The Ubisoft Booth – PAX AUS 2017 Hands-On
Ubisoft, as always, had a big presence at PAX this year and there were certainly some things that I was very keen to check out. I skipped Assassin’s Creed, simply because it is out now, and I hadn’t had enough drinks to even contemplate giving Just Dance a go but there were two titles that I managed to get some good time with and get a feeling of where they are going.
The Crew 2
The first Crew was a game of big ambition that fumbled the finish. It felt empty and the driving model always felt a little off. I am pleased to say that at least one of those issues has been rectified with the sequel. I got a chance to play a demo of the upcoming arcade racer that managed to impress me quite a bit. The first part of the demo was a simple street race. The handling of the cars was immediately better with sliding around corners and powering down straights feeling great. I also noticed a huge amount of detail in the track, the world felt much more real as opposed to the somewhat sterile original game.
After I had finished the race I was immediately transported into a high powered jet boat (via a very cool Inception-esque world bending sequence). I had a lot of fun racing the boats and what really impressed me was how the wake of the boats in front of me affected how I raced. It is something I never thought of with racing boats, but it makes complete sense. It also serves to help differentiate the boat racing from the car racing even further.
Finally, I hopped into a racing plane to compete is an air event. Plane controls were intuitive and felt easy to pick up. It is always a worry for a game such as this as to how they will handle air section but I am pleased to say it felt great. In all, I am keen to see the final release of The Crew 2. I am still worried about how they will fill this massive map with entertaining activities but it is great to know that the core racing feels great and it a big step up in both handling and variety from the first game.
Far Cry 5
Look I am going to say it now if you don’t like Far Cry I don’t think Far Cry 5 will change your mind. Don’t get me wrong, I like Far Cry and I like what I saw, but from this demo, I don’t think it is going to be a massive change to the formula. That said I had a lot of fun with this demo. I was charged with taking over a small town that had been overrun by white supremacist religious nut jobs and what better way to do that than with a sniper rifle? I had blast taking these goons down and their AI behaviors were quite good, making the fight a challenge worth taking.
The whole area felt much more detailed than previous Far Cry enemy encampments. The setting of the game, mid-west America, goes a long way towards making it feel a little more real. Previous games have been set in untamed wilderness as opposed to the cultivated farmland of this game. That makes a huge difference in the tone and feel of the locations I got to explore and does a lot to bring a sense of freshness to the franchise. I am very keen to play the final product and in my mind, as long as Ubisoft doesn’t go soft on the subject matter, it should be a great Far Cry game.
Dad, Gamer, Writer, Husband all rolled into one big ball of random matter.
Editor of Player 2, Matt spends his time yelling at strangers as they walk past, imploring them to visit Player 2. Sadly this tactic hasn’t yielded any significant results but he keeps on trying regardless.