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Once again, Ubisoft proves that it knows how to host a party at E3. At E3 2014, the publisher showed off only a handful of games--yet presented them in a way that felt utterly engrossing. Assassin's Creed Unity, Far Cry 4, and the newly revealed Rainbow Six Siege are looking incredible, and we can't wait to see more.
Did you miss the action, including Aisha Tyler charming us all to death once again and former GamesRadar EIC Gary Steinman doing push-ups on the E3 stage? Not a problem--read on to find out everything that went down at Ubisoft's E3 2014 press conference.
Get up close and personal with Far Cry 4's villain
Ubisoft started its show with a snow-covered showstopper by way of a beautiful Far Cry 4 gameplay demo. Beginning with a peaceful bus ride into the game's Himalayan locale, the demo quickly devolved into a chaotic gunfight, right before introducing us to the fearsome villain we caught a glimpse of in the initial reveal for the game.
Not unlike the E3 reveal of Vaas for Far Cry 3, the Far Cry 4 demo spent much of its time giving us an idea of the new Big Bad's attitude. For example: He stabs one of his own men to death, and then stabs him several more times--then takes a gleeful selfie with the player character. Yeah, pretty sure that's the definition of insanity.
Just Dance 2015 lets even more dancers join in
Ever since the addition of motion controls to home consoles, gamers have been forced to move their living room furniture to stand up and dance to a game. But hey, as soon as we saw the first seconds of the Just Dance 2015 announcement, the fox on the logo immediately revealed to us that the "What does the Fox say" song has to be in it--and if that is indeed true, we are in.
Along with the main game announcement, Ubisoft also revealed the dance title's new companion app. Just Dance Now app allows you to connect any number of players to play all at once. All you need to have is a cell phone with the app and be able to see the main game's screen. Now your Lady Gaga dance parties won't have to involve taking turns.
The Division cinematic trailer demonstrated just how much is at stake
After the Xbox press conference, there was even more of The Division on display at Ubisoft's dedicated event. Another creepy Christmas hymn (an eerily quiet "Silent Night") started off things as time-lapse video showed the the continued decay of what used to be a family home as a daughter's bed went unoccupied, trash began to compile, and gunshots scattered on the wall.
This continued into the street, where cars were looted and destroyed as blood splattered on the road, up until the members of the elite group of citizens stopped the fighting. However, they were faced with a menace worst than garden-variety looters, as flamethrower-weilding brutes on a dumptruck stood in the way. There wasn't much gameplay on display (Microsoft presented a pretty hefty chunk of that earlier), but it went a long way towards showcasing the dire tone of The Division.
The Crew is all about expansive, coast-to-coast scale
Ubisoft's presentation on The Crew began with an artsy new trailer that seemed more than a little desperate to convince us of the veracity of its ridiculous claim of representing the entire continental United States. The trailer was a time-lapse piece showing off the game's impressive visuals and similarly impressive environmental variety, with players racing through locales like San Francisco and the Grand Canyon.
Also discussed was the news of a beta for The Crew, with signups starting immediately. On top of that, Ubisoft appears to be banking on the title's competitive aspect, with a multi-national competition already ongoing with a pre-release version of the game. We're still not sure the entire United States will be represented in there, but we'll find out for sure on November 11th, the game's newly announced official release date.
Assassin's Creed Unity demonstrates the power in numbers
In the wake of a new gameplay trailers for Far Cry 4 and The Crew, Ubisoft showed a new cinematic trailer for the next entry in the Assassin's Creed series. Assassin's Creed Unity takes you through the crowded streets of the French Revolution. But this time you won't have to take you're assassination contracts on your own. Up to four players can work together to fight your enemies.
New elements of gameplay have been revealed, including a wrist mounted crossbow, a multi-barreled pistol, and quests such as solving murder mysteries. You'll partake in all of the typical parkour, swashbuckling combat, and crowd stealth found in the assassin's creed series, but thanks to the next gen hardware, the visuals, size of the crowds, and ability to seamlessly walk into buildings have never looked better.
Shape Up attempts to do a fitness game differently
Ubisoft is bringing a new form of fitness to Xbox One in November. Instead of the traditional workouts in faux-gyms provided by the likes of EA Sports Active and even Ubisoft's old Your Shape series, Shape Up will add some fresher environments to break a sweat in. How about running a mile on the moon, pushups at the circus, or doing dancercizes on a neon-infused keyboard that plays "Eye of the Tiger" in tune with your jumps.
If you can't find a friend to work out with, you can play against a previously recorded version of yourself. It all takes place with plenty of background noise, arcadey-style high-scores to top, and general insanity that you'd assume would only work in dance games. If they can tie the crazy workouts into actual fitness regimens, it could make for a nice change of (workout) pace.
Valiant Hearts show the horrors (and heartfelt moments) of war
Ubisoft's next UbiArt project, Valiant Hearts: The Great War is out in just a couple of weeks, but that didn't stop Ubi from devoting some precious stage time to it with a new trailer. Our new look at the game didn't shed much light on the gameplay (the company showed Valiant Hearts a few weeks back for info on that), but it did impress upon us all how depressing the WW1 game will be.
Ubi also announced its partnership with WWI Apocalypse, a documentary series that will be hitting later this year. That partnership is where much of the in-game text and history is derived from. Check out Valiant Hearts: The Great War when it arrives on June 25th.
Rainbow Six Siege brings the series back in style
Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, walked on stage during the Ubisoft presser and introduced the company's next 5-v-5 multiplayer title, Rainbow Six Siege. The gameplay demo showed a 5-man SWAT team breaking into a suburban home to rescue a hostage that has been captured by heavily armed assailants.
Players can use a variety of gadgets and weapons to get the leg up on the opposition. Remote controlled drones allow you to spy on the other team and riot shields protect yourself and your team from incoming gunfire. Breaching charges were also prominently feature as they were used to completely destroy any wall or floor. The environments seemed to be completely destructible, allowing the players to make creative use of the map and team tactics.
Requiescat in pace...
Did Aisha Tyler win your heart over all over again this year? Are these multiplatform games everything you hoped they would be? Let us know in the comments below.
And if you're interested in more, check out Mario trivia and the best Wii U games.
