E3 2013: Ubisoft Press Conference Impressions

Aside from their consistent problems finding a suitable host for their conferences, Ubisoft has had some of the best showings at E3 the last two years.  With games like Rayman Legends, Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV in their corner, many were looking forward to what Ubisoft would show off this year at E3.

Well to sum things up, Ubisoft knows how to end a press conference.  Sadly, they do not know how to do much else because this conference was a definite step back from years past.  It was not good or bad, it just was right in the middle.  Only a few things Ubisoft showed really stuck.  The rest went in one ear and out the other.  Maybe these reactions were due to the lack of actual gameplay demos or the continued presence of Aisha Tyler, which was a black hole that sucked plenty of good out of this conference.  Also Ubisoft's conference was significantly hurt by the exclusion of Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV demos in favour of showing them at the Sony Press Conference.  There is no point in having your own conference if you are not going to showcase your own games especially the two biggest titles in your 2013 line-up.  As much as Ubisoft under delivered, it was not as bad as the EA conference.  There were a couple of good points.  The demo for Reflections newest driving game, The Crew was really good.  The inter connectivity of the world and the instantaneous multiplayer were impressive.  There are a few questions this writer has for The Crew, but personally I am intrigued.  The game that saved this conference was the newest Tom Clancy game known as The Division.  The Division had a similar set-up to Watch Dogs' set-up a year before.  Ubisoft had the audience at the conference and at home on the edge of their seat trying to decipher what it was.  The Division is an open-world third-person shooter with RPG elements.  It is set in a world that has spiraled into to complete and utter chaos after the collapse of the stock market and society as we know it.  Set with the task of surviving, the player teams up with others in this persistent massively multiplayer world scavenging items, collecting upgrades and gadgets and fighting off threats to your survival.  While I personally would have loved to see more about Rainbow Six: Patriots, The Division looks like a great new extension of the Tom Clancy universe and another great game in Ubisoft's huge library of games.

As much as The Crew and The Division captured our imaginations, those two games were not able to save Ubisoft's conference from mediocrity.  The absence of the Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV demos and the lack of demos for a slew of trailers beat Ubisoft into one of their most lackluster showings.  At least, this year's press conference was not even close to their infamous 2010 conference. 

Grade:  C-

Launch Station: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

The Tom Clancy name has graced many games over the years.  Some have been great successes (see the Splinter Cell and Rainbow 6 series) and some did not really get off the ground (see EndWar and H.A.W.X).  Among the successful Tom Clancy gaming franchises is Ghost Recon, which has lied dormant for sometime now.  After many delays, the long awaited new entry in Ghost Recon: Future Solider finally hits store shelves tomorrow.

Story has not been a key part of the Ghost Recon franchise.  All you need to know is you are a soldier in the special Ghosts unit.  You are tasked with tracking down the source of a nuclear weapon that was used on another Ghost unit.  Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is a third-person cover-based shooter that uses a first-person camera when you switch into scope view.  Unlike some other cover-based shooters, your cover in Future Soldier is complete destructible so you cannot just camp in one spot for an entire firefight.  Being a futuristic war game, Future Soldier has a lot of gadgets and other technology that players can use throughout campaign and multi-player.  You are able to control different drones to could possibly be used to scout out the surrounding area or as portable cover.  One of the most talked about futuristic gadget you can use in the game is the optical camouflage.  Optical camouflage is a form of active camouflage that allows Ghosts to blend in with any environment and become nearly invisible.  As it is only a prototype gadget in the game, the optical camo does not work when the player is moving very fast, firing a weapon or extremely close to an enemy.  The biggest new feature in Future Soldier is improved squad AI so players do not have to micromanage complete idiotic computer controlled partners.  Like in Splinter Cell: Conviction, you can mark foes, which squad mates will focus their fire on or take out if you are sneaking behind them.  Like most shooters, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier has many different multi-player modes, which can be cooperatively and competitively.  There is also a fully co-op campaign along with the Horde-like co-op mode called Guerilla.

Personally I have never been a huge fan of the Ghost Recon series.  I am a much bigger fan of Splinter Cell and highly anticipating Rainbow 6 Patriots than any Ghost Recon.  I will say that Future Soldier looks like a great tactical shooter.  I do not see me picking this game up anytime soon, but gamers looking for a shooter that is more about tactics and skill based gameplay rather than twitch shooting they will most likely enjoy the newest entry in the longest running military shooter series in gaming, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.

Off the Newsstand: Game Informer Issue 224

In this day and age when you can find any piece of information online, there is not much respect for the physical print media.  Before there was IGN, GameSpot and 1up for all your video game news, reviews, previews and features, many gamers bought magazines for all their gaming needs.  Only a few still loyal gamers still shell out the money to support these great sources of gaming knowledge.  Most people cannot shell out even 5 dollars for magazine that a group of editors put all their effort to make.  It is really sad how cheap people are these days.  So welcome to Off the Newsstand, my way of putting the spotlight on these great magazines that I read each and every month in a little review of sorts.  I have been reading gaming magazines ever since I picked up an issue of Nintendo Power just over 10 years ago.  So let us get started.

Game Informer has built a reputation over the past two years of being the place to find excellent debuts of great games on the horizon.  That reputation continues with this the December issue as Game Informer debuts Rainbow 6: Patriots.  After a three year absence, Team Rainbow is back to tackle a new homegrown threat as Ubisoft Montreal looks to push the envelope and make a military shooter that actually has a compelling and intelligent story.  Game Informer's cover story gives readers a great glimpse at one of the missions in the single-player campaign and also dives into the new homegrown American extremists known as the True Patriots.  Readers will get a little look at what Ubisoft Montreal hopes to do with the multi-player in Patriots.  The other big features in this issue explores the opening 20 levels a four different classes in the Sith faction in Star Wars: The Old Republic and runs down many of the games coming out for the Playstation Vita.  As with every December issue of any gaming magazine, there are an abundance of previews and reviews in this issue of Game Informer.  The most interesting previews belong to Mass Effect 3 multiplayer, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time and the Gears of War 3 DLC known as RAAM's Shadow.  There are a whopping 30 reviews in this issue of Game Informer covering a good number of the games that were released these past two months from Battlefield 3 to Rayman Origins.  To end the magazine, there is a retrospective look at the development at the cult classic PC strategy game, X-Com and a brand new article, which I personally hope becomes a monthly article, called My First Game.  This month looks at the first game made by co-creative director of Dishonored, Harvey Smith's Technosaur.

Overall, the December issue of Game Informer is 136 pages well-written, informative and ultimately enjoyable reading that every serious gamer should read.  The cover story on Rainbow 6: Patriots is just amazing and got me excited to play a game that is close to two years away from release.  Game Informer is hands down the best gaming magazine that you can buy and it is only 6 dollars at your local EB Games.  If you do not want to pay for it, sign it out from your local library.  Just make sure you give Game Informer a chance or you will be missing out on a great magazine.