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Ubisoft Forward E3: Avatar, Mario+Rabbids and more

Far Cry 6 and a new Avatar game were announced at Ubisoft Forward E3 2021.

Far Cry 6
(Image: © Ubisoft)

E3 has arrived and with it comes game reveals from some of our favorite publishers. Ubisoft set the stage with its Ubisoft Forward, revealing fan favorites and a bunch of new, exciting titles. 

We saw exciting footage for several highly anticipated games, including Rainbow Siege Extraction, a game that pits you against an encroaching alien infection that definitely piqued our interest. So did Mario+Rabbids Spark of Hope, the latest team up between Ubisoft and Nintendo which will be an exclusive on the Nintendo Switch. The biggest surprise was Avatar: Frontier of Pandora, a game set in James Cameron's cinematic world. Running on the Snowdrop engine, the game looks almost as good as the world-renowned director's film.

Of course, Far Cry 6 is on the minds of many, and we can expect more details and potentially a gameplay trailer for the first-person shooter which, need I remind you, stars Giancarlo Esposito. 

Ubisoft didn't shy away from showing some love to existing brands. We'll be seeing expansions for both Watch Dogs: Legion and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. We'll also see  updates to already released titles including For Honor, Trackmania, The Crew 2, Brawlhalla and Rainbow Six Siege. And it's the Ghost Recon series' 20th anniversary, so stay tuned for big news there. 

Rocksmith, the game that can teach you how to play guitar, evolves into Rocksmith+ a subscription service that boasting an expansive, ever-growing library with instruction for rhythm, bass, acoustic and electric guitar players. And the Just Dance series is teaming with choreographer, actor and singer Todrick Hall for some custom content. 

But while there was plenty to be excited about, sadly, The Division and the Prince of Persia Sands of Time remake did not make the cut.

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The Ubisoft Forward preshow has begun with a trailer involving a very long scene of Eivor from Assassin's Creed Valhalla walking around ruins. I'm not exactly sure what that was, but hey, it looked nice!

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Very important stuff here. Ubisoft is talking about accessibility in its games. We're getting a first-hand look at how a studio thinks about making its games accessible to as many people as possible. Changing text size, adding a background to the HUD elements, and including sound indicators are some of the ways the studio makes its games inclusive.  

Hah, Ubisoft is just trolling us at this point! Now we're watching a drone from Watch Dogs: Legion buzz around in a straight line. People are furious on social media, and that's probably the desired effect from Ubisoft. Well played!

The trolling continues with a scene of Eivor sailing around an arctic tundra. Ubisoft must be very confident in its showcase if it's going to pull off a stunt like this. Patience friends! 

Now we're talking soundtracks. Speaking are composers for Assassin's Creed about the gorgeous music they created for the game. Here is our Assassin's Creed: Valhalla review

And here's an excerpt from our review talking about the soundtrack: 

"The Viking-themed soundtrack is very reminiscent of the music in The Witcher 3. The intense drum beats and melodic vocals really sucked me into what I was doing, which is mostly just exploring or bashing faces in, but I love it." 

We are now less than 30 minutes away from the proper Ubisoft Forward showcase at E3! Until then, we can enjoy another painfully extended scene showing a taxi drive annoyingly cautious in Watch Dogs: Legion. Who stops at an intersection when they're driving around in a video game!?

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Ubisoft spotlighted an indie studio called Toukan Interactive based in Berlin, Germany. The studio is currently working on a game called Dorfromantik, described as a relaxing puzzle game. You grow a landscape by strategically placing tiles on a virtual gameboard. 

Fun fact: Dorf means village in German and romantik, as you may have guessed, means romance. Village-romance!

Ubisoft spotlighted an indie studio called Toukan Interactive based in Berlin, Germany. The studio is currently working on a game called Dorfromantik, described as a relaxing puzzle game. You grow a landscape by strategically placing tiles on a virtual gameboard.

Fun fact: Dorf means village in German and romantik, as you may have guessed, means romance. Village-romance!

Now we're hearing about a game called "You Suck at Parking" (how did they know?!). In this game, you need to travel through a course and park your car. It actually looks really fun, like a modern version of an online mini-game. 

We're just minutes away now. We got a look at Watch Dogs: Legion Bloodline, an expansion arriving on July 6. It brings Aiden and Wrench back!

The countdown is up! Ubisoft Forward has officially started. 

Ubisoft kicks things off with the highly anticipated Rainbow Six Extraction. The game has you assembling a team to fight off an on-going alien invasion. The original IP is scheduled to debut September 16. 

Starting from a parasite, the alien is always spreading and evolving and while you and your team are fighting to drive it back, there's always a chance that you could lose a team member. And when that happens, it's your job to extract them as they'll be M.I.A. until you do, depriving you of their particular skill set. 

Rainbow Six Extraction

(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

The gameplay footage for Rainbow Six Extraction, kind of reminds of a more aggressive take of the Typhon from Bethesda's Prey. 

I wonder what if there's a time constraint on how long you have to rescue M.I.A. team members. Do they just die or do they become assimilated? So many questions, not enough answers!!

For those of us who have been dying to learn the guitar Rocksmith is back to help you achieve rock god status with Rocksmith Plus. You can connect your instrument to your PC, console and use the new subscription-based service that will let you play over the masters of some of your favorite tracks. 

You can register for the Rocksmith+ private beta now. Ready to learn how to play new genres outside of rock? Grab your guitar and amp and strap in. 

Rocksmith+

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Ready to score some big thrills via BMX, snowboards and wait, was that a wingsuit? Ubisoft's latest new IP Riders Republic might be the game for you. So far, it's looking pretty tempting with tasty next-gen graphics. 

The game is set to launch September 2nd, but you can register for the public beta now. 

Rider's Republic

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Rainbow Six Siege gets some quality-of-life improvements for crossplay between PC and cloud streaming platforms. Plus, a new character named Thunderbird joins the squad. 

A quick cut of upcoming games including Crew 2, Watchdogs Legion: Bloodline, Brewhalla and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. 

Speaking of Ghost Recon, it's the series' 20th anniversary and Ubisoft just hinted at a bunch of surprises in store for fans. 

Just Dance is back and for Just Dance 2022 is teaming up with singer, choreography and actor Todrick Hall for a customized version of his banger "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels." Is it wrong that I really want this? 

Just Dance 2022

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

A recap of Assassin's Creed Valhalla's success thus far. One-handed swords will be coming to the game soon as well as a slew of regular free updates. The second expansion, The Siege of Paris will be this summer with new abilities, gear and enemies. Best of all, it'll be free to everyone who owns a copy of Valhalla. 

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Hmm, a strange door out in the middle of nowhere with inscribed ruins. Wonder what's through there?

A promo for Mythic Quest's new season on Apple TV. Should we be watching this? Let us know on Twitter. 

Werewolves Within, a fun party game now becomes a live-action movie. Except, I don't think this game has ever been played with weaponry. You can watch it June 25 on demand. 

Werewolves Within

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Now a game, I've personally been waiting for Far Cry 6. I've seen a few demos so far and I'm really excited about the customizable weapons, cars and bases. And of course, El Presidente, played Giancarlo Esposito, the latest charismatic big bad in the series. 

Far Cry 6

(Image credit: Far Cry 6)

Oooh, a breakdown into Esposito's character, Anton Castillo! We can see that his son, Diego does not want to go down his father's path, but it may not be possible. 

And now a look back on some of our favorite Far Cry villains: Vaas, Pagan Min and Joseph Seed. They're going to be involved in the season pass somehow  via Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Stay tuned.

Another Ubisoft/Nintendo team up? Please and thank you! The new game is called Mario+Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Mario+Rabbids Spark of Hope

(Image credit: Ubisoft)

Mario+Rabbids Sparks of Hope has been announced as an Nintendo Switch exclusive and it is looking gorgeous in the Alpha gameplay finish. We'll see more of this game in 2022. 

Ubisoft is making an Avatar game. Avatar as in James Cameron, not Last Airbender or Legend of Korra.

Running of the Snowdrop engine, this new IP title Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is look just about as good as the movies. This game is slated to launch sometime in 2022.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

(Image credit: ubisoft)