Ubisoft-Reflections
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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.
Ubisoft Reflections resume outs unannounced Kinect game
Ubisoft Reflections' next effort will be aimed at Kinect, it seems. Artist Joss Scouler's LinkedIn account reportedly listed an unannounced Kinect title in the works, but it has since been removed from the profile. Scouler has been with Ubisoft Reflections for over five years and and helped ship the studio's most recent console game, Driver: San Francisco."After just finishing Driver Wii as lead artist and spending time helping finalise the artwork for Driver: San Francisco, it is onto the next project on 360 Kinect which looks to be very exciting indeed," Scouler's entry previously read. Eurogamer managed to spot the unaltered profile, which pegged him as art lead on the Kinect project.We've contacted Ubisoft for a statement and will update if we hear back.
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.
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.
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.]
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.
Driver: San Francisco delayed a week to September 6
Whoops, looks like Driver: San Francisco didn't run the red light and is now delayed one week. Originally expected to reach stores on August 30, the shift-y racer will now arrive September 6. Ubisoft has also released a new video explaining the game's multiplayer features -- an experience that we've been pleasantly surprised with ever since our first test drive at E3. Check out the video above and see what could potentially be one of the most compelling multiplayer experiences of the year.
Driver: San Francisco's dev diary explores your good will
Rather than allowing players to jump from car to car all willy nilly-like, Driver: San Francisco instead depends on a metric called "good will" to mete out the Matrix 2-esque action. We can't wait to hear how this plays into the "dude in a coma" story conceit!
Driver San Francisco multiplayer preview: Repossessed
It's Wednesday, right in the middle of E3, and as I sit in the Joystiq conference room frantically tapping away at my keyboard, I hear my colleague Alexander gushing about Driver: San Francisco's multiplayer component. The following day he would publish a piece about the game's Tag mode and thanks to it, and many others like it, Driver's multiplayer would emerge as one of the show's sleeper hits. At the core of all the excitement is "shifting." With the press of a button, you can seamlessly exit your vehicle and hover above the game world ... think of it as an out-of-auto-body experience. Then, you can "possess" other vehicles, taking direct control. There's plenty of solid driving, but the possibilities of shifting are what no one can seem to stop talking about. "It's really confirmed to everyone in the studio that the shift mechanic works -- it's especially exciting in the multiplayer," creative director Martin Edmondson said. "To get people at E3 playing it for the first time and writing very positive things about it is great for the team." Up until now, I've only been able to get cozy with the single-player component, but when Ubisoft invited me out to see the multiplayer, I finally got to see exactly what Alex and everyone else was so worked up about. %Gallery-128321%
Driver: San Francisco preview: Get smashed with friends
Of all the things I wasn't expecting at this year's E3, Driver: San Francisco's multiplayer turning out to be the "have you tried that yet?" game is definitely in the top three. The genius "shift" system brings a whole new dimension to driving games and delivers a "still in the race" feel, whether you're a veteran of the genre or dabble in it from time to time. I played the multiplayer "Tag" mode -- essentially "keep away" -- as the "it" driver puts the pedal to the metal in San Francisco traffic and the other players try to smash into him, thus starting the cycle of tag all over again. What the shift system does is allow players who are far away from the target (or who just want a new vehicle) to disembody themselves from the car and instantly snap to an aerial view and plop into a car closer to the target. The best example I can think of to convey the intensity this causes is the highway scene in Matrix: Reloaded where the Smiths and The Twins keep taking over other drivers. Shifting allows you to always feel like you're still a contender as the "it" person incrementally ticks up points. The strategies available also elevate what is a simple game of "keep away" into something you can see playing and laughing about with friends for hours. You don't have to be into driving games to enjoy this type of mode. %Gallery-125824%
Driver: San Francisco preview: Shifting perspectives
The biggest accomplishment in Driver: San Francisco appears to be the city itself, a huge expanse that not only covers the northern part of San Fran, but also Marin County, the East Bay and Treasure Island. Ubisoft Reflections creative director Martin Edmondson gave me a quick tour, showing me both a zoomed-out look at the entire gameworld and views from within the driver's seat in different districts, to give me a taste of the variety in locales. To see it all recreated and in such grand scope -- and running at a smooth framerate -- was quite impressive. Unfortunately, I didn't get to drive around much on my own when I was at the controls. Instead, my playtime was relegated to roughly the first hour of the game and the northern section of the city, giving me a chance to see how protagonist Tanner gains the ability to possess other drivers -- what Edmondson calls "the shifting mechanic." %Gallery-122341%
Driver: San Francisco peels out on August 30, 2011
Ubisoft has announced that the next installment in the Driver series, Driver: San Francisco, will hit the mean streets of US retail on August 30. The game is currently slated to launch on PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Mac simultaneously. Separate titles bearing the same name are also planned for the Wii and 3DS. Driver: San Francisco once again sees players stepping into the shoes of Tanner, who, after being involved in an accident, gains the unusual ability to shift into the bodies of other drivers in the game on-the-fly. Look for more details in our full preview of the game tomorrow.
Driver: San Fran dev Ubisoft Reflections suffers layoffs
The usual Monday blues are even bluesier today at Ubisoft Reflections, as the UK-based studio has suffered job cuts. Develop reports that as many as 19 employees could be dismissed from the group that is currently developing (the recently delayed) Driver: San Francisco. Ubisoft Montreal will now fill the role of "associate studio" on the project and offer support going forward. An undisclosed source told Develop that the layoffs were wide-reaching, affecting higher-ups as well as contract workers. Additionally, the source cited "delays with the project" as one of the reasons for the redundancies, suggesting that the studio's lack of experience with the current generation of consoles (this is its first current-gen game, after all) has become exceedingly costly. The source claimed Reflections has been "learning as we go along, developing our skills." An Ubisoft representative characterized the cuts as part of a reorganization, insisting that "Reflections is crucial as a studio" and that there are no plans to shutter the operation entirely following Driver's expected launch early next year. The spokesperson assured that Reflections "will absolutely keep going after Driver."
Interview: Driver: San Francisco creative director Martin Edmondson
Formed in the mid-1980s, Reflections Interactive has been making games for longer than you might remember. While the studio has franchises like Shadow of the Beast and Destruction Derby under its belt, its longest standing franchise is Driver. This fall the wheelman returns in Driver: San Francisco, and Reflections -- now owned and operated by Ubisoft -- is once again steering the ride. Also returning to the series is Reflections founder Martin Edmondson who, in March 2005, walked away from Reflections Interactive and filed suit against former publishing partner and company owner Atari for "constructive unfair dismissal" before settling in 2006. We spoke with Edmondson regarding Driver's return to the streets and the finer points regarding the upcoming game's "Shift" car jumping system. %Gallery-95490%
Preview: Driver: San Francisco
While a lot of people have share an affinity for the Driver series, most would agree that the franchise has stalled. Although that's a hilarious pun in reference to cars, it's also the best way to say the series has failed to capture the respect it received when the first and the second games (depending on who you ask) were released. After taking a long hiatus to build a new, completely proprietary engine, the franchise has returned in Driver: San Francisco and brings with it a few new ideas. %Gallery-95490%
Braking: Ubisoft's new Driver teased in video
Ubisoft has released a teaser video and a countdown site for its relaunch of the Driver series (the last title of which was released back in the heady days of aught-seven). We knew that there would be a new Driver to see at E3, and the site's countdown lines up with 5 p.m. PDT next Monday, June 14, which happens to be the exact same time that Ubisoft is holding its pre-expo press conference. What are the odds? The trailer seems to hint at most of the mainstays of the series, including our old friend Tanner (who's been transplanted to California, apparently, and has become a 49ers fan), rip-roaring muscle cars and the old "garage stunts checklist" that players had to pull off back when the series started. The site also links to a Facebook page, where you can "discover the driver's identity" (wait, didn't they just show it in the video?) by clicking the "Like" button. So if Ubisoft's goal was to get Driver fans intrigued, it's probably working. We'll light the fires and kick the tires on the game in about a week.
Ubisoft Reflections creating new Driver game
Obvious automobile news now, with the shocking revelation that the people inside Ubisoft's Reflections studio, nabbed by the French publisher in 2006, are hard at work clicking buttons, typing code and making "VROOM!" sound effects in order to service a new Driver game. You may remember it as the getaway car sim that you liked before Thelma and Louise took the wheel for most of the sequels.Aside from its in-development status, not much is revealed about the new Driver in a BBC News clip, though it does show a man modeling a red (then blue, no, yeeeelllloooow!) sports car. That's a good start, we suppose.
