E3 09: EA's Lineup @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on May 28, 2009

News: The Sims 3, Dante's Inferno, more Dead Space and a whole lot of EA Sports games.

E3 (that's the Electronic Entertainment Expo) is just a few days away. The 2009 edition of the ultimate video game trade show runs from June 2 through June 4 and companies putting the finishing touches on the demos and details of the new projects they'll have on hand. Such as this announcement from Electronic Arts about what they plan to spotlight at the show.

EA has plenty of games to show off including their usual slate of sports titles (Madden NFL 10, NHL 10, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, NCAA Football 10), a trio of sequels (Mass Effect 2, Army of Two: The 40th Day, Battlefield: Bad Company 2), the rebirth of the Need For Speed series and Spore on the DS/Wii. The next projects from Visceral Games, Dead Space: Extraction and Dante's Inferno, will also be on hand.

For more on all 26 of the games EA plans to showcase, look below:

Quick List

Army of Two: The 40th Day

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Br№tal Legend

Dante's Inferno

Dead Space: Extraction

Dragon Age: Origins

EA Sports Active

EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis

FIFA 10

Fight Night Round 4

Games from EA Mobile

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Littlest Pet Shop Online

Madden NFL 10

Mass Effect 2

MySims Agents

NCAA Football 10

NHL 10

Need For Speed: Nitro

Need For Speed: Shift

Spore Hero

Spore Hero Arena

The Sims 3

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Battlefield 1943

The Saboteur

And for more detail...

Army of Two: The 40th Day
The ultimate two-man private military team of Salem and Rios return in Army of Two: The 40th Day, where they must fight to survive a carefully orchestrated series of catastrophes that are dragging the city of Shanghai to the brink of disaster. The game has been built from the ground up with a focus on an incredible cooperative experience. A bigger playbook of features and a new arsenal of co-op moves are available to both players to perform at any time, opening up fresh strategies and choices. The result is a bigger, deeper, more organic and immersive co-op experience that lets players put their best two-man tactics to use whenever and wherever they want.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP
Ship Date: Winter
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Specializing in online vehicle warfare since 1942 -- In Battlefield: Bad Company 2, DICE brings its best-in-class online vehicle warfare to a spectacular new level. By pushing destruction to new heights and delivering a host of land, sea and air vehicles, players will experience all-out-warfare like never before. Whether its intense battles online or in the single player campaign, players must use every weapon and vehicle at their disposal to survive and conquer. This unprecedented action unfolds on the battlefield to bring a new level of excitement to vehicular warfare never before experienced in a modern warfare action game.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3 and PC
Ship Date: Q1 2010
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Br№tal Legend
From the mind of Tim Schafer and Double Fine Productions comes Br№tal Legend, a 3rd person action game starring Jack Black as the ultimate roadie Eddie Riggs. Rich in combat, imagery and storytelling, Br№tal Legend delivers lighter-flicking fun sure to melt your face off, and will be playable for the first time in the EA booth.

Platforms: PS3 and Xbox 360
Ship Date: Rocktober 13th in North America, Rocktober 16th in the UK and Europe
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Dante's Inferno
From Visceral Games, award-winning creators of last year's critically-acclaimed Dead Space, comes one of 2010's most highly anticipated 3rd person action adventure games, Dante's Inferno. Based on part one of Dante Alighierei's classic poem УThe Divine Comedy,Ф EA's Dante's Inferno takes gamers on an epic adventure through Dante's nine circles of hell Ц limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. The game features a highly responsive, addictive combat system, which players will need to take Dante through a gauntlet of unimaginable evils as he fights to recapture the soul of his beloved Beatrice.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP
Ship Date: Q1 2010
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Dead Space: Extraction
From Visceral Games comes Dead Space Extraction, the thrilling prequel to last fall's award-winning Dead Space, built from the ground up exclusively for the Wii. In Dead Space Extraction gamers will experience the panic before the terror through the eyes of a handful of space colonists desperately struggling to escape from a horrific infection on the Aegis VII mining colony. The game introduces Lexine, a new heroine in the Dead Space universe, and it quickly becomes clear that protecting her may be the crew's only hope for survival in one of the most cinematic action-horror game experiences ever made for the Wii.

Platforms: Wii
Ship Date: Fall 2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Dragon Age: Origins
Award-winning RPG developer, BioWare invites players to experience their deepest RPG to date. For thousands of years, the Grey Wardens have been the guardians of the land. Now with an ancient evil on the rise again, it is up to players to unite the shattered lands and slay the corrupted dragon known as the Archdemon. In Dragon Age: Origins, players must make ruthless decisions and be willing to sacrifice their friends and loved ones for the greater good of mankind. At E3 2009, BioWare will be debuting one of the deadliest creatures in the game and will reveal how romance can have a significant impact on the adventure.

Platforms: PC, Xbox 360 and PS3
Ship Date: Fall 2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

EA Sports Active
EA Sports Active is an innovative, virtual fitness product that offers personalized, customizable workouts that can be done from the comfort of home. Developed in collaboration with fitness experts, EA Sports Active is a fun and cost-effective way to achieve a healthy lifestyle. Users will get their heart pumping through interactive circuit workouts from more than 25 different activities and exercises that target the upper and lower body, as well as cardio. Similar to a personal trainer, the program provides clear instruction, feedback on technique and encouragement, while also providing calories burned in real time. To help get started users can also choose to take the 30-Day Challenge, a fitness road map designed to provide tangible fitness goals with the guidance of the virtual trainer. EA Sports Active includes software, a specially-designed leg strap that holds the Wii Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, as well as a resistance band to increase the intensity to upper body exercises. The program can support two players at one time, and is compatible with the Wii Balance Board, which will add components to the sports drills.

Platforms: Wii
Shipped: May 19, 2009
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis
EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis, launching first on the Wii, makes users feel like they are playing championship tennis in the comfort of their living rooms. The Wii MotionPlus accessory elevates the authentic tennis experience to a higher level with precise ball placement and added shot depth. With the accessory, tennis fans will appreciate the freedom to control the backswing of champions like John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Roger Federer or any one of the in-game players, as well as have the ability to run around a forehand or backhand. EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis is developed by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C.

Platforms: Currently on Wii; additional platforms later in the year
Ship Date: June 8, 2009 in North America
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

FIFA 10
From EA Canada, FIFA 10 will deliver what matters most to fans by refining the critical fundamentals in gameplay, responding to feedback from more than 250 million online games played and innovating player control.

Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, PS2, Nintendo DS, PSP and mobile
Ship Date: October 2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Fight Night Round 4
The champ is here! EA Sports challenges you to step into the ring with Fight Night Round 4. This highly anticipated iteration of the critically acclaimed franchise has perfected every jab, slip, and punch in the sport of boxing to bring you the most realistic fighting experience to date. With an advanced physics system, stunning graphics, and deep gameplay and feature enhancements, Fight Night Round 4 is putting the science back in the sweet science.

Platforms: PS3 and Xbox 360
Ship Date: June 30, 2009
ESRB Rating: T for Teen

Games from EA Mobile
EA Mobile's iPhone and iPod touch games have consistently made it into Apple's top 25 apps, and will be showcased at E3! The first is the highly-anticipated The Sims 3, which lets players manipulate their Sims destinies on the go. EA will also be giving sneak peeks into two thrilling action titles that have yet to be released Ц save the galaxy from peril in Mass Effect Galaxy, or use the touch screen to conquer enemies in Command & Conquer Red Alert. And lastly, swing by the booth to line up a perfect putt on the green with Tiger Woods PGA Tourо.

Platforms: iPhone and iPod touch

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for all major video game consoles features an exclusive storyline that picks up where the live-action movie, from Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment, in association with Hasbro, leaves off, allowing players to re-create and re-live the greatest moments from the film, cartoon series and action figure toy line. The game offers 16 playable characters Ц four of which are unlockable COBRA characters Ц each with unique abilities and weapons. Adding to the adrenaline rush is an intense single-screen co-op mode allowing two players to easily unite as a team in a classic struggle between good and evil to defeat the powers of COBRA.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS and mobile devices
Ship Date: August 2009
ESRB Rating: E10+ for Nintendo DS; Rating Pending for console and PSP versions

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Relive the thrills, action, and excitement of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie this summer! From EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince video game takes you to Hogwarts to help Harry survive a fraught sixth year. Engage in exciting wizard duels, mix and brew magical ingredients in Potions class, and take to the air to lead the Gryffindor Quidditch team to victory.

Platforms: Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, PSP, Nintendo DS, PC, Mac and mobile devices
Ship Date: June 30, 2009
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (ESRB)

Littlest Pet Shop Online
New from the EA Play Label is Littlest Pet Shop Online, an innovative, beautifully designed, safe online entertainment and community destination for girls based on the globally popular Littlest Pet Shop brand. The web-based Littlest Pet Shop Online world is a girl's gateway to fun and exciting online games and tons of activities, tools to customize and play with her favorite Littlest Pet Shop pets, and daily events to connect with friends and make new ones, too. Littlest Pet Shop Online is a fun online community that stretches the imagination and allows girls to enter the coolest Littlest Pet Shop world ever.

Platforms: Online
Ship Date: Fall 2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Madden NFL 10
Experience first-hand what it's like to Fight for Every Yard in Madden NFL 10 for Xbox 360 and PS3. With the all-new Pro-Tak animation technology, players have more control over the outcome of each play. Whether driving a receiver towards the first down, or battling for a fumble at the bottom of a pile, the play won't end until the whistle blows. Add to that the most immersive broadcast presentation and online innovation in franchise history, and Madden NFL 10 captures the authenticity and emotion of the NFL like never before. This year, Madden NFL 10 arrives on the Wii with breath-taking visuals that will captivate both seasoned veterans and newcomers to the franchise. Completely redesigned and built from the ground up, Madden NFL 10 introduces a unique art style that will define the look of sports games on the Wii. All-new player models embody characteristics of your favorite athletes, plus new larger-than-life stadiums showcase the unique details found at each of the 32 NFL fields. Madden NFL 10 epitomizes what fun looks like on the Wii, delivering the most social and dynamic experience from the franchise to date. Quick, exciting game modes ensure that anytime is the right time for Madden NFL 10 on the Wii.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP and Wii
Ship Date: August 14, 2009
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Mass Effect 2
Mass Effect 2 is the gripping dark second chapter in the Mass Effect Trilogy, where players must recruit a diverse team of specialists who possess their own distinct and powerful skill sets as they embark on a suicide mission to save mankind. At E3 2009, Commander Shepard's fate will finally be revealed in the explosive debut of Mass Effect 2.

Platforms: Xbox 360 and PC
Ship Date: Early 2010
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

MySims Agents
In MySims Agents on the Wii, players take on the role of a special agent hired to foil the sinister plans of Morcubus, lord of the criminal underworld. By recruiting different MySims, each with their own special characteristics, players can build up their very own crime-busting dream team. From tracking footprints and using forensics to picking locks, hacking into computers, following leads and collecting clues, players must rely on their wits, skills and trusty gadgets to piece together the clues to solve the mystery. Jump aboard the jet to reach an ancient temple, a spooky mansion or an icy mountaintop chalet in search of clues that lead players closer to the sinister Morcubus. Return from the adventure with cool treasures that players can use to construct and customize their headquarters and make it their own.

Platforms: Wii and Nintendo DS
Ship Date: Fall 2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

NCAA Football 10
NCAA Football 10 brings an unparalleled college game day experience to football fans across the nation. True to the tradition of the award-winning franchise, NCAA Football 10 continues to push the bar on innovation with new online modes. NCAA Football 10 will bring the excitement of college football to fans across the nation like never before with the all-new Season Showdown. In this new mode, every game counts as fans declare their loyalty to a favorite school and give the ultimate show of support in a nationwide competition for pride. In addition to Season Showdown, NCAA Football 10 introduces TeamBuilder, an all-new, online create-a-school feature that will revolutionize the user's ability to produce personalized content. A football fan's dream, TeamBuilder will enable users to experience the excitement and pageantry of college football, defined by their own personalized creations.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and PSP
Ship Date: July 14, 2009
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

NHL 10
From EA Canada, NHL 10 delivers a new, physical brand of hockey that includes first-person fighting to match the physical and emotional intensity real-world players endure in pursuit of a Stanley Cup Championship. The franchise that has won 19 sports game of the year awards since 2007 begins a new era with gameplay innovations that include all-new board play that lets you shield the puck with your body along the boards, kick-pass it to teammates, or pin an opponent, post-whistle action to instigate scrums, draw penalties, and fight, spectacular new ways to score like shooting from the knees and a new 360° precision passing mechanic that delivers precise control over the speed and direction of passes.

Platforms: PS3 and Xbox 360
Ship Date: September 2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Need For Speed: Nitro
Developed specifically for the Wii and Nintendo DS, Need For Speed: Nitro delivers the fun and exhilaration of high-speed racing, combining the franchise's trademark attitude and car culture with deep and thrilling gameplay. Hitting retailers worldwide in November, gamers must battle through the mayhem of aggressive cops, master the art of drifting to gain boost at 150 mph, and prove themselves across five mega cities at a silky smooth 60 FPS. With a nearly limitless visual customization system, not only can players design their dream car, but they can also create a personal graffiti style to attach to their ride. As they edge out competitors, their graffiti will dominate the world, vibrantly painting a story of racing supremacy. All this combined with fresh modes, tracks and locations make Need For Speed: Nitro one of this Fall's most innovative and exciting arcade racers for the Nintendo platforms.

Platforms: Wii and Nintendo DS
Ship Date: November 2009
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Need For Speed: Shift
Need For Speed: Shift combines a groundbreaking cockpit experience, world-class physics, stunning pixel-perfect car models, and authentic race tracks to create one of the most intense racing experiences ever. Players are thrust into the loud, visceral, intense, athletic experience of racing a car on the edge of control through the combination of perception based G-forces, the hyper reality of the cockpit view and the brutal experience of a first person crash dynamic. A highly sophisticated AI system ensures that AI opponents will react and perform based on the player's aggression and overall driving skill thus creating race experiences for all skill sets. Need For Speed: Shift is the first racing game to accurately reflect the true driver's experience.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC and PSP
Ship Date: September 22
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending

Spore Hero
Created exclusively for the Wii, Spore Hero delivers the unmatched creative freedom of Spore in an accessible, story-driven action-adventure. Set in a rich and vibrant 3D world, Spore Hero empowers players to create their own Hero as they embark on an epic quest to fight to save their new home world from destruction as a dark force threatens the planet. Taking full advantage of the Wii controls, Spore Hero engages players in heated battles, humorous missions, curious puzzles and more. Throughout the game, players will collect more than 250 parts with unique abilities and experience the unparalleled customization of the revolutionary Spore Creature Creator enhanced for the Wii. A combative multiplayer mode will be unveiled at the EA booth at this year's E3 and available for hands-on play.

Platforms: Wii
Ship Date: Fall 2009
September 17 in Europe and Rating Pending

Spore Hero Arena
Spore Hero Arena catapults Nintendo DS players into a 3D galaxy filled with fun, intense arena-based combat. Players create a unique gladiator Hero creature and guide it from planet to planet as they fight dangerous enemy creatures and complete special missions, collecting new parts and abilities to gain upgrades along the way. By combining special abilities, parts, and upgrades, players create a fighting style of their own in hopes of stopping an evil force and save the galaxy. Built with multiplayer capabilities in mind, Spore Hero Arena allows players to battle with up to three friends locally or play with a friend over Wi-Fi. Players will have hands-on time with Spore Hero Arena for the first time at the EA booth at this year's E3.

Platforms: Nintendo DS
Ship Date: Fall 2009
September 17 in Europe and Rating Pending

The Sims 3
Let there be Sims! In The Sims 3 you can create lifelike Sims with a unique personality and take them anywhere in the neighborhood. The powerful Create-a-Sim tool allows you to create Sims that are more realistic that ever. Select from dozens of personality traits such as brave, artistic, kleptomaniac, clumsy, paranoid and romantic. With Create-a-Sim, you can create a limitless number of truly unique Sims. The Sims 3 allows for infinite possibilities to design the interior and exterior of your Sims' surroundings using the Create-a-style feature. Additionally, you can enjoy the challenge of short-term and long-term goals and then reap the rewards! Based on personality traits, skills and career choices, your Sims have short and long term Wishes that provide constant fun challenges and so many things to do and achieve. You have the ultimate freedom to choose whether to fulfill their destiny, giving them lifetime happiness and rewards or not! Register your copy of The Sims 3 for PC and Mac at www.TheSims3.com to enjoy the robust online and community features unique to your game including an all-new town called Riverview that you can download for no additional charge once you register*. You will also gain access to 1,000 free SimPoints to purchase items from The Sims 3 Store to customize your Sims appearance and houses in all-new ways. Be the director of your Sims' movies by capturing clips during your gameplay, visiting the official site, and editing the soundtrack, story, and transitions, then share it with the world. See what you can create with The Sims 3.

Platforms: PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod touch and mobile devices
Ship Date: June 2, 2009
ESRB Rating: T for Teen

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 on the Wii will support the innovative Wii MotionPlus accessory and give players a near-perfect 1:1 swing. Golf fans will experience an authentic swing motion and be able to work the ball from tee box to green. For the first time in franchise history, take on one of the toughest tests in golf Ц the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. All-new to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is EA Sports Live Tournaments, where gamers go to prove themselves against the best players online and play alongside actual PGA Tour pros during real-world tournament events. Fight a multitude of tough courses, real-time weather conditions, the challenge of online tournaments, and more Ц Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 provides an inside-the-ropes experience like never before.

Platforms: Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PSP
Ship Date: June 8, 2009
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone

Battlefield 1943
Battlefield 1943 is a premium arcade title that delivers endless hours of 24-player First-Person Shooter action on popular maps inspired by Battlefield 1942. The game will have players battling over three tropic locations: Wake Island, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. These maps have now been updated with the DICE Frostbite engine, providing destructibility to the battlefield and leaving players with almost nowhere to hide. Gamers play as the US Marines or the Imperial Japanese Navy, competing by land, air and sea. They have the freedom to pick their path in battle - be it as a rifleman crawling through the trenches, a steel fisted tank commander, or a dog fighting ace pilot that rules the skies!

Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3 and PC
Ship Date: Summer 2009 on console; September 2009 on PC
ESRB Rating: T for Teen

The Saboteur
Fight, climb, and race your way through a uniquely stylized version of Nazi-occupied France in Pandemic Studios' upcoming action sandbox game The Saboteur. Meet Sean Devlin, the daredevil hero of The Saboteur Ц a street-tough Irish racecar driver turned resistance fighter in 1940s Paris, where the women are sexy and the missions are epic.

Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC
Ship Date: Fall/ Winter FY10
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending