Ubisoft’s E3 Press Conference Huge Recap – What They Revealed

The Ubisoft conference began with a performance by non other then the famous, Alice in Chains, who were promoting the next outing in the Rocksmith series, the 2014 edition. I actually got to talk about the E3, live with some of my friends on skype to discuss about it. We had some great discussions. Firstly, we moved on to the Splinter Cell: Black List trailer where multiple characters important to the game were revealed. However the best thing about this conference was how they set it up, using 3d projectors that made use of the entire conference hall. You could see characters and mission names on the side walls, similar to how they were conveyed in Splinter Cell: Conviction. The sonar effect was also amazing, originating from the main screen and spreading out through the other screens and out towards the wall. That was beautiful.

However, the most interesting features we saw today, were the animated teasers for two amusing games, Rayman Legends and The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot. These two games had solid teasers that were both humorous and entertaining. The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot was probably the more amusing one as the writing was really great and it showed features of the new game. Best of all, this game will be totally free to play and is currently in closed beta state, so if you want to, you can go over to the website to register! Another well animated game that was probably really anticipated was shown again, South Park: The Stick of Truth! The game looked really true to it’s roots in terms of humor and epicness.

After that, something really cool and fresh was revealed, a car game. No, not just any car game, but one that really focuses on criminal activity and connectivity… The Crew! The impressive demo began with a group of drivers going at breakneck speeds through heavy traffic, whilst dodging the cops that are hot on their tale. We then move to a garage, where modifications are added to this un-built car, and the changes take place back at the pursuit, where the leading car turns into an off-road monster! The game seems to really promote online connectivity with co-op in mind, in a place that is filled with iconic streets, countrysides and wide landscapes. Co-op, Singleplayer and Multiplayer are all connected smoothly.

We then continue with another gameplay demo of The Crew, as this time we follow a character turn by turn. We begin with Steve, who is taking part in a dangerous and illegal car race, and thus is getting his ass chased by cops. We then switch over to Fergus, who with his friend, is trying to find special skills on the off-road trails for better upgrade options. lastly, we meet Sly, who is battling with a ghost driver and we get to see some great scenery of Las Vegas in the background, where the devs say, great drag races take place. So, after we see them each, they all gather in Miami for a special takedown mission, and to get ready for that, they tune and upgrade their car-parts, which in my opinion has a lovely and sophisticated interface that looks really unique. So, with finally fit for the right job, they relentlessly pursue this car, finding every chance they can to ram it as they break through fences, crash with the other cars and cause mayhem amongst the pedestrians. However, the real cool part was the beach section where they were destroying everything like the fold-able chairs and umbrellas on their way, causing its debris and equipment to fly away realistically! They strip through a small river and finally take the car down, and with that the demo ends.

The Crew seems to really focus on creating great teams, that can be customized to take over the crime network, one city at time. We were almost about to get into a conflict with an opposition crew, but the trailer ended before that could happen… teasing us. It is so amazing to see a car game that feels so amazingly different then most other car games, where racing is the main topic. However, in this game, it is about how you play with your crew, and how you grow through the ranks through many interesting missions. One cool thing happened during the event, and that was that the host customized a car in her iPad and sent it over to the game. Further showing the connectivity between different devices!

 

After that, some lecture about privacy was given, about how we were no longer living in a privately secure world… and that led the way to the E3 CGI trailer for Watch Dogs which most of you might have already seen before. Unfortunately, gameplay was not shown at the particular moment, but that might change in the Sony conference, where they might show more gameplay!

Then, we were shown some casual but breakthrough titles, Just Dance 2014 that seems to feature popular artists like Nicki Minaj and Psy this time, and the interactive TV show Rabbids Invasion, a TV show made from the partnership of Ubisoft movie production and Nickelodeon. We were shown how the viewers can interact in mini-games during the show with the pointing of their fingers. It seemed really well animated and hilarious as always, seeing how as these are the Rabbids we are talking about. The last two casual games shown were, Trial Fusion and Trial Frontier. They began with fusion on the next gen consoles, and interestingly broke into the mobile scene with Frontier.

 

After that, we saw another impressive CGI trailer, this time for Assassins Creed 4. We began with Edward Kenway sitting with his crew, relaxing in a pub when some people force them to take up arms. The combat was a great mixture of slow-motion and action. After that, they then go over to the naval side of the game, showing the frantic battles, with Edward later diving into the ocean and then ending the trailer with a wide view of the games setting, and finishing focus on a boat beautifully sailing away into the sunset.

However, these were just the tip of the ice-berg as the main surprise of the event was yet to come, and we were shown, Tom Clancy’s The Division. A game that tells of an interesting scenario, “what if money was the source of a horrible infection?”. The situation goes so bad in this fictional settings, that everything is then relying on a group of agents to turn the tide against the infection. The gameplay we saw was extremely impressive, and that is putting it lightly! Every detail was there, from snow to wind. The interface design in this game is really cool, and we see it pop up, interacting with our environment, giving us updates about the situation.

What was really amazing, was the firefight, where every penetration and every destruction felt immensely real! At one point, the player shoots through a billboard and light peers through the holes! Same thing for the car penetration, where the main guy was taking cover. The coolest thing to see was how he actually closed a door to take cover behind it. The window shattered realistically above him from the barrage of fire, and to help him with the surrounding enemies, he deploys this motion bomb, which rolls over to one of his target, and explodes! After this little fiasco, they make their way towards the police station, where they pick up some resources, hinting at survival gameplay. The main guy then walks around a bit, to find an assault rifle, which he takes then heads on out again, to once again face his enemies.

That game was literally a shock for most people, as no one was expecting it at all. The game looked tremendously amazing with all its realistic detail and interface design. That wasn’t the end of the coolest part though as Ubisoft decided to end the event in a very classy manner, by raining fake, and marked, plastic money from the ceiling! Ubisoft’s conference was definitely one for the books, as it was both amusing and entertaining!