Posted in: Games, Movies, Video Games | Tagged: e3, entertainment, ubisoft, video games, Yves Guillemot

Team-Based Predictability – Ubisoft At E3

By Phil Harris

Ubisoft's events kicked off with South Park: The Fractured But Whole bringing Trey Parker and Matt Stone onto stage to speak to host Aisha Tyler, spending time making jokes about getting into your, "But Whole", during the new game and complaining about the microphones. Indeed you wonder why anyone lets them on stage at these things but we're glad that they do.

Like the EA press conference with sports the Ubisoft one often has rhythm based games which are hard to define but obviously popular but the second game we were shown was certainly not rhythm based but instead For Honour a vastly impressive battlefield game in a medieval fantasy style where we watched two teams of four participate in some quite heady and exciting action live – knight battling samurai.

The interesting thing about E3 press briefings is what each studio feels is viable to show. The Crew: Wild Run and Trials Fusion: Awesome Level Max were each expansions to existing franchises to entice new players to engage in the products. Of course The Crew: Wild Run was telling us of new driving experiences and enhanced and overhauled graphics. Whilst Trials Fusion: Awesome Level Max just had a cat riding a frikkin fire-breathing unicorn… with rainbows. Awesome.

Following this we got the live game footage of Tom Clancy's: The Division we had been waiting for and showed an impressive variety of different ways you can play the game, solve the problems and integrate with other players who can simply drop in on your experience – to either help or hinder. Whilst the games launch is still a while away you have to hope it is as good as anticipated, as the longer it takes to release the more the game seems to be dated, perhaps we've been seeing it for too long.

Rainbow Six: Siege had already been revealed during the Microsoft press conference but game star Angela Bassett came on stage to speak about her role. Unlike Parker and Stone, who understand the ridiculous nature of these events Bassett seemed a little out of water in front of the games community but her acting in game was, as expected, what you'd expect from such a high calibre actor. Once she had departed we got the live footage, which gives potential players far more confidence in a franchise, and all looked very well – but had similarities to The Division.

Where would we be without a new Assassin's Creed game you ask. Possibly a lot better off if the last outing was anything to go by I reply but the trailer of Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (Or the London edition – I swear these games are getting like Monopoly sets) enhances the concept the early possibilities we considered when the location and time period was mentioned.

Ubisoft always end with a little surprise and Yves Guillemot wasn't going to let us go without something. Tom Clancy's: Ghost Recon: Wildlands showed us different ways the player can engage and resolve a mission and represented yet another team based third person action game from the studio, something they are starting to excel in.

There was more including the popular Track Mania reaching consoles with Track Mania: Turbo and city builder Anno 2205, taking you into space but of all the press conferences so far Ubisoft's felt a little stale and predictable and the quality of the games will have to be good after Watchdogs felt a little flat following too much hype.

Phil Harris (@PhilipGHarris) is a games developer and writer currently working with One Thumb Mobile on their MMORPG Celtic Heroes. He also created Zentorii, helped design Nevistech's Pet Roulette for Android devices and is the story writer for Blazing Griffin's new space strategy game Distant Star: Revenant Fleet. To read more about Phil check out his profile on Indie Teamup.

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