EA is one of the biggest Western video game developers and publishers currently in the industry. They have had some shortcomings, but no one can deny their legacy. For example, they chased the looter shooter genre in 2019 and released Anthem. It was a cool concept, but there was virtually no concrete road map to speak of, so post-launch content was lacking.
All support for the game will shut down in September 2023, but servers will remain online for an indeterminate amount of time. Suffice it to say, EA and BioWare are probably not going to be making a sequel anytime soon. What are some other examples of one-offs in EA’s past, and can these games eventually get a sequel?
8 Brutal Legend
Before Jack Black lit up the video game scene by playing Bowser in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, he had his own game. Brutal Legend was an Isekai wherein a roadie, played by Black, gets warped into a magical land of Metal and Rock.
It’s an action-adventure game with some RTS elements thrown in toward the second half of the experience. It was like an 80s Metal/Rock album cover coming to life. It even had musical celebrities such as Ozzy Osbourne step in to help make it feel more authentic.
7 Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm was a chaotic first-person shooter that felt like the spiritual successor to the Duke Nukem franchise. The protagonist clearly did not care about anyone except for killing bad guys in the most brutal way possible. Funnily enough, when the game got remastered in 2017, Duke Nukem was added as a replacement skin.
Crude humor aside, the tight FPS gameplay was the reason to pick this game up. From wild weapons that could light foes on fire to a kick that could launch enemies into cacti, there was a lot to experience.
6 Dante’s Inferno
Dante’s Inferno was based on the ancient epic poem of the same name. The gameplay was similar to God of War. Instead of two twin blades with chains, players had a scythe that could also extend beyond its initial reach. The tone matched God of War as well, with a lot of screaming and gore to accompany the action gameplay.
It could have adapted the entire book series, but this clone only had its one shot. It has never been remastered but players can still play it on modern consoles via Xbox’s backwards compatibility program.
5 Fuse
Fuse was a collaborative effort between EA and Insomniac Games. At this point, they were known primarily as an exclusive developer for Sony between the Resistance and the Ratchet and Clank franchises. Fuse was their shot to branch out to more platforms.
It had everything a fan would want from an Insomniac game, including wild weaponry and co-op gameplay. Unfortunately, the overall effort felt like it barely got out of the prototype phase, earning it red marks across the board. It’s no wonder why EA didn’t opt to help them make a sequel.
4 Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is a mouthful of a title with an even more confusing gameplay concept. Players are the titular Henry Hayworth, who is an Indian Jones type of explorer.
The top screen of this DS game played out like an action platformer. The bottom screen was a match-three puzzle game. If players didn’t solve puzzles fast enough, the blocks would go topside and interrupt gameplay. It sounds confusing now but with practice, it will surely become second nature.
3 Kingdoms Of Amalur: Reckoning
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning was an action RPG with a robust set of customization options from weaponry to characters. It was the first game in what was going to be a giant franchise. There was an MMO planned after this, but at launch, the developer went under, along with all future plans.
It’s a long story involving the entire state of Rhode Island, but that's for another time. On a positive note, in 2020 the game did get a remaster with some extra content. There’s still hope for that MMO to come out someday or at least a sequel.
2 The Saboteur
The Saboteur was one of the most unique open-world city games of its generation. The game was set in Paris during World War 2. Nazis occupied the city, causing the once vibrant plaza to go black and white.
The more areas players liberated, the more color would return to the world. There’s nothing better than punching or shooting Nazis in a video game. It wasn’t the best Grand Theft Auto clone, but the era did at least help it stand out.
1 Shadows Of The Damned
Shadows of the Damned was a collaborative effort between two giant Japanese directors. Shinji Mikami is best known for Resident Evil and Suda51 is best known for No More Heroes, and they both helped design the game.
It was a third-person shooter with some horror elements but it wasn’t exactly scary. It fell on the goofier side of the fence with plenty of cheesy dialogue and plot points. It’s a shame these two juggernauts don’t work together more or that EA doesn’t lend their talent to Japanese studios as much as they could.