E3 2014 – Ubisoft
We’ve had the Microsoft Xbox and EA Games press conferences, now it’s time for the Ubisoft press conference. While I would normally do one or more articles on bigger titles that has gotten more attention than others, I feel that I can’t do that with Ubisoft. They brought up so many incredible games and even revealed a trailer for a game at the end of their show that I am stoked about. I won’t spoil it just yet, you will need to wait just a little longer!
Ubisoft kicked it off with nothing less than a Far Cry 4 trailer, revealing an extremely realistic monkey that is sitting next to you on a bus ride. When the bus stops at a checkpoint, things get heated pretty fast and soon all hell breaks loose. Soon you are eye to eye with the blonde-haired crazed character that can be found on the box art of Far Cry 4. Dan Hay, the creative director of Far Cry 4 than jumped on stage and tells us that “that was just the first five minutes of the game”, which is incredible as it was packed with action, murder and mystery. “On November 18th, you will be traveling on a bus headed towards an armed border at the foot of the Himalaya’s. We’ll give you a fake passport, a little bit of cash and a gun. And after that… well you’re fucked.”, Hay continues. All in all, Far Cry 4 looks to be another stellar game in the Far Cry series.
Aisha Tyler mentioned that Ubisoft “starts big and then we go bigger”, and that is exactly what Ubisoft does when they show us Just Dance 2015. The game features an updated tracklist with artists such as Pharrell Williams, Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding and much more. The goal for Just Dance is to bring people together like it has never done before. My most favorite new feature in Just Dance 2015 is the fact that you can now use your smartphone as a controller. If you have a smartphone, an internet connected big screen like a tablet, PC and a TV screen, you can all play together in-sync in real-time. It doesn’t even matter with how many people you are. If you’re alone, with a bunch of friends or with an entire stadium, you can all dance together. Just Dance 2015 is set to release October 2014.
“Last year, we got an introduction of the world of Tom Clancy’s The Division and we almost crapped ourselves with joy”, Aisha Tyler continues after Just Dance 2015. Earlier at the Microsoft conference, Ubisoft showed us that New York City has become a hostile area and “on the verge on being completely lost. Lost to a virus. Lost to chaos. And lost to the factions who have taken advantage of the break of society.” the producer Petter Mannerfelt explains. “As an agent of The Division, you are a member of an civilian elite, trained in secret and imbedded in society.” Mannerfelt continues. It is three weeks after the release of the virus, that caused so much mayhem in New York City, that you as a member of the elite Division are activated. Your end goal is to take back New York. The trailer showed at the conference shows us the transformation the city takes as it goes from normal to utter chaos, with loved ones that are dying all around us.
The next game is the Crew, a revolutionary action-driving game that has been developed exclusively for next-gen consoles. The Crew takes you from coast to coast in the US with fully customizable cars. “True expansive, open-world driving mayhem”, Aisha Tyler described the game. The game will feature missions that will take more than two hours to complete and much more. On July 23rd the closed beta will go live and you can already register right now to hopefully become a part of it. A few months later, more specifically on November 11th, the Crew will release on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Microsoft already showed us the most nifty feature any of the Assassin’s Creed series has ever seen before, the four-player co-op mode in Assassin’s Creed Unity. Alex Amancio, the creative director, starts off with a story. “It is the dawn of the 19th century and Paris is at its darkest hour. The nation is besieged by economic decay, poverty and hunger are relentless. Revolution is in the air.” Then the chaos the French revolution brought is seen and once again our four assassin’s made an appearance. In AC Unity you will be able to build your own skillset and arsenal to suit your own playstyle. Assassin’s Creed Unity will be coming to us on October 28th, 2014.
As a gamer, you will most likely not be getting much fitness. If you think that holding a controller will do the trick, I will have to disappoint you but it doesn’t. Ubisoft comes with Shape Up, a fitness game that does not requires you to leave your house and enter a fitness building or run in the streaming rain. In Shape Up, they have taken training serious but kept the level of fun in it. You will be running on top of a train, run on a piano or you will do push-ups with elephants and huge statues on your back. It will also feature a replay mode where every performance is recorded and saved for later. You can send your performance to your friends and family, or you can compete against yourself. Shape Up is exclusively for Xbox One.
The next game is the creative World War I storytelling game, Valiant Hearts. Inspired by actual stories, letters and photographs from World War I. Valiant Hearts is developed with the UbiArts framework, the engine also used in games such as Rayman Legends and Child of Light. As a unique puzzle-adventure game, Valiant Hearts will put the gamer through an emotional journey of four playable characters and their canine companion through the trenches of World War I. The short trailer already shows you the emotional power Valiant Hearts can evoke. It also shows you the creative, artistic visuals of Valiant Hearts. Valiant Hearts: The Great War is set to release at the end of this month for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
The last trailer for Ubisoft at E3 2014 announces a new game, one that many gamers has been waiting for. The gameplay shown is pre-alpha footage from a multiplayer match which shows Team Raven vs. Team Rogue. Each team has five players and it looks like it will be another first-person shooter. In this match, you are following the team that has to find the hostage and take her, or him, to safety. Via the means of a drone, you can see what the enemy team is up to and change your tactics depending on what exactly they are doing. Curious to what this game is? So was I as it looked like a superb first-person shooter. The footage shown below, is from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege! Hell yeah! It has been six years ago but Rainbow Six is finally back. Are you as stoked as I am about this title or are there other titles you would rather get your hands on?
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