Will and I are back for AOTF Podcast #30, giving you another discussion of the week’s gaming news. A definite uptick in news as we head toward the specter of E3 2016. EA dominated the entire week, filling the front page with big news stories. The first, and most interesting of these has to be the official unveiling of Battlefield 1, which was formerly known as Battlefield 5.
This prequel takes gamers all the way back to World War I, offering a very different take on the multiplayer shooter formula. DICE is promising some big changes along with the shift in the timeline, giving players new and much more interesting vehicles, while also keeping things period accurate, at least as much as possible.
And now, with both Battlefield and Call of Duty revealing their plans for the coming year, fans are doing comparisons between the two, with a very clear message being sent. We aren’t really sure if this is a real sign of where the audience is going, or if it is just a very vocal minority (consisting of well over a million players), but the fact that the Battlefield 1 trailer is one of YouTube’s most liked, and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is its most disliked trailer ever is very ominous, especially if you’re an Activision exec.
But that wasn’t all that EA and DICE announced this week, with their other news not really being received as well. Star Wars Battlefront hit the market last year, and it looks like a sequel is already well into development. DICE is planning to release Star Wars Battlefront 2 next year, and with the first game selling over 14 million copies they should be in for some huge sales. However, Will and I were both pretty burned on the first Battlefront, which disappointed due to an overall lack of content, and shallow gameplay. I want space battles to make a return, at a bare minimum, but Will isn’t sure what could win him back. A bet has been made, so be sure to reference this podcast in a few years.
And just to continue the EA hype train, Mass Effect Andromeda now has a release date firmly set in 2017. Now, we aren’t calling this a delay, but both Will and I are pretty sure it was supposed to be a 2016 release before. Luckily we should get some more info about the game at E3, from EA Play. However, even as a huge fan of the series I can’t seem to get myself hyped for this one. I think it’s a combination of the terrible Mass Effect 3 ending (which Will didn’t have a problem with apparently), and the fact that we won’t really be revisiting the same universe as before, shifting away from the characters and races of the original trilogy.
Not all the news was EA related though, with new stuff for Pokemon, a surprise cancellation of Disney Infinity, and the end of the Overwatch beta. Give it a listen to hear our thoughts on all these topics.
Available on iTunes & Google Play or download the MP3
Published: May 11, 2016 10:14 am