EA, what are you doing?

[plastic_window]

So later this year EA have a few good titles coming out; things like Spore and Dead Space; and I'm looking forward to both. The thing I like about them is that they are games. Proper games, from the outlook. They are trying out new things, and appealing to a whole mess of people that EA have angered with all the things that they've done to anger people (I don't know a whole lot about this, but I think they've been buying companies? Also tore up The Orange Box for no apparent reason).

But, as you've probably heard, Spore's Creature Creator has been released as a demo (for £5 in Britain - I have no idea how that translates to dollars, probably around $8 I'd imagine) and also as a free demo of a demo. That was pretty confusing for me, because I've never paid for a demo, it almost seems like it defeats the point of having a demo if you're going to charge people to play a small slice of a game.

So now, Dead Space. Here's what I was thinking it would be like: a little like BioShock, in the sense that there's this fascinating back-story and characters in a very atmospheric world where the mystery of how it happened is unravelled intricately, piece by piece as you progress through the game. But now, I've heard about an animated prequel to the game called "Dead Space: Downfall" that contains allegedly 'crucial back-story to the game', which punches my hopes for this game straight in the gonads because if there isn't a compelling back-story to discover and you are just thrown into the deep-end at the beginning, the game will suffer heavily in the story (which is what it is touting as very emotional and deep). If it turns out not to be important to the game, then it begs the question, "What are you playing at, EA?" There isn't just an animated movie though, there's also dev-diaries (a la Fable 2) and an animated comic on the marketplace that explain everything that's already happened.

But what do you think?

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

From what I've seen of the animated comic it hasn't shown me anything 'crucial'. It is worth watch though. In the game I don't think you are going to get much information out of other characters. They all seem to be dead.

 

[Anarchemitis]

I think that Spore better be dang jusified for making me pay for a demo. Also, I don't begrudge EA much because my cousin works for EA Sports. For the Wii. In Character modelling. Of Faces.

 

[the monopoly guy]

spore creature creator is 10 USD. I am perfectly happy with the trial version.

what's so original about killing zombies with an over the shoulder camera and aiming with laser sights? To me it's just RE4 in space.

 

[pieeater911]

Yeah, I've downloaded the animated comic. It's not crucial at all, but it is very interesting and it makes me all the more excited for Dead Space.

And I dunno about "RE4 in space." It looks like it will be much more than that. New, different weapons we haven't used a trillion times in a survival horror game. And voice acting that doesn't sound like they just picked up random people off the street, gave them five dollars and a script and said "Hey, read this bit right here into the microphone." And it looks like it will have something that RE4 doesn't have any of at all. A story that is actually intriguing

Then again, it might not, but I'm going to be optimistic with this one.

 

[plastic_window]

From what I've seen of the animated comic it hasn't shown me anything 'crucial'. It is worth watch though. In the game I don't think you are going to get much information out of other characters. They all seem to be dead.

The new trailer has shown a few characters who are still alive, and there was an episode of GameTrailersTV where they did say that you interact with other characters on the ship, so it's not just Isaac on his own throughout the entire thing. I've seen the animated comics too, and they're decent enough to watch, but the full-length, straight-to-DVD animated feature is the one that apparently contains the "crucial information". It's called Dead Space: Downfall, if you want to look for the trailer.

 

[franzuu]

The over the shoulder thing just put me off. I guess it is prettier and horrific when you see yourself getting mauled by something in 3rd person, but it just blocks too much of the screen and Isac's back will get boring after a while.

 

[Aeranlaes]

I've never heard of a trial you need to pay for; there's really no excuse for that. Granted, I'm not incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to it, or to Spore - but the paid trial seems a profiteering move that's largely unnecessary.

I am incredibly hostile to EA, and have refused to purchase many games developed by them. To me, EA is more interested in making money than making a good game. As a gamer, I will stick with developers I'm confident in, Blizzard and Bethesda in particular.

 

[the monopoly guy]

I've never heard of a trial you need to pay for; there's really no excuse for that. Granted, I'm not incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to it, or to Spore - but it seems a profiteering move that's largely unnecessary.

you uh...you don't pay for the trial version...just the full creature ceator...and the things you make with it can be used in the game

 

[runtheplacered]

I am incredibly hostile to EA, and have refused to purchase many games developed by them.

Does EA even develop games? Do you mean to say you don't want to buy anything with the EA logo on it? Good luck with that, I guess.

 

[Aeranlaes]

you uh...you don't pay for the trial version...just the full creature ceator...and the things you make with it can be used in the game

That's what I mean; I disagree with the charge.

Does EA even develop games? Do you mean to say you don't want to buy anything with the EA logo on it? Good luck with that, I guess.

Games developed by EA, not necessarily published by them. I have no qualms with independent developers backed by EA financially.

 

[Vincent9mm]

Don't forget that EA is also publishing Mirror's Edge and that game looks freaking sexy. Also publishing Dragon Age: Origins (hopefully on consoles soon after pc release) sometime next year. Sabotuer is also being published by EA next year and thats another one of those sexy looking games.

EA has always published Will Wright games however and aside the sports Will's games tend to be the biggest noticed.

Im glad that EA is actually publishing games that appeal to more hardcore gamers, still nothing on will kill for list is coming out from them (at least this year), but im sure to see Mirror's Edge and Dead Space in a dump bin in a few years.

 

[wasted space]

People are saying they have never heard of a demo they have to pay for, but doesn't "grand turismo 5 prologue" ring a bell?

 

[maxusy3k]

People quick to point out that they 'have to pay' for a demo also seem to forget that 1) you can get a completely free version if you really want to try it and that 2) if you purchase it through the EA Store itself, you're issued with a coupon of sorts to reclaim the cost of the purchase against the full version of the game.

Seems pretty fair to me. Particularly because, as I said, if you don't want to pay, you don't have to. Aside from that, a lot of the games I've come to really enjoy have come with an EA logo stamped on the front and, while they're probably the company chiefly responsible for the franchise syndrome currently eating the industry, I wouldn't say it's any of those franchises which regularly comprise my fill of EA fuelled games.

That said, there's the whole ethics issue which is a whole different thing. As an ignorant consumer, EA's logo doesn't deter nor attract me to a purchase. As somebody who knows a little - and I stress, a little - about some of the things the company is and has been guilty of, it's a good reason to remain critical.

But hey, Rock Band was stamped by EA, and that's sure as hell a world away and far better than what the GH series has become.