E3 2016 – Ubisoft Conference
Ubisoft’s conference had some great games on show but it did suffer from pacing problems. At 2 hours it was the longest show so far and could have been trimmed quite a bit. But among the slow points there were some real highlights and that is what matters right?
– Ubisoft kicked off the show in a way that only Ubisoft could, a Just Dance dance number. Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen played so dancers in crazy outfits could do crazy dance moves. This franchise just keeps on rolling. Interestingly they confirmed a release for the Nintendo NX next year.
– Next into something more serious and that was Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Apart from the cheesy scripted dialog, this game looks fun. Co-op and Single player tactical open world combat. There seems to be a little Splinter Cell DNA thrown into the combat too. I am very keen to see how this one turns out.
– Then all pretense of being a serious show was thrown out the window with the introduction of Trey Parker and Matt Stone to talk South Park: The Fracture But Whole. Perhaps the biggest change from The Stick of Truth appears to be the combat system which is now much more tactical. Also, if you missed The Stick of Truth you can get it free with a pre-order for The Fractured But Whole. The game is coming out December 6 so it could find its way into quite a few Christmas stockings.
– Then it was VR time. The first game on show was Eagle Flight. It seems like a fun spin on capture the flag but it is hard to see it having longevity. I could be wrong though.
– Keeping the VR going with a big announcement Star Trek: Bridge Crew. The game was announced with some gameplay being performed by a host of past and present Star Trek actors including Karl Urban and Jeri Ryan. The game looks to be a lot of fun but will totally dependent on getting enough friends to join you to be fun.
– From the final frontier, we then moved into our bloody past with For Honor. A big chunk of Single Player was shown and I think the best way to describe it is a much more deliberate and precise version of Ryse. It looks fantastic and the combat seemed to carry a lot of weight. Excited to get my hands on this one.
– A couple of little titles were next. First up was a sequel to the charming Grow Home, called Grow Up. A short trailer was shown but it really is the sort of game that a video doesn’t do justice.
– Next up was the craziest E3 presentation of the year. Trials is getting some more levels and they are set in the wonderfully 80’s sci-fi world of Far Cry: Blood Dragon. Trials of The Blood Dragon is available now so fans of the franchise should be playing it as I write this.
– After a short break to promote the Assassin’s Creed movie Watch Dogs 2 took over the stage. A good gameplay demo was shown with the new lead character looking much more agile than Aiden was in the original. It certainly looks like this is an evolution of the Watch Dogs formula with more hacking options on display. If they can get the story right this time it should be a great game.
– The final trailer on show was the traditional Ubisoft “end the show with a surprise announcement” thing. The game is called Steep and it is an extreme sports game based around snowy mountains. Snowboarding, Gliding, Wingsuits, Skiing. Basically, every winter themed Go Pro video ever crammed into a game. It actually looks like a lot of fun so hopefully it delivers upon release in December.
That is the Ubisoft show in a nutshell. Like I said some great games on show and despite the pacing problems a fairly entertaining presentation.
