With exciting new IP Watch Dogs leading the charge, there were some high expectations for the Ubisoft E3 2013 conference summary. Aisha Tyler, voice of Lana in the hilarious animated series Archer, took to the stage once again to show off what Ubisoft have got prepared for the next generation.
ROCKSMITH 2014
Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell kicked things off with a live demo of the new and improved Rocksmith 2014. Featuring a completely redesigned interface and all-new features, Rocksmith 2014 will enable players to rock along to a virtual band that will dynamically jam alongside you, adapting live as you play.
A new fully customizable “Riff Repeater” lets players select any section of a song they want to play, and adjust the difficulty and speed on-the-fly. A new “Master Mode” makes playing by memory more approachable and new “Guitarcade” mini-games have been created to hone specific guitar skills. For those looking for a fun way to learn guitar, Rocksmith 2014 is one to watch out for.
SPLINTER CELL BLACK\LIST
Tagged as the “biggest Splinter Cell ever,” Splinter Cell Blacklist will include not only a gripping campaign, but also multiple co-op missions and the return of the insane Spies vs Mercs multiplayer. We’ve seen and heard a lot about Blacklist by now and as such all we got during the conference was a new trailer.
Despite recent concerns about Ubisoft pulling away from developing for the Wii U, the game is still geared towards providing a deeper experience on the console with the Wii U GamePad. With an overall focus on “owning your play style,” Splinter Cell Blacklist should be an interesting example of how the series is evolving.
RAYMAN LEGENDS
Rayman Origins stole our hearts a mere 2 years ago and Ubisoft subsequently broke them when they initially announced that follow-up Rayman Legends would be a Wii U exclusive. Thankfully the game is now multiplatform and looks to only improve on all the platforming joy we got in Rayman Origins.
Rayman Legends introduces a new character, Barbara, who we saw in the new trailer shown during the conference. The new game appears to have been given a bit of a makeover and appears to have a slightly more shaded look that its predecessor. With over 120 levels and competitive multiplayer, Rayman Legends is a must buy when it’s released on September 3rd.
THE MIGHTY QUEST FOR EPIC LOOT
Staying true to modern gamings ability to mish-mash a whole bunch of genres together, The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot is a free-to-play, third person dungeon crawler with elements of tower defense and real-time strategy. Set in a medieval fantasy world, players must steal their neighbours treasure whilst protecting their own.
You can check the game out for yourself on PC by visiting www.themightyquest.com where the game is now in open beta. The Mighty Quest For Epic Loot looks like it could be a fun and free little time-waster.
SOUTH PARK: THE STICK OF TRUTH
The future of the foul-mouthed fantasy RPG from Matt Stone and Trey Parker was left at somewhat of a mystery with the closure of previous publishers THQ, however Ubisoft seemed keen to show that the title is still alive and well with a brand new trailer.
After Stan Marsh demonstrates the deadly “Nagasaki” move, Cartman states that the title will be “Coming this Holiday season… Or some Holiday season. You know how video games are.” We can confirm that South Park: The Stick Of Truth will be coming to multiple platforms this Holiday season. Schweeet.
THE CREW
It was at this point Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot took to the stage to start showing off what the publishers are bringing to the next gen. He introduced The Crew, developed by Reflection and Ivory Towers, as a game that will “revolutionise the genre.” To me and many of the folks watching, it looked a lot like Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit.
The easiest way to describe The Crew is by calling it an MMO racer that is playable to some degree across multiple devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Whilst the actual gameplay might not be that impressive, the concept is certainly intriguing and it’ll be interesting to see how the game is received.
WATCH DOGS
This was one of the biggest let downs of the conference for me. Watch Dogs producer Dominic Guay walked out on stage, introduced the E3 trailer they’d released earlier that day, and then walked off stage.
Watch Dogs is by far my most anticipated upcoming title for the next year and I was a little bit miffed to see them save all the juicy stuff for Sony’s E3 2013 conference that aired at 2am in the UK. Even more so when it was bumped off to make way for…
JUST DANCE 2014
THE HORROR! THE HORROR!! For those of you who do you like flailing about in front of a TV totally sober, Just Dance 2014 will include new modes and features, including the On Stage Mode and World Dance Floor – the series first foray into online multiplayer.
The Xbox One has nabbed itself a couple of exclusive modes for Just Dance 2014 such as Just Dance DJ that allows the player to “control the beats themselves between songs,” and 6 Player Dances with specific maps that feature unique choreography for each player. Just Dance 2014 is scheduled for release in October 2013.
RABBIDS INVASION
The freaky little offspring from Rayman are back with a new interactive TV show in partnership with France Television and Nickelodeon titled Rabbids Invasion. The series will span over 78 episodes and players will be able to use their next gen consoles and mobile devices to interact with key elements.
Due for release in 2014, we can’t imagine the innovative new series being as well received as fully-fledged game, Rayman Legends, but I can imagine it’ll be a good laugh for young children.
ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG
Creative director Jean Guesdon arrived on stage to talk about the next “true pirate experience” to grace the Ubisoft staple series, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Showing off a brand new cinematic style gameplay trailer, if one thing is certain it’s that Ubisoft know how to make a damn good trailer.
Due for release on November 1st, 2013 on all current and next gen platforms, there’s not a lot of new information to give about Assassin’s Creed IV that we haven’t already discussed in our previous coverage.
TRIALS FUSION & TRIALS FRONTIER
Adrenaline and rage fuelled high score chasing to top the leaderboards is coming back in 2014 with the announcement of Trials Fusion coming to next gen consoles and PC and Trials Frontier coming to mobile devices. Like most next gen titles, both games will include a social element in addition to a brand new FMX Physics Trick System.
We’re sure that both of these titles will prove to be a smash hit with gamers when they are released in 2014. We certainly had a damn good time with Trials Evolution.
TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION
Ubisoft ended their E3 2013 conference with a title that left a lot of gamers confused as to what it was, but nonetheless incredibly excited. Based on the Tom Clancy universe, The Division is an open world action RPG set in New York city which has been hit by a devastating pandemic.
As a Division agent, players will be able to team up in seamless massive multiplayer to combine their skills to fight, investigate, trade and more. There’s even a companion app that allows you to aid allies in combat when you’re away from the game. This is definitely one to watch.
If you missed it, or if you just want to see the whole thing again, you can watch the Ubisoft E3 2013 conference in it’s entirety in the video below. You can catch up on all the latest news, trailers and conferences by checking out our E3 2013 coverage.
What did you think of EA’s E3 2013 conference? What game are you looking forward to most? Let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter and Facebook.
E3 2013: Ubisoft Conference Summary
StickTwiddlers