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EA shuts down the studio behind 'Dead Space'
So much for hopes of a Dead Space sequel in the near future. EA is shutting down Visceral Games, the studio behind the Dead Space series, Battlefield Hardline and The Godfather. According to EA, the closure is the result of a decision to "pivot" Visceral's Star Wars title. It was intended as a linear, story-driven adventure (not surprising given the involvement of Uncharted director Amy Hennig), but player feedback led EA to decide that a it should be a "broader" game with "more variety and player agency." This included changing "central elements," EA added. To put it another way: the publisher wanted a game that was more, well, EA-like.
Get ready for the new 'Battlefield' game with free DLC
In anticipation of Electronic Arts' next Battlefield title, the publisher is celebrating by serving up free downloads of some of the previous expansions. You can jump on the platform of your choice and pick up the Battlefield 4 add-on Dragon's Teeth and the Battlefield Hardline expansion Robbery for free, now through May 10th.
Why are so many video games broken at launch?
Allow me to begin with my very best Andy Rooney impersonation: When I was growing up, there was no such thing as a "day one patch." I went to Video Station on Saturday with my parents -- if I was lucky -- and came home with a single rented game for the weekend. James Pond or Bubsy the Bobcat or Blast Corps or whatever. Maybe I'd have to blow out the cart, or erase the last renter's save file before playing whatever game I rented. Let's imagine a similar scenario today: You go to a Redbox kiosk or GameFly mails you a disc for your Modern GameBox™. Upon inserting said disc, your GameBox turns on and begins installing the game. The wait begins. It's now several percentage points in and ready to start running. You hit the button. "An update is required to play this game." This is when you take a moment to swear under your breath. This is "the future"? Now imagine your next step is finding out that multiplayer is broken, or that the game won't load, or that it barely runs. You've got our current situation.
Recommended Reading: NYC's new subway hub is an architectural marvel
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. How James Carpenter Gave NYC Subway Riders a Portal to the Sky by Shaunacy Ferro, Fast Company New York City's latest subway station is a really big deal. Fulton Center recalls an age when public transit stations packed in architectural prowess, and this hub does just that. The main element is the so-called Sky Reflector Net that not only bathes the atrium in natural light, but also reflects that light two stories underground thanks to a cable structure suspended way up above.
Playdate: Engadget plays the 'Battlefield: Hardline' beta on PS4! (update: game over!)
Welcome, ladygeeks and gentlenerds, to the new era of gaming. The one where you get to watch, and comment, as other people livestream gameplay from next-gen consoles. Because games! They're fun!
Can Electronic Arts make a 'Battlefield' game that works?
I stopped playing Battlefield this year. Why did I stop playing the massively popular first-person shooter? Because it never works when it launches. For those who haven't experienced the promise and defeat of a Battlefield launch, it goes as such: A multiplayer beta precedes the launch, often by a slim few months, which is chalked up to server testing. Players enjoy the beta, which is sometimes buggy, but often stable enough. And hey, it's a beta. The game launches; millions of players splash into online servers; and it becomes unplayable for days, weeks and often months at a time. Battlefield games come out every year. This was not always the case, but in the past four years, we've seen three Battlefield games. Zero of those three worked at launch (I actually wrote about this back when Battlefield 3 came out, at our sister site Joystiq). Battlefield 4 launched last October; it just started operating consistently. At E3 2014, EA announced this year's entry in the series: Battlefield Hardline. It's with this tremendous amount of baggage that I approached our interview with Battlefield studio head Karl Magnus Troedsson.
'Battlefield: Hardline' is an insane version of cops and robbers, beta launches today
Who hasn't played cops and robbers at some point in their life? That's what Battlefield: Hardline is. Matches can handle 32 players and the portion of the match we saw at EA's press conference resembled classic heist flick Heat's climactic bank robbery, but the craziness is amped up dramatically. Player-controlled helicopters can swoop in to take out the robbers, cranes knock down building facades, and players can drop off of bridges and onto the back of a teammate's speeding motorcycle. Granted, this was a prepared video that cut around from perspective to perspective of multiple players, but it looked more chaotic than any match of Battlefield 4 that I've seen. Even better, if you want to play it right now, a beta launches today on PC and PlayStation 4. If you have a copy of Battlefield 4 on PS4 you can access the test-version via the dashboard of Sony's latest console. Need something to do while it downloads? Take a peek at gameplay video after the break.
