E3 2012: Ubisoft Press Conference Wrap-Up

After last year’s “Mr. Caffeine” debacle, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ubisoft.

The press event opened with a team of dancers promoting Just Dance 4, which apparently included Will Smith’s “Wild Wild West” and Maroon 5′s “Moves Like Jagger”. Then Flo Rida (Matt had to tell me who he was) performed (again, since I’m not familiar with the works of Flo Rida, I couldn’t tell you what song). Let’s just say he made the Usher performance at Microsoft’s event look good. By the way, Just Dance 4 will be coming October 9.

Host Aisha Tyler then came out (Sorry, Mr. Caffeine fans.) and introduced some guy backstage named Toby, AKA Tobuscus. She talked about how UbiSoft is using life to inspire games and make experiences more powerful. She then presented the tagline “Life Powered Play”.

Next onstage was Far Cry 3 producer Dan Hay.  After showing the footage, Hay says “Far Cry is all about freedom.” He says there’s a whole archipelago of islands to explore.

Aisha then went on to introduce Splinter Cell Blacklist. They then cut to Toby backstage talking to Creative Director Max Belland. He called the game “the biggest Splinter Cell we’ve ever done.” Co-op and Spy vs. Mercs are back.

Next up was The Avengers: Battle for Earth. It was made obvious early in the trailer that this had nothing to do with the movie by appearances by Spider-Man, Venom, Wolverine, and Magneto. This game is coming to Kinect and Wii U.

Speaking of Wii U, Ubisoft brings out a couple exclusives. First up is Rayman Legends, which looks beautiful. Plus, there’s up to 5-player multiplayer. The player on the GamePad was controlling a character named Murphy, who moved with the player’s finger.

Next up, an M-rated FPS survival horror game called ZombiU (formerly “Killer Freaks”. I guess Ubisoft “MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT!!!1″.

To round out all the Wii U goodness, it’s montage time! Besides Avengers, Rayman Legends  and ZombiU, Wii U is also getting Sports Connection, Rabbids Land, Just Dance 4, YourShape Fitness Evolved 2013, and Assassin’s Creed 3.

That’s a natural transition. Time for an Assassin’s Creed 3 trailer! Next, Producer Francois Pelland comes out to talk about AC3. He says that Connor, the new protagonist, will be joined by a new cast of historical figures. Onto a live demo which featured Connor fighting wolves, riding horseback, climbing up a cliff, and of course taking out several enemies. One more trailer and back to Aisha.

Aisha and Toby talk a little trash and then introduce Shootmania Storm. They emphasize  the “impact” of e-sports. 2 teams of elite players play in a battle of the sexes, with the men winning 3-1.

Another montage, this time with Trials Evolution, The Settlers Online, I Am Alive, Ghost Recon Online, and Outland.

Next up is Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot to introduce a new IP. The first trailer tells of a future where computers run everything and explores the dangers of interconnected data. Jonathan Moran, a creative director at Ubisoft Montreal comes out to demo the game which he is calling “CTos”. It features a man walking down a city street with the ability to scan nearby objects and people. He then goes to a club, has an altercation, and leaves before he can be caught. Then the hacking element is shown, both by hacking phone calls and street lights. The protagonist finds his target, yanks him out of a car window and executes him. As the police arrive, the game cuts to another character watching from a rooftop. The game is called Watch Dogs.

And that is it for Ubisoft’s 2012 press event. Some new franchises, some new installments, and very few Rabbids. Although a lot of the games don’t personally interest me, it looks like Ubisoft has a good lineup this year. Now if only they can work on getting some better hosts for next year.