14 DAY TRIAL // Ubisoft approached E3 2014 as a way to showcase its coming titles and to remind gamers about the big franchises that the company was working on, including Assassin’s Creed, while also introducing some entirely original ideas.
Far Cry 4 is the title that had attracted the biggest attention before the trade event opened, and the company understood what fans wanted a delivered a very impressive hands-on experience that allowed gamers to choose how to approach an outpost assault mission.
Regardless of their decision, they were able to use some new weapons, deal with the smarter than expected enemies, and see the gorgeous environments that the new Himalayan location would allow them to explore.
Far Cry 4 has a lot of potential to be the best open-world shooter of the fall, but Ubisoft needs to deliver a solid story and make sure that the title does not suffer from launch issues, like Watch Dogs has recently done.
The Crew was another title from the company that was present on the show floor, both at its own booth and at Sony’s, but the racing title seems to be unable to deliver any innovative elements other than its focus on social interaction and shared events.
The actual driving is similar to that seen in Need for Speed, apart from the much more exciting off-road sections, and it will be interesting to see how the game performs in the fall, especially given that it will compete directly with Sony’s DriveClub.
Assassin’s Creed Unity was a less prominent presence on the show floor than many analysts predicted, probably because the company understood that the yearly pace of releases might be tiring to some fans.
The game will deliver the classic exploration and combat mechanics that the franchise is known for and introduce a new world, linked to the French Revolution, but its biggest innovation is the four-player cooperative mode that will focus on the gamers’ ability to work together.
Unity is next gen and PC only, and that allows Ubisoft to create one of the most impressive visual spectacles in the world of gaming, but it remains to be seen whether fans can be persuaded to buy yet another Assassin’s Creed title.
E3 2014 Highlight: Far Cry 4 – the open-world title seems to be able to deliver ramped-up firefights and bigger than ever personalities once more, and the addition of elephants that can be ridden into battles is a masterstroke for the developers at Ubisoft.