E3: Ubisoft’s Near-Bullseye

One positive aspect our social media adherence brings to E3, is that it allows us to gauge players’ reactions regarding each conference. Most often, users generally agree on which were presentations were good and which were disappointing. However, this year’s Ubisoft conference seems to have split the community, though to be fair, their main complaint this year seems to be the lack of Beyond Good & Evil 2 information. It’s true that we have yet to hear from Jade, but despite a few hiccups, this year’s conference was a good one.

The conference came out swinging with South Park: The Fractured But Whole, a sequel to last year’s South Park: The Stick of Truth. This was a rare case of a cinematic trailer done right; it didn’t show any gameplay, but the plot was readily apparent and its humor shone through. Even if you don’t watch Comedy Central’s controversial show, the self-referential humor alone made me want to purchase it. What other game outright says the combat in the previous game “sucked” and that they will “settle for nothing less than 9.5 on Gamespot”?

Aisha Tyler spearheaded the conference and she was a near-perfect host. Her energy and humor carried the presentation even during its weaker moments. Even when the developers were brought on stage she always knew what to say to further enhance their presence. She still suffered from the occasional awkwardness though, namely her focus on the word “meme”, claiming Ubisoft’s conference to be meme-worthy and calling a steampunk cosplayer a “life-sized meme”.

South Park was followed by a new ip, For Honor. Gameplay pits two teams of four players against each other in a medieval setting. Battle locales are populated by hordes of NPC soldiers from each faction making it reminiscent of Koei-Tecmo’s Dynasty Warriors series. This is hardly a knock-off though, battles in For Honor seem slower with a heavier and more realistic move set. The movement, weight and even art style of your characters leads me to assume Dark Souls also served as an inspiration. For Honor was presented via a cinematic trailer and a gameplay demo between eight players running in real time. The fact we were treated with actual on-stage gameplay was a breath of fresh air and it completely sold me on For Honor. Simply put, I can’t wait until this is out.

This was followed by a new expansion to The Crew titled Wild Run. Sadly, we were only treated to a short teaser. Up to this point I’ve been praising Ubisoft’s for its proper mix of cinematic trailers and gameplay demos, but the way The Crew: Wild Run was presented marked their first real snag. Other than the name, little else is known.

Players were presented to Trials Fusions’ next expansion pack through a short teaser of a gun-toting cat riding a fire-breathing unicorn. This epic march was even followed by a triple rainbow. Currently, it’s set to release on July 15, leading to me assume the project is nearly completed, which is why I find it odd no gameplay was shown.

Perhaps realizing gamers were more interested in gameplay than teasers, the conference quickly moved on to a live stage-demo of The Division’s multiplayer arena, Dark Zone. Unlike For Honor’s demonstration, this was littered with faux-technical talk between the two players that seemed possibly staged. Player banter aside, gameplay seemed fairly interesting, though I feel its graphical output has been downgraded since we’ve last seen the game.

Anno 2205 was unveiled next via short teaser and a cinematic trailer simulating gameplay. Taking place nearly 200 years after the previous title, and players will finally be able to leave the confines of our blue planet to colonize other worlds.  I consider myself a big fan of the Anno franchise, so my perceptions were likely colored, with that said, I enjoyed the short “gameplay” video even if it barely showed anything.

Next came perhaps the low-point of this conference as Just Dance 2016 is presented through a song and dance number act starring Jason Derulo. I’m sad to say this brought the stage to a screeching halt. It’s odd so much time was dedicated to Just Dance when the only new information we learned was its new streaming subscription service.

Interlude finished, the Tom Clancy franchise marks its return much to Robert’s delight. First in the form of Rainbow Six Siege, through an impressive cinematic and a gameplay demo. I generally care little for pre-rendered videos, but I need to point out I actually had difficulty telling if Six, voiced by Angela Basset was a real actress or a CGI character. Considering how long it took me to realize it was the latter I have to say the technology displayed is impressive. This was followed by another on-stage gameplay demo featuring 5 players. I was mightily impressed by the level of tactical options available. Breaking down walls, climbing builds and even the option to control scouting drones peaked my interest. With that said, one glaring flaw presented itself; medics can now revive fallen team members. Considering this is a series known for its realism this features begs too many questions and none of them positive in nature.

Trackmania also marks a return making the leap from PC to PS4 and Xbox One. Gone is the overhead perspective, this time in favor of a more traditional arcade camera. This may upset some purists, but the gameplay shown provided fast action reminiscent of 90s arcade racers. Trackmania Turbo features an editor as do all previous titles. Watching it made me want to go back and play Virtua Racing, I consider this a positive sign.

Of course, no Ubisoft conference would be complete without Assassin’s Creed. Shown only via cinematic trailer, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate takes place in a Victorian-era London. The trailer doesn’t present much, though it seems its central plot revolved around Jacob and Evie as they face off the wealthy and London’s gangs in favor of the city’s poor.

As the conference drew to a close, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands was announced. Little gameplay was shown, but the game is set to feature a massive open world to explore with player choice on how to tackle each assignment. These can range from direct assault or sniping to stealth and even drone-controlled ambushes.

Overall I feel Ubisoft benefited from a solid line-up, a likeable host and a well-executed presentation. There were a few bumps here and there, but overall the French giant is to be commended.