Ubisoft leads presentation with Far Cry 3, Brothers in Arms

Ubisoft has revealed its big 25th birthday surprises for E3 with announcements of Far Cry 3, Just Dance 3, Rabbids for Kinect and a new Brothers in Arms title.

Far Cry 3 is under development at three separate Ubisoft studios: Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Shanghai and Swedish outfit Ubisoft Massive.

The demonstration on show featured lush jungle scenery in what appeared to be a South American setting replete with ruins and bandana-wearing enemies.

The open-world focus from previous games appears to be prevalent, although scripted elements played a large part of the demo. Far Cry 3 is planned for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

"Far Cry 3 brings something new and unexpected, while still building upon the foundations of excellence that are inherent to the Far Cry brand," said Ubisoft Montreal producer Dan Hay.

"Whether you're already a fan of the Far Cry series or jumping into the franchise for the very first time, you're going to be blown away by the gritty story and epic adventure we're going to deliver."

A shorter trailer was presented for Brothers in Arms: Furious Four, a lighter-hearted take on squad warfare in WW II. No gameplay was shown, but Ubisoft's presentation promised a very different approach to the franchise's usual grim realism.

"The Brothers in Arms franchise has been renowned for its gritty direction that has dropped players into the middle of World War II," announced Ubisoft's US marketing director Adam Novickas.

"With Brothers in Arms Furious 4, Gearbox brings the action to a whole new level filled with unexpected twists and over-the-top battles that are sure to please new players and fans alike."

Furious Four is planned for 2012.

Ubisoft's Kinect-controlled Rabbid offering appears to be another round of mini-games featuring the noisy rabbits, with a focus on group activities and Facebook sharing. The new Rabbids title will be available from 8 November.

Just Dance 3 is coming to all motion-controlled platforms, it was revealed, on 11 October this year. Following that unveiling was a lengthy trailer for guitar training title Rocksmith, also due for an October release, which allows players to plug in a real guitar to learn the instrument rather than a plastic substitute.

Also on show were Ubisoft's Tin Tin title and a four player gameplay demo of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier - a franchise in its 25th year. Following a lengthy showing for Future Soldier was the flip side of the Ghost Recon coin: free-to-play iteration Ghost Recon Online, with an invitation to apply for beta.

Driver: San Francisco was given a pre-recorded trailer, showing cars of several different eras barrelling around the hilly west coast metropolis. Fellow racer, Trackmania made an appearance in the form of a spectacular looking clip of PC exclusive TrackMania 2, due in September.

Left until last was Ubisoft's poster child: Assassin's Creed: Revelations, presented with a true cliffhanger trailer and a game play sequence in which an ageing Ezio escapes a raid on a harbour with the assistance of a galleon-mounted flamethrower.