After keeping an eye on the absolute hype coming in through Ubisoft’s Twitter during the pre-show, it definitely filled me with anticipation into what they were going to announce and reveal. I just hope to God that they do not fall into the usual over promise but under-deliver trap where they have found themselves in the past
Well let me say this. No, Ubisoft did not fall in that trap, and they did actually bring us some really good content, but hardly any of it was gameplay. Instead, Ubisoft avoided that over-promise trap by sticking to mostly cinematic trailers. However, like the other conferences, we will start at the top, discussing each section as we go.
First to hit the stage was the imalgumation that is Mario and Rabbids. The game was introduced by Shigeru Miyamoto himself which I found very surprising. Mario usually stuck to its own, but with the launch of Mario Run on iPhone, and now this, teaming up with a character that was originally built for Rayman, it looks like Nintendo are definitely into trying some new things. Mario + Rabbids is a simplistic adventure game that’s split into two. The game map, and the battleground. Combat is turn-based, taking heavy influence from the likes of X-Com. There are powerups during battle, level ups to unlock new content and tactics that sees you gain advantage on the battlefield. There wasn’t much explanation on the main map except that the Mario kingdom is in jepordy. All we saw with this is Mario and two Rabbids dressed as Luigi and Peach running around collecting coins. The game is however exclusive to the Switch, so it is still within the realm of Nintendo.
Assassin’s Creed came next, but it was only in the form of a cinematic trailer, with Ubisoft opting for a 30 minute gameplay segment once the main conference had finished. Not sure I agree with this move, as seeing gameplay during the conference itself would certainly build hype. Maybe it was because Ubisoft wanted consumers to stick around on the live streams, I have no idea. The trailer we saw was a basic cinematic that introduced us to the new Egypt setting. We saw some animals fighting, a group of slaves being made to work, I’m assuming to build the pyramids and some slow motion combat. The 30 minute gameplay at the end of the conference was spent exploring a lake town. We saw some combat, an owl that can scout enemy targets, very similar to FarCry: Primal and even a cute little cat at the end that took a liking to the protagonist.
The Crew surprised me. I thought it was going to be another open world car game, but the fact that you can use bikes, including dirtbikes, boats, airplanes and off-road buggies has really done this game some justice. I think with the last one being as unsuccessful as it was, really made Ubisoft listen to what their audience wanted. With hints of a career progression from street races to professional circuits, The Crew is heading in the right direction in terms of gameplay. It looks visually stunning too, with a vast amount of locations to explore. Was there also a hint of as Red Bull branded fighter? Looking at the video again we’re wrong, but those colours are very similar.
Now one game I was looking so farward to see a little bit more of was South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Again, we were teased with a cinematic trailer which did glisten with some impressive gameplay, but as a whole, not too impressed. It wasn’t really anything we hadn’t seen already. A taste of what the new skills are, or some exploration of the town would have been really fun to see, but I suppose being South Park, and the fact The Stick of Truth was a huge hit, Ubisoft don’t really need to delve to deeply into the new installment to gain some hype.
When Frodo..*ahem* I mean Elijah Wood turned up in a trailer for the new title Transference, it set me back a little. What was he doing there? Transference is apparently an experience more than a game. Ubisoft want to put you inside a movie, and have created what seems like almost a simulator of an actual movie. It’s a VR title that’s due towards the end of the year. They want you to feel as uneasy in the real world as they do when you’ve got your headset on. Not much was really announced on the title, but it did seem as if it was some kind of horror/thriller type title. More to come of this I’m sure.
Skull & Bones caught my eye. Pirate simulator type titles are becoming some what of a trend this year I feel. With games like Corsair: Man Of War, the announcement of Sea of Thieves during the Xbox conference and indie games still in development like Blackwake, sailing the high sees has caught on somewhat. The game was first introduced with a very good looking cinematic trailer that saw pirate ships do battle, but then it took a turn for the worse and showed us what seemed like quite dull multiplayer gameplay of capture the treasure. There are several types of ships that will aid various modes of combat being ranged or close quarters, and you can board enemy ships although it seems like from the gameplay demo, you are just the captain steering the ship. The Kraken tease at the end brought the promise back though. That thing was huge and scary.
Now I don’t really know how to go about speaking about this next game but in true Ubisoft fashion, there was a dance number to introduce the new installment of Just Dance. But, there was no gameplay, no reveal, and just a bunch of different character types including a large Panda throwing down their best shapes. Oh, and Bebe Rexha turned up to let us know that she wants to dance with somebody.
Ever play Coyboys and Indians as a child? I did. And in the words of Eric Cartman, I put on some of my best cowboy shit and ran around the streets outside my house with pretend weapons. Not very politically correct, but still, we were kids. South Park do it, why can’t we? Phone Destroyer is a new mobile game featuring your favourite characters from the South Park series. It follows in the same trend as their console counterparts, with turn based combat, and Ubisoft teased some kind of possible storyline to it as well. There wasn’t much information given, except that it’s due this year and has aliens, pigeons, cops and cock magic in it, whatever that is.
No Man’s Skylanders or as Ubisoft call it, Starlink was next showing off its modular gameplay mechanic. You connect a plastic ship to your controller and upgrade its parts using little modular pieces to create the best ship possible. Upgrade guns or engines on the fly so you can counter the types of enemies that you will come across. The only thing that wasn’t mentioned was cost. My biggest question is how much is each modular part going to set someone back? Will they come as a package or will you have to pick up the pieces one by one. Gameplay looked impressive enough to hold and it was teased to be available on the Nintendo Switch as well as the Playstation 4.
Now the star of the show, and one game that I am looking so forward to. FarCry 5! After being given a trailer a couple of weeks ago thanks to some leaks that came directly from the Ubisoft team, Far Cry 5 was showcased with some pretty amazing gameplay. You’re stuck in a back-water town in the middle of Montana. Roads are shut, police are non-existent and there is no mobile phone signal. A fanatical cult has taken over, killing off civilians in the town. It’s your job, along with Grace Armstrong and your trusty dog Boomer to bring this cult down. We met some other characters in previous trailers, but this was more of a gameplay segment showing off gun play, using Grace as overwatch, flying planes in intense low to the ground dog fights, and vehicle chases. From what we saw, character dialogue is ever gritty as usual. If this trailer and gameplay is anything to go by, I think we’ve got a game of the year on our hands, but I’m sceptical. Ubisoft have fallen into the over-promise under-deliver trap before. I just hope it doesn’t happen here.
Last up was a title that we haven’t seen for 15 years. Beyond Good and Evil 2, a world full of hybrid animals alongside humans, fighting for survival across expansive galaxies. The dialogue is full of banter and incredibly crass, which seem to suit these characters down to tee. We didn’t see any gameplay, and what we were told is that this game is set before the birth of Jade. Who Jade is I have no idea, but it feels like it may be a prequel to the original. They’ve been working over the last three years on the technology that’s required to build this title, and do have a working playground already. Ubisoft are ushering people to join the Space Monkey program to help make Beyond Good and Evil alongside the Ubisoft development team. Oh, and Michel Ancel, creative director at Ubisoft Montpellier has a bit of a cry on stage. If that’s not intense passion for the brand he works for, I don’t know what is.
