STACK Jul #129

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JULY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
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visit FEATURE GAMES
proposition. Even for folk not versed
in the Warhammer universe, the
sight of rampaging trolls, giants and
orcs clashing in frenetic battles with
dwarves and humans (there’s also
a steam tank) whilst a griffin and a
wyvern duel in an aerial dogfight high
above the battlefield is a sight to
behold. There’s still a long way to go
from what we saw in the demo, but
early signs look extremely positive.
We always enjoy a visit to the
Ubisoft booth, except for the
sonorous blast of noise that originates
from the Just Dance stage situated in
the centre of operations. If you time
it right, you won’t need to hear Jason
Derulo sing, “Want to Want Me”
thirty times. Last year, the final game
we played at E3 was Rainbow Six:
Siege and it left a lasting impression
on us, so it seemed fitting then that
this year it was the first game we
played with Ubisoft, who should be
commended for having practically
every game on their booth playable.
Our mission was to infiltrate an
embassy, seek out and terminate
some explosives, and kill all the
enemy AI terrorists in the process.
Moving methodically from room to
room, checking left and right, and
finally finding an explosive device led to a
defensive sequence where the players were
tasked with holding off incoming waves of
adversaries.
Strategy is vital and can come in the form of
providing a fire arc behind a player armed with
a protective siege shield, or blowing a hole in
the wall to initiate a crossfire position, catching
and shooting terrorists dead before they can
enter the fire zone. The first level was played
on normal, and both bombs were successfully
defused. The ‘hard’ difficulty level was set
for our second attempt and all five players
were dead before we had chance to secure
the first explosive. Siege is an exciting game
where every mission can be approached using
varied strategies, and where your fellow team
members are vital to your survival.
Since its big reveal in 2013 at the Ubi press
conference, the need to play The Division has
been paramount for STACK, and our wish was
granted in a three-player co-op mission where
we began in a bleak, deserted Times Square.
Our mission was to enter the quarantined Dark
Zone, eliminate any opposition, retrieve some
supplies, and head to an extraction area.
With every gameplay clip shown up to
this point, we’d marvelled at how well the
Ubi dev team demonstrating The Division
had communicated with each other, issuing
tactical advice or highlighting waypoints. We
would've liked to report that the same level
of communication existed between STACK
and the other two players, but the moment
the headsets were in place, the only words
spoken between the three of us was the
player to our left saying, “f-ck, I’m dead again”.
Cover is important in The Division – a few hits
from the enemy and it’s all over, so staying
protected is essential. Players can move from
cover to cover, targeting the opposition in a
series of running firefights. When we finally
reached the extraction zone, the two other
co-op teams were also in the vicinity, so we did
what any self-respecting gamer would do – kill
each other. This was just a snapshot of the
open-world RPG shooter, so expect more at
Gamescom next month.
“Awright, geezer, we’re edding to London”
for the next Assassin's Creed. We're a fan
of the Creed franchise so were eager to see
where Ubisoft would take Syndicate after the
maelstrom that accompanied the release of
AC: Unity. Set in 1868 during the Industrial
Revolution, the series has made a few new
additions to the most modern setting in an
Assassin’s Creed game yet. First up, you can
either play as Jacob Frye or his sister Evie,
fighting to take back London from the Auld
Enemy, the Templars. New mechanics include
a rope launcher enabling swift traversal of
buildings, although you can still climb and
the controls here immediately felt leaps and
bounds (pun intended) tighter than Unity. A
further addition is the ability to apprehend a
horse and carriage, and these are surprisingly
responsive to use. The demo we played had
a distinctive Gangs of New York feel to the
combat sequences – using the revolver mid-
scrap without having to stop and breech-load
a weapon brought a greater fluency to melee.
We always enjoy the Assassin’s Creed historical
settings and mid-18th century London at the
height of the British Empire is as good as any.
Ghost Recon: Wildlands was the only game
on the Ubi stand that we couldn’t play. This was
understandable given it was only announced
at the press conference, but if we had to hand
out a best presentation at E3 award, the two
Wildlands presenters would’ve won hands
down.
The four-player drop-in/drop-out co-op
demo began in Bolivia, where the Ghosts are
tasked with tacking down an informant known
as Alvarez. This is the largest game ever
undertaken by Ubisoft and purportedly has the
best AI the publisher has ever created. Players
have complete autonomy over how to take on
and defeat the expansive Santa Blanca drug
cartel controlling the country. As expected with
Ghost Recon, strategy is paramount, when the
four operatives descend on a village looking
for intel on Alvarez. Our hosts explained