Ubisoft's E3 keynote brings a little something for everyone, but new games The Crew and Tom Clancy's The Division for next-gen consoles will make the headlines
French game developer has just wrapped up its E3 keynote bringing a host of news on next-generation titles for the forthcoming PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles.
Let's get right into it and start with the one of the new games unveiled during the hour-plus briefing. Coming in early 2014 for Xbox One and PS4, The Crew, from the Ivory Tower studio, claims to use the new tech “to change status quo of driving games.”
The intriguing new IP relies is, like many titles unveiled today, online focused. It's an online persistent world relies on the forming of alliances with other players with the aim of infiltrating and taking over a criminal organisation one real-life city at a time. While single player is possible, collaboration with your 'crew' is essential for gamers to complete missions and see off rival crews.
Cars can be customised using a tablet app and then loaded into the game. You can read a preview of The Crew right here on T3.com, but here's a trailer too.
Ubisoft also unveiled the latest addition to the Tom Clancy franchise, an open world online RPG called The Division. The game takes place in a world struggling with the breakdown modern society following a pandemic which began with tainted banknotes on Black Friday.
The Division, of which you're a member, is a top secret group of tactical agents whose mission is to “save what remains.” Again, it's online focussed, but single players can also enjoy the action.
New trailers: Assassins Creed 4, Watch Dogs and Splinter Cell
The company debuted a new trailer and gameplay footage for its already-announced Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag title that'll see you become a pirate.
Gamers will invade ships, embark on naval missions, explore underwater shipwrecks and ancient Mayan temples as and when they desire. Ubisoft says it's “an invitation to explore” and chose pirates as the subject matter because they're the “perfect symbol of freedom, rebellion and adventure.”
The long-awaited Watch Dogs title, which just got extremely newsworthy thanks to the NSA/Prism surveillance scandal also got an awesome new trailer, reinforcing its reputation as one of the most eagerly anticipated next-gen titles. Ubisoft also hinted that there'd be more Watch Dogs news at E3, so perhaps there's be a little nugget at the Sony PS4 keynote later tonight?
We also saw a new gameplay trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which will arrive first on current gen consoles in August before arriving on the next-gen platforms thereafter.
And the rest...
Moving away from the core, hardcore gaming experience, Ubisoft also debuted new footage for Rayman Legends, which with 120 levels is the “biggest Rayman yet.” That game arrives for current gen platforms, including the PS Vita in September.
Music-themed games, Rocksmith 2014 and Just Dance 2014 also got some stage-time, while Ubisoft also revealed more about the “ridiculous” PC game, The Quest for Epic Loot, which encourages players to build castles, protect their loot and impregnate their neighbours defences and steam their treasure. The closed beta is complete and the game will launch next fall.
For South Park fans we also saw a new trailer for The Stick of Truth, complete with a magnificently juvenile fart gag.
Ubisoft also detailed an “interactive TV show” game called Rabbids Invasions where kids will have to complete small missions using the Kinect peripheral to advance the story of the show. Definitely one for the kids.
