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Original IPs have been quite the rage with EA these days and it’s hard not to get misty-eyed upon seeing Dead Space, a third-person action/adventure horror escapade developed by EA Redwood Shores, in action for the first-time. Reggie and I were invited to EA India’s office in Gurgaon today to have ourselves an intensive hands-on session with a near final-build.
In the beginning of the game, we’re treated with an in-game cinematic of lead protagonist Isaac Clarke with a space crew heading towards the USG Ishimura, a giant orbital ship that suffered a huge communications blackout for whatever reason unbeknownst to its curious approachers. Eventually, stinky poop hits the fan when your crew’s vessel gets pulled into the Ishimura’s magnetic field and you’re forced to make a landing inside its hull. Voodoo vibes are in full effect, and this is pretty much were you come in.
My experience with the Real Time Strategy genre began not amongst the spice-filled hills of Dune II. Nor did it begin at the side of Kane, crushing my enemies under the Iron hand of NOD. No – it all began amidst the star-spangled banners of the allies, charging the front lines even as the colossal front of Soviet Mammoth Tanks pushed forward against all that stood before it – be it tanks, helicopters or infantry. Such is the affection towards the game that if my heart were considered an Italian mafia restaurant, the best table would always be reserved for the boss of the place and his son, Red Alert 2. No other game – regardless of how powerful or good - would dare to eat at that table, lest find themselves at the bottom of the creek with their feet in cement blocks.
And yet today I find myself in a dilemma of sorts. When I was given the opportunity to partake in the Red Alert 3 beta thanks to the bossman, I was nothing short of elated and excited. To finally see the continuation of the series and the third installment – to relive part of that experience along with something more – it was and still is an exciting opportunity. However… I seemed to have fallen into a trap.
There is something I try to keep reminding myself everyday: to stop falling prey to hype, flashy banners and pimped-out sites. Unfortunately, those constant reminders failed with Red Alert 3 (RA3) as I got into my sub and dived into the beta, completely ignoring the warning signs along the way. By the time I emerged back from the murky depths, my impressions of the game had changed significantly – both for better and for worse.
On Tuesday afternoon, EA India unleashed the icky-galacticness that is SPORE upon unsuspecting press attendees at the game’s official launch event held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Delhi. General Manager Ajay Khanna was armed to the teeth with PowerPoint presentations that could apparently freeze time itself, as he went on and on trying to convince the mainstream news representatives that they were staring at something that was sheer “fantastic” incarnate (one of Mr. Khanna’s favorite words). But much like the evolutionary process itself, these things can take time. Which is exactly why you’ve got to bait these groups of 20-something-year-olds with a free lunch, a fancy press kit (nice job with that one, PR dudes), review copies, and a limited edition EA 2GB pendrive! Well played, indeed.
It wasn’t all that boring. In fact, with Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor and MTV’s Nikhil Chinapa around, tearing the shrink-wrap off a brand-new SPORE box (which ended up being one of our review copies) and giving a live-demo of the Creature Creator to the press, things were only somewhat boring. Also, it appears nigh impossible to have a discussion about SPORE without having to point out weirdo references about someone’s (or something’s) anatomy sticking out in the wrong way. It’s amusingly easy to tell how Nikhil is a lot of older than he tries to seem, what with him blurting stuff about his wife and bringing up people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Michael Jackson as means of comparison to SPORE’s customization features but with a dash of comedic relevance (seriously). Was rather keen about doing a podcast, though, but he’s “busy.” (Le Sigh.)
Long story short: SPORE is out. You go buy, yes?
Sam being the ever-subtle, ever-sneaky rogue assassin he is, was able to break into the premises of EA’s Mobile Division in Hyderabad by, get this, posing as an astute journalist for a newly introduced Indian gaming blog (or was it supposed to be Rediff, I forget). Some real interesting info that you might want to check out, and we’re not talking about just mobile gaming. But in case you’re wondering, no there isn’t anything related to Mirror’s Edge. Fiddlesticks.
For those who haven’t been put-off by the negative publicity that DICE’s latest console-only offering managed to garner, June 5th is the day to look forward to as Battlefield: Bad Company (BFBC) will be having a demo on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The demo has already been out in the wild a full week in advance for all those who have pre-ordered the game. But thanks to EA, we managed to get our hands on it to see if the game will be able to earn back the goodwill that the Battlefield games have traditionally enjoyed.
The demo offers you a chance to test out both the multiplayer, as well as the single player aspects of the game. Being a Battlefield game and all, we promptly dove right in to multiplayer to see if the game stood a chance of standing up against Call of Duty 4 (COD4), the reigning king when it comes to online warfare. Jumping into a multiplayer match was easy and intuitive enough. Even though from India, the connection was established within minutes and we were prompted to choose our class. You have a selection of all the usual modern warfare classes such as Assault, Reconnaissance, Support and Demolition. Each class comes with its own unique weapon loadout that dictates what role will each play on the battlefield.
Many moons ago, EA Amplify (a music community-driven portal hosted by the big-name game publishers of the same initials) held an artist talent search for the Asian Pacific region, including countries such as Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, China, and of course, India. That was all the way back in 2007. But just a month ago (after sorting through no less than 619 bands), the winners were announced and Indian music group CYANIDE got the top honors. They’ll be offered an exclusive contract with EA and Sony BMG, and will get the chance to work on upcoming projects from either companies’ side. Not bad for a group who entered the contest on a whim! Hit the jump, as we have a small chat with lead vocalist and guitarist Rohan Solomon on their recent winnings.
Reggie and myself just got back a few hours ago from Microsoft’s Gamers Night, which is arguably the biggest gaming-related event ever held in Delhi, and I must say that we’re both poop-zhausted. Between trying to talk with companies, to actually squeezing some game time with big-boys like Mass Effect and Army of Two – having an open bar with infinite Coke refills is a caffeine blessing in disguise. But the sad truth, there’s not much to talk about. At least, not until this coming Monday, when the media embargo is lifted for all of Microsoft’s and EA’s juicy offerings. Until then, you’ll just have to keep pounding on the F5! In other news, I think I may have contracted some skin disease. These PR folks can be quite the wild bunch, you know! Certainly not as terribly inconvenient as getting an error message from Gears of Wa- OOPS, will you look at the time! I can’t ride that pumpkin back home!
Expect more news at the stroke of midnight on Sunday, count on it.