EA's E3 press conference
Mass Effect 4! Mirror's Edge 2! Battlefield Hardline beta live on PC and PS4 today! Loads more.
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Electronic Arts' E3 conference brought news that the Battlefield Hardline beta is live on both PC and PS4 today, along with early footage from Mass Effect 4 and new IP from BioWare's Edmonton studio. There were also updates on Mirror's Edge 2 and plenty of other titles, including EA Sports PGA Tour with its loony new battleship-based course.
Lots of stuff, in short. Read through the live text below and check out our E3 2014 guide for an overview of the whole show.
Our live coverage of this event has finished.
Hello! Fresh from games, games, games with Microsoft, soon it will be time for things which are in the games, that are therefore in the games, with EA.
EA has apparently gone for a different seating plan this year, sitting attendees at tables with boxes of doughnuts to munch on. Dragon Age boss-lord Mark Darrah tweeted a picture.
vert1go: @Tom_Bramwell shouldn't that be CGI, CGI, CGI with Microsoft?
Sick burn confirmed!
Looks like we're about to begin the EA wedding.
The FIFA 15 trailer has already gone live on YouTube.
The trailer starts off with Star Wars!
DICE is making Battlefront 3. The studio went back to the Lucas archives to capture actual models and props used in the movies.
I know you knew Battlefront 3 is being made by DICE - that was a test and you passed.
This is early in-engine footage. Lots of familiar environments - speeders, AT-ATs, etc.
"As someone once said, 'Do or do not. There is no try.'"
Nice opening. EA CEO Andrew Wilson is on stage.
He says they're doing the show a little differently. Some games are just a few months from being done, others are earlier on so we'll see behind-the-scenes stuff to lay the path for the next few years.
We're starting with BioWare's Dragon Age: Inquisition - and I thought he then said we'd see two new projects from BioWare.
A musician is on stage playing cello music along to a montage of scenes from Dragon Age.
Footage is much the same as we saw in Microsoft's conference, but there's no harm in seeing it again.
GIANT RABBIT CONFIRoh wait it was a close-up.
BioWare studio manager Aaryn Flynn is here, recapping what we'll be doing in Inquisition. Leading heroes against the forces of evil, for a change.
We're going to take on a high dragon and see how it's possible to switch between party members.
Switching between party members on the fly to keep up the attack on multiple fronts.
The dragon takes off and scorches the field with beautiful flame... and that's that over with. Pretty and violent!
You can pause action and switch between heroes for a more tactical approach too.
And now we're onto a look at Mass Effect, judging by the music.
New places, new characters, new people to fall in love with, a new region of space.
We're seeing "conceptual prototype" footage, but this presentation suggests the game is still early on.
The Montreal team is working on the new Mass Effect, while the team in Edmonton is working on completely new IP.
The conceptual prototype footage for this looked a bit post-apocalyptic. Not much else to go by.
And now we're onto The Sims 4.
bratsampson: Wtf squealing?
There's a bevy of fans EA always places down the front for Sims presentations who do just that. Lord knows why.
It looks like The Sims 4.
Hahahahahaha. He died.
It's out on 2nd September.
Always online! Nah, just kidding.
Famous footage of Bruce Lee now.
He's in EA Sports UFC, of course.
UFC includes best water in games. I think that's what Bruce Lee's getting at.
The game's due out later this month.
EA Sports UFC director Bryan Hayes is showing us a bout with Bruce Lee in action.
Next up: NHL 15.
We're seeing some gameplay footage for the first time. Sure, it looks nice, but can you drive a Zamboni?
Patrick Soderland is on stage now. He's talking about how EA's tools have been overhauled so they can more rapidly prototype ideas.
We're about to get a little glimpse of what Criterion has been working on, even though it's super early.
Criterion's history is in cars, but they want to explore new horizons, they say.
They've gotten rid of desks in their new office space. They move around and prototype stuff. Their new game has wingsuits, parachutes, ATVs, bikes, boats, planes, jetskis, all sorts.
It's a first-person game - from an athlete's point of view.
No name though.
Next we're going to hear what EA Tiburon has been doing with EA Sports PGA Tour in Frostbite 3.
"This is golf without limits." Destructible bunkers confirmed!
Actually, that's not far off. They have "extreme fantasy courses", which involves playing the ball over a battleship crashing into an island.
EA Sports PGA Tour is due out spring 2015.
Here's Madden 15. I am not going to pretend I understand this.
I watched Any Given Sunday the other week though and that's a good film.
Madden NFL 15 is due out 26th August.
Ooh, EA's doing a MOBA called Dawngate.
Oh, we knew about this, I'm an idiot.
In fact, you can go to the official website to learn loads more if you're interested.
Andrew Wilson is back. He's reiterating that EA wants to do things differently, including inviting players in earlier.
Time for Mirror's Edge 2!
They started with the simplest building blocks of Faith - the white, black and red, and her glove.
The developers are talking about the contrast between Faith's free-form movement and behaviour and the conformist world she moves around.
We're seeing a lot of the studios behind the games, which is great - but I think we'd all like to actually see, you know, the games.
They've had parkour artists come in and help them figure out which moves to include.
Early footage shows pristine white platform-heavy environments with red items to catch your eye. It's "conceptual prototype" stuff again.
You'll still use combat but it's all about hitting quick, fast and hard through platforming. Faith herself is the weapon.
JamieR: I got about 3/5 way into Mirrors Edge. I never finished it.
The secret is the first one wasn't very good. Wonderful concept, though, which hopefully the sequel can properly deliver on.
FIFA 15 time!
David Rutter's on stage talking about how the game this year is all about emotion.
BORING ASIDE. I had a dream about the EA conference last night.
Players will react to the circumstances of the game, banging their fists in defeat and failure, etc.
A man came on stage at the start with a big guitar and used up all the electricity. So they had to do the conference in silence.
There's been a lot of work on agility and control too. "Astonishingly realistic trajectories and spin."
The FIFA presentation was a 20 minute panning shot of some grass. Lovely grass, mind.
We have a full hands-on preview of FIFA 15 going up in 20 minutes, by the way.
Kits will get dirty! Goal frames clatter on impact! Corner flags move! THEY MOVE!
"This year you will feel the game." And I will open 200 packs and get no in-forms.
Idris Elba time!
Every conference needs its Elba moment.
I think he's a timed Xbox exclusive though.
-cerberus-: @Martin Robinson: Mirror's Edge is a good game although it's hard as fuck to keep momentum. It takes tons of practice to master the game. When E3's over, have a look on Youtube for a speedrun, you'll be impressed :)
I will educate myself afterwards!
Right then, next up is Battlefield Hardline.
You may feel as though you've seen this trailer before...
It's that first-person shooter made by the Dead Space team!
Karl-Magnus Troedsson from DICE and Steve Papoutsis from Visceral are on stage giving us the big sell about this amazing new game that is coming as a complete surprise to everyone.
Cops and robbers, yep, we know.
Oh, it's *that* first-person shooter made by the Dead Space team.
Ishimura reference in the background of one of the screenshots. Poor old Dead Space.
Here's a funny thing: when EA reveals the Battlefields made by DICE - the ones with the great MP! - they lead on single-player.
When they reveal the one from Visceral - that studio that makes great single-player games! - they lead with multiplayer. It's madness.
Right, we're going to see some gameplay. There's bikes, armoured cars and BANG SHOOT BANG SHOOT.
Toaster05: I love how utterly cynical everyone is. We should all travel to E3 as a group. Arms folded on the conference with sullen faces.
We can sit behind the squealers and make stern faces. I'm in.
We're in downtown LA shooting things out with cops. Explosions, cars flying through the air, etc.
A chopper chases the robbers as they make a getaway on bikes and in a car, firing through the windscreen.
So yeah, this looks very much like Battlefield, though the emphasis is more on team-play. With the right squad I reckon it could really sing.
We have a hands-on preview of this at 9pm too. Keep an eye on the homepage for impressions.
Hardline has Battlefield's trademark levelution moments too, like a sky crane crashing down to create a bridge.
Mr_Git: Ugh did he just say 'don't taze me bro'
That's fair enough. Chap didn't want to be tazed.
Sorry, levolution. I forgot which stupid spelling they used for their stupid word.
Oh my god I might just get up and shoot her.
Ooh! Battlefield Hardline beta launching... today! It's on PC and PS4. First come first served. Go to the website to sign up.
Adam Boyes from Sony is on stage to explain how people can get involved on PS4. BF4 owners can jump on the Hardline beta by going to BF4 on their system and accessing the beta download option from the live tile.
I might see if I can scream louder than her.
AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Adam Boyes said Hardline was 1080p60 on PS4.
Hardline is out on 21st October. And we're done!
Thanks everyone. That ought to give you something to download between now and Ubisoft at 11pm BST, when we'll be back for more.