First cab off the rank for my E3 binge watching is EA with their EA Play event. Being first means that there’s a lot less noise (apart from rumours) that can impact what they’re selling but also risks them being shown in a lesser light if they compare badly to what’s coming.

Big one for me was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order which had a gameplay demo that finally showed what to expect from the game when it arrives. I’m actually pretty excited with what I saw. Movement looks very Tomb Raider or Uncharted with melee combat that doesn’t shy away from how awesome a lightsaber is or how brutal it can be. Characters and skills familiar to fans of the latest batch of films top it all off.

One thing that can’t be denied is the incredible production values EA has put into the Star Wars games they have released so far and it’s great to finally see a story driven single player game. A long time coming for sure but the developers at Respawn look like they have it going in the right direction and it might be an easy sell for me when it arrives on November 15. 🙂

The love from Respawn continued with more details on what’s to come from Apex Legends and they’ve taken the criticism over the first Season Pass and are trying to make amends for the next one. For me Season One wasn’t worth the investment due to the grind but it sounds like the next Season’s change of focus to a challenge based rewards system might make it easier to earn rewards. Season 2 arrives on July 2.

On top of that a new Legend is coming called Wattson who has the ability to lay out defenses that can assist in countering the more aggressive Legends and their abilities. Having someone capable of setting up defensive perimeters could give teams additional options for forcing opponents into choke points or being able to better hold their own location.

Battlefield V has more incoming (!) too with even more maps that offer a mix of environments for players wanting both open and tight areas. The Pacific Theatre will also make a return too as will private servers for those players wanting to hang out with friends only.

The game is also now on EA Access (Xbox One) and Origin Access (PC) so if you haven’t checked the game out yet now is as good a time as any to take a look. For fans of developer DICE’s other big shooter Star Wars Battlefront II there’s more on its way with additional Clone Wars content to arrive soon.

FIFA, Madden and The Sims were covered in the second half of the presentation and I have to give EA credit for giving each title its fair share with videos and members of the development teams getting their own time in too.

Being part of a platform holder’s presentation means that the messaging for game has to be succinct not too detailed but with EA having their own event here there’s plenty of room for developers to get their ideas across. You could see that in the Apex Legends discussion where admissions were made about fan disappointment in the first Season Pass. It may not have been necessary for them to bring it up but it does let fans know that the game is changing and that the developers are mindful of the past while also listening to feedback.

The full event was covered by GameSpot which you can view below: