Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Ubisoft at E3 2018
After a day of swirling leaks and rumors, Ubisoft finally unveiled Assassin’s Creed Odyssey on their official Twitter account. This time around, the series is taking us to Greece. After the huge success that Origins had with the ancient Egypt setting, we’re definitely excited to see what Ubisoft does with Greece. Though we are a little disappointed that the Assassin’s Creed series seems to be going back to that yearly release cycle, we do want to see how the developers improve upon and refine the mechanics introduced in Origins.
For instance, the action combat system in Origins was a lot more involved than anything else we had ever seen in the series, but it still felt clunky. This, coupled with the newly introduced RPG elements, could be tweaked further to deliver a much more polished gameplay experience in Odyssey.
The Division 2
Ubisoft at E3 2018
The Division definitely suffered through a tough launch back in 2016. The game’s first Incursion was dull and easily exploited, and it wasn’t long before most of the player base started to drop off. However, Massive stuck with the game and the developers were committed to improving the experience and turning it into the third-person loot grind game everyone wanted. Massive cultivated lots of goodwill with the community by releasing free updates to the game, and then winning back players with the Underground, Survival, and Last Stand expansions.
Now, it looks like Massive and Ubisoft are going to hit the reset button and do things right from the get-go with The Division 2. The sequel was announced earlier this year, but we’ve yet to see any proper gameplay footage and the developers haven’t revealed any new details about it.
Skull & Bones
Ubisoft at E3 2018
Skull & Bones was one of the new IPs Ubisoft showed off during their E3 conference last year, and it looked pretty darn impressive. We saw large galleons sailing through stormy seas, and it also seemed to incorporate elements of the fun naval combat from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. If Ubisoft plans on taking that aspect and building an entire pirate game around it, we’re all onboard for that idea.
However, we also know that the game has been delayed to the next fiscal year because it needs a bit more polish and tweaking. After the less-than-stellar response to Rare’s own pirate game, Sea of Thieves, Ubisoft needs to show us some proper gameplay features and content that players can sink their teeth into. What else is there to do besides just fighting other pirates? Will there be an emphasis on exploration? How big will the map be? Show us more of the meat in Skull & Bones, and we’ll be a lot more excited about it.
Beyond Good & Evil 2
Ubisoft at E3 2018
That epic Beyond Good & Evil 2 trailer from last year’s conference was definitely one of the biggest highlights of E3 2017, and we’re hoping that we’ll get to see some actual gameplay footage and more details about the setting and story. So far, we know that the two main characters are a woman and a monkey, named Shani and Knoxx respectively.
Ubisoft has also mentioned that the game will feature epic airship fights, and players will also get to create their own character that acts as a pirate captain in this world. Speaking of world, Beyond Good & Evil 2 will put players in a new system called System 3, which will be seamless and without loading screens. Sounds pretty good to us so far.
The Smaller Stuff and Potential Surprises
Ubisoft at E3 2018
Outside of all the major games that Ubisoft will be putting in the spotlight at E3 2018, there are plenty of other titles to look out for as well. For instance, For Honor just got dedicated servers, and Ubisoft seems to already be working on new content for the game, along with a new faction for players to try out. Far Cry 5’s new DLC packs are also set to release soon, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see some of that as well.
We’re also expecting to see even more footage of The Crew 2, the open world vehicular game that’s set to release later this month. The Crew 2 allows players to drive around the States, or fly around in a plane and cruise in a boat if they so choose. Outside of that, smaller games like Starlink: Battle for Atlus and Transference will also have a presence at Ubisoft’s booth. And, of course, no E3 would be complete without the announcement of a brand new Just Dance game. We’re very excited about that.
In terms of surprise announcements, Splinter Cell fans should be very excited about E3 2018. Sam Fisher himself made a brief appearance in a teaser for Ghost Recon Wildlands, and a listing from Walmart Canada also suggested that a new game in the series is in the works. There’s no confirmation on this of course, but if Ubisoft’s planning a surprise announcement, this would be it.
Ubisoft’s E3 2018 press conference will be held on June 11, 4 p.m Eastern time.
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