EA Access

Introduction

For those that don’t know EA Access is a subscription service from EA available only on the Xbox One console. It’s 4.99/mo. or 29.99/year and gives you ‘access’ (haha….I’m stupid) to a handful of EA games. There’s the ‘Play First’ games which give you the ability to play select new EA games before they are actually released. Honest to God complete games, not some 1 hour or first level play crap, you actually get to play the whole game. Once your time is up you can actually decide to pay for the game, and you get to keep all your saves and in game items you have acquired. Then there is the ‘Vault’ which lets you download a specific collection of games to your console and play them to your hearts content. For the price they are charging, EA would really have to screw this up to make it not worth it, but that’s what I’m here for. Should you spend the 5 or 30 bucks? Or should you just save your money and pick up a game or two at your local pawn shop? Let’s find out

Play First

This is the part where you can play games before they are actually released (some games will have already been released). The concept is really awesome, but the games have to be their B rate games right? I mean no one would let you play their good games for a handful of days without having to pay retail, right? I mean what if you manage to beat the game before your time is up? Yeah they gotta be crap games…here is the list of games that are available as May 1, 2016, UFC 2, Plants vs. Zombies GW2, Unravel, Star Wars Battlefront, Need for Speed, NBA Live 16, Fifa 16, NHL 16, Madden 16, and Rory McIlroy PGA Tour 16 the new Mirrors Edge game is on the way. The lineup of games is decent, but with it being comprised of mostly sports titles if EA Access stopped here I would probably pass.

The Vault

So these are games that you actually get to download and keep for as long as you have an active subscription. If there’s an area to get your money’s worth this is it, so let’s see if EA didn’t manage to screw it up. The game lineup for The Vault is as follows, FIFA 16, NHL 16, Madden 16, Battlefield Hardline, Dead Space, Dragon Age Inquisition, Titanfall, FIFA 15, Battlefield 4, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare, Madden 15, NHL 15, UFC, Need for Speed Rivals, NBA Live 15, Peggle 2, FIFA 14, Madden 25, and Plants vs. Zombies. I think this category can be classified as a winner merely because of the sheer number of games that are offered. Granted these aren’t A+ titles but there are some good games in there. EA promises to add to the vault and that the games that are in there are staying.

Is it worth it?

Ultimately this is a decision you’ll have to make for yourself. If you love your sports games, I say go for it, that seems to be the majority of what’s offered. You’ll still need Xbox Live to play online games, but you don’t need it to take advantage of this program. I personally am on the fence, I don’t play my Xbox much, I like my PS4 better. I really liked the idea at first and if a couple developers would team up and do something like this it could be epic. For now my Access subscription has been cancelled, I’ll pay the 5 bucks again in the future for a month, but unless they release some amazing games for it I don’t see a reason to fork over $30, hell the DC Universe is doing their whole rebirth thing in just under a month, and I’ll have some comics to buy. Sorry EA but I’ll pass on your subscription service for now, see you when you release something amazing, or when Madden 17 comes out…If you would like to check it out for yourself here is the link http://www.ea.com/eaaccess/