So Ubisoft then.
Well, No Assassin’s Creed this year. Doesn’t mean no teaser, but don’t expect any gameplay. The same can be assumed for Far cry as well.
South Park, The Fractured But Whole, For Honour and Ghost Recon: WIldlands are all but guaranteed to be getting release dates and big features, I would also expect another look at the Division expansion.
Maybe we will see Watch Dogs 2. But I want to hope they’re keeping that all to its little announcement ceremony before E3 proper. Because otherwise it’s just likely to give people snark to work with.
And there’s always the persistent hope that Beyond Good and Evil 2 and Prince of Persia will appear.
Musical interlude with dancers to begin the show.
Always nice to see Ubisoft get the contractual dance sequence out of the way early. Queen’s Don’t stop me now and some cutesy saccharine dancing and costumes.
And thankfully Aisha Tyler has emerged to bring some sense to this. At least she can joke about this.
It’s all about Just Dance 2017. And a tribute to the events in Orlando as well.
Just Dance is confirmed for everything, including the NX. First confirmed game?
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wKLntsLVwY&w=560&h=315]
Oh Aisha, please just present everything. Someone who knows how to command the room is a genuine pleasure in these things. And she knows all the drinking games.
Launching with Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Cinematic trailer showing the ramifications of a drug kingpins threats and promises. Except here comes Ghost Recon, here to stop all the crime.
Dominic Butler is here to tell us about the game.
Set in Bolivia, the game is centred around a Mexican cartel taking over Bolivia, turning it into a “Narco-State”. Government and Cartel are working together, the Ghosts have to stop them.
As a story, I can see some issues here. I’m hoping they don’t try and play the game as Non political again, like the Division. Because that is still weird to me.
Takes place in Ubisiofts largest game map ever. Gameplay is going to be Ghosts hunting a target somewhere in the town. Players can achieve the objective however they choose. Lethal, non lethal etc.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLd2PSNTmoI&w=560&h=315]
I don’t think this is multiplayer, but Maybe? There seems to be another player piloting a chopper and speaking to our pov player. Okay yeah, now four players are acting out the mission, attacking from different sides. Lovely Ubisoft fake co-op chat as usual. Game looks like the Divisions Gameplay mixed with open world options of Far Cry. Vehicles look intuitive, with plenty of options for dynamic chases.
Game looks fine, Story looks traditionally tone deaf Tom Clancy
March 7th 2017 for release.
Now we’re learning about crime and conspiracies in near future America. The Division?
Nope. South Park is riffing on all those fearmongering ideas. Trey Parker and Matt Stone take the stage.
The Story continues from Stick of Truth, now time to play superheroes. The kids are arguing about the game, so are in their “Civil War” arc. You’re still the king from the end of the first game. You have to fill out a character sheet, RPG style. Speedster, Blaster, Brutalist classes.
Cartman comes up with your tragic backstory. Which is that you walked in on your parents having sex. It’s crass, but it’s effective.
Basically this is a “4.0 Version of Stick of Truth”
Space as a feature, Move around the battlefield, for cover or to move enemies
Time attacks allow you to rearrange the turn order.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPHkWUP47os&w=560&h=315]
Preorder Fractured But Whole, get Stick of Truth for free.
Release Date, December 6th 2016.
The entire plan is to make a superhero franchise that makes billions of dollars. The kids disagree about this. Time for Civil War.
The Division Update. The Division Underground comes out June 28th on Xbox one and PC, with August 8th on PC.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZu9FctybRA&w=560&h=315]
More expansions are coming out this year as well. Surprise outfits for the game, Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon.
Survival Expansion. Scavenge supplies and fight inclement weather. In engine cinematic, Agents looking for a cure. Heli crashes, they have to survive and loot in a hostile part of the city. This is actually a neat idea for an expansion. Survival mode as an optional section of the game.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfIgeal2v9U&w=560&h=315]
Ubisoft is concerned with accsessibilty and so we move to Eagle flight, Charles Huteau to show off the game. And Oculus are showcasing how the VR stuff is going to work. PVP in VR battle.
Multiplayer VR game with capture the flag is not what I expected from this game.
Okay, this game is basically a flight sim with no way to avoid opponents. You can’t look around to see your rivals as looking controls movement. It’s a cool idea in theory, but the practical effects are just kind of nauseating.
And six headsets each with their own PC may be the highest barrier to entry I’ve ever seen. Never mind Accessibilty.
Ubisoft Red Storm now, to talk about another VR game. Oh, it’s the Star Trek Bridge Crew VR game. Oh they got actual Star Trek actors to come in and talk about it. Levar Burton in particular seems to be enthusiastic about this.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvtgXc5Mvq0&w=560&h=315]
This looks like a VR version of Artemis. Which is a great idea. Another high barrier to entry, but this one is at least more initially explainable to new players. Being on the Bridge during a crisis is kind of awesome. No imagination necessary. The Environment convinces the players utterly.
For Honour time? Continents are being lifted away in medieval, Japanese and Viking Settings.
Okay, the reason for the fighting and the mishmash of eras is that they’ve been kidnapped and mashed together on landmasses. And so conflict began, over resources, fighting a thousand years of war. Okay, Appolyon. Female God of War is manipulating the three groups to keep fighting.
That’s your story.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtN2BzcYg9Q&w=560&h=315]
Jason Vandenburg on stage now. Each of the groups has a different goal, but basically wants to unite their tribe to survive. The Vikings Raid for resources, the Samurai need to rebuild.
Now watching Viking Longships beach assault a samurai fortress. Third Person Action game, Dynasty warriors style, with duels against specific foes. Moving your attack focus changes which direction your attack comes from and your blocks. Predict your enemies’ attacks. Similar to Chivalry: Medieval Warfare in some respects.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZTfuVBJGrg&w=560&h=315]
Scenery kills shown off. And Boss Battles as well. Available February 14th 2017.
Grow UP. Sequel to Grow Home.
This is adorable, BUD will work across an entire planet, using seeds to grow new plants.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVXUPxgZO-0&w=560&h=315]
August on PC, PS4, Xbox One
I am confused now. Two men in tigerskin gear have come on stage. Ubisoft Red Lynx and Ubisoft Montreal together. Trials Fusion creator, plus Blood Dragon creator. AH It’s a mash up.
Trials fusion map gameplay, with Blood Dragon theming,
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8sTwDF85nA&w=560&h=315]
Trials of the Blood Dragon. Welp. I don’t think anyone could have predicted that.
Out at end of Conference.
Oh. Okay, Assassin’s Creed.
Right, time to talk to a producer about the Movie. Trailer here I’ll assume. Familiar meets new in the Film. This is very slow. Talking about the production of the film, shooting locations, stuntwork.
Multi Layered Mythology, Apparently this move has an Arc. Unlike some Assassins Creed Games.
Time for an exclusive behind the scenes video, and some new footage. I still think that this looks like a good Fan movie, but with a higher budget. Fight scenes seem solid at least.
And DedSec have taken over the screens. So WatchDogs 2 is getting shown off here too. Straight from hack to in game flyaround. San Francisco does look pretty.
Puppies confirmed in game.
Co-op is as simple as encountering another player. Mission being shown where the PC has to break into a corrupt congressman’s office to get evidence of corruption. Drones being used to scope out the level. Then using a construction crane to gain access. Okay. I like that they use the Characters Ipod for ingame music. Nice conceit. Non lethal play through being shown to start. Ooh, weapons can be used to get enemies moving, before moving to non lethal tech. In game movement looks fluid and excellent.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKxUbIzR2pU&w=560&h=315]
This was vaguely positive. Though again, wait for news of downgrade.
Yves Guillemot now to talk about WatchDogs. Might be overselling it a bit now. Nope, Sony team is out now to talk about the game. Sony and Ubisoft are making a WatchDogs Movie.
Playstation Owners get WatchDogs Exclusivity for DLC for thirty days. Now just the trailer to finish.
Right One More Game. And Yves Guillemot is back on stage.
New IP from Ubisoft Annecy. Not Beyond Good and Evil. Many people will be heartbroken.
Action Sports game, Basejumping, Snowboarding, Paragliding, Cross Country skiing
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycr7dVH7EV4&w=560&h=315]
So a realistic version of SSX. With extra tools. Huge open world to explore and play with set in the Alps. All about sharing moments with other players. Game is called Steep.
The proximity basejumping looks terrifying, but adrenaline filled. And yes, if you hit the ground, you bounce hard.
Trail system that checks your movements and allows you to replay your awesome moments. For Sharing of course. Steep looks fun. Might scratch my speed itch when Mirrors Edge Catalyst winds down.
Ships in December.
Yves Guillemot and all the teams come out for applause. Ubisoft is celebrating thirty years in the Best Industry in the World.
Now for a montage of lots of Ubisoft game characters. That’s us. It’s finished.
That took a very long time. Now, to be fair, there were a lot of gameplay demos. Almost everything. But pretty much everything that wasn’t VR was an open world adventure game in some way. What happened to the Valiant Hearts and the Raymans? All those quirky games. Maybe we will see them next year.