Tagged: ea

Carpenter would love to make Dead Space film; I think he’s the best man for the job

John Carpenter

John Carpenter is one of the most respected filmmakers alive. He’s famous for having made Halloween, The Thing, and In the Mouth of Madness, all of which are considered to be some of the best horror films ever made. Having said that, Carpenter would now love to make a movie on Dead Space.

He revealed this to Game Informer, adding that “it’s just great stuff.” The filmmaker notes that it’s “ready-made”, referring to its sci-fi horror story of people coming across an abandoned spaceship and finding something aboard.

While all this is exciting, it’s sad to point out that the franchise’s future is yet unclear. EA has made it known that Dead Space 3, despite being well received by critics, didn’t do so well at retail. The game introduced cooperative modes that worked its way into the story; however, it moved away from psychological horror to action horror, which some fans have said was a major blow to the popularity of the series.

Whatever may happen to the series, Carpenter expressing interest in it is a big deal. The man is a legend at horror, and his work on In the Mouth of Madness shows that he can handle Lovecraftian stories quite well. Dead Space has a lot of Lovecraft vibes going on, so Carpenter not only makes sense, he’s the best man around to do a film adaptation of it. His work on The Prince of Darkness was amazing, too, which further solidifies this argument.

Carpenter for Dead Space. The ball is now in EA’s court.

EA and Disney sign exclusive deal for Star Wars games

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With the upcoming release of Star Wars Episode VII, EA and Disney have signed a multi-year deal to publish Star Wars games made by DICE, BioWare, and Visceral Games. The agreement covers all “major platforms”. However, Disney still retains the rights to make social and casual games for mobile devices, tablets, and the web.

This is both exciting and horrifying at the same time. Imagine the possibilities of a Frostbite 3-powered game set in the famous universe. Imagine BioWare’s narrative and technical skills in a Star Wars game again. Imagine Visceral making a hack-and-slash or Dead Space-esque game set in this universe. The possibilities are, quite interestingly, endless. What’s horrifying is the fact that EA might put draconian DRM—Simcity, anyone?—in these games. How about endless waves of DLC?

Honestly, I’m excited at the prospect of more Star Wars games. The great thing is that all these studios are great at what they do—making good games. Excellent graphics, engaging gameplay, and good narratives are all that I can hope for at this point. I just hope EA doesn’t screw it up with their underhanded tactics.

LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy is similarly excited, noting that the company chose the publisher which could “consistently deliver great Star Wars games for years to come.” That’s for console platforms though; casual and social titles will be made by Disney Interactive itself.

No specific games were announced, though we can expect some announcements soon.

Mass Effect 3 facing Rebellion on May 29

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Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer mode is getting another expansion on May 29. Dubbed “Rebellion”, the new DLC pack adds more gear, weapons, maps, and kits to the game’s online modes. Best of all is the fact that it’s free for everyone who redeemed their online pass.

The pack includes two maps (“Firebase Jade” and “Firebase Goddess”), three new weapons, and six new characters to the multiplayer roster. BioWare and EA recently released the “Resurgence” pack that added to multiplayer gameplay.

These two packs don’t add anything for single-player adventurers. No need to worry though, as BioWare is working on the “Extended Cut” DLC that adds new single-player content and expands the ending of the game. It will be free.

Hackett and EDI are confirmed to appear in Mass Effect 3 DLC that expands endings

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EDI and Admiral Hackett are two characters who have now been confirmed to appear in the upcoming “Extended Cut” DLC for Mass Effect 3. The content will expand upon the game’s ending, which was received negatively by gamers and critics.

Lance Henricksen and Tricia Helfer, who play Hackett and EDI, respectively, confirmed their appearances during a press junket for a new animated series called Tron: Uprising.

“I just did another session with [BioWare],” said Henricksen. “So we did a whole series of things to add to the end of the game, to live up to the quality they’ve been doing.”

Origin waives distribution fees for Kickstarter games, gains support from Fargo and Jensen

ea-origin-logo-01Riding the Kickstarter wave, EA announced that it is going to waiver distribution fees for crowd-funded games for 90 days on Origin after they launch. This only applies to “fully funded, complete and ready-to-publish games.” It has already got InXile’s Brian Fargo and Pinkerton Road’s Jane Jensen onboard.

Not only does it gain a lot of credibility with the indie crowd, this move may give EA Origin the push it needs to succeed against Steam. Origin SVP David DeMartini noted that the company hopes to give players the chance to check out even more crowd-funded games through this move.

Dragon Age Legends shutting down, single player version to be offered

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EA sent out word that it’s shutting down Dragon Age Legends next month. No reason was given for the shutdown, though it should be noted that BioWare’s Ethan Levy said the browser game didn’t meet EA’s expectations.

The publisher stated that it will offer a free downloadable version of the game without multiplayer. It was originally released as a free-to-play, social RPG to coincide with the launch of Dragon Age 2.