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Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag monologue trailer bends knee to no man
I am a monologue trailer. I'm going to say things in a deeper than natural voice. I'm also going to wait ... (wait, no wait some more) before I finish a full sentence. I'm going to tell you how cool I am between quick flashy edits of me stabbing dudes. Yes, I am a protagonist and I'll finish off by saying something supposedly profound.
Six minutes of Watch Dogs gameplay footage appears
Gameplay videos are a great way to kick off your Sundays, so here is a six-minute video of Watch Dogs, courtesy of GamesHQMedia. We haven't seen this particular video before, a commentary-free look at main character Aiden's use of the near-future Chicago environment, so be sure to check it out before it gets taken down. [Thanks, Szczesny!]
Watch Dogs getting hacking feedback from security firm Kaspersky Lab
Ubisoft Montreal is soliciting feedback on hacking as it is depicted in Watch Dogs, a contemporary action game in which the protagonist exploits interconnected computer networks through his smartphone. Senior Producer Dominic Guay told Joystiq about the developer's work with Kaspersky Lab, the internet security firm that recently claimed to have identified a targeted malware attack on the Android platform. "We're working with Kaspersky Lab, a big security firm," Guay said during a San Francisco press event. "They have really hardcore experts there on hacking. We send them some of our designs and we ask them feedback on it, and it's interesting to see what gets back. Sometimes they say, 'Yeah, that's possible, but change that word,' or, 'That's not the way it works.'" Watch Dogs isn't focused on hacking at a granular level, despite being fictionally fertile ground for the clichéd hacking minigame. Instead, it treats hacking as a shortcut to manipulating doors, cameras, cars, laptops and ATMs in a futuristic "smart city" based on Chicago. The centrally computer-controlled urban environment is a sprawling basis for the game's traversal, shooting, stealth and driving systems. "It's not about the challenges of climbing a wall," Guay says, recalling the simplification of movement in Ubisoft Montreal's flagship series, Assassin's Creed. "It's finding the path I want to follow. "It's not about the minigame that will let me open the door, it's the fact that I'm making a plan. I'm making a plan of how I'm going to chain hacking, shooting, traveling the city and driving to achieve an objective." The input from Kaspersky Lab, and that from Ubisoft's own engineers, is intended to reduce instances of Hollywood hacking: the sexed-up, hyperspeed code wrangling meant to convey skilled computer use and software creation in an exciting/embarrassing way. Watch Dogs is certainly bombastic, but attempts to be more sensible than the likes of "Swordfish." After the break: that scene where Hugh Jackman shows John Travolta where he hid the worm.
Watch Dogs multiplayer mode will have element of invasion
The multiplayer component of Watch Dogs will have an element of player invasion, though its overall extent and direction has yet to be described by Ubisoft. Dominic Guay, Senior Producer at Ubisoft Montreal, insisted that the game can be played "completely offline if you want." (Expect to hear that protection phrase often in the wake of SimCity.) In multiplayer, Watch Dogs will use the near-future version of Chicago just as it is in single-player. "We are not making any compromises in terms of dynamism or interactivity," Guay said at a San Francisco press event earlier this week. Connecting with other players will be seamless in the developer's attempt "to start breaching the wall in action-adventure between single- and multiplayer." As an example of how players will commandeer elements of the city in play, Guay pointed to the E3 2012 demonstration of Watch Dogs: it concluded with another character hacking the protagonist's phone to plant a virus. In February, the game made an appearance at the PlayStation 4 unveiling event, and there the player was watched by someone who had hacked the local security cameras. Is there an apt term for someone who engages in voyeurism ... vicariously? Guay also discussed the "mobile extension" of Watch Dogs, a companion app that's been in development for more than a year alongside the primary game. You'll be able to play some form of Watch Dogs on your smartphone, and interact with console players running around their respective cities. Doing so from the real Chicago, wearing your finest trench coat, will likely generate a cosplay singularity.
Martin Kevan, Far Cry 3's Dr Earnhardt, passes away, aged 66
Actor and author Martin Kevan has died at age 66 after a brief battle with cancer. Kevan, best known for his roles in Happiness is Loving Your Teacher and Un Tuer si proche, as well as penning the novel Racing Tides, played the mad Dr. Earnhardt in Far Cry 3. As the Montreal Gazette notes, Kevan enjoyed a successful career in film, TV, and theater speaking in both English and French. We pass on our condolences to his friends, family, and colleagues.
Spies vs. Mercs evolved in Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Splinter Cell: Blacklist's Spies vs Mercs mode offers a sense of claustrophobic fear that few multiplayer games have been able to offer. It's an asymmetrical assault mode where one team of heavily-armed mercenaries attempts to defend three terminals from nimble spies attempting to hack in and steal the ones and zeros within. No matter which side you're on, when one terminal is being hacked, all of the conflict and chaos is focused like a laser to one room where the mercenaries must hunt for the original hacker to stop the countdown. You can't leave that room until the job is done – either the terminal is hacked or the hacker has been dealt with. It's about the most tense 90 seconds I've been asked to endure in a video game.%Gallery-187601%
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon sequel could happen, says Biehn
Creative Director Dean Evans is interested in a follow-up to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, at least according to Michael Biehn, the game's star voice talent. In an interview with Xbox's Major Nelson, Biehn said from his understanding Blood Dragon is exceeding Ubisoft's sales expectations by five times, and Evans is now considering a sequel to the retro spinoff. "Dean was with me on the phone last night, he called me last night," Biehn said on Major Nelson Radio. "He was pretty jacked up. He was going into a meeting today, to.. I think he wants to turn it into some sort of franchise. He's got a sequel in mind." We gushed about the "most excellent" Blood Dragon in our review, so seeing Sgt. Rex Colt return to a screen near us could be a great thing. Having said that, we do wonder if the comprehensively nostalgic game has anything left to add to the pastiche. In the meantime, we've reached out to Ubisoft for comment.
Rayman Legends' mariachi version of 'Eye of the Tiger'
Sure to deliver a grin, perhaps even a chortle, here is Rayman Legends' take on the get-pumped classic "Eye of the Tiger" done mariachi style in the game's "Fiesta de los Muertos" world. If you need a smile today, this is likely to deliver.
Metareview: Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
Turn your brain off and let Far Cry 3's standalone expansion Blood Dragon bathe you in neon and take you away to a decade long past. Are you thinking about it? No, wrong! What did we say? Brain = off. We called Blood Dragon a "hilarious, accessible dollop of nostalgia, coated in the mechanics that made Far Cry 3 great" in our review. Eurogamer (90/100): "I still don't really know what Blood Dragon is, or how it relates to Far Cry 3, but more to the point: I don't care. If only more blockbusters had this much fun with their legacy." Game Informer (85/100): "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon has the potential to alienate people with its crass sense of humor and repetitive one-liners. But if you long for an era when smart-mouthed badasses were more concerned with making things go boom than catering to social sensitivities, Rex Power Colt is your man, and Blood Dragon is your game." GameSpot (85/100): "You don't have to love the decade of Rubik's Cubes and Pac-Man Fever to get a kick out of Blood Dragon. But if you do, then all the better: this action-packed shooter will strike all the right synth-pop power chords." Edge (70/100): "This isn't Far Cry 3 at its best mechanically, but it's definitely the game at its most charismatic. Because as a bunch of well-worn VHS tapes at Ubisoft Montreal undoubtedly prove, the '80s knew how to do personality." Destructoid (70/100): "I'd rather have Blood Dragon exist as it does than not exist at all. A game this delightfully stupid can only make the world a better place, and I sincerely hope this isn't the last we see of Rex Colt."
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon review: Neon Genesis Elation
The year is 20xx, and the world is starved ... of imagination. An evil army of soulless game clones is hell-bent on taking over The Industry. No one is brave enough or mad enough to stop them from reshaping the gaming landscape into their drab, browny-grey vision. No one ... except one spin-off game, a retro-fueled standalone commando powered by the twin suns of Parody and Crazy. That game is Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. And it is most excellent.%Gallery-186721%
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon welcomes you to the retro party
If Far Cry 3's grim tale of survival was a poor fit for the game's exotic, often preposterous antics, there are no such fears for its seemingly disconnected spin-off. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon is nothing short of ridiculous, and deliberately so. Ubisoft's standalone shooter celebrates the endearingly excessive sci-fi action of a bygone era in entertainment, when men wore cyber-armor over cyber-arms and when eyes glowed red.An animated introduction transports us to the post-apocalyptic near future... of 2007. Our new cyborg hero is sent to an island to take out a rogue terrorist group – full of evil cyborgs. The intro has music so pungent of Terminator 2 that I half expect it to tell me it'll be back, and the first 10 or so minutes are filled with references to sci-fi and action movies from in and around the 1980s. Blood Dragon pays homage to an era full of sci-fi missteps and overblown heroes exuding machismo.%Gallery-186125%
Assassin's Creed 3 'Redemption' DLC out today on PS3, 360, PC, May 16 on Wii U
As scheduled, the 'Redemption' DLC for Assassin's Creed 3 comes today to the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 - tomorrow for European PS3s - but Wii U owners must wait a bit longer to redeem it. The final part of the 'King Washington' trilogy reaches the Nintendo console on May 16.Before you can stop the madness of King George, you'll have to cough up 640 MSP on Xbox 360, or $7.99 on PC and PS3. If you have the Season Pass then you've already paid for it, so you'd best get going to old New York - just don't forget the straitjacket. %Gallery-186563%
Take your whole body on The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot
As you might imagine, Ubisoft's The Mighty Quest for Epic Loot is a dungeon crawler at heart. But that's just one organ in the game's anatomy: the game's trailer shows off the arms of character customization, the brain of dungeon building, and the long, long legs of asynchronous multiplayer competition.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon gets 80s teaser video, retro website [update]
It's appropriate on both counts that the first official confirmation of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon comes on April Fools' Day and is totally warped. This teaser video and a new website, both revealed today, indicate some kind of 80s-styled take on the island setting of Far Cry 3.The website's "Story" section, for what's advertised like a movie, reads: "The year is 2007. It is the future. Earth has been ravaged by a nuclear war and new paths for peace must be found. A U.S. cyborg army may have found a solution: a powerful bioweapon on a distant island. A Mark IV Cyber Commando, Sergeant Rex Power Colt has been sent over to gather information and figure out what the hell is going on."As with everything today, take what you're looking at and reading with a great big grain of salt. On the other hand, we've seen plenty of evidence FC3: Blood Dragon is a genuine standalone continuation of Far Cry 3. It received Brazilian classification ratings for Xbox 360, PC, and PS3, there was leaked XBLA art which matches with today's reveals, and a list of achievements recently popped up too.Also, in relation to a possible Far Cry 3 continuation, Far Cry 3 lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem recently told us "I'm working on something now that will be surprising, I think, when it's announced. But it definitely is a 'strike while the iron's hot' thing, and we'll see."We've reached out to Ubisoft for more details.Update: As clever commenter Nhauga spotted, if you enter the Konami Code while on the website, your cursor turns into a crosshair. You can use that crosshair to shoot up all of the site's gaudy 80s-ness, eventually leaving you with this mysterious gif.
Ubisoft Toronto working with Ubi Montreal on another Assassin's Creed
Ubisoft Toronto is collaborating with Ubisoft Montreal on an Assassin's Creed game coming after AC4: Black Flag. and has plans to be involved with the development of four other unannounced games. Speaking with Polygon, managing director Jade Raymond said the studio, involved with Splinter Cell: Blacklist and Rainbow Six: Patriots, has plans set for five further games in total."We have two big collaborations coming that we're not talking about, on two of the biggest franchises at Ubisoft. We also have two new IP," Raymond told Polygon, noting that the fifth project is a Splinter Cell game.Raymond's comments follow on from the intentions she laid out in 2010 to eventually have five triple-A projects going on at Ubisoft Toronto at the same time, with a staff of some 800 people involved. In other words, Ubi Toronto's plans for world domination are beginning to surface, and we should call the authorities immediately.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag unveils gameplay trailer, collector's editions
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag is shaking its booty today with a new gameplay trailer, and the unveiling of five different collector's editions to plunder; one for North America, and four for EMEA territories - that's Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Ubisoft also revealed a VIP pre-order program bonus for the UK and Ireland.As for North America, Ubisoft has the GameStop Edition which includes the 'Black Island Pack,' which offers a few in-game items to fill your boots with. It includes the Black Island quest, the Black Ship, Captain Morgan's silver flintlock pistols, and multiplayer items that include the good cap's costume, picture, and title. If you're after something more physical, GameStop pre-orders also bundle in a Todd McFarlane-designed collectible poster.Now onto the EMEA region, where the biggest treasure trove is the Black Chest edition, only obtainable via Ubisoft's Uplay service. It includes - take a deep breath - a 55cm Captain Edward diorama, an exclusive steelbook, an artbook, a soundtrack, two lithographs, two canvas prints, all "existing additional" in-game content that can be unlocked, a collector's box, parchment world map, and an "original Black Flag replica" - and breathe.If you can't hold your breath that long, you can always try the Buccaneer Edition, which includes the artbook, soundtrack, lithographs, in-game content, collector's box, and an Edward Kenway Figure. That's available at GAME in the UK and GameStop in Ireland. Another UK option that's market-wide is the Skull Edition, which swaps out the Kenway figure and collector's box for a "Jumbo Steel Case." Finally, the standard-price Special Edition comes with all the existing additional unlockable in-game doodads, and it can only be found at GAME in the UK and Xtravision in Ireland.On top of all those pieces of eight, Ubisoft has a VIP program as a pre-order bonus at GAME and Amazon in the UK, and GameStop in Ireland, or via uPlay. The program, rather menacingly called 'The Watch,' grants access to "additional information, bonus content, rewards," and an exclusive quest. You can find rustle up more info on The Watch here.
Far Cry 3 lead writer hints at upcoming continuation [Update: Blood Dragon?]
Update: The unannounced continuation in question may be an XBLA game called Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Via a tip from the typically reliable @lifelower, we've learned of Brazilian classification ratings for a "first-person shooter" by that name, alongside possible XBLA artwork for the game - the ratings are for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, though. Either way, that would certainly be a 'surprising' enough announcement. We've reached out to Ubisoft for comment.Original Story: Far Cry 3 lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem hinted to Joystiq the game is getting some form of upcoming continuation, although whether that's via downloadable content or a new series entry altogether - or maybe something else entirely - isn't clear.With Ubisoft's recent disclosure that fans won't have to wait four more years for another Far Cry in mind, if we were Ubisoft, we wouldn't want to leave Far Cry 3 and its characters and world behind just yet. We asked Yohalem if that was something he had in mind too."Yes," Yohalem told us, "I'm working on something now that will be surprising, I think, when it's announced. But it definitely is a 'strike while the iron's hot' thing, and we'll see."Ubisoft's recent earning call revealed just how hot that iron is, with 4.5 million copies of Far Cry 3 shipped worldwide. Yohalem previously worked as lead writer on Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, so maybe Ubisoft has a Brotherhood-like continuation in mind for Far Cry 3. For now, as Yohalem said, we'll have to wait and see.
Rumor: Watch Dogs designer leaves Ubisoft, heads back to EA
Jamie Keen, lead game designer on Ubisoft's upcoming open-world action game, Watch Dogs, is rumored to have left the company. According to his altered LinkedIn profile (pictured below), Keen has taken a new position with EA at Ghost Games, the Gothenburg, Sweden studio rumored to be working on a new entry in the Need for Speed series.Aside from his work on Watch Dogs, Keen also worked on Far Cry 3 as a writer while at Ubisoft Montreal. Before his time at Ubisoft, he did a stint at EA where he served as a producer on Battlefield: Bad Company.Ubisoft has not officially provided comment on the matter.
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag 'pushing hard' for more assassinations, less hand-holding
It has become necessary to ask about the prevalence of assassination in a series called Assassin's Creed. Ubisoft's massive franchise has grown to encompass different developers, protagonists, historical contexts, and design ideals. The central thrust of the hidden blade has been obscured by an ever-growing stack of systems, plots and economies, some of which suit the business of killing – and some that allow you to manufacture and sell barrels."Yes, we are a pirate game, and we advertise ourselves as a pirate game. It's even in our title," says Ashraf Ismail, Game Director at Ubisoft Montreal for Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. "But it's an Assassin's Creed game, and this is very important, because this is how we're able to build a pirate game. We have this really solid foundation that is the core and the heart of the experience. The story is about a guy who is an assassin and the conflict he goes through to become this guy. We actually have more assassinations than AC1 had."Following a presentation at Ubi's offices in San Francisco, Ismail explains the "older philosophy" of Assassin's Creed as an important consideration for Black Flag, even if appearances suggest otherwise. "This is something we did learn, we do listen to our fans a lot," Ismail says. "We know that in AC3 there was a lot more handholding done, and we do want to go back to an older philosophy where we just present you with a simple objective and we let you choose the gameplay you want."
Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag confirmed for PS4
As the prior week's leaks suggested, Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag will boast next-generation ports ... rendered by the PlayStation 4. (Here you go.)Speaking to Joystiq in San Francisco last month, Assassin's Creed 4 game director Ashraf Ismail said the AnvilNext engine, which powers Ubisoft's pirate game and debuted with Assassin's Creed 3 in 2012, was built for platforms beyond the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U.Ubisoft hasn't confirmed a launch date for the PS4 version yet, since the exact timing is entwined with Sony's guarded launch plans. All other versions of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (that we know of) are due on October 29 in North America.
