RipTen Videogame Blog » EA

New SSX Trailer Shows the Awesome of the Himalayas

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:30:14 +0000

EA is going big with SSX. How big? Himalayas big.

Check out the awesomeness of the Himalayas in the new SSX trailer below.

SSX arrives on PS3 3 and Xbox 360 on February 28th.

Shank 2 Out Now to Slice You Up

Alex Co — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:30:31 +0000

Are you into side-scrolling beat-’em-ups? If so, then you’re in for a treat. EA and Klei Entertainment has just released the sequel to their highly-successful Shank; aptly titled Shank 2.

The game is a 2D action-brawler that’s reminiscent of the old-school beat-’em-up genre that was very popular in the ’90s – albeit, with a shinier coat of paint and “modernized” to deliver a deeper experience. The game drops players in the role of titular protagonist Shank. an ex-mob hitman who’s out for revenge after his village comes under attack.

Shank 2 also introduces an all-new multiplayer Survival mode wherein players can team up locally or online to tackle wave after wave of enemies to try and stay alive. Think Gears of War’s Horde mode but in beat-’em-up form.

The game is already out on PC and PS3 today and will cost you $10. Xbox 360 users, fret not, as the game will be available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace tomorrow and will cost 800 MS Points.

I admit, Shank was a game that surprised me upon release. Who would have thought that this sort of game can still excite and keep your attention now that we have realistic shooters with a bajillion polygons.

Who among you will be picking this up or is the game only attractive to old fogies like me?

Medal of Honor 2 Unveiling this Coming March

Alex Co — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:00:24 +0000

In a move that shouldn’t surprise anyone, it looks like EA will be unveiling the sequel to its Medal of Honor reboot this coming March. Yep, a successful FPS that sold more than five million units will get a sequel – a shocker, I know.

This really shouldn’t have come as a surprise; and not just because the first game sold well. If you bought Battlefield 3, the game had an insert for Medal of Honor that showed an image of a shark with the number “1″ in the middle – this, of course, is an image directed at MoH’s now-infamous Tier 1 soldiers and beards. Yep, let’s hope there are beards in the game again.

Not only that, but the first game’s ending heavily hinted at a sequel – though it now presents a few dilemmas as that particular scene referenced an enemy which has been “neutralized” in real life.

The bigger question here is, who will be developing the game’s multiplayer? The first game had single-player duties handled by EA’s Danger Close studios, but the multiplayer was handled by Battlefield developer DICE over in Sweden. Will Medal of Honor 2 entirely be a Danger Close affair or will it be two studios collaborating on one title again?

Truth be told, Medal of Honor 1 was the last FPS campaign I finished and quite enjoyed. It wasn’t your usual action-movie FPS that had set-pieces, one after another. It was more of a subtle affair that showed how soldiers handled adversity on and off the battlefield.

Let’s just hope that MoH2 will have fewer bugs and its multiplayer supported way longer than MoH1‘s was. Are any of you still playing MoH’s multiplayer? What do you want to see in its sequel?

Source: Kotaku

SSX: Uber Mondays – Elise Riggs Trailer ‘La La La Lockstep’

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:00:30 +0000

EA has released a character profile which re-introduces the sexy and skillful Elise Riggs and her ‘La La La Lockstep’.

SSX hits retail for PS3 and 360 on February 28th. Check out Elise in full glory below.

Uber Mondays: Every Monday from now until launch, we’ll be showcasing a short video clip of an SSX character’s signature uber! This week check out Elise Riggs’ ‘LaLaLa Lockstep’

RipTen Review: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (PS3)

Stephanie Gutowski — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:01:22 +0000

I was told that behind the name R. A. Salvatore lay a fierce following. When I read Reckoning’s synopsis, the only elements that rang bells were the names of the mythical races. I’m versed enough in fantasy lore to know the difference between a Dokkalfar and Ljosalfar, but beyond that? It’s all Gnomish to me.

That being said, my lack of familiarity with the work of Salvatore by no means hindered my ability to enjoy this game. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this brand new world filled with elves and goblins, but I rather enjoyed setting out on my adventure with a clean slate. Literally. You begin the game as a dead body. You burst up, jack-in-the-box style, out of a mound of rotting corpses, which is now the worst possible way to wake up, and begin your quests for answers. What’s going on with the Tuatha? Why are you Fateless? Why would anyone want to bring you back? Why won’t the Well of Souls stop moaning?

I thought draping a morgue sheet over a player character is a pretty clever way to segue into the customization menu. I was delightfully surprised when I discovered that tapping the right trigger switched my burly male model to a curvy female one. I proceeded to make the most beautiful Varani ever. Your options are actually rather diverse, providing you sliders for skin tones, hair, tattoos, and a few other categories. Oddly enough, my character ended up looking almost exactly like my first Revan in Knights of the Old Republic. It was a satisfying experience that left me feeling like this character I’d created was uniquely mine. I was prompted to chose a patron deity (or absence of one for a 10% experience gain perk.) After that, you’re on your own. There’s no specialization selection, as your “fateless” status equates to “classless.” Or more accurately, one who can change their class at will. You define yourself when you level up, which is a refreshing experience.

Players won’t be boxed into a class, but rather change their “fate” according to their play style. It’s a welcome addition that keeps gameplay fresh and dynamic. This is the “Destiny” system Curt Schilling described, a process of ever-shifting specialties that present themselves to you upon leveling up. Skill points are fed into familiar-looking trees, which then unlock specialties depending on the attributes you invest in: Might, Finesse, and Sorcery. This is a clever method of creating a sense of organic class evolution, until you realize that you’re not going to get to that Duelist fate until you balance your points across your trees better. There’s going to be some level of planning required if you have a specific combat style in mind, but players won’t be punished for allocating points wherever they feel like it. Those hybrid classes just might not appear until much later.

I decided to play a sword-y, leather-clad, dagger enthusiast with an accidental affinity for archery. This meant that not only could I stealth into combat and carry out a coup de grace, but I could immediately draw my broadsword afterward and lay waste to whatever boggarts were alerted to my murderous presence. You’ve got the option to block, dodge, or just plow through one attack with another– which doesn’t work. This is one of those games where you’re going to have to dodge or block, unless you want to sacrifice considerable hit points to the troll you’re fighting.

You get into combat pretty shortly after the mini-tutorials flash across the screen. You’ll notice immediately that everything you do, from running and jumping to hacking and slashing, is strikingly similar to the combat in Fable III. Even your character’s at-rest posture resembles this exaggerated style. Once you enter combat mode, the camera zooms out and locks, defining your battlefield. Players may use a mix of swordplay, daggers, and magic to engage opponents, much like in Fable, but it also adds to that mechanic. In addition to those three standard combat types, you’re offered stealth attacks, ranged, and a variety of learned abilities that will call on either your physical of magical prowess. Blast an opponent with fire bolt one second, then use your sword to rend the ground itself in a staggering attack. It does, however, lack that on-the-fly fluidity that Fable III accomplished in its transitions between ranged and melee abilities. Sure, it’s more realistic, and it’s not too difficult to switch from mashing square to triangle, but the controls are just a tad behind. Still, combat is diverse and, overall, fun.

Players need to commit to their style of play and change tactics responsibly. Players are not invincible, and they will be reminded of this quite often if they charge into battle with a blazing broadsword and scraps of leather armor. Watch as your health bar shrinks, mocking you for your mismatched equipment. The real fun manifests when you enter “Reckoning” mode, a state which builds up as you engage enemies. Activating this mode slows time and allows you to wail on your foes until you’re clear to finish them. The killing blow is determined by a QTE, and the final sequence of button mashing determines bonus experience gained from the encounter. Watching your glowy-eyed self rip the heads off trolls is sickeningly satisfying.

Mass Effect 3 Has Facebook Features to Unlock XBL Avatar Items

Justin Carter — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:00:24 +0000

Mass Effect 3 is less than a month away, and EA’s been slowly revealing ways to get in on the DLC front. Buying action figures nets you codes for in-game items, a la Skylanders, and they’re taking it a step further by integrating Facebook into the game. Don’t worry, you’re not going to get invites to Rachniville or Blue Suns Wars. At least, not yet.

Mass Effect 3 Mission Command lets Facebook users unlock Xbox Avatar items, DLC, and gear by completing assorted missions. Since it’s tied to Kinect, only Xbox 360 users will be able to get in on the Facebook fun.

via Game Informer

SSX Trailer Shows Off Global Events and In-Game Collectibles

Todd Schlickbernd — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:00:26 +0000

Ooh, a new trailer for SSX! If you missed it, here’s the trailer for the first part of their Online Features series. If you have seen it, then welcome to in-the-know land, populated by you and myself. Cozy, am I right? Not as cozy as the alps, or antarctica, or any of the other amazing peaks you’ll be shredding down, around, into, over and other prepositional phrases with respect to SSX‘s awesome online features.

This trailer, first of all, wubstep, discusses Global Events and Geo Tags. SSX skips the traditional lobby system in favor of an ongoing events style system in the form of Global Events. There are live tournaments all over SSX‘s peaks and runs each with their own cost of entry (sometimes free, sometimes super duper expensive), duration of availability, and reward. They all have different criteria and settings, for instance some may say “No rewind”, or some may require armor or any other gear featured in the game. The more people who join the tournaments with costs and pot-style rewards, the bigger the payout. Players can also created their own custom events for themselves and their friends to compete in and even earn credits for.

The last bit of info covers geotags, a sort of player-driven collectibles feature which gives players the option to place a geotag anywhere on any level, earning them credits until a friend finds it. Ultimately not the most important thing ever, but it could work as sort of a Dark Souls-esque tool, placing geotags in front of really good jumps, shortcuts, or cliffs sending your friends to their doom. Who doesn’t want to send their friends to their doom?

Check out the trailer below.

Violent Games: Curt Schilling’s Kids Know Which End of the Sword Does the Stabbing

Michael Futter — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:30:33 +0000

There has been a lot of back and forth about the impact of violence, particularly that found in videogames, on young minds.

Regardless of whether you believe that violence in gaming has a significant, negative impact, there is another, related issue that is equally important: should parents have the right to determine what entertainment their children experience? 38 Studios Founder and Chairman, Curt Schilling, took a stand for parental rights during an on-air conversation with Boston radio station, 98.5 The Sports Hub, personalities Felger and Mazz.

During the talk, Schilling revealed that he lets his children play violent video games when answering whether he would let his kids play his studio’s imminent release, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

“I live with a family who understands the differences between a videogame and real life,” Schilling responded.

As a parent, I find this refreshing. While my wife might not like to hear it, there are times when my kids (7 and 3) happen to see me playing something violent. My opinion, and you are free to disagree, is that with everything put in the proper context, there is no problem with most content. I wouldn’t let my kids see graphic mutilation or sexual content, but things that live in the realm of PG-13 are typically acceptable, just not alone.

What do you think? Is #38 making a mistake or is he simply exercising his parental privilege?

Source: /gamer

EA’s Syndicate Will Not Use “Collect $10 Before Online Passing Go” Model

Michael Futter — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:30:55 +0000

OK, EA, you win. We’re confused.

First, you’ve got an “online pass” for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (right… sorry… early DLC bonus for launch buyer extravaganza pass), a game that features no online content. Now, you’ve announced that Syndicate, a game that has a pretty interesting and robust multiplayer component isn’t going to have a pass to access that key feature? I’m sure there is some Sun Tzu quote for this, but it’s escaping me at the moment.

The news about Syndicate was confirmed yesterday when EA Partners Executive Producer, Jeff Gamon, spoke with Eurogamer.

“We want as little resistance or barriers to entry as possible,” Gamon said. “The co-op is equal billing in this. We wanted everyone who owns a copy of the game to have access to the entire product.”

EA has been at the forefront of the online pass movement, but allows EA Partners to duck the rule. That means you’ll be able to shoot, breach and chip-rip both offline and online without that pesky code-entering process when Syndicate arrives on February 21 for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC.

Behold, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’s Epic Release Trailer

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:30:29 +0000

EA and 38 Studios released a launch trailer for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

With an all-star creative cast including Ken Rolston (lead designer of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) as executive designer, fantasy author R.A. Salvatore as the creative force behind the game’s universe, Todd McFarlane (creator of Spawn and legendary artist) as leading artist, and Hall of Fame pitcher Curt Schilling (owner of 38 Studios), anticipation for this game is at fever pitch.

Enjoy the trailer below.

Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning releases February 7 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Mass Effect 3′s Star-Studded Voice Cast Revealed in New Trailer

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:30:45 +0000

EA and Bioware have released a new video for Mass Effect 3, which reveals the star-studded voice cast. In the video you will see Martin Sheen returns as the Illusive Man, Seth Green as Joker, Ali Hillis as Liara and Jennifer Hale as your Female Sheppard. Freddie Prinze Jr is a new addition and IGN’s Jessica Chobot voices new character Diana Allers.

Check it out below.

Mass Effect 3 is scheduled to hit retail on March 6 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning Will Provide Improved Camera Control Options

Todd Schlickbernd — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:30:47 +0000

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning‘s demo is the source of a many a plus and minus. One of the aspects of the game not particularly in its favor as represented in the demo is the camera controls. The auto-turning is laggy at best, and in an action-RPG with a rather brisk pace to the combat, that’s no fun. Thankfully, 38 studios has heard the lamentation of the masses and plans to implement a bevy of camera control features which will allows players to handle the camera as they please.

Lead Combat Designer on the game, Joe Quadara, has revealed the game will feature a combination of distance and camera lag adjustments along with the ability to disable auto-follow. These are the sorts of options that would’ve made a game like Enslaved much easier to play. I’ll admit the camera wasn’t my best friend during the Kingdoms of Amalur demo, though I wasn’t too put off by it. The increased finesse is very much welcome.

Look forward to Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning this February 7 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

EA and 38 Studios Clarify Reckoning Online Pass as DLC Change of Heart

Todd Schlickbernd — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:30:49 +0000

As it turns out, Kingdoms of Amalur does indeed still have content that new players of the game will need an EA Online Pass for, but the circumstances are unlike they were assumed to be. Initially it was assumed the that the House of Valor content was on the disk and had to be unlocked with said Online Pass, but it appears that is not the case. EA and developer 38 Studios clarify in the following statements:

38 Studios Community Manager: “The House of Valor content was not in the finished game/disc at one point, then removed. It isn’t there and we’re locking you out of it. The House of Valor was created as stand-alone content, and was always intended to be the first DLC. Instead of holding onto it and charging for it later, we opted to give it to everyone who purchases the game new, for free, on launch day.”

EA: “The House of Valor quest line is free bonus content available to those who purchase a new copy of Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning for the Xbox 360 and PS3 by entering the Online Pass included with the game. PC players who purchase Reckoning at one of the many digital retailers online including Origin, Steam and more, will also receive the House of Valor quest line at no cost.”

So it’s DLC that’s free for new purchasers, rather than content that’s being locked away. Hopefully that makes it easier to swallow for day-1 purchasers and day-30 purchasers alike. The fact that EA calls it an “Online Pass” makes the fact that it’s a “gift” that was originally going to have to be purchased difficult to digest. Maybe they should’ve called it “Happy Free DLC Present Because We Love You Pass” instead. What “Online Pass” means is going to be a topic of debate if this climate continues.

Until this kind of thing is absolutely settled in concrete, we all get to enjoy fun tweets like this one from Jim Sterling, who originally blew the whistle on the pass:

“It’s ok that Amalur has an online pass because it was content we’d originally held back to SELL to you! Yay for the heroes!” – 38 Studios.”

Or this one from Ben Kuchera over at Penny Arcade:

“It used to be you’d open a game, get really excited, put it into your system with shaking hands… now it’s codes and patches and pain.”

This whole internet thing is becoming a bit of a double edged sword.

More Publishers Join EA’s Origin Digital Distribution Service

Sam Naylor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:15:44 +0000

Eleven publishers have been signed up by EA to sell and distribute their games on Origin, EA’s Digital Distribution Service.

Trion Worlds, CD PROJEKT RED, Freebird Games, Recoil Games, Autumn Games, 1C Company, InXile Entertainment, Paradox Interactive, Core Learning Ltd and N3V Games have all joined the service, and will be adding their games to the service’s catalogue over the next few months.

Warner Bros. Interactive, THQ and Capcom have already signed up to the service, and Origin can surely only get better with more publishers prepared to sell their games there. Let’s just hope that the economists were right when they told us about price competition.

Dead Space Developer Working on New Online Shooter IP?

Sam Naylor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:15:17 +0000

Visceral Games, developer of the superb Dead Space games, is reportedly working on a new multiplayer shooter.

This EA job listing gives the game away, asking for a Game Designer to help with a “thrilling online action shooter game.”

Most importantly, the ad notes:

“This is a unique opportunity to contribute to a bold new franchise which is a cornerstone for a new EA Games Studio.”

What would you like to see come of this? Personally I’d love a survival horror shooter done properly. Killing Floor is a great game that bills itself as such but it’s just not scary enough. If the tenseness of Dead Space could go into an online shooter that would be great.

Via [Shacknews]

Mass Effect Action Figures Come With Mass Effect 3 Content

Justin Carter — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:30:08 +0000

EA puts out in-game content for their games in strange ways. In 2010, several of their games had codes in bottles of Dr. Pepper. For Battlefield 1943 , over 43,000,000 kills were made on the Xbox 360 version to unlock a new map. Now, Mass Effect action figures will come with DLC for Mass Effect 3. Like Activision’s Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure, the figures will come with in-game content:

Bonus Downloadable Game Content: Each figure includes an in-pack card giving you access to downloadable in-game bonus content. Each figure contains different in-game content, exclusive to North American released product. Collect all 8 for the full experience!

The Bioware Store also points out that the content is randomized during registration. It could be new weapons, characters, character boosters, weapon mods, or upgrades. Some may even be for the co-op. Also worth pointing out is that this is for Xbox 360 and PC users only. Sorry, PS3 players.

Mass Effect 3 comes out March 6 for the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3. Expect a demo this Valentine’s Day.

via BigBadToyStore

Shank 2 Releases February 7th – Watch Uncut Gameplay Video

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:00:34 +0000

EA has announced that it will release Shank 2 on PSN and XBLA on February 7th. Shank 2 is an old style 2D side scroller with lots of attitude and action. It improves upon the original Shank by adding a new survival mode that will include co-op play.

Shank 2 will cost gamers 800 MSP or $9.99 when in becomes available for PSN and XBL on February 7th.

PopCap Closes Facebook Game with over 750,000 Users

Sam Naylor — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:31:20 +0000

EA and PopCap have fucked over more than 750,000 users by planning to shut down a game in which real money has been invested.

ZipZapPlay’s Facebook game Baking Life is the target of the cut, which will go offline on January 31st. Customers are being told to spend their remaining virtual currency before then- purchase with real money- as it “will not be redeemable nor transferable to other titles after that date.”

The game currently has 760,000 monthly average users and 100,000 daily active users.

PopCap’s VP of communications Garth Chouteau said:

“The Baking Life player numbers have dropped in such a way that Baking Life is no longer performing well enough to justify continued support. As such, we are reallocating resources to games that we are developing for future release.”

This is an astonishing move by EA and PopCap. It’s robbery. These players have invested real time and money into this game (arguments about their misguided decisions notwithstanding) and now they’re fucked- they can’t get it back. I can’t help but worry about this happening to even bigger games in the future as they stop being profitable.

Via Develop

Syndicate Co-Op Demo Incoming. Here’s a Trailer.

Justin Carter — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 22:00:01 +0000

EA’s FPS Syndicate reboot is a little over a month away, and excitement for the game is rising. If you want to get your hands on the electronic, coporate sabotage action, you’re in luck. EA revealed today that a demo will be available for a limited time this month on the Xbox Marketplace and Playstation Network.

Watch the trailer below to see what you can expect in the co-op demo.

Syndicate wipes out the competition February 21 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

via Game Informer

SWTOR Rise of the Rakghouls Update 1.1 Delayed “A Few Days”

Garrett Hartman — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:08:31 +0000

Bad news for SWTOR players as Bioware has announced Star Wars: The Old Republic, Rise of the Rakghouls Update 1.1 will be delayed due to “issues requiring additional testing.”

The update, which was scheduled to be released today, is being delayed due to problems brought to Bioware’s attention by “diligent players” on the Public Test Server Forums.

The good news is that the problems are not considered to be severe and Bioware expects Rise of the Rakghouls to be rescheduled and released “within the next few days.” We will keep you informed when the new date is made public, as Bioware will post notice on the official forums as well as the Community Blog.

Via [SWOTOR Community Blog]