Some large Electronic Arts franchises tiptoed through the EA Play. What do we know about what is to come about them?
The EA Play of last dawn from Thursday to Friday left us some quite predictable announcements, such as that of the essential FIFA 21, the previously announced Star Wars: Squadrons or the always surprising Josef Fares with his new game, It Takes Two. However, as many as those present at this digital event are absent, especially the work of Bioware, a study that has not had the best generation in its history, and which is now involved in two -at least- simultaneous projects and both very important. To the role-playing proposals of Bioware we must add a new Battlefield that, although confirmed to be in development, also stood out for its absence. What about all of them?
Bioware, with a lot of work ahead
That one of the most prolific and popular studies in the history of the RPG genre is not going through its best moment is an open secret, and that is that after reaching remarkable levels at the beginning of this generation with Dragon Age: Inquisition, the stumbling happened in the form of Mass Effect Andromeda, an inexhaustible source of memes thanks to – or because of – your animations, and Anthem. This was one of the most ambitious Electronic Arts games of the current generation, but a series of bad decisions, repetitive development, and an obvious lack of content ostracized him too soon, although luckily he hasn’t said his last word yet. .
Leaving aside that there has been absolutely no news of Mass Effect, his original remastered trilogy is in development and it is a matter of time that it is officially announced, but this seemed the perfect opportunity to do it, unless he is going to wait for the next one. generation. Going directly to the tangible, in the field of science fiction it is certain that a total reboot of Anthem is being worked on, since after a small update of content they have considered that a larger one in the form of expansion is not enough to revitalize it .
“Over the next few months, we will be focused on redesigning the long-term experience, working specifically to reinvent the core gameplay with clear goals, motivating challenges, and progression with quality rewards, while preserving the fun of flying and fighting in a vast location of science fiction ”, they said at the time. But for now, there is no news of this relaunch, and it is not optimistic to think about it a few months after a new generation. Will both EA and Bioware continue to trust Anthem on PS4 and Xbox One?
It is worth showing a little more optimism with Dragon Age 4, whose name is not even final. At least we could see a small, tiny, glimpse at EA Play 2020, and it has to be hopeful thinking that Bioware will return with fantasy, which is better for them, as much as they have also achieved successes in science fiction not only recently but throughout its already veteran history. We know that, as soon as possible, it will arrive in 2022, and that it has not been exempt from receiving hard blows in the form of illustrious abandonments, but as Borja Ruete reflected in an opinion article published weeks ago, Bioware has to do an all-in with this new He surrenders if he does not want to see himself, in truth, in serious trouble. Indeed, during the past 2019, none other than Fernando Melo, an executive producer with extensive experience in the studio in games such as Dragon Age Origins, Dragon Age 2 or Mass Effect Andromeda, decided to embark on a path separate from the studio. However, it was becoming clear that this new Dragon Age, codenamed Morrison, is on the right track.
The battlefield needs a rethink
Battlefield has traditionally been a franchise that has not only reneged on an annual launch policy, but has taken the time to make an appearance. Although this strategy has been maintained in some way in the present generation, it must be remembered that during the life cycle of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, no less than four deliveries have appeared: Battlefield 4 –with severe performance problems at launch-, Battlefield 1, Battlefield V and Battlefield: Hardline, the latter by the defunct Visceral Games studio. In addition, the Swedes of DICE have loaded with the development of Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Battlefront II, sadly famous in their original release, but who knew how to set the course, especially a second installment that can be considered without a doubt everything a success despite its difficult and controversial start.
The case is that, as we said, the franchise has not had the repercussion that was expected in this present generation either. Battlefield 4 was part of the launch catalog of both consoles, and although graphically it was probably the highest bar of them, its performance problems overshadowed any virtue it might have. Furthermore, the Levelution, what was promised as a dynamic destruction of the scenarios that completely changed them, were nothing more than mere scripts. However, over time – we are talking about many months – it did become a not only playable shooter, but surely the favorite of fans of this franchise in this generation.
After an almost irrelevant Battlefield: Hardline – despite his good ideas in multiplayer – Battlefield decided to travel back in time, in stark contrast to the futurism his immediate competitor, Call of Duty, was betting on. Battlefield 1 and Battlefield V took us back to the two great World Wars with two games with very worthy individual campaigns and fantastic online game modes, such as Operations in the first, which would become Grand Operations in the second.
It must be made clear that in neither case do we talk about bad – not even regular – video games, rather the opposite. Both of them far exceeded 8th grade in this house, and in general they more than complied with the criticism, but surely their problems were others, and had nothing to do with the games themselves. The paths through which the genre circulates are very different, and if Battlefield’s hallmark was always mass battles, today’s player finds that offer in the most fashionable battle royale such as Fortnite, Call of Duty: Warzone or Apex Legends.
Battlefield 6 is already in development, and despite current trends, DICE will surely continue with the proposal that made this license famous at the time: great battles, but always within a realistic proposal. To tell the truth, and although the market has gone down other paths, that identity has never been lost.
