shouldn’t say that…that might…I’m not going to talk about that any more.”

Something simple like an injury or an arrest just isn’t enough for Evil Madden anymore, as presumably he’s getting older and needs to absorb more of these men’s souls to prolong his life. I’m predicting that sometime during the season, Calvin Johnson will be attacked, killed, and carried off the field by a giant falcon. Stay tuned for more as we get closer to football season.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Goes Free to Play This Fall; Subscriptions Down Significantly

Oh, Old Republic.  You were clamored for by so many once upon a time.  While the game has certainly been a financial success, it certainly hasn’t been the MMO juggernaut many thought it would be.

In their quarterly earnings call yesterday, EA said that paid subscribers for Star Wars: The Old Republic has fallen from 1.3 million last quarter to below one million this past quarter.  EA did also mention that only 500,000 subscribers were needed to make the game “substantially profitable,” and the current subscriber count was still “well above” that mark.

As a result of the subscriber drop off, the decision has been made to make The Old Republic free-to-play beginning this Fall.  Players will be able to play all the way up to Level 50 with no cost to them; only higher level content and new features will be locked away under the subscription model or individual purchases.  As part of the movement to free-to-play, SW:TOR will go on sale in August for the low price of $14.99 (which also includes a one month subscription).

Bad news for TOR, which is seeing this transition to a FTP model less than one year after its launch.  EA seems to think this will drive in new subscribers, but when you’re giving people the proverbial cow, there’s not much incentive to buy the milk.  Allowing free access to essentially the entire campaign for free is nuts.  Most people I know who played TOR played it until the campaign was done, not really getting into the endgame content.

A couple of other notes from the earnings call: Battlefield 3’s Premium service has seen over 1.3 million subscribers to date, pre-orders for Madden NFL 13 are up 25% over the previous year, and FIFA 12 and Battlefield 3 continue performing, as they combined for over 2 million units sold this past quarter despite the fact both released in September and October respectively last year.  Additionally, FIFA 12’s Football Ultimate Team has contributed over $30 million(!) in net digital revenue to date.

Anyone out there still playing The Old Republic?  Anyone going to give the game a shot once it goes free-to-play?  Let us know in the confab section below!

Battlefield 4 Dropping in 2013

To the surprise of no one, EA has confirmed Battlefield 4 is coming by including an invite to the Battlefield 4 beta when you purchase a copy of the upcoming Medal of Honor Warfighter.

The beta won’t be happening until next Fall, as Battlefield 3 will continue to be supported with post-release content until March of 2013 at the earliest.  Don’t expect to see a whole lot of additional news on Battlefield 4 until later on.

“Though Battlefield and Medal of Honor Warfighter each offer players a completely unique experience, they are united by their underlying technology base – Frostbite. These are two of the hottest shooters, coming together to deliver a one-two punch of action, intensity and shooter entertainment,” said Frank Gibeau, President of EA Labels.

I’m not the biggest FPS guy, but Battlefield 3 was a huge release last year.  Here’s hoping the lackluster single-player campaign will be improved upon, but then again, that’s not the reason people buy these titles anyway.

Medal of Honor Warfighter releases October 23 on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.

Pre-Order Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Get Extra Cars and More

Many of you reading know I’m pretty psyched for the upcoming Need for Speed Most Wanted.  An open-world arcade racer with all the addictiveness of the Autolog system?  Yes, please!  Today, we found out what I, and everyone else, is going to get for pre-ordering Criterion’s latest racing game.

A pre-order ensures you get the Need for Speed Most Wanted Limited Edition.  Inside you’ll find a voucher for two modified cars – the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale and Porsche 911 Carrera S – along with an upgrade pack for even more unlockable cars that are retailer-specific.  Those packs are:

Speed Pack: The Caterham Superlight R500 in the exclusive Satin Black livery, featuring the Track Tyres Modification for improved road handling, and the Lightweight Chassis Modification allowing players to reach mesmerizing speeds.

Strike Pack: The Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black Series in the exclusive Satin Black livery, featuring the Power Pack Powertrain Modification for an engine tuned for torque, acceleration and the ability to reach breakneck speeds, and the Re-inflating Tyres Modification making it easier to survive and counter rivals’ attempts to slow players down.

Power Pack: The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor in the exclusive Satin Black livery, featuring the Reinforced Chassis Modification for taking increased damage, and the powerful and violent Nitrous Dump Modification for making tight jumps and powered up takedowns.

Additionally, you’ll receive the ability to earn double Speed Points (essentially double XP) for the first four hours of gameplay.

EA has been known lately for putting out these “Limited Editions” for their games as of late, and of course Most Wanted would be no different.  I love these promos; if you’re going to give me free content just for being a day 1 buyer for a game I’d be buying anyway, I’m all for it.  I love executing takedowns more than anything else in the NFS/Burnout games, so I’m hoping to find my way to the Power Pack personally.  Anyhow, this game is going to be fantastic.

Need for Speed Most Wanted releases on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on October 30

Surprise! EA Likes Making Money, Wants To Publish KOA Sequel

Once upon a time, there was a magical place called 38 Studios.  When they were given a 75 million dollar loan from the state of Rhode Island, they did what any of us would do: threw their hands up in the air, realized they had no idea what to do, and hired the fine and wonderful people of Big Huge Games to create some kind of new IP for them, to rival the Biowares and Bethesdas of the world. However, BHG was run by an evil, stupid former baseball player with no business sense. And lo, did these people somehow still go forth and create an entertaining yet overly lengthy and generally forgettable dungeon crawler called Kingdoms Of Amalur. It was ok. But it did not sell as well as expected, and 38 Studios was forced to declare bankruptcy. Thus screwing all their employees out of their pay and benefits, and forcing the taxpayers of RI to pick up the tab for the loan, now at $112 million with interest.

But all was not lost! Over the hills come the heralds for the generally-thought-to-be-evil peoples of Electronic Arts. Drawn by the scent of lingering money, they pledge interest in publishing a KOA sequel, saying:

“At the end of the day we saw a lot of creativity and vision in the team that Curt [Schilling] put together. We thought the game was terrific. It reviewed well.

“We built a good business there and hope there’s a sequel to it someday. We’d love to be a partner for that.”

However, the rights to the KOA IP now belong solely to the sovereign empire of Rhode Island, its fate yet to be determined. So though the future looks grim for the remaining peoples of Big Huge and 38, there could be an (evil, glowing, red) light on the horizon in the form of EA and their willingness to continue the vision of Amalur whilst sucking the figurative marrow from the bones of the casual fan and consumer. Or something. I’m running out of clever wordplay here.

That’s the news, whattaya think?

Source: Videogamer

Need for Speed is One of My Most Wanted

I’m not much of a car guy, but I do love playing racing games, especially arcade style racers who are all about the action on the road.  Naturally, I love almost anything that comes out of Criterion Games, best known for the Burnout series, and their debut in the Need for Speed franchise with 2010’s Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was one of my favorite games of that year.  I couldn’t wait to see what they were going to bring to the table for E3 with the debut of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and I was very excited with what they showed off during EA’s presentation yesterday.

Much like Hot Pursuit before it, Most Wanted is a reboot of sorts from an earlier game in the Need for Speed franchise of the same name.  Also like Hot Pursuit, the game is definitely punctuated with Criterion’s signature style.  The game takes place in an open world setting a la Burnout Paradise, which means you aren’t limited to the specific tracks and roads seen in most racing games.  Instead, you have free reign to get to the finish line by any means necessary, including ducking down alleyways and driving up walkways to get ahead of your fellow racers and avoid the fuzz who are trying to slow you down.  The action was as frantic and fast as you would expect from a Criterion title, and yes, you can takedown other racers and cops alike Burnout-style.  After the race ends, the game transitions into a new section where your racer needs to get the hell away from the police.  This is where the open-world setting really shines, as the driver took the cops through alleys, used aggressive evasive maneuvers to leave cops in the dust, and even drove into a construction site.  The demo ends with the racer driving up a large dirt ramp and over a stretch of highway.  Whew.

Yep. Takedowns are back again.

Also returning is the newest Need for Speed trademark: the innovative Autolog.  In Hot Pursuit, the Autolog showed you at all times how your race times stacked up against your friends, and notifying you when your buddies beat your top times.  Overtake a friend on a particular course, and you could easily send them a smack talking message rubbing it in their face.  Autolog kept Hot Pursuit in my PS3 for quite some time, as the drive to be at the top of my personal leaderboard kept me playing again and again.  In Most Wanted, Criterion is upping the ante by logging everything imaginable, including race times, pursuit scores, billboards broken, and more.  I have a feeling that Most Wanted will keep my competitive drive going even more than Hot Pursuit did.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted crashes in to stores October 30.  In the meantime, watch the full demo from E3.  Confab about it below!