Ubisoft Singapore recently celebrated their 10th year in Singapore and we were damn excited to make it on the invite list! We got belanja-ed to a fun-filled day with hands-on previews of Skull & Bones and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey! Woohoo! We also had the opportunity to understand Ubisoft better as a company and were treated to an exclusive look at what goes on in Ubisoft Singapore’s studios, during development of a AAA title!
Hang on to your seats because when this horse starts running ah, wind also kenot catch!
Ubisoft Singapore – Singapore still punches above its weight.
To be honest, I used to think that Ubisoft Singapore was one of those studios that was located in Singapore as some kind of token representation in South-East Asia. And that their predominant purpose was along the lines of “eh you, seebei eng right? nah, take this part of AC3 go and do. Ah? finish already ah? okok, nah take this bit then go and do also…”
Wah lan, I have never been SO… wrong lah.
Ubisoft Singapore, is currently the biggest AAA studio in South-East Asia right now. They are the ONLY studio in the world, under Ubisoft, that is able to create the ultra-high quality water effects that you’ve seen in Ubisoft franchises since Assassin’s Creed 2 until to date.
And here’s the kicker folks. This technology, was created right here in Singapore. It’s safe to say that without Ubisoft Singapore, it’s quite likely that quite a few franchises wouldn’t even exist lor.
Mad respect for that lah!
Skull & Bones
Skull and Bones is a multiplayer naval game, where your goal is to become the undisputed pirate king. To accomplish this, you will have to get a fleet of ships(which you can customise), prey upon lucrative trade routes, and take down powerful rivals. Which means legendary pirate captains, historical characters, and of course other players. In order to survive this, you must master sailing and naval combat while building powerful alliances no one can take down.
Ubisoft Singapore is the Lead Studio in charge of Skull and Bones and this is the game we were really looking forward to. Singapore Represent mah! Justin Arden Farren, who is the creative director for Skull and Bones, shared some insights on what went on at the helm of the studio. From ship design concept art to character designs and the water technology, we were awestruck. Got to give it to them lah, the game looks really really good!
We were given the opportunity to try out the Skull and Bones hunting grounds for 15 mins. Before we went in to play, we didn’t really have a clue what kind of pirates we were going to be. Should we be kind and loving pirates? Since we are very lovable by nature. Wait, is there even such a thing as a kind and loving pirate?
At the end of 15 mins, it was damn obvious, we were the most cb pirates ever. Anyone who comes close or wants to ally us, we whack. Just whack only. No such thing as “parley” or allies. You can watch the video below to see how cb we were. Hahaha. With that being said, after playing Skull and Bones, I now know that I am definitely getting this game when it releases next year. The graphics were amazing and realistic af. Maneuvering the ship is so damn smooth, I can foresee myself playing this Skull and Bones for countless hours. The game was so much fun that when there were 2 remaining slots open, we jumped at the chance to play it again!
ASSASSIN’S CREED: ODYSSEY
Next up was Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Now, to be honest, even though they have good story lines, I have not played any of the Assassin’s Creed games solely because they are stealth based games.
As opposed to stealth. I prefer to adopt an approach that is best described as “Leroy Jenkins”. To go out guns blazing, shouting, “Yippie Kai Yay, motherf**ker!” while I mow down my enemies. So I was kind of expecting Odyssey to be the kind of game that is stealth based.
But when Matt Thorpe, who is the producer for Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, shared details with us, I had my expectations pleasantly reversed.
In Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, the premise is that the player writes their own legendary Odyssey and live an epic adventure in a world where every choice matters. Think “Troy” and other movies like “Clash of the Titans”.
You choose the hero you want to become and change the world around you through the relationships you build with colorful characters and with the decisions you make. You get to customise your equipment and master new special abilities, tailoring your hero’s skill set to your play style. So that means not much stealth. Me likey.
Matt Thorpe also mentioned that the game takes place in Ancient Greece. From the heights of snowy mountain peaks to the depths of the Aegean Sea, you explore an entire country full of untamed environments and cities, at the peak of Greece’s Golden Age. That definitely peaked my interest cause I love stuff about Greek mythology and history as well. And you get to meet Socrates and Barnabas as well. How cool is that!
When it was my turn at the controller, I was given the option to choose the character I would like to play. The 2 choices available were a male character named Alexios or if you prefer, a female character called Kassandra. The available choice to select a male or female character, is a first in the Assassin’s Creed franchise.
Ok some character backstory.
Alexios is a legendary Misthios who wields the broken Spear of Leonidas. He is the grandchild of Legendary Spartan King Leonidas. While Kassandra is a Spartan mercenary who fought during the Peloponnesian War. Through her mother, Myrrine, she is the grandchild of King Leonidas of Sparta. She too wields the broken Spear of Leonidas.
I simply picked Alexios because the fella looked fierce. Then when I had to choose the mode of play, of course I chose the battle mode where the Greeks fight the Spartans. The graphics were damn cool and the battles didn’t look too clustered. I had to kill captains in order to swing the tide of battle to my side. Then there is a boss fight where I had to go up against what looked like a juiced up Hanuman. Never mind. One thing for sure, The AI in this game are much smarter. While you are occupied with fighting with another fella, they will not wait while you battle, they will sieze opportunities to try and hurt you.
Just like that, my 15 mins were up and the game play made me crave for more. I am thoroughly convinced to get this game when it comes out on 5th October this year. This will be my first ever Assassin’s Creed and by the looks of it, it won’t be my last. Thanks Ubisoft Singapore!
Check out our video when we played Skull and Bones and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey here.
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey will be out on 5th October 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
Do check out other game companies in Singapore, that you may not know.
