As per tradition, with the first day of E3 comes the first day of conferences, and a metric tonne of news for poor old writers like us to try and get down so we can bring you the best bits. While the EA conference didn't make our jaws drop quite as much as last year (with the announcement of Peggle 2), there was still plenty to sink your teeth into, so read on for all you need to know...
Star Wars Battlefront 3
Starting off EA's conference was a video of the Swedish studio, DICE, discussing Star Wars Battlefront, their multiplayer centric first person shooter. Showing a true passion for the sci-fi franchise and the incredible lengths their going to to create a game that's authentic to the films that came before it, this trailer's well worth a watch, as we follow the team to the actual film locations of Hoth and Endor, along with catching a few brief glimpses of the game in action, which looks almost as good as the films. Star Wars: Battlefront is due to be released in 2015 - we just hope it has a substantial single player component to go with the online heavy side, seeing as this looks like the sort of Star Wars game we'd always been hoping for.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Next up was Dragon Age Inquisition, the upcoming fantasy role playing game for master storytellers BioWare, with a cinematic trailer that showed off many of the gorgeous fantasy environments to a rousing soundtrack. Bioware studio head, Aaron Flynn, then came on stage to discuss the new combat strategy and party control system and showed off some gameplay footage of a battle between the party and a dragon, showing both the action (traditional button mashing style) and tactical (top down, more turn based) battle systems available. A first look at characters who will be part of the player's team rounded off the Dragon Age segment.
New Mass Effect - and a brand new BioWare game
Also from Bioware, the very first glimpses of a brand new game in the sci-fi role playing series, Mass Effect, were shown. Rumoured to be Mass Effect 4, we were shown some quick peeks at some concept art and prototype video showing off characters and environments, followed by the announcement that BioWare are also working on a brand new IP, or series.
The Sims 4
One of the most exciting games at the EA Showcase, we were also treated to some new footage of the life simulator The Sims 4, with a trailer that showed off the many improvements since The Sims 3, letting you create smarter, more customisable personalities to affect your Sim's behaviour, emotions, and reactions to other Sims and to create more unique and weird stories. A new Gallery feature, allowing players to download many creations including more Sims and houses to use in their games was also shown, along with a confirmation of the game's release date on 2nd September. Oh, and there was also a screen released of a Sim playing the piano that looks oddly like this site's Editor.
EA Sports
Next up, it was time for the traditional sports sports sports segment, where EA Sports took to the stage to show off their yearly updates for EA Sports UFC, NHL 15, PGA, Madden 15 and FIFA 15. Perhaps most interesting of all was the revamped PGA 15, which seems to be offering a rather unique take on the golfing "sim". We can't remember the last time we saw Tiger Wood teeing off on a battlefield with jets dogfighting overhead, anyway. Another new game shown during this segment was another unnamed new IP, this time from Criterion, a first-person racing game that, as well as their cars, allows a variety of vehicles to be driven, including boats, planes and motorbikes, across a variety of different terrains.
