EA's first big blockbuster of 2019 is available as an early "VIP" demo, but it's off to a rocky start with major server issues.
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| © BioWare/EA |
By Ben Gilbert, Business Insider
Remember "Mass Effect"? How about "Dragon Age," or "The Knights
of the Old Republic"?
That trio of blockbusters came from the folks at EA's BioWare
studios - the same people behind next year's "Anthem," an all-new
action-RPG. Like "Destiny," BioWare's "Anthem" is played online
and focuses on players grouping up to collectively take on
missions.
Frankly speaking, what we've seen so far looks gorgeous and
thrilling. Each player has the ability to fly through the air,
Iron Man-style, whenever they want. It adds a layer of
exploration that makes it unlike anything else available.
Release Date: February 22, 2019
Platform(s): Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
It may not seem like it yet, but 2019 is already in full swing - and with a new year comes the next wave of major video games.
One
of the first games of that coming wave is "Anthem," a huge new
online-only game from the folks who brought you the "Mass Effect" and
"Dragon Age" franchises.
It's set to launch on the PlayStation 4,
the Xbox One, and the PC on February 22 - still a few weeks away - but
EA is offering an early chance to play the game right now in a "VIP"
demo.
There's only one problem: The game is off to a rocky start, with many players complaining that the servers are at capacity.
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| © EA/BioWare |
Despite repeated attempts to log in on an Xbox One, we were unable
to get past the screen you see above. It says "Connecting to Online
Services," and a loading symbol spins, and the game's music continues
playing, and the people even continue moving - but it never goes past
that.
After quitting out of the game manually from the console's
dashboard, subsequent attempts yielded similar results. Sometimes, a
pop-up message says that the game's servers are at capacity, sometimes
it says there's a connection problem, and sometimes it simply hangs for
minutes at a time.
Notably, EA already ran a stress test on its
servers during an "Alpha" period back in December that was far more
limited in availability. Moreover, it's rare that modern games launch
with server capacity issues.
EA issued the following statement on Twitter: "We're adding more server capacity to the #Anthem demo right now. Hang tight while we work to get everyone into the game."
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| © EA/BioWare |
So, when can you play the game? Soon, hopefully!
EA is running
its VIP demo all weekend, and it's possible that will get extended
given the server issues on Friday. If you didn't pre-order the game,
you can still get into the demo - anyone who's in the demo has five
invitations to give out.
You'll need Xbox Live or PlayStation
Plus if you want to play the "Anthem" demo on the Xbox One or the
PlayStation 4; the game is available on PC through EA's Origin
storefront.
For a taste of what you'll experience in the "Anthem" VIP demo, check out the latest trailer:
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