Today EA officially announced it’s third quarter financial results, and boy do they look bad. EA revealed a total loss of $641 million in it’s third quarter and has announced that they will be cutting costs as a result. 12 Electronic Arts facilities are closing down and roughly 11% of it’s employees are going to be laid off. They will also be pushing back the release of few major titles including The Sims 3.

As you may have guessed EA has been crushed by these third quarter results, as they were expecting better. “Our holiday quarter came in below our expectations and we have significantly reduced our financial outlook for fiscal 2009, a clear disappointment,” said John Riccitiello, Chief Executive Officer. “We delivered on game quality and innovation in calendar 2008, with 13 titles rated 80 or above — more than any third-party publisher. We expect to build on this great quality record in the year ahead while delivering more profitability.”

I personally am surprised by this news as EA has been one of the strongest publishers of 2008. Left 4 Dead, Mirrors Edge, Dead Space are just a few of the titles they have put out last year.

Source

A new Sims 3 trailer has been released and it looks promising! This new trailer is all about the customization, and it looks pretty extensive. Unlike the previous trailer released from Electronic Arts this one is free of weirdness. Just a basic trailer that features the vast customization options of the new Sims 3 title.

The video starts with the different options you will have in designing your character then it shows how your options broaden to your house and car. The customization seems very in depth, so much so that you will even be able to choose the type of fabric for your furniture, and paint detail for your car.

Since Sims fans are all about the options it seems from this trailer they will be getting it! The Sims 3 Drops February 09!

Here is the link to Kotaku’s Tariler

The Dead Walk RUN
The creators of Half Life Valve, have brought us the FPS survival horror title Left 4 Dead. Within this four person co-op title you fend off oceans of the living dead, who certainly don’t drag their feet when the dinner bell rings.  There are many reasons why this game stands alone from other survival horror titles, and why it is most likely going to become one of the greats within the genre. Today, Left 4 Dead infects the store shelves (Nov. 18th), and the survival horror genre in a big way.

The Infection
The story begins within a city completely annihilated by a zombie infection. You will have the option to play as four separate characters. Bill the Vietnam Vet, Louis the IT guy, Zoey the college student and horror film fanatic, and Francis the bar brawling biker. Each has their own unique skills that aid one another in their survival. The Infected (which you can play as as well) are the living dead creatures that have ransacked the city. They consist of the Horde (your basic zombies that accumulate in large groups and attack any living thing), and then the mutated zombies, such as the Witch (big claws and completely crazy), the Boomer (don’t shoot this one up close), the Tank (which is basically a Mack truck with arms), and other types as well.  The game’s plot line is  surprisingly simple. The goal is to survive, and the only way to achieve that is through teamwork.

Three Four is the magic number
As said before there are four major characters within the game who progress as a team to survive. Each teammate has a colored outline that it visible through walls that changes status to indicate danger or injury so you are able to know where your teammates are at all times and whether they are in need of help. Your teammates will assist you in gunning down zombie, healing your injuries, and helping you recover from attacks. You will want to do the same for them because if you loose any member of your team you will loose firepower. The game is primarily a first person shooter in which you fend of a droves of zombies. The monotony is broken up by the mutated zombies each one with their own unique abilities that are potentially devastating to your team; for example the Hunter which can pin you or anyone one of your teammates. In this instance when mutated zombies attack you or your team you must act quickly or you may loose a teammate, or be killed yourself.

There are four basic phases of the campaign mode of the game; No Mercy (urban Setting), Death Toll (suburban setting), Dead Air (air port), and Blood Harvest (a rural setting).  Each has it’s own challenges, and obstacles, in which teamwork is required to survive. The unique thing about Left 4 Dead that sets it apart from other survival horror games is the “AI Director”, which adjusts intensity and frequency of zombie attacks according to your performance. The “AI Director” will change themes, ambiance, and moves zombies, and ammo to different locations within the maps so each mode of the game is never the same when you replay it.

The versus mode will allow up to 8 players; in which you will be able to play as the four survivors, or as four of the infected. Playing as the infected in this mode will allow you to play as the mutated zombies each one with its own unique ability.

Here’s the Deal!
The four person co-op is one of the best aspects of this game. I personally believe this is one of the few games within the survival horror genre that has capitalized on it.  The other and most unique aspect is the “AI Director” with this you will never play the game the same twice. These are the two strongest pillars of this title and the reason why it is truly great. If you are a fan of FPS or Survival horror you will want to pick this game up you will be getting hours of enjoyment from it.  Valve has given us a great title in the survival horror genre. We give Left 4 Dead an A+ rating.

EA Sued - Electronic Arts is facing a lawsuit today for supposed copyright infringement. The suit involves their NCAA sports game series; in which the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) anthem was used without the permission of the composer.  Gerald Willis the composer of the anthem has filled a lawsuit and his lawyer Ellen Winograd has stated that the anthem “was not written for commercial use.”

Willis is demanding 1.5 million dollars from EA for using the anthem titled “Win with the Rebels.” Willis claims he heard the track on 10 separate EA titles and is demanding  $150,000 for each violation. The university itself has not been named in the lawsuit.

Here is the list of titles in which the anthem was used

NCAA Football 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
NCAA Basketball 2009
NCAA March Madness 2006, 2007, 2008
NCAA Baseball 2006, 2007