The fifth live streamed conference belonged to Ubisoft who is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.
The conference as a whole was just over 2 hours not including the pre or post show, making it one of the longest E3 press conferences to date. That being said, they did show off a plethora of games and even discussed a certain assassin themed film coming out this year.
Following Microsoft’s very successful conference this morning, Ubisoft had a lot to do to meet the bar they set. There were a few very interesting games shown off, but I don’t think there was anything really earth-shattering at the conference. But that isn’t to say it was a bad one. Hosting the event (again) was the ever boisterous Aisha Tyler who consistently delivers each year with this year being no exception as she started the whole show by dropping an F-bomb. Classy, Ubisoft. Classy. Other than Ghost Recon: Wildlands and South Park, there wasn’t anything I was extremely excited for. So I went into this event hoping to be wowed or at least a reveal that makes me shriek like a child on Christmas. Did that happen? Well, no. But it wasn’t as abysmal as EA’s press conference (though I guess that’s what you get for having the first press conference. Kind of sets the tone.). You can tell the Ubisoft hosts were having fun up on stage.
Our recap is as follows:
- Just Dance 2017 revealed for all video game consoles including (shockingly) the Nintendo NX.
- Ghost Recon: Wildlands was shown in a CG trailer and gameplay sequence. Showed the four Ghosts taking out the Santa Blanca drug cartel using 4 player cooperative tactics, drones and hi-jacking vehicles. Supposedly the largest open world that Ubisoft has ever created. Releasing March 7, 2017 on PS4, Xbox One and PC
- Matt Stone and Trey Parker came on stage to present a South Park: The Fractured But Whole gameplay demo showing the new combat system. The game will release on December 6th later this year and if players pre-order it, they will receive South Park: The Stick of Truth for free.
- The Division was next up where Julian Gerighty explained a two expansions for the game. The first expansion revealed is “Underground” which features randomly generated missions taking place in the labyrinth of underground New York city. It will arrive June 28th for Xbox One and PC and August 2nd for PS4. The second expansion is “Survival” which pits players against extreme weather in survival of the fittest gameplay. More about Survival will be revealed at a later date.
- Eagle Flight VR demo where they brought the team from Oculus to play a round of capture the flag with the developers of the game.
- Star Trek Bridge Crew which is a multiplayer VR game where each player takes a role of a crew member aboard a starship. Star Trek Bridge Crew is releasing this Fall.
- Jason Vandenberghe showed off the latest build of For Honor, the previously announced game featuring Vikings, Knights and Samurais. Will be released February 14th, 2017 with an alpha sign up at forhonor.ubisoft.com.
- Grow Up, the sequel to Grow Home, had a CG trailer shown depicting the new large planet you can explore. It will release in August for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
- Trials of the Blood Dragon gameplay demo was next which mashes the sidescrolling Trials gameplay with the over the top ’90s styling of Blood Dragon. It comes out today for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
- Aisha Tyler brought on the producer of the Assassin’s Creed film to discuss some specifics of the movie. The film hits theaters on December 21st.
- Watchdogs 2 reveal followed where you play as a member of the hacker group Dedsec in the bay area of San Francisco. You will have more tools to hack, including air and land drones when it hits shelves on November 15th for PS4, Xbox One and PC.
- A Watchdogs film was confirmed to start production after the Assassin’s Creed film. No specifics about it were given.
- And lastly, Steep, a first person, open world multiplayer game where you explore the mountainous region of Europe was revealed. You perform tricks and create trails which other players can attempt to recreate or pull off something cooler. Players can sign up for the beta at steepgame.com while waiting for its release in December this year.
Steep was a bit of a left-field announcement as I don’t think anybody was remotely expecting it. I’m not sure how it will work as it seems to have a bit of what I like to call “No Man’s Sky syndrome”: a huge and complicated world with barely anything to do in it. So we’ll see as we get close to it’s launch in December. I’m hoping they reveal a few more mechanics for it. Otherwise Watchdogs 2, while not being a surprise at all, looks like it is trying to fix the issues of the first game and be a more complete experience.
What did you think of Ubisoft’s press conference? Were you satisfied or were you left wanting more? Let us know below!
