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Assassin's Creed: Recollection

Ubisoft's Digital Days: Report

Last week Ubisoft held its inaugural Digital Days event, concentrating on its digital and mobile portfolio. We went hands-on with some of the titles present, and attended a presentation as the publisher outlined its vision for the future. This is our report.

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Ubisoft's purchase of RedLynx, creator of digital darling Trials HD, earlier this year should give some indication as to the company's, and by implication, the industry's, shift towards the importance of digital developers.

As discussed in the conclusion of our recent I Am Alive article, the online platform model is becoming increasingly important as a profitable outlet both for development studios and publishers in a market that doesn't measure success against the few blockbuster franchises making a killing at retail.

Ubisoft, as many other publishers, runs all-day events through the year to showcase its upcoming titles. But this is the first time the publisher has concentrated its efforts around its digital and mobile-based releases. As emphasised by Alan Dykes, Head of Digital Marketing, at the Digital Day event last week, the company's reportedly pushing twenty to twenty-five percent of resources into examining the digital market.

The publisher's already fronted From Dust and Outland this year; both critically-acclaimed titles that thrived on the digital front. In a expansive private room of the London hotel in which the event was set, the company showed off the wares that'll it'll be pushing over the coming months. We went hands-on with a few.

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Top brand billing obviously enough was given to Assassin's Creed, as the franchise is further expanded out past the regular retail series. The two titles on display, Rearmed and Recollections were both for iOS, but differed massively in terms of enjoyment and quality.

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Recollections surprised with its elaborate card game mechanics - starring plenty of recognisable faces (middle) and offering plenty of cards to win and use (right).
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Rearmed, currently available on the App Store for free, didn't impress on first play: though potential upgrades (right) may mean there's more to it.

Rearmed's (available for free from the App Store now) a 2D top-down take on Brotherhood's multiplayer, as players over wi-fi have to distinguish and execute rivals amongst the NPC populace. Screen taps directs you character - the avatars similar to the retail brethren, and another to focus in on a target once its within close-range as signified by a blue circle surrounding the player.

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While there's a few maps to play around on, and we saw what looked like optional upgrades as well, it was hard to immerse yourself in an experience that looked several generations older than the hardware it was running on: noted this was running on iPad, so the ugliness of the scaled sprites mightn't be so horrific on iPhone, while the big hook of the gameplay - spotting non-NPC behavioural patterns - worked brilliantly in three dimensions, the allure simply doesn't translate here.

Recollections was at the opposite end of the scale, and appropriation of standard terms such as "cards", "decks" and "board game" into Animus-friendly jargon non-withstanding, this has the potential to be a serious time killer. We were told that the main tutorial and learning the basics could take around fifteen minutes to run through; a number that intrigued rather than sickened us: it suggests at least there's complexity and depth to this card game.

Anyone who's lost too much time with Rage's optional card game will have a general understanding of what to expect. You start with a basic deck of cards, divided between people, places and actions. You match against an NPC or friend on separate sides of the screen, the goal to dominate three divisions on the board, divided equally across the iPad's screen.

You call cards into play from your pack, and once readied can be dealt onto any of the three placements to combat your rival's card - numbers attached to each card figuratively rolling the dice between them, with cards locked in combat noted by a time bar scrolling over their face. Games play in real time, so you're having to juggle dealing multiple cards and strategising placements simultaneously.

The interface is slick, the look aping both Animus and menu displays in the retail games, while artwork on the cards are sharp and colourful. You can unlock more cards by winning, or there's the option to purchase through real-world funds. There's also an art gallery that'll gradually unlock concept work from all the games in the series, plus a short animated feature based around the ultimate fate of Ezio.

The title's a few pennies short of three quid, but is definitely worth a look, and suggests a smart offshoot that utilises the iPad's functionality. It's due out at the start of next month.

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Rayman 3's been scrubbed up to HD glory, though the experience may be too familiar for PS2 and Xbox fans.
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Haste is definitely not Nail'd 2. The fact that its developed by the same developer and plays and looks the same is entirely coincidental.

There was a few other recognisable brands putting in an appearance by way of remastered versions of previous releases.

Sticking with iOS for a second, Prince of Persia Classic takes the precision platforming of the 80s original, along with the Sands of Time visual paint-job the game received in its re-release on XBLA a few years back, and sticks on a touch-pad interface. A simple left/right toggle bar on the left of the screen, while a three-button set up, for fighting, blocking and jumping, is mapped bottom right.

Elsewhere in the room we sat down with the opening levels of Rayman 3 HD, a high-res version of the PS2 and Xbox 3D platformer due for XBLA release. While its offering no new surprises, its a welcome addition to those after more classic platforming adventuring in the style of Banjo-Kazooie.

Emphatically not a re-release, just a title that looked, controlled and felt like a sequel to Nail'd was the ATV racer called Haste. Which is in development by Nail'd's developer Techland.

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Shoot Many Robots, in which you..shoot many robots. In terms of selling itself, its up there with Clash of the Titans ("Titans will Clash!"), but without the final product being shit.

Similarly chaotic but with good reason was Shoot Many Robots, another flag-waver for the side-scrolling shooter genre so prolific on XBLA and PSN, but continues the march in proud tradition. Art styles play a heavier hand in creating a distinct title in such a swollen genre. Shoot Many Robots takes Borderlands-felt tip pen set to its levels and enemies, while the player character models remind of cult classic Clayfighter and PSOne's shooter Loaded.

You're able to upgrade weapons and items through in-game currency picked up from robotic remains, decking your fighters in outlandish gear such as rocket packs or fairy wings, and stock up on boss-devastating secondary weapons such as a chain-gun.

Due to time constraints we only managed to clock our way through the opening junkyard level, but the nice little gameplay flicks, like melee attacking missiles while in mid-air to bat them back to their launcher and clashes between comrades to grab the most loot made it a memorable blast that'll we'll be looking out for come its release early next year.

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Assassin's Creed: RecollectionScore

Assassin's Creed: Recollection

REVIEW. Written by Gillen McAllister

"And yet...and yet, despite all the issues, its a board game that manages to entice and excite...and as a branded tie-in it's hard to fault."

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Ubisoft's Digital Days: Report

Ubisoft's Digital Days: Report

ARTICLE. Written by Gillen McAllister

Assassins, limbless heroes, trigger happy bot-killers. Arcade thrills, classic platforming, card games: see how Ubisoft's digital titles and future plans are shaping up.



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