Bioware Releases New Anthem Images Before E3

Ahead of the EA Play event set to take place within the next couple of weeks, BioWare decided to release some new images of its upcoming multiplayer, third-person, action-oriented, role-playing multiplayer game, Anthem.

The new key art for the game focuses on one of the bio-mechanical suits that players will utilize throughout the game. The art sees the title of Anthem neatly aligned in a vertical display down the center of the helmet while orange glowing optical lenses light up both sides of the title.

One might even assume that the image looks very similar to the likes of Michael Bay's depiction of Hasbro's Transformers given the yellow and steel livery depicted on the suit. It's not hard to see similarities for sure, but in the actual game and in the lower part of the key art, you can very readily see the differences.

In fact, just below the title and the giant helmet that looks like Bumblebee, you can see some of the other suits flying around, making their way into the valley below with different configurations at play. Some suits have twin jetpacks, others only have one. We also see some alien structures in the foreground and the background, which ties into Anthem's heavy reliance on exploration and adventure.

In a way, the setup reminds me a lot of Xenoblade Chronicles X, which had a similar setup, where the humans were on a large base and attempted to explore the alien planet using their own mechs.

Of course, Anthem will likely be closer to Destiny than Xenoblade Chronicles X when all is said and done. The little amounts of gameplay that were on display last year revealed a game that appeared to be a shooter game, where players will drop down into various environments while battling enemies and looting gear after defeating large monsters.

As the hype begins to swell, BioWare teased some bits of the game in a trailer ahead of the big June 9th reveal by posting up a short clip over on the official Anthem Twitter account.

Players will scavenge for equipment and then use it to upgrade their own suit or attempt to acquire a new suit to explore the planet. Much like Destiny, there's also a strong focus on multiplayer cooperative play, as players can team up and explore the planet and take on missions in small squads.

There were some previous reports that Anthem was undergoing some development woes, leading toward the game being delayed into early 2019. EA made some public statements, squashing the reports but also confirming that the game was indeed moved into early 2019. We'll finally get our first look at what progress has been made on the game since its announcement last year, and how the game will play on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC when the gameplay is put on display during the EA Play press conference to help kick off E3.