E3 2011: Ubisoft

Ubisoft has a special place in my heart for their E3 conferences. They're all very French, and as such come up with some ideas that don't necessarily translate well, but you can at least tell they were trying really hard to be funny. Last year they had Joel McHale and laser tag. This year...

Well this year they start off letting us know that this is their 25th year, and good on 'em. The CEO comes out, thanks everyone for their support, and introduces the man behind the very first game they ever released, Rayman, to show off Rayman: Origins. But, being French, it wasn't just enough to have him come on stage. He appeared, looked around and commented that it was a wonderful theater, and said they could perform Shakespeare. So he gets on one knee, lifts his arms and says "Tell me Yves, after 25 years...Ubi, or not Ubi?" and Yves responds "Ubi of course!" They hug, laugh, and the audience laughs awkwardly with them. Oh the French.

Anyways, Rayman: Origins. This was introduced last year and looked very impressive, and the demo maintained that feeling. The levels they showed were fast paced, very colorful, kinda crazy, and looked like a whole lot of fun. To think that only 5 people made this game is frankly astounding.

And then they introduce our host for the evening....Mr. Caffeine. I'm not kidding. This douchebag looking fellow shows up on stage with that stereotypically bad stand-up comic personality, introduces himself as Ubisoft's own Mr. Caffeine (for the past 8 years) and proceeds to try really hard to be funny while fully admitting to things like drumming up his own applause and not being afraid of a couple dick jokes. *sigh* To seal the deal he even brought out a Charlie Sheen joke nearly right off the bat. Alright, moving on.

For Driver: San Francisco all we get is a trailer, which highlights literally nothing about this game that would set it apart from any other game besides "It's set in the 70s! Drive retro cars!" Knowing all the interesting things about it that they showed off last year, this was a bit of a disappointment.

To make up for it, they show off an amazing demo of Farcry 3. Seamlessly integrating cutscene with gameplay, this continuation of the franchise looks to return to its roots with a vibrant jungle, big open world, and a main villain who leaks that creepy, quiet kind of insanity. Add some impressive graphics on top of it all and you've got a game to beat.

Next up is a new Brothers In Arms game from Gearbox (same people behind Borderlands). While Brothers In Arms has typically been about realism in WW2, this time they're taking a different tack. Introducing the Furious Four, a band of Inglorious Basterds-like fellows who each have their own unique style of ripping Nazis to shreds. All we got is a trailer, and based on what I saw I'm not going to hold my breath, but who knows, this could be a surprise.

Some familiar faces in Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson show up on screen to talk about the Tintin video game which will tie in to the movie. Frankly, it seemed like all the features those two were impressed with were already standard in most video games. Frankly, with the poor track record of movie-based video games, I saw nothing that would change that.

Apparently this is also the 10th anniversary of the Ghost Recon franchise, which means it's time to finally get a look at Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. Is it me, or has this game changed from last year? Last year the gameplay we saw looked very scripted, and while it still looked interesting and fun, it also looked a bit straightforward. This is a new beast, with dynamic team combat, running and gunning, and some big action pieces. I wasn't that interested in this game last year, and while I still don't really think it's a game for me, I was wholly impressed by what they showed off here. And then after the demo they announce something VERY impressive, Ghost Recon Online, where it looks like you'll have access to the multiplayer portion of Ghost Recon ...for free. And if you have Future Soldier the two will tie together somehow, probably in stats and unlockables, etc. Still, that's quite an announcement, and free can't be beat.

Next up they roll out Maniaplanet once more to talk about Trackmania 2, a game where you build your own cars and tracks like ModNation Racers, but with much more realistic visuals and style. And that style is pretty. Easily ranking with the top racing games this generation. Personally, I just can't wait until they extend it to Questmania, where you can make your own RPGs. Unfortunately, they first have to roll out Trackmania 2 and Shootmania, their FPS builder. DAMN YOU.

Raving Rabbids: Alive and Kicking. Uses Kinect to bring the Rabbids into your home. Nuff said.

Just Dance 3. You might have guessed, it looks just like the others. Except this time they got celebrities like Katy Perry to play it in a commercial.

Rocksmith. A game dedicated to teaching you Guitar. Not an added pro mode like in rock band where you could maybe learn guitar from it, this is meant to teach you guitar. And, it works with any electric guitar. *sigh* Time to go guitar shopping.

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved stunned me last year with its impressive use of Kinect, and the sequel looks to do more of the same. No actual footage was shown, but the first was a resounding success and I'm sure this will be no different.

FINALLY, Assassin's Creed: Revelations. The unexpected, by me anyway, finale to Ezio's trilogy. Here I was thinking Brotherhood was just wrapping up the loose ends of 2, and it turns out it's part two of its own trilogy. I'm not going to complain, especially with how freaking impressive Revelations looks. Showing off the new Hookblade, the ability to make hundreds of types of bombs, and the giant action set piece of using Greek fire (an old school flamethrower) to take down an armada/blockade and then sail casually away was jaw-dropping. And with the promise to wrap up and answer all the questions from not only Ezio, but Altair's storyline as well leaves me salivating until this drops November 15th.