Ubi Shows Off Games

GameSpot News traveled to the Ubi Soft offices in Canada recently to check out three titles the company currently has in development: Tonic Trouble (PC, N64), Hype: The Time Quest (PC, N64), and Speed Busters (PC).

Tonic Trouble is a 3D action-adventure game that looks like it's going to shape up to be another Mario/Banjo-Kazooie game. The game features a cute Martian by the name of Ed who accidentally unleashes a can of strange liquid that transforms Earth into a crazy psychedelic land of dangerous vegetables and other creatures. There are eleven different areas to explore, (although developers we met with told us if you do really well you can find an additional secret level.

The game has a couple of levels that aren't of the jump-and-run-around nature. In fact the first level features an amazingly fun snow race in which players careen down a mountain while riding on a Frisbee, all the while avoiding bottomless pits, and other obstacles. One of the other really cool levels is the canyon level. Players have to use Tonic's gliding ability for nearly the entire duration of the level, and you have to glide over air rises to get more of a boost to keep you from petering out over the lava. Besides gliding, Ed can learn several different tricks, most notable are his abilities to shoot enemies with a blowpipe, pogo-jump on a stick, and whack enemies with a stick. Tonic trouble is planned for a November '98 release.

The second game we saw was Hype: The Time Quest. This game is another 3D action-adventure game that will be released for the N64 and PC. We only got to see the PC version since the N64 version, we were told, isn't anywhere near completion.

The game features characters and designs from the Playmobil universe - as well as original characters made by Ubi Soft designers in the Playmobil style. The title of the game is based on the main character's first name. Hype is a knight that you control through the 3D world. The game features puzzles and things to figure out as well as a fair share of sword swinging. The game is scheduled for an early '99 release.

Speed Busters for the PC is an arcade racing game. It's a mix between San Francisco Rush and Cruise n' USA. The game features shortcuts and alternate paths that players can take. Visually Speed Busters is amazing; its 3D-accelerated graphics give it an unbelievably realistic look. And through the use of composite textures (the same technique that was used in Unreal) the textured surfaces like the road and walls of nearby scenery look extremely detailed. The game has six tracks modeled after real-life locations. Some of the most notable are Hollywood, Aspen, and Las Vegas. Each track is filled with cool stuff going on in the background; for instance, when racing on the Hollywood track players will see King Kong on the streets causing trouble. And since all of the cars visually show damage you should be careful not to bump into too many obstacles. Speed Busters is set for release in fall '98.