Ubisoft E3 2012 press conference in a nutshell

Ubisoft have just had their turn with their press conference. So, what was the highlights? Well, at least Mr Caffeine wasn’t present this year!

1.

It’s safe to say the conference didn’t start off that great. Just Dance 4 opened it with Flo Rida and some scantily clad women. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, gamers don’t do physical activity. Oh and it’s Tobuscus! That’s nice.

2.

The first game to be showcased was Far Cry 3. There was a strong emphasis on ‘no longer being the hunted but the hunter’. The trailer kicked off with some rather provocative sexy-ness (I had to avert my eyes), leading to the protaganist inspiring the locals to rebel again the main baddie, Vas. This led to an awesome gameplay walkthrough showing, swimming, silent takedowns, the bow and arrow and tigers!  It was then revealed that the game world will be an entire archipelago of islands, cue the environment montage. This game looks pretty.

3.

Yet more information surrounding the new Splinter Cell game, Splinter Cell: Blacklist is revealed. A new release trailer is shown, showcasing cutscenes of awesome silent takedowns, spy and co-op gameplay and action shoot-outs.

4.

With the success of the recent Avengers movie comes with it, an inevitable game. While no gameplay was shown, a trailer for Marvel Avengers Battle for Earth was released showcasing battles between Spiderman and Magneto and Wolverine fighting Venom. At the end, the Avengers team is teased along with the announcement that it looks like it’s only coming to Kinect and Wii U.

5.

Next comes the sequel to Rayman Origins, Rayman Legends. Designed with the Wii U in mind, the game features the same art style and Wii U specific controls. for instance, the Wii U tablet controller controls Murphy, a character designed to help out everyone else on screen. He helps out by opening up specific areas and guides them through a rhythm style level too. I loved the first game, so this is a must buy for me.

6.

Now it’s time for an M-rated game for the Wii U. ZombiU is a an FPS zombie slayin’ game set in the UK during a zombie outbreak. The trailer doesnt show any gameplay but is reminiscent of the Dead Island trailer. Lets just say the trailer was amazing with the inclusion of, ‘god save the queen’ playing throughout.

7.

A trailer with a  montage of upcoming games including, Rabbids Land, Your Shape Fitness Evolved, Sports Connection and Just Dance 4 was shown, but little information was given for each, with only the teasers to base opinion on.

8.

Now it’s time for the big one and what the majority of people watching this conference came for. Assassins Creed 3! The intro trailer kicks off with a large scale battle occurring and the statement ‘they speak of liberty and justice, but for who?’ being spoken by the games protagonist, Connor. The assassin then proceeds to take on a whole friggin’ battalion of enemy soldiers and kills the general with an arrow. It was totally bad-ass!! Then comes the gameplay which showcases hunting, free-running in the forest, and sweet assassinations. This game is definitely on my radar. There was a clear focus on this game at the conference.

9.

A game ‘specifically tailored for E-Sports’ is then announced. Shootmania has a variety of game modes and a contest took place on the stage between the RocketAngels and the Railgun Allstars. This game looks promising and clearly has competitive play in mind.

10.

A ‘highlight reel’ trailer is then released, showcasing loads of Ubisofts’ free to play games such as Trials evolution, Settlers Online, Ghost Recon Online, I am Alive and From Dust. This was nice to show what Ubisoft have already done. Clap clap.

11.

And now I bring you the biggest surprise of E3 so far. Suffice to say, it’s freakin’ awesome! Out of nowhere, Ubisoft revealed a new IP called Watch Dogs. This is a futuristic espionage thriller in that the protagonist has access to the electronic network of the city. From here he can control all the devices in the city to devastating effect. For instance, he can jam communications to enter a high-security building or turn all traffic lights to green to create a diversion from the resulting crash. This game is also visually breathtaking and I look forward to seeing it’s future.

So there we go, that was Ubisoft’s press conference in a nutshell. While it started off slow, it certainly gained momentum with shock unveilings and awesome gameplay demos. Could this conference win the best of E3? With only Sony and Nintendo left to conference, Ubisoft certainly has a chance. Bravo Ubisoft, great work.