EA Sports Active expands, Brutal Legend demoed

COLOGNE, Germany--The day before GamesCom officially begins, two of the biggest companies in gaming are unveiling their wares. While Sony was busy preparing for its own one-and-a-half-hour conference, across the road EA has announced a new game, dated a few of its anticipated titles, and dropped a bit of demo news on some of its existing lineup.

The new game comes in the form of EA Sports Active More Workouts, which will arrive on the Wii in November. The game will include a new six-week challenge, and EA Sports boss Peter Moore got onstage to show off one of the new workouts, which included squats, hurdles, and balance exercises.

FIFA 10 producer David Rutter was on hand to show off some of the new additions to the upcoming game. The headline feature is Virtual Pro, which will allow players to put themselves in the game using EA's Photo Game Face technology. As in previous EA games to include the option, customized characters can gain experience in any game mode and grow with in-game accomplishments, unlocking new content like post-goal celebrations.

EA also announced a handful of release dates across its core titles. Bad Company 2 will be released in Europe on March 5, 2010, and in the US on March 2. Dante's Inferno will land on February 12, 2010, in Europe and on February 9 in the US, while Tim Schafer's Brutal Legend will receive a demo on the PlayStation Network and Xbox 360 on September 17.

Finally, BioWare's Ray Muzyka took the stage to talk about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. He confirmed that the voice acting in the game, which he already described as "the most ambitious voice work in entertainment history," would also be supported in German and French.

EA confirmed that Bad Company 2 and Mass Effect 2 will be playable on the GamesCom floor and teased that some Crysis 2 "surprises" will be announced on Thursday. Stay tuned to GameSpot's continuing GamesCom coverage for more news and previews through the week.