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Rumor: Ubisoft Reflections working on racer 'The Crew'
Driver series developer Ubisoft Reflections is working on a new racing game called The Crew, The Examiner reports. Citing an unnamed source, Examiner says the game is an all new racing franchise that is intended to be a "realistic title, possibly being positioned against Forza and Gran Turismo." Reflections has been out of the racing game circuit for the past couple years after the release of Driver: San Francisco. The studio has spent its time since playing second fiddle on Just Dance, Far Cry and Watch Dogs for Ubisoft's Montreal and Paris studios. Ubisoft Reflections is expected to announce its new game at E3.
Get $1 PC games from Ubisoft's new Uplay client
Uplay the vague Ubisoft online service is now also Uplay the PC client, through which Ubisoft sells games and offers friends lists and other services. It's worth checking out, because the company is offering a selection of $1 PC game downloads, one a day. Today, it's HAWX 2; tomorrow, From Dust, with Silent Hunter 5 and Driver: San Francisco following.The same deal applies in the UK and Europe, with prices of one unit of the local currency. There are other deep, if not as dramatic, discounts as well.
Steam Summer Sale, Day 9: Dungeon Defenders, Crysis 2, Civ 5 and more
Well, we're more than a week into the Steam Summer Sale and there's still no end in sight. No end to the savings, that is! (Can you tell we used to write copy for a local used car dealership?)Today's deep discounts include Dungeon Defenders, Fear 3, Magicka and Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad GOTYE, all for less than five smackers each, and Civilization 5, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Crysis 2 and Driver: San Fancisco for less than a tenner. Today's indie bundle is also no slouch, touting the now-classic VVVVVV, as well as the ballistically brilliant Jamestown.
Ubisoft's Reflections studio nominated for Innovation Award, now hiring
Ubisoft's Reflections studio, the developers of Driver: San Francisco, Just Dance 3, and currently working on Far Cry 3, has been nominated for an Innovation Award by the UK's Royal Television Society of the North East, spotlighting "exceptional contributions to technological and production innovations." In other words, they produce games real good, ya hear?The awards will be handed out on Saturday in a ceremony at Newcastle upon Tyne in Northeast England. Reflections also tells Joystiq that the company is growing and hiring at the moment, so if you want to make games and live in the UK (or are willing to move there), there might be an opening for you.
Ubi's server migration closeouts extend beyond previously announced titles
Ubisoft is in the middle of transferring all of its data from one server farm to another, and while we knew the process would render some games unplayable, it seems the migration has affected a wider swath of Ubisoft's catalogue than previously anticipated.Players are reporting issues with the PC version of Driver: San Francisco and with Anno 2070, according to a report by Eurogamer. Ubisoft, in addition to apologizing on its Twitter feed, is also working to correct the problem and has already found a preliminary solution for Anno 2070 players unable to get online. Ubisoft expects services to be fully restored by Thursday morning.
PSA: Ubisoft server migration means temporary offline time for some games
Beginning February 7, Ubisoft will transition all of its data from one third-party server farm to another, and as a result online functionality in most Ubisoft titles will be disabled during that time. Some Ubisoft games won't be playable at all, but that list is rather short and will only affect Mac and PC gamers.Ubisoft's most recent triple-A titles will thankfully be unaffected: Anno 2070, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, Driver: San Francisco, and Just Dance 3 will all remain playable (both online and offline) during the transition. The OSX version of the original Assassin's Creed, however, will be completely unplayable, as will the OSX version of Splinter Cell: Conviction and the PC versions of Might and Magic: Heroes VI and Tom Clancy's HAWX 2.The online portions of all other Ubisoft games will be disabled during the transition, although offline modes should still function normally. Ubisoft has yet to provide an estimated completion date for the move, recommending instead that people follow its official Twitter account for updates. [REDMIRAGE via Shutterstock]
Best of the Rest: Jordan's picks for 2011
Catherine I have a soft spot for the bizarre and the esoteric. If something is complicated, either through the machinations of its mechanical workings or through the intricacies of its conceptual nature, its hard for me to focus on anything else until I feel like I really understand what I'm looking at. Catherine gave me something to think about, and also made me think about myself, which isn't something I can usually say about puzzle/dating games. The experience is complicated in both the literal and metaphorical sense; its ever-changing puzzle gameplay and surprisingly deep, multifaceted story are the result of brilliant design decisions, exceptional writing and an amazing localization job by Atlus. Catherine managed to satiate my craving for the intellectually surreal while immersing me in the delightfully idiosyncratic world of Japanese storytelling.
Best of the Rest: Alexander's picks of 2011
Dead Space 2 I am a passionate man. When Dead Space 2 was overlooked by several of my fellow editors, preventing it from attaining a rightful place in our top ten, I briefly contemplated a multi-city tour. The plan was simple: ring their doorbell, smack them across the face, cross their name off a list and move on to the next deserving victim. My main reason Dead Space 2 deserved a spot in our top ten: At times, I forgot to breathe. Dead Space 2 was a game of tension and release. I found myself gasping for air after several scenes, so focused on whatever new necromorph horror was trying to splay me that the part of my brain regulating natural respiration was overridden by the section screaming, "SHOOT IT! SHOOT IT WITH SO MUCH QUICKNESS AND RUN!" For the sake of levity, if I had it my way, there would have been several moments where protagonist Isaac Clarke pulled out Handi-Snacks, lifted his visor and pouted about whatever danger he'd face beyond the next airlock.
Driver: San Francisco shifts in large-ish patch
Ubisoft's focused and fun Driver: San Francisco has received a title update for consoles. The patch includes several fixes and improvements to the online portion of the game that go beyond a paint job. Pull on past the break for the full list.
Steam Autumn Sale: The final countdown
Another legendary Steam sale is coming to a close today -- it's day five of the Autumn Sale, which means we're in the final hours of snagging some sweet and savory fall deals. Right now, get Thief: Deadly Shadows and Dead Space 2 for $4.99 each, or Driver: San Francisco and Fable 3 for $24.99 each, along with 10 other deals. We don't think we need to write them all out, because you've probably already clicked over the actual sale page by now. That's right, do our work for us. Dance, monkey, dance.
Dead Island, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine continue fight atop UK charts
Zombie RPG Dead Island continues feasting on money and tourists in its second week atop the UK all formats sales chart. Chart-Track notes (to the surprise of no one) that Deep Silver's two weeks of Dead Island sales have eclipsed the lifetime sales of any other title in the publisher's catalog. That includes and Nail'd and Prison Break: The Conspiracy. Another unexpected development on the charts: Warhammer 40K Space Marine maintained its second place position again this past week. Despite a 52 percent drops in sales, the Emperor's fist kept the aliens of Resistance 3 in third. The only "new" title to break the Top 40 last week was God of War Collection Volume 2, which bludgeoned everything below the 35th spot. Price promotions moved Red Faction: Armageddon up 246 percent into 11th, while Kinect's Rise of Nightmares had a better second week, running up from 37th place to 18th.
Dead Island shambles up UK charts, Space Marine drops in second
Love it or leave it zombie RPG Dead Island has consumed the top of the UK sales chart in its debut week. Another premiere expounded righteous force for the Emperor: Warhammer 40K: Space Marine. Chart-Track notes the PC sales for Space Marine were actually higher than Dead Island, which it believes is due to the former not being available on UK's Steam at launch. Driver: San Francisco shifted down into third in its second week on the charts, while Resistance 3 invaded the UK, nabbing fourth place in its first week available. Deus Ex: Human Revolution, currently in fifth, is doing its part to suppress the Zumba Fitness conspiracy, by keeping the dance fitness simulator in sixth. Other notable premieres were 3DS's Star Fox 64 3D and Kinect's Rise of Nightmares in ninth and a brisk 37th place, respectively. Check out the drying paint of a fresh UK top ten after the break.
Driver: San Francisco getting free content later this month
Looking to discover some new routes in Ubisoft Reflection's recreation of San Francisco? According to Eurogamer, Ubisoft is gearing up (ugh, sorry) to offer some free DLC for Driver: San Francisco starting September 15 with 12 new downloadable routes compatible with all online modes. From then on out, Ubisoft will offer a free route each week over the next ten weeks. On top of the DLC plan, Ubisoft has also launched its Driver Club service today, though the website seems to be down right now. Driver Club is supposed to offer exclusive achievements, quick access to leaderboards, stats and clips -- both your own (which you can share) and clips from your friends (which you can rate). There's also a social feed, though we're pretty sure it's just the #DriverSF hashtag.
Driver San Francisco review: A beautiful dream
The Driver series has spent the majority of its twelve year lifespan in Grand Theft Auto's shadow. The original Driver may have hit consoles a full two years before Grand Theft Auto 3, but it was GTA that secured pole position in the minds of the public, and Driver has been struggling to keep up ever since. The franchise's desperate attempts to stay relevant culminated in 2006 with Driver: Parallel Lines, a game that unabashedly and haphazardly aped Grand Theft Auto in every appreciable and quantifiable way. That was five years ago, however, and in the interim Ubisoft Reflections appears to have realized a very important and universal truth: The only way to win a game you're destined to lose is by not playing at all. Driver: San Francisco is the best Driver game there's ever been, because it is wholly and entirely true to itself.%Gallery-130909%
Driver: San Francisco for Xbox 360 missing Uplay Passport [update]
Copies of Driver: San Francisco for Xbox 360 being sold by retailers do not include the Uplay Passport, a code required to access multiplayer beyond the 48-hour trial period. Driver is the first title by Ubisoft to require a Uplay Passport. Joystiq contacted Ubisoft late last week when we became aware of the situation. We received a response late last night, saying a statement provided today would "clear everything up in regard to the Uplay Passport codes and Driver: San Francisco." The Uplay Passport insert in NTSC region copies currently contains a code that unlocks DLC, but is not the code that unlocks the multiplayer. Update: The Uplay Passport is now free when attempting to purchase through the game. It is not currently available through the dashboard nor Xbox.com. Ubisoft has yet to officially comment on this or on how long the Uplay Passport will be free through the game. Update 2: Ubisoft's official statement can be found after the break. [Thanks, John P.]
Deus Ex maintains UK top spot, Driver races into second
Deus Ex isn't quite ready to give up the glory it earned for knocking Zumba Fitness off the top of the UK All Formats sales chart last week. The conspiratorial RPG may have experienced a 46 percent reduction in sales from its debut week, but it still had enough to keep Driver: San Francisco in second place for its premiere week. The usual cast make up the rest of the top ten, including Zumba Fitness dancing in third (take that!), with the exception of Madden NFL 12, which found a nook in sixth. The only other new title to enter the top 40 last week was Bodycount, which despite serious faults, found a home in 36th place. Find the UK top ten after the break.
Driver: San Francisco studio head defends Ubisoft DRM system
Martin Edmonson, head of Driver studio Ubisoft Reflections, really doesn't get down with piracy. "You have to do something," he told Eurogamer in a recent interview, when asked about Ubi's PC digital rights management strategy -- which requires an internet verification of some sort for many games to be accessed, including Driver: San Francisco. "PC piracy is at the most incredible rates," he argued. "The game cost a huge amount of money to develop, and it has to be, quite rightly -- quite morally correctly -- protected." That said, the final decision on which Ubi titles get the infamous DRM goes to the publisher, not the studio. "DRM is not a decision taken by us as a developer at all. It's a purely a publisher decision. The publisher has every right to protect their investment," Edmonson explained. And while we see his point, we can't help but continue to wonder why paying customers are being punished with restrictive DRM after paying for their games.
Driver: San Francisco to be offered as full download on PSN
A full downloadable version of Driver: San Francisco will arrive on PSN alongside the retail version of the game, Ubisoft's Gareth Edmonson revealed during a Gamescom panel last week. That's right: In what's likely to be our favorite irony of the month, you don't have to actually drive anywhere to buy the new Driver. Speaking at a Gamescom panel last week, Edmonson said the PSN version would arrive "in a few weeks" which would roughly correspond to the game's Sept. 6 retail release date. We've asked Ubisoft for more details, especially whether the 360 will get similar treatment.
Ubisoft delays PC version of [insert game here] at 11th hour [update]
Ubisoft has informed Eurogamer that the PC Version of Driver: San Francisco will not launch in the European territory until September 30, nearly a month after its console debut. Ubisoft has yet to confirm a North American PC delay, and online and packaged retailers still show a September 6 launch. We've contacted the publisher to confirm a stateside shift. The eleventh-hour delays for the PC versions of Ubisoft's games have become standard ops. If the delays are part of some piracy prophylactic, it functions as another layer to the company's "successful" DRM. The last minute Ubisoft PC delay tactic has been used most recently on From Dust and Call of Juarez: The Cartel, and goes back further with titles from the Assassin's Creed series and Splinter Cell: Conviction. Update: Ubisoft has confirmed the PC version of Driver: San Francisco has a North American street date of September 27. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will launch September 6 in North America.
You Don't Know Jack on Xbox Games on Demand, Driver multiplayer demo next week
Did you know that You Don't Know Jack is available today on Xbox 360 Games on Demand? If not, then you didn't know jack about You Don't Know Jack. And now that you know, you know you can go learn more about You Don't Know Jack, play it, and then find out whether or not you know jack about a variety of other subjects... or you could get World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars. That's the other new Games on Demand release. The Major Nelson post announcing upcoming XBLM content also reveals plans to release a second Driver: San Francisco demo. In addition to the single-player demo out this week, next week Ubisoft will send out a multiplayer demo. We hear the multiplayer is the game's strong suit. In other XBLM news, you can save on a random assortment of Rock Band music including Metallica, Blink 182, Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi, and Queen packs this week, and an equally random assortment of Xbox Originals (Fable, Black, Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex, and Legend of Spyro) next week. Yeah, we don't know.
