E3 2014 - "Valiant Hearts" : Crossed Destinies, Broken Love And A Neverending War

Ubisoft revealed a new trailer for Valiant Hearts, the latest project to be built on the same 2D engine that brought us the likes of Rayman Legends and the stunning Child Of Light recently. Telling the tale of four unsung heroes from World War I, their stories are all linked by a trusty companion dog called Walt. This game feels like it will be heavy on the narrative, but I don't mind as the stories being told are based off of real letters gathered from people on the front between 1914-1918.

The art style looks absolutely amazing as well, emulating a stylized bande desinee look mixed with some subtle, atmospheric lighting effects to truly deliver the emotional impact that a narrative set in such a grim setting is set to drop on us. Look forward to playing this artsy puzzle adventure hybrid when it's released later this month (June 25).

Four unsung heroes will try to rise above the tragedies strewn across Europe and band together with their dog, Walt, in search of their loved ones. In Valiant Hearts, the lives of these characters are inextricably drawn together over the course of the story. Friendship, love, sacrifice and tragedy befall each one as they help each other to retain their humanity against the horrors of war

If you've been looking for a non-Super Mario platformer to play, without a doubt Ubisoft's Rayman Legends is the way to go. Aside from the tight controls and ridiculously gorgeous art style, the hand animated look they captured was really charming. Ubisoft artist Neeko just recently posted some of his research and development work that went into creating that look, using a Flash foundation and hand animated approach to give the characters a ton of personality in engine.

Watch Dogs - A Surpisingly Ambitious Open World Cyberpunk Adventure

Ubisoft's upcoming new open world IP really caught us off guard in terms of it's ambitious scope and many ways to interact with the environment. Inspired by the entire concept of information warfare, a matter reflected in real life recently with controversies like the PRISM initiative, Watch Dogs follows the exploirts of Aiden Pearce and his ability to hack into devices all controlled by his cities centralized operating system.

We witnessed everything from hacking into a guy's webcam to distracting police by causing electronic malfunctions, and it goes even deeper than that with in game augmented reality, MMO aspects similar to summoning help from fellow hackers like in Dark Souls and more. We've seen plenty of open world/sandbox style games over the years, but Watch Dogs is truly trying to push the envelope in terms of how you interact with your environment. A ton of potential in this one for all new gameplay experiences once it launches on all the systems later this years.

Assassin's Creed IV : A Pirate's Life For Me

Even though it feels like Assassin's Creed III just came out yesterday, Ubisoft just unleashed a flurry of 'leaks' regarding the next installment in the Assassin's Creed series, which might actually be a welcome thematic departure from the typical flavor of the series. Slated to release this October, the official fourth installment of the series will hopefully take some of the best aspects of it's lackluster predeccesor (The naval combat) and add some new gameplay elements, combat improvements and a fresh setting to hopefully bring some life back to the over-sequeled series.

Featuring Edward Kenway as the new pirate flavored assassin, the setting and premise is introduced by Blackbeard himself in the CG trailer for Black Flag. Here's to hoping that Ubisoft can reinvigorate this franchise for the current and next gen platforms it's slated to release on (PS4) this October.

The Art Of Pascal Blanche

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Pascal Blanche is a French 3D artist that has spent a good chunk of his life and career over at Ubisoft, moving up from a character designer 2001 all the way to Senior Art Director, a role he just recently took up in July. Pascal has also worked prominently as a freelancer, with clients including Autodesk and Wizards Of The Coast.

His personal work has garnered a lot of acclaim, for the fact that he's utilized 3D art effectively as a tool for executing his stylized illustrations. which mix the best of 3D and 2D worlds. Drawing inspiration from Frank Frazetta, Moebius, Simon Bisley, Brom and a slew of other illustrators, his bright, graphic pieces showcase a successful amalgam of combined influences. Check out more Mr. Blanche's work after the break!