Ubisoft Forward E3 2021 Presentation

Time to look at the beginning of what started off E3 in 2021. After a year off for 2020, E3 returns full swing this year. The first presentation is Ubisoft's Forward.

 

The hosts starting Ubisoft Forward are Neelam Kumar and Yousseff Magi, both from Ubisoft San Francisco. They were clear we'd be clearing more about Far Cry 6, Riders Republic, and Rainbow Six.

 

First up was Rainbow Six: Extraction. Time to deal with some Alien Parasites. We see a team of REACT agents scramble to reach a warehouse where the Alien Parasite has taken one of their own. The team works to break in and find their missing member. The threat of the infected is clear with the various explosive and projectile abilities that these infected people show. There are a few with literally explosive abilities. We see one of the REACT members find their missing person and grab them, pulling them from the tendrils holding them. They take on one big target, an Apex. Things fade to white and we see the rescued member come to. This game is set to release September 16th, 2021.

 

Next was a Rainbow Six: Extraction interview. This gave another look at the world within the game. This one featured the Community Developer, Richard Stanford from Ubisoft Montreal. He was joined by the Lead Technical Director, Bruno Lalonde, and Alicia Fortier, a Game Designer. Alicia was asked to talk about the game experience itself. It will be a 1-3 player Co-op experience. While it does feature many of the favorite operators from within the series, their abilities and capabilities will need to grow with the threat to meet it. Hibana, the captured Operator, was used as an example. If an Operator is captured in the mission, they are marked MIA and can't be used until they are found and rescued. Next was Bruno to talk about the Alien threat, the Archaens. They are an evolved form of a parasite first detected in New Mexico during an Outbreak event. During the trailer we got to see 4 of the different species that have appeared. Apparently there are plenty more yet to be revealed throughout the game. Richard also got to announce that Rainbow Six: Extraction will feature cross-play, spreading how much of the community can interact with each other. The Rainbow Six Siege community will also be getting some unique unlocks from this game as well. After that, we got to see some exclusive footage of the game itself.

 

During the game play, we got to see more of the enemies from the trailer, this time within the game itself. The most basic enemy, a Grunt was mostly shown, and a bit about is explained. A few of the universal abilities were shown, like the React Light. It also low-key showed that some things, like a wooden door, are going to be destructible. A bit farther into the gameplay, another variant is identified, a Rooter. These hold targets in a location with the Sprawl. When the team moves into the next sub-zone of the area, we get to see the explosive Breacher again. Then we find the target, a Spiker type. We learn more about is type that we saw in the first trailer that has been launching spines from its “hand”. A few more types of enemies from higher tiers are shown.

 

Yousseff introduced the next segment, this one focused on Rocksmith, the music game to redefine the genre. In the years since its release, so many songs and tutorials have been added. Next, we got to see what Ubisoft has in store for this series with Rocksmith+. This game will be compatible with both Electric guitars, and acoustic, being able to connecting through your smart phone. It will have video lessons as well as the in-game ones the first version had to better demonstrate the guitar techniques. It will also work to have a higher level of community integration with help videos. Rocksmith+ is offering a PC Closed beta you can register for at rocksmith.com/beta

 

We then got an interview with Author von Nagel, produced at Ubisoft San Francisco. This will be a Subscription Music Learning service that will be available this year. This will enable people to use their phones as the microphone to aid in their learning. So, acoustic players and electric players (with amps) don't need the USB adapter cord (or an acoustic with an amp jack). Like the original game, it will feature both the chord versions of songs, but also the note for note version as well. They will also be introducing the Rocksmith Workshop. This will let users create their own arrangements for songs licensed within Rocksmith. This new version will have many more genres than just rock, and the subscription will give access to it all. This will be from the big hits to the indie darlings they can get. With a number of better features for guitar learners of all levels, this is a good buy, much like the original.

 

Next was Riders Republic. The game was introduced last year, so this year is a look at the progression of the game itself. It started with a good overview of the activities that will be available. Additionally, it gave a tour of the central hub area and the features available there. We got a look at the mode, “Tricks Battle,” a 6v6 competitive mode. This will have the teams competing to score points from the elements within the module. Getting all the elements within the module will move the team to the next of it. In addition to the unique courses, a number of famous locations for sports will be included, like Mammoth Mountain, Bryce Canyon, Zion in Angel Cliffs, and others. There will also be landmarks to visit and take in, adding them. Throughout the trailer, it was made clear, more activities and locations will be made available by getting stars from completing activities and challenges. They can also be gained by visiting landmarks and other simple activities you will do throughout the course of game play. This game looks to release on September 2nd, 2021. There will be a few more betas before then that you can register for at RidersRepublic.com

 

Rainbow Six Siege enters year 6 now. Having hit a new record of concurrent players, there is always something going on. This jumped straight to an interview about the upcoming Quality of Life improvements coming to the, relayed by Guillaume Gad (Associate Producer) and Paul Vlasie (IT Director). Starting on June 30th, Rainbow Six Siege launches on Stadia. This will also mark the launch of cross-play as well as cross-progression across the cloud-based gaming platforms: Stadia, PC, and Luna. Cross-play will be coming to consoles (Playstation and Xbox) in early 2022. This will also unlock cross-progress across ALL platforms the game is available on. Bringing all this together requires more time than just for the cloud-based gaming, so they are taking the time to ensure a smooth launch. This section wrapped with a new animated trailer for Thunderbird, a new Defender joining Team Rainbow (on team Nomad).

 

This was followed by a look at the updates coming to the live games in 2021. For Honor in (Year 5, season 2) is having the Mirage event. Trackmania is getting a map editor, new physics (like bouncing on water or diving into it), and a summer themed event. Brawlhalla gets all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles added to its roster. The Crew 2 has something coming with Pulse. Watchdogs Legion starts its expansion Bloodline, bringing in Aiden Pearce from the first game, adding in Wrench, and adding content from the original game. We also got information on what is coming for Ghost Recon Breakpoint. 2021 marks the 20th anniversary for the franchise itself. There are a lot of surprises to come.

 

After that series of updates, Yousseff Magi started talking about Just Dance. We got a trailer for Just Dance 2022. It contains plenty of hot hits from the past few years. It also has a special guest, Todrick Hall. He announced that he's collaborating with the Just Dance team to make a unique mix of his hit song “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels.” Players will have a chance to be in the new video for the new mix of the song by visiting JustDanceGame.com Just Dance 2022 will release on November 4th, 2021.

 

Yousseff came on to introduce the next update. Time to look at what is coming for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The journey of Eivor isn't over yet, so its time to see what new things the past has in store for them. After trailer showing some of the highlights of what's happened so far in game, we heard from Karne Lee, a Senior Community Developer. A new outfit is now available (Basim Outfit) through Ubisoft connect. Updates have added in River Raids as well as the Mastery Challenge. There are also community-requested updates coming as well, like One-Handed Sword, and numerous quality of life improvements as bug fixes. More expansions are coming now, especially with the success of Wrath of the Druids that released a short while ago. Next is The Siege of Paris, the most ambition viking battle known. This will feature the return of Black Box infiltration missions, so once again, how you want to complete it will be completely up to you. Of course, it will come with new weapons, armor, abilities, and enemies. This expansion is set to launch in Summer of 2021. Additionally, the Discovery Tour will be coming to Valhalla Fall 2021. She mentions that more expansions are coming and that Eivor is not done with Odin yet. We then got a short teaser, looking at a rune gate with a trickle of lava coming from it. That's it for now.

 

Next up, both Neelam Kumar and Yousseff Magi were talking about the movie and Television series that Ubisoft has been working on. Neelam started this with the game development series, Mythic Quest. We got to see a summary of what's happened leading up to the soon to air season finale on June 25th, 2021 on Apple+. Yousseff introduced the next trailer for Ubisoft's upcoming movie, Werewolves Within, a murder mystery premiering in theaters June 25th, and releasing for On Demand on July 2nd, 2021. The trailer was introduced by Director Josh Ruben, and star Sam Richardson. The trailer looks like it will be a bit more comical take on a murder mystery.

 

The Far Cry 6 trailer was next, something I've been waiting for. A group of refugees attempts to leave their war torn country, Yara, but the president tracks the fishing boat they're attempting to escape from. It is revealed that he is looking for his son who is attempting to leave the country and run away. Anton Castillo retakes his son and orders the death of everyone on the boat. We heard from Omar Bouali, the Game Content Direct for Far Cry 6. He noted the most important part of a Far Cry villain is simply their charisma. Here, he revealed the post-launch plans, what will be coming with the Season pass. This trailer shows the first piece of content, allowing you to become Vaas, Pagan, Joseph Seed. After the Villains trailer, it went very 80's, showing the title screen for Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. This could mean it includes a HD remaster, or you will gain access to that radical game with the season pass.

 

A quick interlude and then we were off to the next trailer, for the upcoming Mario and Rabbid: Spark of Hope. This trailer showed a hybrid of a Lumas and Rabbid, the new creatures known as the Sparks. Much of the previous cast looks to be returning in this game with the same Rabbids and Mario cast, just having some new elements to them. As well as a strange and mysterious new villain, Cursa. As well as the inclusion of a new Rabbid, Rosalina. We got to see the opposing forces with their glowing red eyes and massive purple entity controlling them all. After the short trailer, we meet Davide Soliani from Ubisoft Milan, who tells us more about Mario and Rabbids: Spark of Hope. He is joined by Xavier Manzanares, talking about the surprising concept of the Mario and Rabbids games in general. The stakes are raised to a galactic scale for this entry. How the Rabbids and Lumas merged is the core of this story. This game will be exclusive to the Nintendo Switch at launch. More information will be available at MarioRabbids.com After that, we got a sneak peek at the pre-alpha footage. The grid from the previous game is gone, and more interactions are available for team-up attacks. The new Sparks look to be at the core of a lot of things for this game. It has a release window of 2022.

 

Next, Yousseff told us it was time to check-in with the CEO of Ubisoft, Yve Guillemot. He thanked the team for their resilience over the last year. He also thanked the players for everything they do. Yve had one announcement, giving us the first look at Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, powered by the latest version of the Snowdrop engine. Looks like we're headed back to Pandora and its vibrant world with the Na'vi. The conflict between the Na'vi and humans looks to be raging in this one. It definitely looks to be a prequel to the film itself, letting us see a bit into the past. It aims to release in 2022 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Stadia, and Luna. Getting to the end, they did a quick promotion for Ubisoft+. Then we got a recap of what was shown.


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