Ubisoft E3 press conference. Let’s hop to it.

Rayman Origins
Pilot’s Impressions:
I haven’t played a Rayman game but it seems like it is something the fans of the franchise would appreciate and for that I’d give it a shot.

Slacker’s Impressions: I’ve never played a game in the Rayman series, but this 5 minute demo was enough to pique my interest. Based on the demo, it looks like a fast paced game that keeps you on your feet with objects such as falling rocks or giant bugs. It also adds things such as singing bugs and slap happy violence. Overall, RO seems like an addictive fun game that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Driver San Francisco
Pilot’s Impressions:
I didn’t like not seeing some live action demo playing going on.  The game is getting released in a few months, the least we should get is a playable demo.  Either way it looks cool and Driver was a big franchise and its cool to see them bring it back.

Slacker’s Impressions: Driver is going to be released on August of this year and all we get is a trailer Ubisoft!?!?!? Boooooo. Resurrecting old series seems to be the theme of this year’s E3. The original Driver on PSone was fun and addicting. It had lots of high speed chases and over the top crashes. However, it remains to be seen whether Driver San Francisco will have enough variety in its gameplay to break up the driving missions and police chases. All things considered, the game looks good, and there is a multiplayer option.

Far Cry 3
Pilot’s Impressions:
Far Cry didn’t overly impress me but I know a lot of people liked the previous game so we’ll see how it goes.  How many FPS games can we have before it starts getting old.

Slacker’s Impressions : Far Cry 3 comes out in 2012 and has a playable demo and Driver doesn’t? Ugh. Anyway, Far Cry 3 seems to be your standard FPS. It has lots of action, bullets and explosions. I’m just not sure what it does differently than most modern FPS games.

Brothers in Arms
Pilot’s Impressions:
Another FPS based in WWII, I think I’ll take a pass on this one.

Slacker’s Impressions : A WW2 themed first person shooter. The trailer looks entertaining, and even adds a bit of humor. However, I’m wondering what Brothers in Arms does differently than other FPS games.

The Adventures of Tin Tin
Pilot’s Impressions:
This seems ok for kids but not my cup of tea.  I’ll stay far away from this but if you have kids this will be worth a look.

Slacker’s Impressions : this game is based on the animated movie of the same name to be released later this year. I tend to stay away from games based on movies. They seem to be rushed so that their release coincides with the movie release, and/or stick too closely to the movie. Having said that the gameplay looks fun, and the graphics look decent.

Tom Clancy’s Future Soldier
Pilot’s Impressions:
I think this is going to be a really cool game so here is hoping that it lives up to the hype and they took the time from the delay to make this a game that everyone will want to play.

Slacker’s Impressions : The real news here is that the Xbox release will have Kinect Integration. Customizing individual parts of weapons and then testing them out in a virtual firing range does seem pretty cool. Hopefully Sony will have “Move” integration as well.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Online
Pilot’s Impressions:
Not really interested since online games tend to disappoint and I don’t see why this would be any different.

Slacker’s Impressions : Absolutely Free online multi player game. Pretty cool. I’m interested to hear more. It’s worth noting that achievements will be transferrable between both Tom Clancy titles.

Trackmania 2
Pilot’s Impressions:
This isn’t something that hasn’t been done before and why would you compete directly with Sony and ModNation Racers?  I’ll pass.

Slacker’s Impressions : A racer where you can make your own racetracks. The trailer looked pretty interesting. There were a lot of big jumps and the graphics look good, but this is hardly a new idea.

Raving Rabbids
Pilot’s Impressions:
Rabbids is a cool franchise and this is a good way to use it so it gets my thumbs up for this game.

Slacker’s Impressions: This game feels like “Kinect” meets the game show “A hole in the wall”. People make shapes to fit the shape that appears on the screen. Seems like a fun game for the family to enjoy.

Just Dance 3
Pilot’s Impressions:
I think we are done with Dance Central and rhythm based games in general.  I’d rather see more with Dance Central than this one.

Slacker’s Impressions: This is Ubisoft’s answer to Dance Central. Not really too interested in either, but Dance Central does have more modes. Either way, this has been done before.

Rocksmith
Pilot’s Impressions:
I am pretty excited about this one, I like the idea of getting an electric guitar and learning how to play guitar on an actual guitar.  This sounds awesome and I’ll all in.

Slacker’s Impressions : Although this isn’t an original idea, I am slightly intrigued. Rocksmith expands on the concept of Guitar Hero, and actually aims to teach people Guitar. Ok Ubisoft, you have my attention. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play guitar, and the Guitar Hero games are very enjoyable. However, if I’m plugging a real guitar into my console how much will the whole thing cost? Details remain to be seen.

Your Shape
Pilot’s Impressions:
The fitness game crowd should like this one but I’m a little skeptical.  I like a little more game in my fitness game.

Slacker’s Impressions : Fitness games don’t really impress me, and Your Shape did little to change that. Forget whether playing them consistently causes you to get in shape or lose weight, most people seem to put it down after a couple of months.

Assassin’s Creed Revelations
Pilot’s Impressions:
I am really excited for this game and I can’t wait to finish out the AC2 story line.  I’ll be getting this day 1.

Slacker’s Impressions : Assassin’s Creed Revelations is the closer. Was there any doubt? The trailer looks fun, and the graphics look good, but what else would you really expect from an AC title?

 

Pilot’s Final Thoughts
Overall I was not blown away by the conference.  There were a few highlights but a lot of games that were just moving the conference along and little was done to move me personally.  I would have liked to see some original IP’s in the mix and I don’t like how American / European companies are not taking risks.  I hate to say it but I think EA was better than Ubisoft.

Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 

Slacker’s Final Thoughts
Overall I have mixed emotions about Ubisoft’s E3 line-up. I’m sure Rayman, Assassin’s Creed, Ghost Recon, and Future Soldier will be good titles. Additionally, Rocksmith and Driver intrigue me. However, question marks hang over both games. The rest of the line up didn’t really excite me much. I’m a little disappointed at how few risks are being taken. Come up with some new games already!!

Rating: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ 

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