Posted Mon Jun 13, 2016 at 10:45 AM PDT by Connor Sears
Things officially start rolling today at 4 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Pacific).
Publisher Ubisoft will be holding its own E3 news event this afternoon, and given the publisher's long laundry list of IPs, you can expect a handful of content spanning a couple of different genres.
Probably the most likely thing to see will be more information on 'Watch Dogs 2,' officially revealed last week. The open-world hacker-adventure franchise has a whole new protagonist to introduce, and considering the game is set to release later this year, there's a fair chance we'll see some extended gameplay.
Ubisoft has also recently gone public with 'Star Trek: Bridge Crew,' a co-op VR experience for the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR that has players piloting a Star Fleet spaceship through the J.J. Abrams 'Star Trek' universe. With only a teaser handed out so far, an official reveal trailer would not be out of the question today.
The 'Tom Clancy' franchise has two recent entries that are still seeing new content: 'The Division' and 'Rainbow Six Siege.' And though we very well might see some news on those two fronts, there's yet another 'Tom Clancy' game waiting in the wings. The open-world 'Ghost Recon Wildlands' might make an appearance, given the shiny new trailer it got earlier this month.
As for smaller games, Ubisoft might have more to share about two games revealed all the way at last year's E3. 'South Park: The Fractured but Whole,' a sequel to the irreverent RPG 'South Park: The Stick of Truth,' hasn't seen much press since its announcement, nor has 'For Honor,' Ubisoft's hack-and-slash game set in medieval times and starring knights, samurai, and vikings.
And even though the series is taking a break this year from its previous annual release schedule, we could expect some buzz about the 'Assassin's Creed' franchise, especially given the Michael Fassbender movie set to release at the end of this year.
The stream starts at 4 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Pacific). You can watch either on Ubisoft's Twitch channel or via the embedded player below.
Watch live video from Ubisoft on www.twitch.tv
The opening dance number, while confusing (as admitted by host Aisha Tyler) spread the news of Just Dance 2017, which will be coming to PC and consoles—including the still-mysterious Nintendo NX—next year.
'Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands' hits the stage next with a new trailer featuring an intimidating monologue from a man whose words make him sound like the leader of the Santa Blanca drug cartel, the game's main baddie.
Featured gameplay has the protagonist Ghosts going up against "The Stewmaker," a cartel member who reportedly has important intel, so a live extraction is preferable to an assassination.
After taking out a camp of low-level enemies, the player hitches a ride on a helicopter to the target's location. They emphasized co-op gameplay. The game will launch March 7, 2017. See more here.
'South Park: The Fractured but Whole' is up next. Three classes of super heroes are available at the beginning: Brutalist, Blaster, and Speedster.
In terms of combat, the game takes more of a cue from games like 'Fire Emblem' as opposed to the 'Final Fantasy' vibe of the first game, placing combat in a grid setting. The game will launch December 6, 2016. Preorders will come with a copy of 'The Stick of Truth.' Learn more here.
'The Division' takes the stage next, teasing an upcoming expansion all about survival.
Ubisoft's 'Eagle Flight' VR game is up on stage with Oculus founder Palmer Luckey. Featured is a "Capture the Flag"-style multiplayer mode that has teams of eagles fighting over control of a dead rabbit.
Up next is 'Star Trek: Bridge Crew,' Ubisoft's VR co-op game set in J.J. Abram's 'Star Trek' universe. Learn more here.
Next on the docket is 'For Honor,' Ubisoft's war game that pits knights against samurai against vikings. Today we're introduced to a new character in the campaign who is apparently very fond of making these three factions fight. More campaign info is here.
Some live gameplay is showing off a little viking invasion. A single viking very handily takes down whole squads of enemy foot soldiers.
Ubisoft's surprising indie hit 'Grow Home' is coming back with a sequel in 'Grow Up' in August. You can find more details here.
'Trials of the Blood Dragon' releases today for PC, Xbox One, and PS4 as a kind of mashup of 'Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon' and the 'Trials' series. So expect insane bike stunts in a flashy, super-80s setting.
The 'Assassin's Creed' movie is next to get stage time.
'Watch Dogs 2' has taken the stage. In a tech-heavy city like San Francisco, much of the world is hackable. The protagonist is able to turn streetside cars into giant remote-controlled toys.
An extended gameplay demo shows the protagonist hacking his way through a ritzy apartment before making a daring, and very public, escape. Watch the full thing here.
Ubisoft also announced a partnership between the publisher and Sony for the game, meaning PlayStation 4 players will get 'Watch Dogs 2' DLC 30 days before others.
Closing out the show today is 'Steep.' This new IP from Ubisoft marries extreme Alpine sports with open-world design concepts. The game has a focus on social sharing, channeling the spirit of showing off what awesome maneuvers you were able to pull off to your friends, and seeing what stunts they pulled off as well.
Sports in the reveal trailer include snowboarding, paragliding, and wingsuiting. The game is launching this Decemeber. You can learn more here.
Source: Ubisoft
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