Ubisoft E3 2010 Keynote

Ubisoft’s press event was loaded with information on everything from new games to peripherals to piles and piles of sequels. With multiple genres and platforms covered, keep reading to see what the developer had up its collective sleeves!

-Right out of the gate Ubisoft shows off a Kinect game using lights, colors and sounds that accelerate or change when the player uses their hand to shoot items on screen. The trippy graphics remind me of games like Rez ,which it should, because it’s from the same creator. The name of the game is [i]Child of Eden[/i].

-The[i] Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood[/i] cinematic trailer highlights multiplayer assassin attempts on people, allowing others to hide and take out enemies from the shadow, then come out and attack in a group. Release date is November 16th 2010. Ezio, from the second [i]Assassin’s Creed[/i], is back, killing gentlemen and ladies alike. Destructible environments peel apart as Ezio’s town is destroyed.  Advanced horse fighting and action scenes play out on top of the horse with a closer camera. Ubisoft wants more memorable moments with varying gameplay, including a scenario where Ezio shoots cannon at towers and soldiers. The AI has been made more aggressive so that combat feels less like wait and counter and more heavily offensive.

-[i]Shaun White Skateboarding[/i] has been announced. It was built as a skating game from the point of view of the skater, not from how a normal person sees the world, and is a playground of sorts for people. The story revolves around an authority named the Ministry who wants to remove all the fun from the world, which the player will change in real time by performing tricks and making combos across the environment. Color will flow into the world, shops will open and people will change as you bring “fun” back. The player can change spots of the world using the left joystick to create their own rails or push the environment down which will unlock new places to trick off of.  This will be available to play on all consoles including Wii and in 3D at E3.

-[i]Battle Tag[/i] seems to be a new type of laser tag that will interact with your TV to display scores and such. It is a video game that you play away from the screen, that’s pretty much as far away from the couch as you can get. Clips for ammo need to be scanned to either fill up your clip or to play a game of relay race. It features 4 on 4 battles and will be coming out at the end of the year.

-[i]Innergy[/i] is a game about having fun and being well physically. The first Wii vitality sensor rip off has been shown and it’s brought to you by Ubisoft. A breathing mini game will help you lower your stress by bridging your heartbeat with a breathing pattern. It can be plugged into any computer to help you anywhere you go.

-[i]Motion Sports[/i] for the Kinect will feature skiing, football, and soccer with multiplayer.

-Ubisoft gave the same demo of [i]Your Shape: Fitness[/i] that they did at the Microsoft Press Conference.

-The Rabbits are back in time with [i]Raving Rabbids Travel in Time[/i], exclusive to the Nintendo Wii. No gameplay was shown.

-[i]Ghost Recon: Future Soldier[/i] was also announced. Futuristic gadgets help soldiers fight in wars in the future. Active camouflage adds another layer of tactical approach to environments and eliminating enemies, such as holding dead soldiers up to trick patrols into walking past. [i]Ghost Recon[/i] uses the same over the shoulder camera and cover system from previous games in the series along with the destructible cover found in other 3rd person shooters. Group assault allows you take out a group of patrol at once without alarming any of them.  4 Player Co-op and stereoscopic 3D support will be included.

-[i]Driver: San Francisco[/i] will arrive on all consoles. Players will return as Detective Tanner while he chases after Jericho from [i]Driver 2[/i]. Driving will be the focus of the new game, instead of the direction  that the last couple games took. For the first time ever licensed cars, with over 100 different models, will be included. Shift mode will allow you to pull back from the current car you’re driving and choose another on the road to shift into their perspective.

-[i]Project Dust[/i] is coming out in 2011. In game footage was shown but no actual gameplay. It looks like it could very much be a god simulator like Black and White.

-[i]Rayman Origins[/i] will take the series back to its roots as a 2D side scrolling platformer. Only 5 people are creating this game, using the tools they already established with a digital download platform.

-[i]Maniaplanet[/i] is a new platform for developing content. It uses [i]Trackmania’s[/i] philosophy of create-and-share while pushing it  over different genres including RPGs, shooters and racing. Trackmania 2 beta is in Q4 2010, Shootmania beta is in Q1 2011, and Questmania beta is coming soon.  

By Justin Wheelock

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