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EA's FaceBreaker knocks out 13 new screens
Earlier in the week EA released 13 new screens of their upcoming Fight Night spin-off, FaceBreaker. Reminiscent of the much-loved Ready 2 Rumble series, FaceBreaker adds an over-the-top cartoon style to boxing in the same vein as Team Fortress 2 or the upcoming PC free-to-play game, Battlefield Heroes. So far the game looks fantastic and but we can't help think that the inspiration for the game were those chin rippling punches hilariously famous in Fight Night, or maybe it was because everyone who worked on Fight Night is waiting in the unemployment line.%Gallery-18106%
PS3 Fanboy review: FIFA Street 3
Fun under the sun. That's probably the sort of feeling that Electronic Arts aimed at bringing out with FIFA Street 3; however, the game unfortunately doesn't completely deliver that sort of experience. At first glance, FIFA Street 3 faithfully replicates the atmosphere of outdoor street soccer with its bright arenas and upbeat soundtrack, coupled with flashy fast-paced futsal. But underneath the highly stylized appearance, there's a lack of gameplay depth which ultimately cuts down the game's longevity. This is not to say that the game isn't fun or the gameplay is horrible; in fact the controls are great and matches are refreshingly intense. However, FIFA Street 3 lacks certain elements and game modes that make other soccer games so much fun to play for extended periods of time. The game has got a few things going for itself, but ultimately, for all its pluses there are an equal number of minuses. %Gallery-16433%
Hut, hut, hut! NFL Tour demo tackles the XBLM
Are you ready for some non-Madden football that features a much more simplistic control scheme, where you travel the country, play over the top arcade football and make field entrances that rival the WWE's? If so, you can download and check out the new NFL Tour demo that is available on the Xbox Live Marketplace today. The 710MB demo is available to Live members in Canada and the States and should give NFL fanboys a glimpse at what the Tour can offer to fill the non-realistic football niche. Hop in the bus guys, we're going on an NFL Tour ... yeehaw!
Homecourt on 360 beats PS3's visuals
Game Informer's March issue's review of the cross platform, 1080p native basketball game NBA Street: Homecourt makes a comparison in the graphics department between the two consoles. They clearly state that while the game looks stunning regardless, the Xbox 360 edges out the PS3. Similar results can be found for the PS3 review of F.E.A.R. in the very same issue. So, those are two games that go in Xbox 360's favor, but we'll have to see how things go as future cross-platform games release. In most cases, the games will probably be nearly identical, and it will be up purely to your personal preference, give or take $200. What upcoming multi-platform games are you curious about the comparisons for?[Thanks, Jonah]
NBA Street Homecourt demo coming soon
Planet Xbox 360 is reporting that a demo of NBA Street Homecourt is on its way to Xbox Live Marketplace. Homecourt is expected to arrive in March with the demo arriving in February. We haven't seen a lot of NBA Street Homecourt, but what we have seen looks very promising. Nice player models, insane dunks, and plenty of attitude, Homecourt looks to be shaping up nicely. Here's hoping that EA can deliver NBA Jam for a new generation.Anyone else out there waiting for this?
Joystiq hands-on: NBA Street Homecourt (PS3/Xbox 360)
NBA Street Homecourt pits your choice of more than 100 NBA stars -- and a half-dozen WNBA leaders -- against each other in three-on-three street games. The title references the players' favorite public courts, where the acrobatic games are set. We've seen these kinds of basketball titles before -- including the previous three NBA Street games -- but Homecourt uses a redesigned control scheme to set itself apart from previous versions.Instead of memorizing one basketball trick per button -- or worse, a dozen tricks based on combinations of buttons -- the new controls map several moves to a single button. Homecourt reads the way you push a button, translating several kinds of presses into different tricks. I was confused at first, but after recently playing the title, I began to look forward to this style of game.
EA names new president of Asian operations
Electronic Arts has tapped former Vivendi Universal executive Hubert Larenaudie to be the new president of EA Asia. Larenaudie became the president of VU Games' Asia Pacific operations two years ago, and it's rumored that the strong ties he developed with The9 during that time will result in the Chinese publisher licensing EA's popular FIFA series. See also: EA's plan to rule Asia EA's admirable beginnings remembered Joystiq interview: Hoyt Ma (The9)
EA's admirable beginnings remembered
This past week, Next Generation continued its gaming industry retrospective with a look back at the formative years of Electronic Arts. Originally conceived by industry luminary Trip Hawkins to be an independent publishing house for fresh talent, EA now resembles more of a Matrix-like incubator of human wage slaves producing endless, disposable iterations of worn-out franchises.But the company everyone loves to hate wasn't always that way. The article stirs up fond memories of some of the best computer games the early eighties had to offer. Who needed ABC afterschool movies when you could play Archon, M.U.L.E., and The Bard's Tale until dinner? But the publish-only model eventually gave way to development aspirations, and then the fun began! Read all about some of EA's most infamous acquisitions, and what steps the über developer needs to take in order to repair its tarnished image.For instance, EA is doing its part to make gaming more attractive to the female demographic, so the company can't be all bad. Right?
EA's second half lineup for 2006
Electronic Arts has confirmed their release list for the remainder of the year, and according to studio president Paul Lee, "this is an extraordinary time to be a gamer."EA Sports titles include 07 editions of NCAA Football, Madden NFL, NASCAR, NHL, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and NBA Live, while the EA Sports Big label will deliver the third iteration of NFL Street. FIFA 07 has not been confirmed, but even though EA has already released two other FIFA games this year, plan on seeing the franchise's flagship title updated in Q4.Next gen and portable versions of The Godfather are also due to arrive in September, followed by Need for Speed Carbon, Superman Returns, and shooters Battlefield 2142 and Crysis. How many of these games are on your list?See also: World Cup keeps EA at top of sales charts EA's plan to rule Asia EA E3 lineup includes playable Wii, PS3 Madden [via Pro-G]
EA's plan to rule Asia
Not content with simply having a presence in the lucrative Asian gaming market, Electronic Arts is looking at everything from Pachinko parlors to arcades in an effort to spread its influence across the Far East. GamesIndustry.biz spoke with EA regional boss Joe Niermann at E3 to get an idea of how the top game publisher is shifting its consoles-centric strategy overseas. The former Disney Asia executive cites online development, mobile projects, and localized content as being the "three pillars" that will help the gaming giant's future growth across the Asian markets.According to Niermann, "Our strategy is really build to buy. We have to build the expertise, we have to build that ability to make the games locally, to publish the games ourselves, to operate the games if it's online. We can bring in great tools, great technology, great IP, great management - but we need the other half of the equation, which is somebody that has actually built a game in the local market. I think together, that makes us much more powerful."To that end, EA is teaming with Korean developer NeoWiz for an online version of the popular FIFA franchise. Time will tell if the Shandas and Webzens of the world agree to play along with EA's plan for global domination.
