E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) is an event held in Los Angeles where hardware manufacturers and software developers and publishers from the video game industry present new and upcoming products. Our own GameWarp has the coverage. Next up: UbiSoft
Despite having hosted the Ubisoft conference for the last five years, this year the developer decided to give Aisha Taylor the conference off and let the dev’s run the show and it certainly removed the usual distinctive feel of the Ubisoft conference. Hopefully 2018 will mark Taylor’s return to the conference but that being said ,while tonally different than previous years, this was certainly one of the most fun conferences we have seen so far.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
The Mario meets Raving Rabbids collaboration, which had been one of the weirder rumours going into E3 is actually true and here it is: Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto not only revealed himself as fan of the Rabbids but also showed up with replica weapons from the game, bringing to mind Ratchet and Clank while also confirming Ubisoft as another third party developer for Nintendo Switch alongside Bethesda. This Nintendo Switch game sees Rabbids transported into the Mario Kingdom (as well as donning their own Mario inspired costumes) with their presence throws the kingdom into chaos as the two worlds are forced to team up and battle the evil Rabbids counterparts
A turn based tactical adventure game in the style of XCOM while adding its own colourful elements such as Team jump which allows you double movement and the use of warp pipes. The game being presented in a fun colourful style while the demo teased out a surprisingly in-depth evolution system as well as a roster full of classic Mario characters and their Rabbid counterparts including Rabbid Donkey Kong! Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is coming on August 29, 2017.
Assassin’s Creed: Origins
More in-depth detail on the development of this latest entry showcased at the Microsoft conference as well as showcasing the new trailer. Honestly, if you saw this at the Microsoft Conference, you would have gotten everything you needed to know with this brief presentation only serving to add to the hype surrounding this reboot. You can find that trailer over at our Microsoft E3 recap HERE.
The Crew 2
A jaw-dropping trailer lead into the presentation with this sequel now looks set to include any kind of vehicle you can race from cars to boats and planes. This is, of course, a step up from the original game which certainly had its issues requiring an upgrade via the “Wild Run” DLC to finally finish the game. The Demo we got to see showcased street racing, off road racing, powerboats and free flying throughout the stunning scenery with the whole game looking fantastic throughout and it looks like it has the potential to provide the same kind of racing freedom we’ve really only found in GTA 5 until now it would seem. Beta access now available for registration. The Crew 2 will launch in early 2018.
South Park – The Fractured But Whole
Delayed from last year, this new trailer showcased a bunch of new abilities and scenes making it seem that the delays will be worthwhile. Gameplay wise, it all looks similar to “The Stick of Truth” only trading out the Game of Thrones setting for a Superhero setting plus who doesn’t want to see Timmy as Professor X or Jimmy as The Flash? South Park: The Fractured But Whole releases on October 17th, 2017.
Transference (Trailer)
Elijah Wood continues his current indie horror kick by crossing over to the VR realm. No clear footage but very atmospheric and joins The Evil Within 2 in the current revival of true horror games and we can’t wait to see more. Transference is coming in Spring 2018.
Skull & Bones
Despite making us think we were in for more Sea of Thieves footage, what we got instead was this action packed trailer which promises plenty of nautical action as you battle your way up the pirate ranks in this tactical strategy game. You can choose to play solo or with friends. The showcase revealed gameplay footage though showed off a 5 v 5 loot battle which really looks great while essentially tearing the ship battles out of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and making it the main game. Players will need to learn how to utilise the winds for additional speed and tactical advantage with different warships having their own special abilities such as the multi-cannon frigates. The Battering ram briggoned while the slooper o’war is long ranged sniper.
Decks of ship are packed with crew who bring life to the ships as they shout commands and updates and even throwaway banter, while the noise and confusion of war is captured perfectly as cannons explode and decks splinter. Another note to make this even more realistic is that the game evolves meaning that when you act a certain way, the game will react and change to those actions. Sign up for early release beta via official site. Skull & Bones is aiming to launch in Fall 2018.
Just Dance 2018
Bizarre to not see it open the conference. Instead we got a fun dance interlude including a break dancing Panda and Bebe Rexha. Yes, it might not have been as random as last year but it was still a fun colourful moment. Still it looks like more of the same just with a new soundtrack, but hey if it’s not broken don’t fix it … right?Just Dance 2018 will be released in October 2017.
South Park Phone Destroyer (Mobile Game)
Not enough to have one South Park game, now you get two! How it plays is still unclear at this point as we got lost in the bombardment of trademark foul language and colourful characters, though all signs currently point to this being another tactical card game. South Park Phone Destroyer is coming some time in 2017.
Starlink Battle for Atlas
Clearly someone felt that the Skylanders model could be adapted for a more adult audience as the game utilises starship model, who can be upgraded by adding parts to the model. Currently looking like you might want to put in a new shelf for these collectible models which can be connected to the controller as we saw with the attachment for the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con grip. Starlink: Battle for Atlas is coming out in Fall 2018.
Steep: Road to the Olympics
A presentation with a strangely long introduction about real world athletes which I’m not sure how much gamers care about such things, but it seems that the team wanted to highlight the research they put into the game. Seeing how the original game was focused on the extreme sports angle it seems a weird shift to see the game focusing on an Olympics DLC which almost seems the opposite of what they established with the original game. Road to the Olympics expansion will be released on December 5th.
Far Cry 5
One of the big titles going into the conference, the trailer opens to see a sermon carried out by the heavily armed cult at the centre of the game. Set in Hope County, Montana, a rural setting now overrun by a fanatical cult who have cut off the town from the outside world. The town of Falls End have hired a group of hired guns to battle the cult and take back the town by raising some hell. Gameplay footage showcased another deep living world which have formed the backbone of the franchise with the trailer introducing hired gun Grace armstrong, Pilot Nick Rye and Boomer a dog which can be used to attack enemies and even steal their weapons. There is also the option for co-op to unleash double the chaos. It should equally be noted that the Combine harvester sequence in the trailer might have replaced the man being chased by a bear as our favourite moment from the game we have seen so far. Far Cry 5 has no release date yet.
Beyond Good and Evil 2
The grand finale of the conference which was equally a foul mouthed cinematic introduction to the much belated sequel (almost 15 years) to the cult favourite which now boasts a completely redesigned world which seemed to draw as much inspiration from Asian culture as it did from “The Fifth Element”. A prequel to the original game, it follows a rag-tag band as they travel through a solar system called System 3. The finished game will contain elements of planet exploration, interstellar travel and futuristic cities all which had to be omitted from the original game due to space limitation and which will finally happen in this much anticipated sequel.
Register for Space Monkey program @BGEGAME.COM which Ubisoft Montpellier are using as a way for players to participate in the development of the game.
Surprisingly for a dev lead conference this was free of any of the expected awkwardness with Ubisoft possibly pulling out the best conference, despite being light on presentations instead opting for longer trailers. Credit to Ubisoft for keeping so many of the previews secret, as well as continuing the running theme of E3 of celebrating gaming which they certainly delivered upon as much as they entertained us with their showcase here.
What are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments section below.