E3 2018: Hands-on with Ubisoft

This year at E3 2018, Geek Girl Authority’s Emily Rose Jacobson (Contributor) and Renee Lopez (Video Games Editor) got to meet with several Ubisoft developers and play the titles that were highlighted at the E3 2018 Ubisoft Press Conference. Here are our impressions of the big games coming soon to your PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Trials Rising

Emily: Trials Rising is a goofy and challenging motorbike physics game. I don’t play physics games too often (the last one was probably QWOP or Portal 2), but Trails Rising was a lot of fun! There is something really rewarding about reaching every checkpoint in this game. There’s even a co-op tandem bike mode. It is both hilarious, frustrating and fulfilling all at the same time. The customization of the game is something that really stood out to me as well. The team behind Trials Rising truly appreciates their community, and it shows in the game. Players will be able to create their own courses, challenges, and even cosmetics for other characters to use and enjoy. I personally cannot wait to see Trials Rising take off.

Renee: I have never played a Trials game before so I had no idea what I was getting into when they fired up the game. What I will say is that Trials Rising is an incredibly fun game. Yes, it is a physics game and accurate timing is extremely important in order to clear some of the obstacles, but never once was I frustrated with that. Each time I cleared a flag by the rubber of my tire was a victory. The co-op tandem bike mode was the most fun I had with the game. There is something about going through these courses with a friend that is very fulfilling. I also appreciated the high level of customization options available for the characters, and that alone is a selling point for me. Trials Uprising may very well be the first Trials game I’ll purchase.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Emily: I’ll be honest, when this game was first announced at the beginning of June I didn’t have any strong feelings for the title. But after the Ubisoft Press Conference and being able to play it myself, that ALL changed. I have not been this excited about an Assassin’s Creed game since Assassin’s Creed 3 and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Is this partially because you can play as a woman? Yes. As a female gamer, playing as a woman (especially one as strong and cool as Kassandra) does draw me to a game. The RPG dialogue options are refreshing and fun, too. Players will find similar mechanics from Assassin’s Creed Origins in the game as well, from Eagle Scouting to Adrenaline. So you can fight Athenians versus Spartans in a 100 vs. 100 battle, or go have a verbal battle with Sophocles. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey has a lot in store for gamers, and I cannot wait to Assassin my way through the Peloponnesian War this October!

Renee: While I didn’t get my hands on this game, I did watch Emily play it. Just by watching the action I have a feeling that this game will be a winner. Kassandra has the potential to be up there with my favorite female protagonist FemShep from the Mass Effect Trilogy. The 100 v. 100 battle was intense, but enjoyable to watch. Having to seek out these leaders and engage them in combat brought a nice level of excitement and challenge to the battles. The scenery is stunning and the attention to detail on each building and piece of clothing is remarkable.

Tom Clancy’s The Division 2

Emily: What most excites me about The Division 2 is it’s narrative. While the demo we played was much more focused on co-op play, I could see and feel the story in the environment around us. When the game is released, that is what I’m looking to delve into. In the demo, we got to play around with our individual subclass characters and their unique specialty weapons. My character was a well-balanced survivalist, who was equipped with a gnarly crossbow. As you take down enemies, they will drop ammo, gear, health, and sometimes, specialty ammo. It is a balanced gameplay system that encourages players to think about rushing into the next group of enemies or boss. The right ammo can make all the difference. I’m excited to get my hands on The Division 2 and take back DC!

Renee: I came into this demo having not played The Division, so my knowledge of this game was limited to the E3 trailer. I had an idea of what to expect, but I didn’t realize how much fun this game could be when playing with a party. Our demo was focused on one particular mission and we had to take the down the enemies quickly. It was a somewhat coordinated effort on our part, but the mission itself was a challenge despite the wide variety of weapons and gear available to us. With heavy fire coming down on us, we had to keep pushing to the main objective by providing suppression fire and seeking cover. When one player went down, someone had to attempt a rescue because we needed all agents in the fight. Finally we made it to the “boss” but were unsuccessful in bringing him down. This is definitely a game that I want to play again, and I will bring my squad along.

For Honor: Marching Fire

Emily: For Honor: Marching Fire is a HUGE addition to the For Honor series, introducing a new faction, new characters and Breach Mode. Breach Mode is a 4v4 online multiplayer in which one team attempts to siege a castle and the other attempts to protect it. There are three checkpoints in the game: breach the outer castle door, breach the inner castle door, and take down the Lord of the castle. Communication and cooperation is essential in Breach. Not only are you fighting archer and fighter NPCs, but also the other team. Our game got down to the wire in our final push. We were almost out of respawns, and the other team was protecting their Lord well. But with one life to go, we took down the Lord and won the game! For Honor: Marching Fire is an amazing expansion for any For Honor player. Or, if you’re new to For Honor, now is a great time to get into the game!

Skull & Bones

Emily: I got a chance to play Skull & Bones last year at E3 2017 and I was excited to see what new features and gameplay would be introduced this year. The story trailer that debuted at the Ubisoft E3 2018 conference immediately got me hooked. There is going to be a ton of customization and choices for players to make so that each game experience will be different! During my E3 2018 demo, I got to freely sail the open seas. Players could follow the designated mission, or sail around and have their own pirate adventures. I had a blast taking down merchant ships for gold, ransacking shipwrecks for materials, and sailing into enemy territory disguised as a Portuguese ship. And the other players and myself were in the same map, so I had fun taking firing upon other player’s ships amidst the chaos. I cannot wait to see what else Ubisoft has in store for us with Skull & Bones.