EA's Christmas Wishlist

NZGamer decided to dig deep into EA's Santa Sack to see what we can expect from them this holiday season.

Electronic Arts have been at the forefront of gaming industry for years now. The independent developer has been established since 1982 and looks to post revenues in 2004 close to $3 billion dollars. NZGamer decided to dig deep into EA's Santa Sack to see what we can expect from the development juggernaut this holiday season.

The Urbs: Sims in the City

The Sims have moved to the City where action is 24/7 and reputation means everything. Sims who live in the City are known as The Urbz, and they have a bold new look and attitude. Go to work and be challenged by bosses at locations like the Sushi Bar, Chop Shop, or Bootleg Fireworks, Inc. Success at work brings promotions, access to new power socials and gear to influence your new lifestyle. Flaunt your attitude by styling your Urbz using the detailed new character engine; then cross the velvet ropes of an uptown night club or explore the subway to earn new skills and items for your high-rise crib. It's up to you whether your Urbz become big-time players on the street or are lost in the crowd. It's all about reputation as The Urbz are living the dream in a City that never sleeps.

Lord of the Rings: The Third Age

For fans of the first two LOTR titles who want a more of a RPG feel, here is your chance in the form of The Third Age. Play as all-new characters from Middle-earth, interacting with the heroes, villains, and supporting cast who populate the world. Your heroes or villains are completely upgradeable, allowing you to enhance their weapons, fighting style, and attributes. Then you will embark on a free-roaming adventure where you can complete the primary objectives or seek out the various side quests and uncover hidden characters, secret weapons, and powerful items.

Dispatch the forces of light or shadow with an innovative turn-based battle system. Ride horses or Wargs and charge through your foes. Use your leadership skills to maximize your party and unleash devastating attacks as you fight alongside or against key characters from the films such as Aragorn, Gandalf, and the Balrog.

TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2

It picks up where the original popular action platform game left off. The cast of characters from Down Under has grown, and so has the action! Evil Boss Cass has broken out of Currawong Jail and hatched a plan to take over the world with an army of Uber Reptiles. It's up to our boomerang-wielding hero, TY, and his newly formed team of Burramudgee Bush Rescue mates to stop him! TY the Tasmanian Tiger 2 offers platform gamers a huge open environment to explore by foot and vehicle. Gamers can now enjoy more excitement and adventure, with more boomerangs, "Mech units" with special powers and abilities, off-road open world action, and a wide variety of gameplay styles.

Need For Speed Underground 2

NFSU2 looks to unleash that bad boy racer in you when it hits the stores this week. The sequel to the critically acclaimed Need for Speed Underground looks to bring street car racing to a new level. Taking place in a massive, free-roaming city featuring five distinct interconnected neighborhoods, Need for Speed Underground 2 delivers an immersive game world where the streets are your menus. As players explore the city, they?ll encounter rival racers who will school them in the ways of the underground and tip them off to the hottest racing spots in town.

Deep new performance tuning allows gamers to fine-tune every aspect of their ride?s handling and performance, while hundreds of new visual customizations guarantee players can create their own personalized, totally unique car.

All-new game modes join Circuit, Drift, and Drag events to add depth and variety, pushing car and driver to the limit, while more than a dozen new cars and hundreds of aftermarket parts from the biggest names in the business make Need for Speed Underground 2 the deepest, most authentic tuner experience ever.

Goldeneye: Rogue Agent

Why save the world when you can rule it? GoldenEye: Rogue Agent goes where no previous James Bond game has dared to tread, giving you the chance to cross over to the dark side of the Bond universe to experience life as a ruthless and unpredictable villain.

The focus of this first-person shooter shifts from that of 007 himself to the corrupt underworld and its criminal masterminds. As an aspiring 00 agent dismissed from MI6 for reckless brutality, you're recruited by Auric Goldfinger in a ruthless war against Dr. No for control of the Bond underworld. A brutal encounter with Dr. No costs you an eye, but Goldfinger's technicians replace it with a gold-hued, synthetic and upgradeable eye, earning you the name 'GoldenEye'.

Wreak havoc as you make your unrelenting rise through the ranks of villainy. Encounter such legendary allies and enemies as Oddjob, Dr. No, Goldfinger, Scaramanga, Xenia Onatopp, and Pussy Galore on globe-spanning missions of vengeance and demolition.

Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault

The long awaited follow up to MOH: Rising Sun is almost ready to hit our shores. The series that redefined the FPS genre on the PC, returns as you live in the boots of Marine Private Tommy Conlin. You must survive the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor and then join the Allied crusade to defeat imperial Japan's bloody conquest of the Pacific. From the attack at Pearl Harbor to the pivotal battle against Japanese Forces at Tarawa Island, Medal of Honor Pacific Assault gives PC gamers a sense of the courage it took to endure and overcome the Japanese threat in WWII and fight for victory in the Pacific.

Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth

The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth lets you experience the great battles seen in J.R.R Tolkien?s amazing world. The real-time strategy (RTS) lets you take control of one of fours groups, from the Riders of Rohan to the forces of Sauron, each with a different playing style, resource management and base-building techniques. Control the legendary heroes, massive armies, and epic campaigns of Middle-earth in over 25 missions based on all three films of The Lord of the Rings? trilogy. From waging all-out combat among the vast forces of good and evil to controlling your favourite heroes and characters to managing the troops and resources of your side, the fate of a living, breathing Middle-earth is in your hands.

Check out all these great Electronics Arts games at all good retailers. Also report back to NZGamer.com as we'll be covering many of these titles in the weeks ahead.