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A bunch of EA classics are on sale at Amazon
Amazon's huge EA games sale includes classic PC titles and new games, some for as low as $2.
EA patched Origin security flaws that put millions of users at risk
EA patched flaws in its Origin platform that could have enabled hackers to hijack and exploit millions of users' accounts. The vulnerabilities were spotted by Check Point Research and CyberInt, and once exploited, they could have allowed player account takeover and identity theft. The cybersecurity companies alerted EA, which was quick to take action.
The Sims 4 update gets paid time off, adds holiday cheer
EA updated The Sims 4 this week, adding a significant amount of new content to the life simulation game. Your sims can now go after an athletic or business career like Hall of Famer or Business Tycoon and accrue paid time off for any of their occupations, plus they can take family leave from their jobs to celebrate new life entering their families. The developer also changed career objectives, cleaning out repetitive or overly specific goals and tweaking ones that were too difficult to complete. The update also introduces the free, downloadable Holiday Celebration Pack, which adds a wreath, snowman, holiday decorations and festive sweaters to the game. Additionally, sims are now able to eat the fruits and vegetables they harvest from gardening activities, and can also die at venues. EA also fixed a few game-crashing bugs and other issues, such as a crash that occurred when players tried placing roofs away from their lot. Head to The Sims 4's patch notes page to see the full list of changes. [Image: EA]
Deals with Gold: PopCap puzzlers
This week's Deals with Gold features discounts on a handful of PopCap-developed games for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Xbox One owners can pick up third-person shooter Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare at 66 percent off ($13.59) as well as Peggle 2 at 60 percent off ($4.79). Garden Warfare is just $10.19 this week on Xbox 360 as well. Other Xbox 360 games are half-off this week, such as the original Peggle ($4.99) and its Peggle Nights expansion ($2.49) as well as Bejeweled 3 and Plants vs. Zombies ($7.49 each). Lastly, players can download both Zuma and Feeding Frenzy ($2.49 each) as well as their sequels Zuma's Revenge and Feeding Frenzy 2 ($4.99 each). The deals are good through Monday, December 15. [Image: PopCap Games]
Titanfall update brings co-op to Xbox 360 next week
The Xbox 360 version of Titanfall will receive update number eight next Monday, December 1, Respawn Entertainment announced. The update adds Frontier Defense to the game, Titanfall's cooperative multiplayer mode that arrived on PC and Xbox One just over one month ago. Frontier Defense puts a team of four players in charge of defending a "vital objective" from waves of enemies, which increase in difficulty with each mob. Like the update last month, next week's patch also introduces ranked online play to the first-person shooter, which features Rank Chips that act as "expensive pedometers," measuring players' activity in Titanfall and occasionally doling out rewards. Rank Chips can be turned off at any point, so the ranked play system isn't map-specific. The update also adds new Titan insignias and a full-screen mini-map option to the game. [Image: EA Games]
Real Racing creator developing Need for Speed: No Limits for mobile
Electronic Arts has tapped Melbourne-based developer Firemonkeys for its upcoming mobile-exclusive Need for Speed sequel Need for Speed: No Limits, the publisher announced this week. FIremonkeys (formerly Firemint) established itself in the mobile marketplace with its sim-styled Real Racing series, later producing iOS and Android ports of Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Electronic Arts acquired the studio in 2011, acting as publisher for the 2013 free-to-play sequel Real Racing 3. Need for Speed: No Limits is due to launch next year for iOS and Android devices. [Video: EA]
Titanfall update gets cooperative, adds ranked play
The next major update for Titanfall will land tomorrow on Xbox One and PC, Respawn announced today. The patch is the "biggest update ever," according to the developer's blog, which revealed the inclusion of new modes in the update. For starters, Titanfall players will have a new "Frontier Defense" cooperative multiplayer mode in which teams of four stand their ground against waves of AI enemies, getting assistance from stationary turrets and loadout crates. The other major addition is ranked play, which will be in beta through the end of the month. Respawn's dedicated discussion on its ranked play system for Titanfall notes that players will receive "Rank Chips," which act as "expensive pedometers" that measure players' prowess in the game. Players will have the ability to turn off their Rank Chips as well, so ranked play in Titanfall won't boil down to a separate set of maps or playlists. The update will introduce a multitude of other fixes and improvements, such as the ability to go full-screen with the mini-map, a "sudden death" addition to Capture the Flag mode and seven new Titan insignias. [Image: EA Games]
Rejoice! Visceral says Battlefield Hardline 'will work' at launch
Battlefield Hardline will operate as expected at launch, according to Ian Milham, creative director at Visceral Games. "What you're basically asking is, 'Is your game going to work?' And the answer is yes, it's gonna work," Milham told Game Revolution. The statement follows a rough launch for the last game game in the series, DICE's Battlefield 4, which suffered months of connectivity issues after its October 2013 arrival. That led to multiple law firms alleging that publisher EA issued "materially false and misleading statements" regarding Battlefield 4's playability. When a CEO like EA's Andrew Wilson publicly deems a game's launch as "unacceptable," questions about the next game's stability will certainly come up.
Need for Speed Rivals burns rubber on EA Access soon
EA Access members will soon have another game to add to their collection: Need for Speed Rivals. The racing game will be added to the Xbox One program's "Vault" in the coming weeks, so players will be able dig in to single and multiplayer races at any time, for as long as they so desire. The service will also be rolling out to 19 more countries later this month, including Brazil and the Netherlands. EA announced its subscription service in late July, giving Xbox One players access to select games for $5 per month (or $30 for an entire year). The program also grants players early access to some games as well, such as Madden NFL 15, though only for six hours. EA says players put in 245,000 hours with the game before its release, meaning at least 40,833 players checked the game out. The publisher said it will offer six-hour trials of two more upcoming sports games: NHL 15 and FIFA 15, each available five days before their respective launches. [Image: EA]
September's Battlefield 4 update strengthens its core
The next update for Battlefield 4 is targeted for September, and focuses on core gameplay improvements, Dice revealed this week. Soldier movement in the game is being tweaked so it "closely matches the one in Battlefield 3, but without compromising the visual fidelity." Dice said the changes will make it easier to escape "undesirable firefights." The update will also clean up and "de-clutter" the game's HUD to "only show what is important." This will involve giving players more options to select what they want to see on the screen in battle. The developer also focused on tuning vehicle and weapon balance and making revives easier to use. For instance, when reviving other players, a sound effect will play when the defribrillator paddles are fully charged. Dice also made improvements to the Rush, Obliteration, Obliteration Competitive, Capture the Flag and Carrier Assault game modes. Remember, those that don't have Battlefield 4 yet can play the game for free for one week through Origin. [Image: EA]
Play Battlefield 4 free through Origin for one week
Origin is offering Battlefield 4 for free on a limited basis as part of its Game Time program. Players who want to dive into the PC game have until next Thursday, August 14 to add it to their libraries on the game distribution platform. The one-week, full game trial won't begin until players download the game for the first time, so there's no rush to play it immediately before next Thursday. EA first announced the Origin Game Time program in June. It kicked the free trial service off with Titanfall, which was free to play for 48 hours. Battlefield 4 isn't the only game that's free for Origin users, as Wing Commander 3 is free for players to download until September 2. Unlike Battlefield 4, the space combat game is the latest in Origin's "On the House" games that stay in your library at no extra cost. [Image: EA]
PSA: Titanfall Frontier's Edge DLC out now
Respawn Entertainment has launched the "Frontier's Edge" expansion DLC for the Xbox One and PC versions of its mech-blasting first-person shooter Titanfall, adding three new maps to its multiplayer modes. Frontier's Edge introduces the "Dig Site," "Export," and "Haven" maps, and is bundled as part of Titanfall's Season Pass. The pack can also be purchased separately for $9.99. Today's DLC release follows up on the recent introduction of an in-game "Black Market" that allows players to purchase burn card packs and insignias using in-game currency. Frontier's Edge is the second in a series of three planned batches of Titanfall Season Pass DLC. [Video: Electronic Arts]
Titanfall adds 'Black Market' and in-game currency system
Respawn Entertainment added a new in-game market to Titanfall known as the "Black Market," which allows players to redeem credits in the game for burn card packs and insignias. For instance, the game's standard burn card pack costs 5,000 credits and contains six random pilot and Titan burn cards. Players will have access to the Black Market once they reach level 11 and have opened the burn card menu. Respawn emphasized that the game's new currency and market updates do not indicate that Titanfall players will be spending real money in the game at any point, driving the point home with an all-caps "NO MICROTRANSACTIONS" note in its announcement.
Titanfall's next update adds insignias, Titan burn cards
Titanfall will receive its fourth update soon, and developer Respawn offered a few details on it today. The update will add featured game modes to Titanfall's playlist rotation for limited periods of time as well as a "Marked For Death" mode, in which one player from each team is "marked for death," forcing teams to protect their marked teammate while seeking to eliminate that of the opponent. The game's forthcoming update will add 14 new Titan burn cards, complete with "enhanced Titan abilities" and Titan weapons. Titanfall's update includes insignias for the mech-like machines, giving players the option to select an emblem that shows off their accomplishments, earned by completing challenges in the game. The update will also improve its online matchmaking and team balancing system and introduce numerous bug fixes. The full list of fixes is available on the game's official site. [Image: EA Games]
You can now buy Battlefield 4 item packs with real money
Battlefield 4 developer DICE is now opening up the option for players to purchase in-game content using real money. Starting today, the game's three types of battlepacks can be picked up; $1 for Bronze packs, $2 for Silver ones and $3 for Gold packs. Battlepack tiers vary in the number and rarity of the items within, bronze packs including three items while the gold battlepacks feature five. The packs will still be awarded to players through regular gameplay progression. In-game goodies found in the packs include accessories, knives, profile pictures, emblem shapes, dog tags, experience point boosts and paints The battlepacks are available to purchase through Origin, the developer's Battlelog site, Battlefield 4's in-game store as well as through the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store. The next game in the series is reportedly known as Battlefield Hardline and is being developed by Visceral Games, according to assets leaked by EA earlier today. [Image: Electronic Arts]
Three EA execs unload stocks as publisher hits five-year high
Two senior members of Electronic Arts sold off the entirety of their shares in the publisher late last week when the company hit the highest share price it's seen in well over five years. SEC filings revealed that Patrick Soderlund, executive vice president of EA Games and EA senior vice president and General Counsel Stephen Bene dumped their stocks after the company's shares traded at roughly $34.53 and $33.40, respectively. Soderlund unloaded 36,133 shares, while Bene sold 7,771. EA's shares opened at $35.31 today, the highest price per share the company has traded at since September 2008. Another high-ranking executive at EA disposed of stocks as well: Chief Operating Officer Peter Moore sold nearly half (100,000) of the shares he owned at $34.53 as well. This follows EA's fiscal 2014 earnings report last week, in which it revealed a 5.79 percent decrease in net revenue year over year ($3.58 billion). [Image: Electronic Arts]
Watch the evolution of Titanfall's DLC map 'Swampland'
Respawn Entertainment's first DLC pack for Titanfall is due this month, and offered insight on the creation of the game's new multiplayer levels. Designer Chris Dionne elaborated on the development of one of the Expedition levels called "Swampland" in a recent blog, which features a large cluster of redwood trees in a murky area. The developer also included a video showing the stage's (over)growth since its inception, seen above. The concept for the level first came about in the summer of 2011 while Titanfall was still in development, and was tabled for nearly two years before being considered again as a multiplayer DLC stage. Dionne said Swampland started out "almost completely flat with yellow fog and towering redwoods," which became crucial to its overall design. At one point, Swampland was overrun with IMC buildings, temples and a massive infrastructure, which caused it to lose some personality, as the designer put it. The focus shifted to the towering trees as playtesters found it enjoyable to bounce off them as pilots and dodge around them as titans, leading to the decision to place the trees in the center of the action. Announced last month, the Expedition pack includes the "War Games" and "Runoff" maps and will cost $9.99. Those that pick up the $25 Titanfall season pass will receive Expedition in addition to two other map packs down the road. [Image: Respawn Entertainment]
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare digs its roots into PC June 24
Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, the third-person multiplayer shooter from the green-thumbed developers at PopCap, will arrive on PC on June 24. The game launched on Xbox One and Xbox 360 in February and received additional downloadable content packs since, such as Zomboss Down and Garden Variety. Those pieces of DLC will be included with the PC version at launch. Garden Warfare features both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes like Team Vanquish and Garden Ops, spinning off the traditional strategy game by putting the Plants Vs. Zombies characters on a battlefield, each with unique traits and abilities. Our review of the game was generally positive, noting the balance between its charms and technical flaws. While the game didn't include microtransactions at launch, EA and PopCap plan to begin rolling paid content into the game starting this week. The digital deluxe PC version of the game, available for pre-order on Origin right now, includes two booster packs and 80,000 in-game coins. PopCap suffered layoffs in March following Garden Warfare's launch and a "necessary" restructure for the developer. [Image: Electronic Arts]
Peggle 2 Windy fairy DLC gives a flying flock
Peggle 2 received a new master via downloadable content today named Windy, a spritely fairy that brings with her a special "Fairy Flock" power. Windy transforms blue pegs in the game into the score-boosting purple pegs and "simple shots" into ones that are bound to earn players additional chances. The Windy's Master Pack DLC includes 10 new levels, 10 trials, three costumes, three achievements and 30 objectives, all for $1.99. PopCap launched the game on Xbox One in December, adding local multiplayer dueling in March. Xbox 360 owners will get a turn with Peggle 2 when it arrives on Microsoft's so-last-gen platform on May 7. [Image: EA Games]
Xbox Live Gold members get deals on NBA 2K14, NFS Rivals this week
Xbox Live Gold members can save some cash on NBA 2K14 and Need for Speed Rivals this week thanks to a series subscriber-exclusive price drops on Games on Demand downloads and associated add-on content. The Xbox One version of NBA 2K14 is $10 off this week, while the Xbox 360 edition gets a steeper discount, dropping it to $29.99. NBA 2K14's add-on content on the Xbox 360 is also half-off, discounting the Platinum Jewelry, Blue Diamond Jewelry, Gold Jewelry, and Spanish Commentary packs through the end of the week. Xbox 360 owners have another chance to pick up the Games on Demand version of Need for Speed: Rivals for $29.99, matching a digital price drop from earlier this year. This week's sale prices are effective through April 29. [Image: 2K Games]
