Heroes of Dragon Age; I just don't understand EA's mobile strategy

Opinion by Matt S. 

As a big fan of Dragon Age (yep, I even enjoyed the second one), I didn't really have a choice; when I saw that EA had released Heroes of Dragon Age on to the iOS App Store, I immediately downloaded it.

After playing for an hour I deleted it.

I don't have a problem with EA putting the investments that it does that it does into mobile market, in fact, when EA does a good job of it I more than welcome it - FIFA 14 is ace on iPad and Real Racing 3 might be laden with microtransactions, but the racing itself is compelling.

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Review: Need for Speed Rivals (PS3)

Review by Matt S. 

It's built right into the title: Need for Speed Rivals is all about competitive racing with other, real, people. Some of these people will be street racers. Others will be police cars. It doesn't matter which at any point in time though because the entire game is all about going really fast face-to-face against other people.

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Review: FIFA 14 (PS4)

Review by Nick H. 

I am a big fan of sports games. Madden is a yearly acquisition. NBA games as well. Hockey, golf and baseball are a slightly slower cycle, but I generally follow the sports in real life and enjoy their video game counterparts. Outside of playing soccer as a little kid however, I do not have much experience with the sport (Americans... :-P - Ed)

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Review: Battlefield 4 (PC)

Review by Sam M.

Another year comes and goes and with it comes the latest instalment in the Battlefield series. Battlefield 4 is what you’ve come to expect from the series but at the same time, the developer, DICE, has taken a lot of time to refine the game and how it’s played.

I’ll get the single-player out of the way quickly as Battlefield is primarily a multiplayer game. First person shooters have nearly always struggled to create a good single-player experience, and Battlefield is no exception. The developers have struggles to impress with the large-scale destruction while at the same time sticking to the traditional genre theme of funnelling players down corridor after corridor. On some missions you don’t even get to fire a gun until you’re halfway through. There’s defiantly ambition in the production values with scenes of ships getting torn apart and a set piece involving running through a building that’s falling apart whilst getting shot by a helicopter, but you’ll get over that quickly and find much more enjoyment in the multiplayer.

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Free-to-play ruins two more classic franchises; Dungeons & Dragons and Dungeon Keeper

So, over the last week we've had two more free-to-play games based on classic franchises released; Dungeons & Dragons Arena of War by Mobage, and Dungeon Keeper by EA Mythic, the same studio responsible for taking Ultima and turning it into a free-to-play game.

I know I shouldn't have gone in expecting much from either game. Dungeons & Dragons hasn't seen a good game bearing its name since Dungeons & Dragons Tactics on the PSP, and Mobage is quite possibly the worst major free-to-play developer out there. And though I didn't mind Ultima Forever personally, I think it says a lot that I still have the free port of the original Ultima Forever on my iPad, but I've long deleted the free-to-play "modern" game.

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Battling hard: hands on with Battlefield 4

Preview by Sam M.

I’m sure it’s clear to most that know me that I love Battlefield. I absolutely suck at it, but there is a joy that I get out of playing it that I can’t find anywhere else. After getting some hands on time with it, Battlefield 4 is no exception.

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Taking command of the titans: a hands-on with Titanfall

Preview by Owen S.

As one of the most anticipated new IPs that has ever graced the presence of Microsoft's Xbox franchise, Titanfall represents that most precious (and rare) thing in first-person shooters – something that promises to offer something new and exciting.

And Microsoft knows it. The entire Xbox One marketing strategy relies on people knowing that this single game won a record amount of awards at E3; 60 at last count including 6 critics awards. As a game to be released in the launch window (although not a launch title), it will be an important pawn in the battle for next generation supremacy.

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Review: FIFA 14 (PS3)

Say what you want about EA, it makes great games. There’s just no other way to put it. NHL 14 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 both excelled over previous entries, but now that FIFA 14 has run onto the field, all of those fingers that got pointed at EA for being the worst company in the world earlier this year (and the year before), well, if you’re one of the finger pointers, you can point that finger right back at yourself, because you're pretty silly.

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Comparative review: FIFA 14 Vs. PES 2014 (PS3)

Article by Matt S. 

If you're a soccer (football, futbol, etc etc) fan like I am, then this is a great time of year. For whatever reason, both EA and Konami release their respective instalments into their soccer franchises right next to one another, and as these two are the only soccer games worth playing it means the fans are really spoiled for choice.

Both FIFA and PES are genuinely different games with different "feels" and quirks, and rather than review them individually I thought a side-by-side comparative review of both together would be a more interesting way to do things.

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Review: FIFA 14 (iPad)

Review by Matt S. 

Thank goodness EA got this one right. After the free-to-play travesty otherwise known as Madden 25 on the iPad I was so very concerned that FIFA 14 would be similarly depressing when it was announced to be a free-to-play game.

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Ultima IV for free on iPad; RPG fans rejoice

Perhaps as something of an apology to the veteran Ultima fans for Ultima Forever being a free-to-play game and annoying many fans of the classic series in the process, EA has released Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar on the iPad for free.

Don't worry, this one doesn't come with microtransactions.

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Review: Madden 25 (PS3)

Most sports titles have year releases, and perhaps none are as well-known or divisive as the Madden series of NFL titles. This year Madden celebrates 25 years of delivering virtual football to the masses, and with that kind of anniversary you are looking at a lot of expectations - and while some were met, others felt as though they fell just a bit flat.

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Review: Madden NFL 25 (iPad)

Everything about Madden NFL 25 reminds me that this is a free-to-play game. And that's why I hate it so much.

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EA, America's 'worst company,' raises over $2 million for charities (and counting)

Remember that time that a bunch of people with nothing better to do with their time voted a company that publishes games as 'worse' than corrupt banks, gun manufacturers and tobacco companies?

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Review: Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar (iPad)

EA's track record with free-to-play mobile games has been spotty. At one end of the spectrum is Real Racing 3, which manages to be a good racing game despite the monetisation model.

At the other end of the spectrum is Tetris Blitz and Plants Vs. Zombies 2 - games that fail to break away from begging players for microtransactions and are lesser games for it.

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