Former Executive Vice President of EA Sports Andrew Wilson has taken over as the publisher’s CEO, EA announced today. Wilson delivered a brief message to employees, shareholders, and customers in a message posted to EA’s news blog.

Wilson took over EA Sports in August 2011 and has been with the company for 11 years. He will take over the position left vacant by previous CEO John Riccitiello’s departure in March.

“I envision EA as the World’s Greatest Games Company,” Wilson said. “This is not about what we are aiming for or what we will become. Rather, it is about an unfaltering commitment to what we will be every day. This is an attitude that must drive our culture as one team.”

“I also believe EA’s strategy is sound. Our focus on our talent, our brands and our platform together with our investment in next-generation consoles, mobile and PC free-to-play, as part of our ongoing transition to digital, is right. But we have plenty of work ahead to ensure our collective success.”

Wilson takes the reins in a difficult period. Riccitiello left the company after it failed to meet yearly financial expectations, though new consoles arriving in November will likely give the start of Wilson’s tenure a significant boost.

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That transition isn’t immediately apparent. During the introductory hours, Dead Space 3 feels like a natural extension of the series. You’ll explore the harrowing hallways of spaceships abandoned long ago, hopeless and alone. You’ll solve simple but enjoyable puzzles using a mixture of Stasis, Kinesis, and your own intelligence, and float through Zero-Gravity while avoiding numerous life-threatening perils. You’ll even get to fly around gaping sections of space, filled with the debris and remains of a 200-year-old fleet. Granted, there’s not much to do while free flying in space, but floating through the gorgeous, deadly vastness of it all is entrancing.

About halfway through the game, you’ll find yourself on the the icy planet of Tau Volantis, the supposed Marker Homeworld. The setting is refreshingly new at first; the hostility of a never-ending blizzard is almost as isolating as the vacuum of space. But your eyes will beg for a change of scenery after a few hours of exploring the same-looking ice caves and abandoned storage facilities. The secrets buried on Tau Volantis, however, make the whole trek worthwhile. You’ll finally get some answers about the nature of the Markers and Necromorphs: What they are, what purpose they serve, what their end-goal is. Dead Space 3’s main story feels like the conclusion to a trilogy, and you’ll be pleased with the amount of closure it provides.

Surprisingly, one of the game’s more controversial additions–cooperative play–is one of its most beneficial, as playing with a friend is the best way to experience Dead Space 3. The endless onslaught of enemies quickly becomes tiresome when solo; strategic dismemberment goes out the window when you’re alone in the middle of a monster mosh pit. Grab a buddy, though, and Dead Space 3 becomes a fantastic co-op game. Where solo players would struggle with how best to tackle large waves of creatures, two can effectively work together to shred those waves until all that remains is an endless sea of severed limbs and loot. Sure, doing so makes the scares a bit less frightening, but the non-stop action becomes significantly more enjoyable when you’ve got someone to watch your back.

What’s more, co-op offers some unique cutscenes and dialogue that you won’t see otherwise. Isaac and newcomer Carver frequently banter back and forth during cooperative play, seesawing between antagonistic threats and good-natured exchanges, and it adds a nice touch of personality to both characters. Carver even has a bit of backstory that unfolds through co-op-only missions, where he experiences some vivid hallucinations Isaac cannot see, making him the more fun of the two characters to play. While Carver hears creepy, ghost-like whispers and occasionally gets sucked into his own mind to battle his personal demons, Isaac is unable to share in the experience of his partner. If you prefer to go it alone, though, the addition of co-op won’t affect your single-player journey because Carver is largely absent.

Either way, Dead Space 3’s deep weapon crafting mechanic is the primary means of preventing enemy encounters from becoming too stale. From acid-coated shotguns that also shoot saw blades to high-powered spike cannons mounted atop a Stasis-infused rocket launcher, the bizarre combinations of the awesome weapons you’ll come up with are seemingly limitless. It’s a bummer you can only ever carry two weapons at a time, though, especially considering you’ll have access to more than ever before. There’s a lot of moving parts involved with this system, and it’s not explained very clearly–but tinkering with a weapon’s stats and properties becomes a neat game of min/maxing once you get the hang of it. After adding a new gun to your arsenal, you’ll be eager to test your deadly creation on some unsuspecting enemies.

Some of the more rare resources and blueprints you’ll need for crafting are hidden within the handful of optional side quests sprinkled throughout Dead Space 3. These are meaty, hour-long excursions, some of which provide interesting bits of historical context to the events that transpired in a particular area. Others house some of the game’s more frightening encounters. All of them, however, will reward you with a giant cache of loot, which you’ll take back to the crafting bench with a smile on your face. Indeed, resource-hunting is Dead Space 3’s end-game; if you hope to build the baddest of weapons, you’ll have to replay certain segments to obtain more crafting materials.

But the glee that comes with making shiny new toys will likely taper off before the credits roll, as Dead Space 3 can easily surpass the 20-hour mark depending on how much time you spend tinkering with weapons or completing side missions. Three or more hours could’ve been shaved off, because there’s very little here to punctuate the non-stop carnage. Memorable stand-out moments are few and far between; pacing is definitely not Dead Space 3’s strong suit. Sure, there are some really cool cliff-climbing segments, and plenty of explosions and flash, but these bits pale in comparison to the original Dead Space’s creepy opening sequence, or the Sprawl’s haunting daycare center inhabited by Necromorph-ed children.

As a solo experience, Dead Space 3 is the weakest entry in the series. The tension’s still there, but it’s the kind you can kill bullet by bullet until nothing is left except the dull pangs of tedium. But when you’re dismembering Necromorphs with a friend at your side, it becomes a greatly enjoyable cooperative adventure. Just don’t expect to feel much of that distantly familiar fear-based anxiety–in Dead Space 3, that’s one terrifying monster that’s nowhere to be found.

This game was reviewed on PS3 and Xbox 360.

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EA is showcasing nearly a dozen new titles at their press conference today, but we were looking forward to few of them as much as Criterion’s latest racer, Need for Speed: Most Wanted.

The biggest announcement of the full reveal was that this will in fact be an open world experience. They’ll also be bringing back Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit’s Autolog system (now called Autolog 2) which will allow you to track your friend’s progress.

That’s important this time around because the major theme is becoming “Most Wanted.” Not most wanted among a group of NPCs, but among all your friends on your leaderboard.

“Criterion is shaking up the franchise with Need for Speed Most Wanted,” said Matt Webster of Criterion Games. “This is Most Wanted for a new generation of players. We’ve brought everything we know about racing, chasing and exploration and smashed them together in a highly connected open world automotive experience. Whether driving solo or racing with friends in our amazing new multiplayer experience, Autolog fires up competition out of everything as players compete to be most wanted amongst their friends.”

EA has even announced the full release date for the title as well. We’ll be seeing Need for Speed: Most Wanted land on store shelves on October 30, 2011. They also announced that it’s coming to Xbox 360, PS3, iOS, Android, Vita, and PC. With Criterion’s insane history of quality in the racing genre, October 30th can’t come soon enough.

EA showed off two different trailers (one gameplay, one pre-rendered) and we’ll post those as soon as we get our hands on them.

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The add-on will introduce five new dungeons, over 20 side quests, and multiple new locations including the city of Idylla, which is described as floating above the Teeth of Naros plains. It will also outfit players with nine new armor sets, six new shields, 18 unique weapons, and three new Twists of Fate which will likely come in hand for giant slaying.

This is the second DLC to wash up on Kingdoms of Amalur’s shores. The first, Legend of Dead Kel (check out: Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning’s “The Legend of Dead Kel” DLC release date pegged for March 20) took players on a swashbuckling journey to the island of Gallows End. Will giants and floating cities compare to skeletons and pirates? We’ll see when Teeth of Naros lumbers in to PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, Origin, and Steam on April 17.

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Here’s our newest multiplayer strategy clip to help you on your way this weekend with some enemy-specific tips. If Operation Goliath results in a combined total of more than 1 million Brute kills, all participating players will receive a Victory Pack, whose contents haven’t yet been disclosed. Weapons won in Operation Goliath will become unlocked 5pm Tuesday, and must be claimed within a week; EA wants players to ensure you’ve got “Upload Gameplay Feedback” set to “On” within the “Online Options” menu, or your hard work will win you naught but the thrill of working together to achieve a common goal. Which is a pretty crap reward for something you paid good money for.

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Above: Click for a full-size version. You don’t want to be squinting when teammates are counting on your sniping skills

Bioware’s also shared some neat telemetry data from Mass Effect 3’s time online so far. 1,800 years’ playtime? Usually we’d say something here like “if you guys had put that energy into trying to cure cancer, we’d all live on the moon by now,” but with multiplayer success on the Gold difficulty level still hovering somewhere below the 1% mark, this is obviously something that’s going to demand concentration…

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Like what you see? Just wait. Today, EA tweeted word that an extended cut will be ready to post in just two days. We’re crossing our fingers for more of the little kid running through the sunflowers, because that was just dang adorable.

The Take Back Earth trailer was teased last week, around the same time BioWare dropped a Mass Effect 3 demo on Xbox Live and PSN. Obviously fans are being whipped into a frenzy for the triology capper, which is said to end the current Mass Effect storyline. We say “current”, because you know EA will be publishing Mass Effect games well into the next century.

Mass Effect 3 finally lands for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on March 6 in North America, and March 9 in the UK. You can also catch one early in select cities, as physical copies fall from space during an EA promo sometime next week.

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Sorry. Guess you’ll have to make do with this newly released trailer:

The Syndicate demo takes place in the title’s “Western Europe” map. In it, players team up with other Wulf Western agents to break into Cayman Global, kill Colonel Enrico Gabron, and make off with his top-secret technology plans. Then again, you could always just ask the Colonel nicely, but we’re guessing those super-soldier DART 6 chips don’t come with a “peaceful negotiation” switch.

If you’re an Xbox 360 owner and want to get a jump on the 723MB download, you can queue it up remotely here (opens in new tab). You can also kill time by watching GR play through the producer demo, or by browsing our stash of screenshots.

Syndicate arrives in full for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on February 21 in North America, and February 24 in the UK.

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Above: The Force is strong in this one

It shows up during the “Legacy” system section, which actually didn’t include any new information per se, but it did include what looked to us like a Miraluka (the blind, Republic-only race) Sith Warrior (a class that only the Sith Empire can play). Sure, it could, technically, have been a Jedi using a red lightsaber and wearing dark armor, but we didn’t think BioWare would throw something like that in the video to confuse people.

Turns out we were right. After checking with BioWare’s Daniel Erickson, we received confirmation that the guy in question was “definitely a Miraluka Sith.” While that’s not confirmation that it’s tied into the Legacy system (and Erickson wasn’t able to go into additional details), the fact that it showed up during that section of the video essentially confirms it anyway.

This is huge news for the game, and the first solid, non-cosmetic information we’ve gotten on the Legacy system. Being able to unlock different faction’s races to play on either side was rumored in the past, but this is the first we’ve actually seen it in action. The ability to play as a Miraluka Sith, a Chiss Smuggler, or a Mirialan Bounty Hunter definitely adds some fun replayability to the game, and we’re really excited to find out more.

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Flashpoints and Operations

In terms of content, the largest addition in Rise of the Rakghouls is the new level 50 Flashpoint and Operation. The Flashpoint is called “Kaon Under Siege,” and it’s focused on level 50 players exclusively (with a normal and hard mode available). Kaon is the first of a two-part story arc, with Republic and Imperial players racing to eliminate a rakghoul outbreak while attempting to forge an allegiance with the Tion Hegemony for their side.

Amatangelo told us that Kaon Under Siege would have an emphasis on story, fitting more in line with the instanced missions like Black Talon than Hammer Station, and that, moving forward, BioWare would be focusing more on the story-based Flashpoints based on the community’s response.

The Operation, which is made for either eight or 16 players, is called Karagga’s Palace, and is a continuation of one of the Operations that shipped with the game. Players will be going head-to-head with the Hutt Cartel, eventually confronting Karagga the Hutt himself and answering, once and for all, what fighting a Hutt is like (the answer, in case your wondering, involves a massive robot). “One of my favorite bits is the reaction shot in the cinematic,” Amatangelo said, “where Karagga is coming onto the scene. It does a reverse shot of the player and the jaw sort of drops as a shadow looms over you as you’re looking up. It’s pretty funny.”

Player-versus-player combat

Amatangelo said that the team was pleasantly surprised by how popular the game’s PvP was, with over half of the population actively participating in player-versus-player combat. This revelation has led to BioWare speeding up some of the plans it had for PvP. “It was so exciting for me, I just had a grin from ear-to-ear,” he said. “It helped me convince my bosses to get more traction going in those directions.”

The 1.1 update lays the groundwork for some of the future additions to the PvP, including a separate Warzone bracket for level 50 players and some changes to Ilum, the end-game PvP planet. There are also some other changes in the January 17 update to Hoth and Voss, with the shuttle room in Dorn Base Command Center on Hoth being changed to a non-contested territory and Ka on Voss being made into a PvP Sanctuary.

Past Rise of the Rakghouls

After going through all of the enhancements in Rise of the Rakghouls we talked a little about future updates, including the content patch following 1.1. Currently scheduled for a March release date, 1.2 (as we’re guessing it will be called) will add new Flashpoints, Operations, WarZones, and new game systems. It also may see the beginnings of the Legacy system updates, something that may help the end-game dramatically. While Amatangelo couldn’t actually confirm a date for Legacy upgrades he did say that BioWare would be adding them in the “near future.” Other wants, like UI customization, are also in the pipeline, as are some changes for Warzones that make us excited (awarding medals for scoring points in Huttball? Yes please!).

Bug fixes, changes, and patch notes

But, as we said in our review, there’s work to be done in The Old Republic besides throwing new content on top of the pile. There are balance issues, content problems, and bugs that need to be fixed. To see how large of a chunk patch 1.1 took out of the game’s problems click over to the next page for the full patch notes, taken right from the Public Test Server. They might change by the time they go live, but it should at least give you a good idea of what updates are coming your way…

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“In the opinion of the Board, the game contains intense sequences of violence which include detailed depictions of decapitation and dismemberment that are high in playing impact,” wrote the Australian Government’s Classifications Board in its summary report, obtained by Kotaku Australia. Further detailing Syndicate’s sins, it adds: “The game also contains the ability to inflict repeated and realistic postmortem damage which exceeds strong in playing impact. It is therefore unsuitable for a minor to see or play.”

The postmortem damage in question relates to a feature in the game that allows players to continue cutting apart enemies after they’ve been killed. In fact, according to the full report it appears much of the Classification Board’s beef with the futuristic FPS is the game’s allowance for targeted dismemberment and grisly kills.

While the official ruling states Syndicate has been “denied classification”, this ultimately means it cannot be sold in stores, and is as good as an outright ban. A similar decision was handed down to NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat title earlier this year, and caused Left 4 Dead 2 to be whittled down from its former glory so it could be sold at suitable MA 15+ rating. EA may have to do something similar to get its game past Australia’s borders, however Kotaku reports the chances of that happening for Syndicate are slim. Regardless, EA is preparing a response to the report.

Talk of allowing such games into the country under a new 18+ rating has been going on for years, but nothing has yet to become official. In the meantime, Australian Syndicate fans may have to cross their fingers for a 15+ version, or check out our hands-on co-op preview. Hey, at least it’s something.

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