Hey folks, Valkor here. For the first time since we've been coverin games here in GameView, TOV finally got the chance to hang with Ubisoft to check out their latest titles. The event itself was quite small, definitely got a little cramped at the end, but the chance to experience a unique title as Rocksmith, really made the trip worth the while.
Shout outs go to the dudes at 2D-X, Gamer Fit Nation, and Gaming Nexus for coming out and making the trip that much more enjoyable. And now let's get it in with Ubisoft.
Rayman Origins – This single or multiplayer title places you in the role of Rayman and his friends as we head back into the main characters roots. Fans of the original titles will feel much at home, plus you can bring in your friends as you race through 60 different 2d side scrolling levels to rescue the electoons (from becoming darktoons) and the Glade of Dreams from the Bubble Dreamer, who's nightmares aren't sitting so well with the rest of the realm. With four players, together you can access secret parts of the game, otherwise you can play through the game as one character. If one of your characters dies, well they actually don't die… they turn into bubbles, which another character can pop to rescue them. The game is due out this holiday season and should be a big draw to those who are fans of Super Mario Bros. Wii, which uses similar game mechanics. I got some hands on time with the title and while overall it's a lot of fun, it can get to be a frantic mess. I think once you've adjusted to the title, it should be a blast to play.
Assassin's Creed: Revelations – No hands with this title, I could only watch and from what I've seen so far, the game looks amazing. In the third and final outing of the character Ezio, you'll go in search of five seals, four of which are located in Constantinople (Istanbul). In the demo we get to see Ezio as he explores the city until he meets another Assassin, who gives him a bomb, which he can use to get through a harbor blockade. We get to see some of Ezio's latest weapons and moves, such as sailing across zip lines, using a smoke bomb plus his "eagle sense" to dispatch baddies, and also call on other assassins to aid him. The demo ends as Ezio uses the bomb that takes out the blockade and Greek Fire (which is something like a flamethrower) to take out the remaining ships. The game overall has a more cinematic feel to it; I like the fact that you simply don't watch cut scenes, but play along with it. Attention to detail is high as the developers and writers have really done their homework to capture the essence of the time period being portrayed in the game, pulling in real artifacts and buildings. Finally the World Ezio traipses is an open world, meaning anything you see in the distance, you can go to it. Look for Assassin's Creed: Revelations on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC later this year.
The Adventures of TinTin: The Game – Another "watch only" title, Tintin follows along with the feature film The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson). The game is an action/adventure title that mixes 2D side-scrolling, 3D platforming, and puzzle solving to get through elements that stand in your way of progression. In one scene that was shown, Tintin was trying to survive a sinking ship, needing to make his way to the top or drown. A co-op mode was also shown where another player could play as Captain Haddock in a dream sequence. It's pretty funny because at one point Tintin and Haddock changed into dogs (Tintin changed to Snowy). Finally it was shown in 3D (with glasses), which looked amazing! I'm talkin deep and immersive. I've never seen 3D like that and I would love to have a 3D television just for the full experience. The game will be released Dec. 6th a couple of weeks prior to the film's debut. And as much as I'm looking forward to the film, I'm really looking forward to the game.
Rocksmith – Do you remember the episode of South Park called "Guitar Queer-O"? Well there's a scene in the episode, toward the beginning where Stand and Kyle are rockin out on Guitar Hero, their friends cheering in the background as they're about to get the high score. Randy hears them play and since the kids are into the music, he offers to teach the boys to play the guitar for reals. The boys decline because they want to play the game with the controller, because who wants to learn how to really play the guitar? Well Ubisoft hopes you'll want to step away from the toy controller and get into really learning how to play and switch on over to "Rocksmith". Rocksmith is a music game that utilizes a real 6-string guitar to not simply follow along and mash a button in time with on-screen colored icons, but to learn how to play the song by hitting the actual chord. The game allows you to use any real guitar with a ¼ inch jack that you plug into your system and the software will recognize the chords, plus tells you when your guitar is out of tune. I've never played a guitar before so I started out really slow, going with one chord at a time. As you nail each note, the game adds more chords for you to play. If you start to get them wrong, it will take those chords away, so it doesn't penalize you for making a mistake like in Guitar Hero, in time you'll start to pick up the pace and start jamming out tunes in no time. I started out with songs like "Satisfaction" by Mick Jagger and "In Bloom" by Nirvana, but I really caught my stride when jammed to "High Ground" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And I can finally understand where this game was going as the tunes was plucking at was beginning to sound like the actual song – I was really learning the song, not memorizing button presses to colored notes. But you don't have to take my word for it. I'll let the vid below explain more about the game's mechanics, plus you'll get to see an actual my main dude Paul play an actual venue with an in-game audience made up of real people. And look for the title to appear on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and PC.