STACK J#165 Jul 2018

GAMES FEATURE

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Anthem

Outside of that, Prior tells us that the Real Motion System, rolled out last year to running and tackling animations, is now being applied right across the game. Visually, even at this stage of development, the game looks superb and plays like a dream. More features will be revealed the closer we get to launch, but the studio is making a concerted effort to move away from the pass, pass, shoot, score tactic that most players adopt by default. On to BattlefieldV . Personally, we prefer a more realistic approach to games set with a history-theme, especially the Second World War. So the mechanical arm, biker patches and blue face paint did little to inspire our interest in the Bulletstorm -esque announce trailer. How this will actually play out in the game is still uncertain, and we're sincerely hoping it won't go down the Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 similar path – and we all know how well that went. Thankfully, none of that nonsense was on show at the demo we played at EA Play, that was basically a truncated version of the Grand Operations; a mode that's essentially Battlefield 1 ’s Operations on steroids. Tasked with dropping into the Norwegian port of Narvik as an Allied paratrooper to disrupt German operations, the first job on hand Unfortunately, we experienced a number of technical difficulties during the demo but the gameplay here looks incredible, with sleek, realistic animations and frenetic and tense run and gun action sequences in between buildings. We’re looking forward to the Beta to take a more in-depth look. was to procure explosives to take out the enemy artillery.

FIFA 19

EA PLAY

Maintaining its independence from the gaming carnival downtown, the publisher took over the Hollywood Palladium once more to showcase its upcoming slate. Words Paul Jones

F or the third consecutive year, EA held its press conference and event separate from E3, and for the second consecutive year, it chose the Hollywood Palladium – incidentally the site of the original Paramount Studios lot – on Sunset Boulevard as the venue. EA Play kicks off on the Saturday before E3 with a press conference before throwing open the doors to the public. Once again, when we arrived, queues of patient gamers stood in a line under a burning Californian sun that curled around the building. Of interest to STACK this year was FIFA 19 (as always), BattlefieldV , and Anthem , a title we were super keen to get a look at but unfortunately we weren’t offered a slot until two days before EA Play kicked off, when the diary was already full.

Every year we speak with the enthusiastic creative director, Matt Prior, to talk FIFA 19 before jumping on for a game. If you’ve been following STACK for a while now, you’ll know how much the office (well, the two resident Englishman anyway) cherish our annual football battles with the best sporting franchise in video games, so it’s a title on our annual LA sojourn we're always enthusiastic to see. The first item on the agenda for our chat was the procurement of the Champions League licence (imagine the cost involved here?) after ten years – one of the most popular requests, according to Prior, from the FIFA community. This will obviously be linked to real time updates, making this an extremely attractive proposition. Tactics have been completely

Release dates of note:

FIFA 19 - September 28, 2018 Battlefield V - October 11, 2018 Anthem - February 22, 2019

rewritten, introducing a whole new level of customisation. What does this mean? Players can now create tactics to completely suit their, and the team they are using, style of play, right down to specific position placings and game objectives. From a gameplay perspective, the new Active Touch System fundamentally changes the way players react, touch and strike the ball. A fake trapping mechanic has been added as well as the ability to flick up the ball for a striking opportunity. Talking of striking, a new feature has been added. Using a visual cue on the player animation, a second press of the shoot button, if timed correctly (watch that boot closely, everyone), will add power, curve and accuracy. However, get it wrong and you’ll shank it. In Prior’s words, it’s a real risk and reward system.

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JULY 2018

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