US, July 15, 2008 - There are approximately 49.6 press conferences at E3 2008 and let's face it, you don't have time to watch crackly live feeds for them all. So we've got this neato live blog where you get to use your eyes to interpret words. It's steaming too, so long as you're hitting refresh all the time. So go ahead and hit it now and read the news from Ubisoft.
2:29 - Alright were here and waiting. People are filing in. The guy next to me does not smell, so this thing is a plus so far.
2:37 - Still waiting... sorry guys.
2:42 - We're starting!
2:43 - Laurent Detoc, president of Ubisoft North America just took the stage. Claims this is the best lineup ever. Admits we don't want to hear him talk (smart guy).
2:44 - Moving right into Rayman Raving Rabbids TV. Detoc is playing the game, where a Rabbid is sledding down an avalanche on a yak or something.
2:45 - So it's like a snowboarding minigame. He's sitting on a balance board to steer and is using the Wii remote to do tricks at certain parts.
2:46 - Labeled "genius at work" by Detoc.
2:47 - Trailer for Rayman Raving Rabbids TV shows happy families acting like goons. Minigames include a spaceship flying through rings, some sort of Wii remote rhythm posing game, more yak sledding.
2:49 - Detoc is moving on to Brother in Arms: Hell's Highway. Coming out in September. Watching a "refresher trailer."
2:50 - Dude, headshot!
2:51 - It's definitely a WWII game. Cinematic shows hand to hand combat, maybe part of the gameplay?
2:52 - Tom Clancy time. Talking about its 10th anniversary. 55 million units sold worldwide.
2:53 - "Endwar, quite possibly, will be a landmark in gaming. This will be the first game you can play with your voice," says Detoc.
2:54 - Without further ado (third time he's said that) the trailer!
2:55 - Trailer shows stylized shots of players giving commands, mixed with gameplay footage of troops responding and carrying out attacks. Tanks, choppers, bomb strikes. "Your voice is the ultimate weapon."
2:56 - Far Cry 2 (we're moving right along, aren't we?) Called "FPS 2.0" by Detoc.
2:57 - Set in Africa, evil general that is killing people, have to stop him. No footage of turning half tiger or anything. Maybe lion this time since it's Africa? Or maybe none at all since it's stupid?
2:58 - Clint Hocking, creative director for Far Cry 2, takes the stage.
2:59 - Jonathan Morin, the level designer is here too. They're talking about the freedom to explore in the game. Dozens of acres of African landscape to explore and play how you want.
3:00 - They're showing a live demo. You can set the time in the game by setting your clock for a certain time and taking a nap. This is how you complete night missions. Implies that the missions are non linear.
3:02 - There is a physical map system that the character actually pulls out and holds to look at. No pause screen bull crap here. Able to make notes on the map to note snipers, health stations, etc.
3:03 - Encouraged to play the game in the style you're most comfortable with. I wonder if I can "spawn camp" the entire game.
3:04 - John found dynamite! He's gonna blow up something. Take the sniper to your left, John! Nice.
3:05 - Demo ends with a riverboat escape. Much bigger focus on stealth this time around.
3:05 - Tony Key, senior vice president of sales is on stage. He's here to talk about the "tween girl market." Everybody say hells yeah!
3:06 - The Imagine series has made 22.1 million dollars in revenue to date. Only half of that is due to Lucas Thomas loving them.
3:07 - We're watching a video for Petz. There's a talking dog. Well not a real talking dog. It's a dog and there's a voice over from a little kid. Oh look a kitty too! This is soooooo cute!
3:08 - Oh snap there's monkeyz, too? Plus there is cross breeding. I wonder if they'll call it Geneticz.
3:09 - Announcement of Petz plush toys. There's a code printed on the butt that unlocks the animal within the game.
3:10 - Hilary Duff music in the trailer for the Imagine series! Hilary Duff >>> Duffy.
3:11 - Imagine: Movie Star and Imagine: New York Fashion Designer.
3:12 - People are laughing. But Tony Key is not telling any jokes.
3:13 - "Girls are coming in by the bucketload," says Key.
3:14 - Girls + Sports = new Ubisoft games. "ener-G." A new video game brand focusing on girl sports. Ener-G Adventure Riders, Dance Squad, and Gym Rockets. So horses, dancing and gymnastics.
3:15 - Moving on from girl games to Shaun White snowboarding. Louis Lamarche, the producer has taken the stage.
3:16 - Jumping right into a multiplayer demo.There are lots of sweet designer jackets to buy. The loading screen for multiplayer is a practice halfpipe that players can do some tricks on while they wait.
3:18 - Ability to throw snowballs at other players. Oh and you can snowboard too?!
3:19 - Mountains seem huge. Able to set markers at points that you can return to so you don't have to find that sweet jump again.
3:20 - Carrot Top is here!
3:21 - Oh nevermind, that's Shaun White.
3:22 - Shaun likes the fact that the mountain is so open and you can choose your own path. LaMarche is "comfortable claiming" that the game "redefines action sports."
3:23 - Tony Key is back, and we're on to Prince of Persia. New combat style, Assassin's Creed engine.
3:24 - Trailer. No gameplay so far. Oh here's a little bit of slo mo acrobatics. Mostly just this Ben Folds ripoff music playing. We're seeing little snippets of combat, some hints at the co-op combos. Looks gorgeous, but it's cut like a movie trailer so it's hard to tell.
3:26 - Ben Mattes, producer for PoP is on stage. He looks young. I thought you had to be 18 to be here?
3:27 - We're getting a live demo now. We're seeing some of the acrobatics. Wall running and jumping. The girl that hangs out with you acts as a double jump thing. She can snatch the prince in midair and fling him farther to get across bigger gaps.
3:29 - Combat time. The fighting is very duel like. Not a button mashing action game, more like a timed rhythm combat, closer to Sands of Time.
3:31 - The Prince is climbing on a wall, dodging slime monsters. Mattes is saying they want to game to be accessible to all gamers. The acrobatics have been changed from Sands of Time to allow everyone to pull off the acrobatic combos that skilled players could do.
3:33 - There's a Save Me feature. So when you die, Elika grabs you and pulls you to the nearest stable platform, without going to a death screen or saying "Game Over." Keeps the rhythm of the game intact.
3:35 - The environment changes after players drive the darkness out of the level by using the girl's magic. Now that the level is all green and happy it looks a lot like Sandover Village from Jak and Daxter.
3:36 - Tony Key is back and is wrapping up, but there's one more announcement.
3:37 - Okay this guy is running. He falls onto a glass pane. Three guys rush him, demanding water. He tosses into onto the glass and they fall through and die. He goes out to a desolate city and it cuts to 6 days earlier. Adam, the main character is walking along the city streets when something cracks the ground and a huge cloud of dust washes over everything. Ends with the words, "I Am Alive" which is the title for Ubisoft's latest project.
3:39 - And it's over!
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