E3 2014: Ubisoft Shows Off Solid Lineup with Brilliant Host
DJ Arruda, ‘16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer
Starting off with the highly anticipated Far Cry 4, the Ubisoft press conference showed off the first five minutes of the game, introducing us to the new Himalayan setting and the new villain who seems just as psychotic as Vaas from Far Cry 3, if not more so. Voiced by Troy Baker, Pagan Min looks to be quite the narrative driver. The game’s executive producer Dan Hay then came out to follow up on the announcement, followed by the show’s host Aisha Tyler. The comedienne/actress recently appeared as an NPC in the studio’s hacker title Watch_Dogs, and brought her talents to delight the audience throughout the hour.
Next up was a new Just Dance game revealed with a trailer set to Pharrell’s “Happy” and an interactive section detailing how the game is working across multiple platforms and devices. Next The Division got another showcase after a gameplay trailer at Microsoft’s conference, this time a CGI trailer detailing the virus and setting up the world of the New York inside the game, a dark and grim example of the open world MMO’s tone. Next came The Crew a cross-country driving game offering players the experience of driving throughout the USA with friends, announced at last E3. A beta was announced for July 23rd.
Next was the second time we saw Assassin’s Creed: Unity, beginning with the signature CGI trailer usually released for each title in the series showcasing the anarchy of the French Revolution as our Assassins aim to help the peasants take down the tyrants, hauntingly set to Lorde’s cover of “Everybody Want to Rule the World”. An October 28th release date was then revealed. An extended gameplay demo followed, featuring the protagonist, Arno, as the deadliest Assassin yet. Paris is a living, breathing city with opportunities to protect civilians, stop thieves, and solve murder mysteries all based around a new core gameplay, similar yet refining combat, sneaking, and platforming. Yet without any sign of the naval combat that made Assassin’s Creed 4 so good, it remains to be seen if co-op will be enough to keep gamer interest in the series. It looks cool, but also familiar.
Following the French Revolution, a new fitness game for the Xbox One using Kinect was then revealed, called Shape Up. Meant to make exercise fun through mini games and competing with friends, family, enemies, or even yourself, live playing of the game brought excitement to the show. Another period piece was then revealed, switching gears again, via a cool new indie game, Valiant Hearts. Players play as WWI soldiers and their Military Working Dogs, using letters to tie this gripping war time tale together. The game will also include archival videos and photographs from WWI in cooperation with the American Heroes channel.
Lastly, the show was rounded out with a surprise announcement of Rainbow Six: Siege from Ubisoft CEO himself, Yves Guillemot. Showcasing a multiplayer gameplay demo of a hostage match where one team was the rescuers and one the kidnappers, it looked to be a fresh new installment in the series. Overall, the conference delivered an array of games that were not too tame but not too shocking either, and added to the already present excitement from the day.