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Download the Ubidays 2008 trailers here
If you're interested in owning an HD copy of the Beyond Good & Evil 2 teaser trailer (and really, who isn't?), our file sharing friends at BigDownload (Update: and GameDaily) are offering all the HD trailers from yesterday's Ubidays 2008 event as, erm, big downloads. Check out all the trailers below, including two Prince of Persia speed sketches of the Prince and Elika (here's a game: count the number of times the artist changes brush settings). Beyond Good & Evil 2 teaser (217 MB) Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway trailer (111 MB) Prince of Persia teaser (62 MB) Prince of Persia speed drawing: Prince (9.4 MB) Prince of Persia speed drawing: Elika (13 MB) Raving Rabbids TV Party gameplay trailer (59 MB) Raving Rabbids TV Party teaser (55 MB) Tom Clancy's EndWar trailer (111 MB) Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. trailer (181 MB) Shaun White Snowboarding intro (150 MB) Shaun White Snowboarding trailer (110 MB) Soul Calibur IV Yoda gameplay trailer (25 MB) Soul Calibur IV Darth Vader gameplay trailer (31 MB) Soul Calibur IV cinematical trailer (106 MB) Rabbids, Persian Princes and Beyond Good & Evil 2? Check out all our coverage (and a bountiful amount of screenshots) from Ubisoft's Ubidays 2008 event.
Tom Clancy's EndWar gets the blue shell treatment
Tom Clancy's EndWar isn't coming to the Wii, but the developers adopted a philosophy from one of Nintendo's most well-known franchises -- Mario Kart. Ubisoft representative Julian Gerighty told Shacknews that the company was concerned about making the game fun for the player who wasn't in the lead. Rather than be dejected by an insurmountable deficit, Ubisoft wanted the losing player to feel like they could come back at any time.Thus, the developers channeled Mario Kart. Thinking of how certain items could help even the last place player feel like they're still in the race, Ubisoft developed a system that lets the losing player unlock WMDs first, and then fire off their cache before retaliation. As we haven't yet played this RTS, we're not sure exactly how that works or if it's as extreme as it sounds. Shacknews reports, though, that in their experience the leading player still won but it kept things fun for both sides.What do you think of the Mario Kart philosophy? Do you think it's necessary for players to feel like they can catch up at any time? (The item system is clearly skewed to give those in the back better objects, for example.) Or, are you usually the one in first that hates this kind of luck-based turnaround? Also, how do you feel about other games adopting a system like Mario Kart's?%Gallery-4772%
New in-game footage of Tom Clancy's EndWar
It's been a while since we heard anything new about Tom Clancy's EndWar, so imagine our surprise when Ubidays greeted us with a brand new trailer chock-full of in-game footage. It's not a detailed gameplay reveal like the one we had in March, but it still gives us an idea of how large we can expect the battles to be. We also get a glimpse at the level of detail lavished on all the units. Honestly, if we didn't know it was an RTS, we're not sure we'd be able to tell. Each unit is well crafted and highly detailed. All in all, the game is looking pretty hot (even the icy parts in Russia). Let's just hope that Ubisoft releases a demo so we can all try the game's much vaunted voice commands before taking the full financial plunge.
Ubisoft opens up new studio in Kiev
Ubisoft has expanded its reach once more, this time establishing another Eastern European studio in Kiev, Ukraine. According to a GameDaily report, the studio is currently working with Ubisoft Bucharest on the PC version of the previously announced Tom Clancy's HAWX. Wasting little time, Ubisoft has staffed up the studio with a "core team of 12 developers," led by Blazing Angels: Secret Missions of WWII dev Vitalii Blazheiev. The studio is expected to eventually employ 50 people over the next 12 months, with more than 800 working for the company's numerous Eastern European studios by 2009. Clearly Ubisoft has found something special in the region that it can't ignore. Germknödel perhaps?
Tom Clancy's EndWar: the evolution of helicopters
Personal vendettas against Tom Clancy aside, his foray into the gaming world has done quite a bit of great things. The latest adventure in the growing monopolistic library of Tom Fancy games, EndWar, has a blog over at IGN that recently updated to show off the evolution of their ideas for a gunship over the course of the game's development. It's an interesting read -- one of the reasons why developer blogs are gaining popularity.Just to pique your interest: the first ship design was scrapped because the chopper was supposed to be futuristic, but the actual ship it was based off of was canceled in 2004. The second was originally a fairly standard, but cool, helicopter. It also failed the futuristic expectations of the EndWar team and designed a new ship that is a mish-mash of different attack choppers. Cool stuff, for those who love them flyin' things.
Ubisoft reveals Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
Hilariously Arbitrary Waggle X-ercise! No, Ubisoft already did that one. Umm, how about Hillbilly Awareness Warrants Xenophobia? Harrowing Antagonistic Waffle Xtreme? Hygienically Attached Wailing Xylophone? Hobos Are Watching Xena? Please, somebody just tell us what Tom Clancy has to do with the Heinous Acronym We X-amined. Why, thank you, IGN! It seems the first thing Ubisoft is doing with the wholly-purchased Tom Clancy is to put the man inside a high-tech jet and send him into High-Altitude Warfare ... X! Developed by the company's Bucharest studio, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. places couch pilots in over 50 different planes equipped with an "Enhanced Reality System (ERS)," an optional means of alerting you to incoming missiles, tactical position and the activities of your AI squadron.If you're wary of having robots for wingmen, you'll be pleased to note the game offers a 4-player co-op campaign and a 16-player Versus mode. Ubisoft hawks its airborne wares on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this Fall.[Thanks, netgem21]
Tom Clancy's HAWX revealed
When we first saw this announcement, we swore it said Tony Hawk's HAWX. Regardless, this poorly-named new title from Ubisoft continues expanding the Tom Clancy franchise to a brand new territory: the sky. This all-CG trailer highlights some of the Xtreme aXtion that Ubisoft is trying to incorporate in this brand new title. IGN has all the details so far (which admittedly, isn't much).
Ubisoft finally announces Tom Clancy's HAWX
After a morning of frustrating countdowns we realize why our questions about the upcoming Ubisoft announcement went unanswered as IGN exclusively revealed the first title to be announced since the acquisition of the Tom Clancy name. Introducing the flight-combat title, Tom Clancy's HAWX. That's right spelling and grammar police it's called HAWX. Developed by Ubisoft's Bucharest Studio, HAWX lets players control over 50 planes in dogfights across the sky. Set in 2012, HAWX includes your standard political storyline where private military companies are becoming increasingly more important in the fight for ... freedom, we guess. Featuring an Enhanced Reality System (ERS) HAWX features in-game assists made to keep the experience as fun and intuitive as possible. The innovative ERS allows gamers to turn on tactical maps, read damage control systems and do pretty much everything else a heads-up display (HUD) has been doing since the dawn of the gaming age it seems. OK, it actually does cooler things like weapons trajectory control too. HAWX supports four-player jump in and jump out co-op throughout the entire campaign and also includes a Vs. mode for up to 16 players. Tom Clancy's HAWX releases this fall on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Ubisoft gives us a new countdown [Update 3]
Update 3: It seems that as every hour progresses the timer (above the five decoded files) adds another hour to the countdown. Stay tuned until we get a confirmation on what exactly is happening.Update 2: The timer now states the countdown will end at 5:50PM EST.Update: Apparently the decrypter on the Ghost Recon site went on a lunch break. The new countdown, set to expire at 1:50PM, has just added an additional 2 hours. The new countdown now ends at 3:50PM EST.Last week we reported an interesting development occurring across all of Ubisoft's Tom Clancy branded websites. First, a flash overlay of a smoking dossier (or black box) appeared over the official Ghost Recon website that provided users with no functions or information. The next morning a menu appeared allowing site visitors to click into an alternate reality game called MACSAT7 Recovery which expanded the flash window and revealed five audio and video files in the early stages of decoding. Soon reports flew in that other overlays, with what appeared to be wreckage from a downed helicopter, began appearing on the official sites for Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six and the upcoming End War that all pointed to the original Ghost Recon site.After carefully conducting mathematics we realized that each of the five files were counting down to the date and time they would be decrypted, and thus available to analyze for information, but we also noticed an overall timer that was counting down to around noon on April 2. Moments ago the ARG came to an end and we were surprised to see a new countdown has emerged for 1:50PM 3:50PM EST.Could this be the rumored Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 3, which is said to end the trilogy's stay in Mexico, or the highly expected Firehawk? Only time will tell.
RSV2's worldwide sales climb to 2 million
Today, Ubisoft wanted to make it known that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a success, selling 2 million copies worldwide since its release a few weeks back. And Ubisoft also wanted to make it known that those 2 million sales were a big surprise, even to them. So, with RSV2's success and Assassin's Creed doing better than expected, the number crunching Ubi crew decided to increase their fiscal guidance for 2008. And that's a good thing. We love seeing everyone over at Ubi doing their happy-happy dance which they do exceptionally well when $1.5 billion in sales rains down from the gaming heavens.
Clancy name bought by Ubisoft, worth big bucks
Late last week, it was reported that Ubisoft had purchased the rights to the Tom Clancy brand for use in video games and related products such as books. In a follow-up article on Gamasutra, industry analyst Michael Pachter estimates that the Tom Clancy brand could have cost Ubisoft as much as €60 million ($94 million). Ubisoft, for their part, have not publicly stated the purchase price. The deal is especially lucrative for Ubisoft, as the company will no longer have to pay royalties for use of the Tom Clancy name (currently affixed to the Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six series, among other staples and upcoming franchises).One last note from the bottom of the article: in addition to the Tom Clancy MMO, Ubisoft is also working on a crossover series which Ubisoft's Yves Guillemot described as "similar in scope to Nintendo's Super Smash Bros." Whether or not this will stay strictly within the realm of Tom Clancy remains unclear. We hope not, because frankly we'd like to see Rayman and Sam Fisher fight to the death. Remember, Rayman has no neck to snap.
Ubisoft shares boosted by 'Tom Clancy' purchase
Ubisoft's shares in Paris rose 12 percent this week, to 54.98 euros, after news that the publishing giant had bought the rights to Tom Clancy's brand name. According to Bloomberg, shares had previously fallen 29 percent this year.The article also notes that Tom Clancy-based titles were responsible for 30 percent of Ubisoft's profit in the fiscal year ending March 2007. As part of the deal, Ubisoft has the rights to use Clancy's name and intellectual property for video games and related merchandising. After the reported Clancy MMO, here's hoping for a Tom Clancy party game where Jack Ryan takes on the Raving Rabbids.
The Digital Continuum: MMO features in the year 2013
If you were to look back five years ago at the year 2003, the feature lists on the MMOs of that year look quite a bit different from the games of this year. Everything from graphical advancements to new in-game concepts like Warhammer Online's Tome of Knowledge. A lot of new features have cropped up through natural evolution and forcefulness as well. A lot of these improvements were obvious, but many of them have also been unexpected.So what kinds of advancements will the massively genre have made in another fives years? Maybe we'll all be playing MMOs on the newest consoles, or maybe not. There are a lot of variables in this considerably young genre we all love, so looking five years into the future can lead to scary places. Although that won't stop me from trying to peer towards the future in an attempt see what sorts of virtual worlds await us all.
RSV2's Private First Class achievement problem
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 players who played the original Rainbow Six Vegas have run into an achievement unlocking wall of annoyance. Simply put, the Private First Class achievement is broken.You see, many gamers who fire up RSV2 and have previously played RSV are experiencing a problem where they cannot unlock the Private First Class achievement. The reason being that their initial rank is bumped up higher than private first class, because of RSV2 using RSV game saves to set the player's rank. So, upon entering multiplayer, the players' rank is greater than private first class and the achievement refuses to unlock. Teh lame! Some have found a way to work around this unlocking annoyance, but it's time consuming, a hassle and is, well ... also annoying. Ubisoft better release a title update quick and get RSV2 players their 10GS achievement. You do not want to mess with Vegas players Ubi ... you just don't.[Thanks,eXciter1]
Tom Clancy-based MMO coming; $50 million budget
In a recent follow-up to a conference call, the CEO of Ubisoft revealed that the company would be branching out into other territories with its IP, including Tom Clancy. With the end-of-year release of the voice-controlled RTS EndWar, Ubisoft does seem intent on moving Clancy games out of simply the shooter genres and the just announced Tom Clancy MMO seems to continue the trend. Nothing is known about the game at this time, other than it is being worked on and that it has the rather large budget of 50 million dollars. But with many companies with thier own online games searching for alternative methods of revenue, and with no MMOs that have truly broken into the console mass market, any game such as this has it's work cut out for it.
Ubisoft buys up Tom Clancy rights, announces Clancy MMO
Publisher Ubisoft sealed a mega-deal today for the rights to the Tom Clancy brand name to "use in video games and ancillary products including related books, movies and merchandising products." No price tag was affixed publicly to the deal, but Newsweek spoke with Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter who guesses it was somewhere around $100 million.GameDaily reports that in a follow up conference call to the announcement, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated the company is looking to make a Tom Clancy MMO. Guillemot also guessed the MMO would cost around $50 million to make. Yes, but will it have the prerequisite elves and dwarves in there to become a phenomenon?Read -- Ubisoft Locks Up All Tom Clancy Rights, Plans for MMORead -- Newsweek talks to Pachter
Ubisoft preps for a Tom Clancy-themed MMO
Not less that two hours ago we were discussing the ways that FPSes have co-opted the trappings of MMOs, and now this. Ubisoft has announced that, as part of an IP-purchasing deal with spy-genre mogul Tom Clancy, they'll be working to create an MMO based on his works. We're just guessing what the gameplay might be like above, but company CEO Yves Guillemot seems determined to get one out the door. The game isn't even in the works yet, as Ubisoft has little experience in the post-WoW MMO marketplace, but Yves thinks they already have the technology in-hand to make the game. He also noted the abundance of options they have as regards setting: "You have Splinter Cell, Sam Fisher, the Rainbow [Sixes], the GRAWs and all the other new creations we have. So this [IP acquisition] will make that [MMO] product a really big product." This was apparently a foregone conclusion from some time ago, according to Yves. They were merely waiting for the right opportunity to jump in. It getting a might crowded out here for anyone else?
Video: A first look at EndWar's gameplay
Behold, our fellow fanboys! The video that you see embedded above is your first glimpse, first look and first first of visual goodness from Tom Clancy's EndWar. The console RTS that promises to revolutionize RTS gaming as we know it. Once you complete your video viewing session, you'll know how the game's voice recognition works, what the graphics look like, if you enjoy the third person view and what the Frag Dolls are wearing. Seriously, just watch already and give us your opinion when your video viewing mission is complete. Just be sure to wear your optimistic cap.
See the first gameplay footage from Tom Clancy's EndWar
Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good? You're about to see a boatload of footage from upcoming RTS Tom Clancy's EndWar. The bad? The Frag Dolls are the ones doing the demonstrating. Let's talk gameplay first. In our opinion, the graphics are solid but the UI looks a bit jumbled. Of course, that's usually the way with an RTS until you know what's going on.Thanks to the game's voice command, just the sound of the Frag Dolls' voices is enough to make troops start shooting people (a reaction we completely sympathize with). We can't decide if our favorite moment is when the blonde one (Scary Spice?) punches a fist in the air and gleefully shouts "World War 3!" or when she punches lower and gleefully shouts "Yeah! Weapons of mass destruction!" In truth our favorite part is after the video when you the viewer get to hear what the Ubisoft-employed Frag Dolls think of the game. (Spoiler alert: They love it.)
Comcast offers exclusive Rainbow Six Vegas 2 map
Congratulations, you did it! Why are we heaping our praise upon you for no good reason? Well, friend, you just joined Comcast's Elite Rainbow Six Bravo team. We don't know how you got the honor or why, but we know all you have to do is click this link to be automatically on the crew. For your trouble, you'll get the pride of knowing you're part of something bigger than yourself ... oh, and a free Rainbow Six Vegas 2 map.The new map is called "Comcast Event" which is uncomfortably close to (read: is) super-blatant in-game advertising. But also, it's free, which makes it pretty tough to take a moral stand against. Enjoy.
