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Ubisoft started off their conference with a show off of what seemed like a new music & rhythm game that made use of Kinect. The game is called Child of Eden. It was trippy, it was colorful, there was plenty of excitement to be had, though I really can’t say I understand how it was being played, or the point of the gameplay for that matter. The player was shooting down what looked like parasites, and all he was doing what tossing his hand left and right. Though as colorful as this sequence was, it did get a little tiring after a while and I was left just wanting the show to start.
Joe McHale was the host of Ubisoft’s show. He introduced Ubisoft’s lineup of “Games You Can Feel”. He described the experience as being able to physically, emotionally, and mentally interact with your video games. A teaser was then shown off featuring multiple artworks in an overlapping slideshow with a familiar-looking assassin showing up at the end. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood looks to take place in Rome, so the Egyptian teaser is still up for grabs. Following the artwork was actual cinematics portraying similar assassinations as were in the first two games’ trailers. It seems that this time around you’ll have your own band of assassin’s alongside you. After the trailer, they showed off demo footage, and Ezio has some pretty sweet new moves. Also, multiplayer? Could be interesting. The game is set to release on November 16th, 2010.
Shaun White was next up on stage to show off his new title, Shaun White Skateboarding. After Joel talked to Shaun for about an hour, a demo was finally shown off. Although I’m not really into skateboard games anymore, it was interesting to watch the world grow and evolve around you as you skate through it. The player even morphs the land and grind rails to access new areas. Trees grew and fountains drained the more you skate. I think it’s an interesting concept, but the opinions that matter will be the skate fans who will play it. So we’ll see what they think.
The next game Ubisoft had to offer was not only a game, but a whole new peripheral. A group of ragtag men and women interrupted the show with laser tag. That’s right, Ubisoft has developed a game of laser tag. Laser tag? Does anyone even play laser tag anymore? Does that even count for a video game? I’m not sure. Maybe I just don’t think of laser tag as that much fun, but I can’t imagine playing something like that in the living room. Not to mention what’s the sense in developing a new peripheral if it’s only got one use? The whole display of this was a bit unorganized. The creator was out of breath from running around, and his explanation of how to work everything sounded a bit complicated.
Ubisoft’s reputation goes down a bit for me with their next title. A game, if you could call it that, entitled “Innergy” makes use of yet another new peripheral. The peripheral in question is a device that slips around your finger. This is sounding awfully familiar. The device detects your heart rate, and bases its games off of it. Oh now I remember, this is exactly the same as Nintendo’s Vitality Sensor. We’ve barely even seen what the Vitality Sensor is capable of and Ubisoft’s already ripped it off, filing it under “games you can feel”. And the only thing they showed off that it’s capable of is breathing exercises. Hopefully Nintendo’s will be able to do more than that.
Quick note on Joel, his sense of humor was really beginning to irritate me. He kept making snide remarks about everything, and no one was laughing, yet he still did it. He started getting really rude during the Innergy presentation, poking fun at the presenter’s hair multiple times throughout the presentation. Although Tommy Francois’ hair color choice was regrettable, there’s no need to make fun of him so many times in front of a live audience. It’s clear that he was offended by his nervous laughs and abrupt end without eye contact. Regardless of one’s appearance, be respectful if you’re in front of an audience.
More in their lineup of “games you can feel” is their next title, Motion Sports. Now wait just one copy written minute. Wii Sports. Kinect Sports. Motion Sports? What’s going on here? I do hope that we see a Move Sports just so we can hit full circle. Well, at least for what it’s worth, all three of those titles have different mini-games. This one seems to have skiing, soccer, and football. Doesn’t look as fun as Kinect Sports, or Wii Sports, but I guess it’s worth a shot just to try.
Up next was Your Shape. Wait, again? Didn’t we already see this presentation at Microsoft’s press conference? Same presenters, same show-off of technology, she even did the jacket gag again. Something new in this presentation was that your friends can send you challenges that you can try to surpass, sort of like their goals for you on top of your own. Other than that, it was the same exact presentation as at Microsoft. It’s interesting to note, however that the woman giving the presentation shrunk two inches from her earlier performance.
Next a trailer was shown for Raving Rabbids: Travel in Time. It’s likely to be a similar game like their past titles filled with mini-games, this time being themed with time travel. Ghost Recon was the next trailer. Been there, done that, shooter, shooter, shooter, shooter. Demo was shown, 3D was announced. I’m bored. Next was a trailer for a racing game entitled Driver: San Francisco. Following the trailer was another demo. Over a hundred licensed cars, accurate visible damage, car chases. Nothing special.
Next up was the CEO of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot. He discussed three new titles. The first showed off in-game footage of Project Dust, due to be released next spring. Not much was shown for it, just something about the world’s elements crumbling and pre-historic tribes of people are trying to prevent it. Or something. Next up was Rayman: Origins. This new tale of Rayman is a 2D side scroller with a charming art style. The final title was a platform entitled ManiaPlanet. Within this platform are three user-created universes entitle Trackmania, Shootmania, and Questmania.
Guillemot ended the show with the announcement of Michael Jackson, a dance game that looks similar to Dance Central, only Michael Jackson themed. It will teach you all of Jackson’s signature moves in what can be assumed an easily understood, broken down set of poses.
Ubisoft’s presentation was lacking to be sure. They had a couple of nice products, but a lot of their show looked like things we’ve already seen with Microsoft, and things we’ll soon see with Nintendo.
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Most Impressive for Ubisoft: Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
Least Impressive for Ubisoft: Innergy
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