Here's How Recruiting Londoners Works in Watch Dogs: Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion has made it excruciatingly clear that you can recruit anyone you see on the streets of London to your cause, DedSec. But exactly how will players go about doing that? A new trailer for the game details the recruitment process and delves into what makes each recruit unique.
Let's get this out of the way first – recruiting a Londoner isn't as simple as walking up to them and saying "hey, come have a pint with me and my club, we hate the government and have skull masks." Players will have to convince them to join, apparently by completing a simple quest. The trailer gives a few examples; someone's friend has gone missing and you have to find them, a gang is terrifying a particular area, or the government is acting all big brother-y again. Solve their problems and you'll have a fresh-faced recruit.
Of course, recruiting someone is just the beginning. Each character has their own role or class. Some are more action movie cliches, like getaway drivers, hackers or assassins, while others are the folks you pass by every day. Regardless of their profession, they all get three special abilities that make playing as that character somewhat unique. Getaway drivers for instance, have a custom, suped-up car, are immune to car-chase drones and can hack other vehicles to get out of the way during a chase.
But not all recruits are made equal. Some are more legendary and only appear in certain places. The trailer shows off one such unique recruit: a robotic beekeeper. She can sick a swarm of robo-bees on enemies and is armed with an electric weapon.
As cool as that sounds, you certainly won't want to solely play as a robotic beekeeper. Each recruit has their strengths and weaknesses, situations where their abilities offer advantages or disadvantages. Say there's a mission where you'll have to rush across rooftops, you certainly won't want to bring your elderly grandmother recruit along for that one.
Watch Dogs: Legion is set to launch on PS4, Xbox One, Stadia and PC October 29, with Xbox Series X and S versions available November 10.
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Monkey Ball Voice Actor Hints at a New Title Announcement This Month
Super Monkey Ball voice actor Matt Brian, the voice of the game's announcer, has been hinting towards something big for the series on his Instagram page.
Most recently, the voice actor wrote that "September will be amazing for what's to come" in one post, where he was playing Super Monkey Ball on a friend's Switch. Another older post regarding the closure of Sega's Akihabara arcade also hinted at some possible news this month. Brian wrote: "Akihabara arcade closing which means that the flow goes to Super Monkey Ball X. This month the ground will shake. Stay tuned!"
The Super Monkey Ball series has been relatively inactive recently. Save for last year's HD release of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz on PC, it's been a long time since a Super Monkey Ball game came out. The last original title in the franchise, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz, was a PS Vita exclusive that launched all the way back in 2012. It's pretty safe to say that Sega hasn't been paying much attention to this now cult-classic franchise.
Of course, it's impossible to actually say whether the tilt-control puzzles of Super Monkey Ball will be making a return any time soon. It's hard to say what Brian has been referring to in his Instagram posts, although signs do point to another entry in the series. If an announcement does happen this month, it'll likely be at Tokyo Game Show, running from September 23 to September 27.
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Star Wars: Squadrons Has Officially Gone Gold
Star Wars fans have been able to enjoy some quality game experiences set in the galaxy far, far away recently with last year's success of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. 2020 will also be delivering fans with a long-awaited return to the series' signature space combat with the upcoming Star Wars: Squadrons, which has now completed development nearly a month out from release.
On Twitter, Star Wars: Squadrons creative director Ian Frazier announced that the title has officially gone gold ahead of its release in early October. For those unfamiliar, the term "going gold" means that the title has "completed" development and is being sent off for printing and manufacturing for its release.
I am incredibly pleased to announce that after a ton of hard work from the team here at @MotiveMontreal, Star Wars: Squadrons has just gone aurodium!
Er, I mean gold! #StarWarsSquadrons pic.twitter.com/jzBErluIxv
— Ian S. Frazier (@tibermoon) September 10, 2020
Squadrons was first revealed earlier this year by EA and is development by Motive Studios. Compared to more recent titles like Star Wars Battlefront II and Jedi: Fallen Order, Squadrons is intended to be a smaller-scaled experience that more specifically focuses on first-person ship-based combat.
From the reveal of the game so far, players will be able to fly a number of iconic Star Wars ships such as the X-Wing, Y-Wing, TIE Fighter, and more across different missions and challenges. Alongside a story-based single-player campaign, Squadrons will also feature a multiplayer mode with crossplay between players on consoles and PC. Additionally, the game will also support VR on PS4 and PC, allowing for players to jump into the cockpit of their favorite ship and experience it first-hand.
Star Wars: Squadrons will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 2, 2020.
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Riders Republic Is Ubisoft's New Mutliplayer Extreme Sports Playground
Today's UbiForward event featured several new announcements from mega-publisher Ubisoft. One of those new games is Riders Republic. The game is the latest from Ubisoft Annecy, who fans might remember were the lead team behind Steep. Riders Republic takes that Steep gameplay and blows it out in a major way. No longer are you confined to the wintery peaks. Now, you can do all kinds of extreme sports with your friends. Give the trailer a watch below.
Riders Republic is definitely for an eccentric style. Personally, I don't love it, but that doesn't really matter if the gameplay is good. As you can see in the trailer, the game lets you take part in downhill bicycle races, snowboarding trickfests, and even a bit of rocket wingsuiting. There's even a shot that shows someone riding a bike across a wire spanning two mountains. It's quite the collection of extreme sports.
The best part is that it's all happening in a massively multiplayer world. In the footage, they didn't say exactly how many players the game supports. However, there's a segment at the end of the preview that shows a ton of players racing down a course on bikes. The footage looked like gameplay, so hopefully, they can populate the game with a massive crowd.
Riders Republic is set to launch in February 2021 on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. While you wait, be sure to check out the longer preview footage below. It goes much more in-depth on what to expect next year.
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The Division 2 Will Be Backwards Compatible with PS5 and Xbox Series X
This summer, Ubisoft has battled through consistent, damning reports about the toxic work environment that has subjected multiple workers to abuse of all kinds. While they have acknowledged the internal problems outside of the presentation, the French developer has yet to include an official statement in any of their Ubisoft Forward events. Despite this, they've continued to reveal new information about upcoming games, updates, and DLC.
Today, during the pre-show for their Ubisoft Forward, a developer from the Division 2 team came on to announce that The Division 2 will be backward compatible with next-gen consoles. This came after the announcement of a new game mode for the service game called 'The Summit,' where players will climb throughout 100 floors of a massive skyscraper and take on increasingly tough combat challenges that offer increasingly attractive loot-based rewards.
The Summit is coming soon as a free update to The Division 2.
Take on a replayable challenge where agents navigate a 100-story skyscraper to take on progressively difficult foes, and earn increasingly better rewards.
Start your climb to the top on September 22.
— The Division 2 (@TheDivisionGame) September 10, 2020
While they haven't announced a specific date for the game's launch on next-gen consoles, it's safe to assume that it'll be available on the Xbox Series X and Series S as well as the PlayStation 5 when they launch this holiday. As for 'The Summit,' Ubisoft has slated a September 22 release date for the expansion that's set to launch with the third season of the 'Warlords of New York' expansion.
Other notable announcements from today's Ubisoft forward include the return of the long-awaited and frequently-teased Scott Pilgrim vs the World to modern consoles, the re-reveal of Immortals Fenyx Rising, formerly known as Gods and Monsters, and the reveal and subsequent blowout of their new extreme sports battle royale, Riders Republic.
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Far Cry VR Announced as a Location-Based VR Game Set in Far Cry 3
With the release of Far Cry 6 next year, fans of the chaotic shooter franchise have a lot to look forward to from the series' next mainline installment. However, it seems that Ubisoft also has more in store for Far Cry fans, this time bringing the series into a VR experience that features a familiar face returning once again through Far Cry VR.
Ahead of the Ubisoft Forward presentation today, Ubisoft confirmed that it is developing Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity, a new VR experience set in the Far Cry universe. Specifically, the game is set in the midst of Far Cry 3, and will have players returning to the clutches of Vaas Montenegro as they seek to escape the setting of the third game, the Rook Islands. You can check out the official reveal trailer below:
According to Ubisoft, Far Cry VR is being made in collaboration with Zero Latency, the VR arcade makers that host various location-based and free-roam VR experiences at several cities around the world. The game will take the form of a location-based VR experience as up to eight players try to work together to find their escape from the Rook Islands, and will be able to explore and roam around different areas of the islands and fight off enemies.
At the moment, Far Cry VR is confirmed to be launching sometime in 2021, and will be exclusively at Zero Latency locations, though it's unclear yet if it will be limited to a specific region like the US or will be worldwide. For more info and to stay updated on when it will launch, you can check out Zero Latency's website for the VR experience here.
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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is Coming Back For Its 10th Anniversary
After years of being unavailable to players Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, one of the biggest indie gems of the last generation is finally coming back for fans to enjoy once again. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its release, Ubisoft is bringing back the fan-favorite title complete with all the DLC. The news came out following a tease earlier today from Edgard Wright who brought the intellectual property to the big screen back in 2010.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is back! #UbiForward pic.twitter.com/zfnbZkozaa
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) September 10, 2020
Throughout 2020 fans have been clamoring for the indie to make its return after the creator of the graphic novel Brian Lee O'Malley went to Twitter explaining his attempts to bring the game back with no success. It wasn't until a few months ago that O'Malley announced that Ubisoft had finally reached out to him. With this in mind, it is likely that Ubisoft was working on getting Scott Pilgrim vs. The World to modern consoles even before the internet campaign earlier this year.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Complete Edition is releasing this holiday season on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, and PC via UPlay. There is currently no word on a physical release on any platform so those who are worried about another delisting can keep the game for as long as they want this time around.
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Rainbow Six Siege Will be a Free Upgrade on PS5 and Xbox Series X, Aiming to Run at 4K/120fps
We've known for quite some time now that Rainbow Six Siege would be making the transition to the PS5 and Xbox Series X later this year when each console released, but now, we have more details on Ubisoft's plans for the future versions of the popular multiplayer shooter.
As part of today's Ubisoft Forward, the team behind Rainbow Six Siege laid out its what it intends to do once the PS5 and Xbox Series X arrive. For starters, those who have already purchased the game on PS4 and Xbox One will be able to freely upgrade to the next-gen platforms free of charge. Considering how nebulous this upgrade plan has been for the video game industry at large as next-gen approaches, it's nice to see that Ubisoft won't be making existing players pay more money once again.
Perhaps most notably, though, Ubisoft said that it's looking to capitalize on the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X in some truly serious ways. Rainbow Six Siege is said to be targeting a 4K resolution and a staggering 120 frames per second across both new platforms, which is awesome, to say the least. While no specific launch or upgrade date for this has been given just yet, Ubisoft says it does intend to add these new features before the end of 2020.
As for the immediate future of Rainbow Six Siege, the game's latest event, Operation: Shadow Legacy, just kicked off today and it adds Sam Fisher (AKA Zero) to the game's roster.
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Aiden Pearce is Making His Return in Watch Dogs: Legion
With several long-running franchises, Ubisoft is one to often make references to past games or feature crossovers with different characters. Watch Dogs: Legion, notably, is set to feature the return of a familiar face from the series' past as part of the game's post-launch content sometime in the future.
During the Ubisoft Forward presentation today, Ubisoft showcased some new gameplay footage and details from the upcoming Watch Dogs: Legion. Specifically, one of the most interesting new pieces shown from the game is that Aiden Pearce, the protagonist from the original Watch Dogs, will be making his return in the upcoming title. You can check out the teaser trailer below:
As detailed by Ubisoft, Aiden Pearce will be added to the game through a piece of DLC in the Season Pass for Watch Dogs: Legion, which will feature a standalone story chapter starring Pearce. The trailer above showcases a bit of gameplay featuring Pearce from his DLC story, though we'll have to see how his storyline fits in with the broader narrative of Watch Dogs: Legion, and why he is making the trip out to London.
This of course isn't the first time that Aiden has made an appearance, as he also had a cameo appearance in 2016's Watch Dogs 2. Going from Chicago to San Francisco, it seems like Aiden is quite the traveler, but longtime fans of the series should nonetheless be interested in seeing him make his way back to the series and to see what he has been doing. Spoilers: probably a lot of hacking.
An old friend is visiting London
Recruit Aiden Pearce to your resistance in the upcoming @WatchDogsGame DLC!#WatchDogsLegion | #UbiForward pic.twitter.com/e50cOgvxbj
— Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) September 10, 2020
Watch Dogs: Legion will release for PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC on October 29, 2020, followed by its release for Xbox Series X and Series S on November 10, 2020. The PS5 version of the game will launch alongside the system when it releases.
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One of my biggest pet peeves as someone who writes about video games on a regular basis is being reductive about an upcoming game by simply comparing it to another existing product. Sure, all games tend to borrow ideas from one another, but I really try my best to never say that one game is just a different version of another. There are far better ways to explain and talk about upcoming titles rather than just saying it's similar to something else that people are likely quite familiar with.
With this in mind, when you hear me say that Immortals Fenyx Rising (formerly known as Gods & Monsters) is a mash-up of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Assassin's Creed Odyssey, well, that's legitimately the best way I can think to describe it. The team at Ubisoft Quebec, which previously worked on Odyssey, has now opted to create its own take on the formula that Nintendo popularized in Breath of the Wild and it's really not trying to shy away from this fact whatsoever. After having played a little over two hours of Immortals Fenyx Rising prior to the game's re-reveal today, I definitely enjoyed my time with the title, even though I'm not sure if it can match up to its contemporary's prowess in certain areas.
The way in which Immortals Fenyx Rising is similar to Breath of the Wild essentially comes in the way of the game's entire structure. Players are dropped into a vast open-world that is based on Greek mythology as the titular character Fenyx, who possesses a variety of abilities that Link did in his most recent adventure. Fenyx can climb any surface in the game, glide through the air with the use of her wings, and has many of her actions tied to the equivalent of a stamina bar. Meanwhile, the world itself is filled with a number of different one-off puzzles and shrine-like dungeons that players can hop into to earn more items to grow their strength.
Combat is the one area of Immortals Fenyx Rising that looks to offer a bit more depth compared to BOTW. As mentioned, Fenyx has a set of wings at her disposal which allows her to get up into the air to take on foes, depending on if it's required. Because of this, combat has more verticality than I expected and you can pull off some really cool combos while in the sky. Furthermore, one of Fenyx's special abilities allows her to essentially hookshot onto enemies in the air and pull herself towards them before dealing out damage with her weapons.
While I do think combat is pretty engaging, I do have to say that most of my enemy encounters resulted in me using the exact same combinations once I learned which ones dealt the most damage. One move that involved Fenyx slamming a hammer into the ground was spammed by me pretty much incessantly, whenever I had the ability power to do so. I'm not sure how much combat mechanics will evolve as the experience goes on in the full version, but they did begin to get somewhat stale in the short time I played the game.
When you're not doing main quests within Immortals Fenyx Rising, you'll likely be traversing across the world and finding some random puzzles or dungeons to complete. This aspect of Immortals was the one that I found most compelling in my own time with the game, mainly due to how some of the puzzles are structured.
For instance, one area I came across required me to gather a number of different blue orbs within a certain area and place them into specific pedestals that were nearby. Each orb was hidden away in a different location within this space, but the way in which I could obtain them was left up to me. Some of the orbs were fairly straightforward to acquire, but others were a bit more nebulous. To get them into my possession, I'm pretty sure that I utilized some unnatural techniques that the developers didn't intend for. Still, these sections proved to me that, much like Breath of the Wild, the way in which you can solve objectives that are presented before you isn't static whatsoever and allows for experimentation.
That being said, I do have questions about how natural world traversal will be in the full game. One of the aspects of Breath of the Wild that many people lauded was the fact that players basically had to stumble across everything in the game on their own. Conversely, and in typical Ubisoft fashion, Immortals Fenyx Rising features a ton of different waypoints and icons on the game's larger map signifying locations that you can and should traverse to. I'm not sure if perhaps these locations were merely added to the map for the purposes of this demo or if the full game will feature this, but if it's the latter, it may discourage players from trying to explore a bit more.
As for where the influence from Assassin's Creed Odyssey comes in, the DNA from Ubisoft Quebec's last title is primarily seen in regards to item management and the underlying RPG systems. The way in which you swap between different weapons and gear is essentially pulled directly from the more recent Assassin's Creed games. Fenyx also has a number of skill trees to upgrade her abilities. While I was locked-in to a specific character build for the purposes of my own demo, what I saw of the upgrade tiers in the game's menu very much resembled Odyssey.
The one aspect of Immortals Fenyx Rising that I did start to really enjoy as my session went on dealt with the game's storytelling. Rather than delivering a narrative that sees Fenyx directly interacting with other characters in the world (at least based on what I saw), her tale is being recounted and narrated by both Zeus and Prometheus. The dialogue between the two famous Greek characters is largely tongue-in-cheek and adds some levity to the game as a whole, which I found refreshing. It adds a wholly unique a laid back vibe to the experience and I hope it's further capitalized upon.
Immortals Fenyx Rising doesn't seem like a bad game by any means based on what I have seen. In fact, I could definitely see myself pouring a lot of time into it once it drops later this year. That being said, when you're looking to so blatantly borrow the structure, mechanics, and some systems from one of the most popular games of the past decade, you're naturally going to have some big shoes to fill. Based on what I have played so far, I'm not sure if Immortals Fenyx Rising can fill those shoes, but I'm interested in seeing how it can improve and iterate on the ideas that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild brought to the table.
Immortals Fenyx Rising is slated to launch later this year on December 3 and will be coming to a number of platforms which includes PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch.
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