Battle Tag
| Battle Tag | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Ubisoft |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Director(s) | Frédérick Raynal (Creator) |
| Producer(s) | Gael Seydoux |
| Designer(s) | Guillaume Drapier |
| Composer(s) | Dominique Voegelé |
| Genre(s) | Laser tag |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Battle Tag is a laser tag-shooter hybrid game developed and published by Ubisoft. The game was revealed at E3 2010 at the Ubisoft press conference.[1] The game was released on November 2010 in Texas and Canada.
Gameplay
Battle Tag shares similarities with laser tag. Players wear harnesses with sensors and shoot at other players with wired guns that are attached to their harnesses.[2] As the game progresses, the players' scores are uploaded to their Windows-based PC which tallies the scores and declares the winner.[2] The game contains a multiplayer leaderboard component so players can compete with others by high scores online.[2] Battle Tag uses an Ubiconnect sensor, which allows the players to play in a range of 1,000 feet from the sensor.[3] Matches are allowed to have a maximum of eight players at a time per ubiconnect device with a maximum of 5 ubiconnect devices or 40 players.[4] Players can use plastic markers to create parameters and requirements for their games.[5] The game will ship with two harnesses, two guns, and other accessories that add to the gameplay.[6]
Development
The game was presented by the game's producer Gael Seydoux as a "real live shooter that you could play at home with all your friends."[6] The game follows the trend of E3 2010 games to focus on more non-traditional aspects of gaming.[6]
Reception
Gaming critics were mostly confused by the game's presentation at Ubisoft's E3 2010 press conference.[5][7][8] Models and game developers armed with harnesses and laser guns began playing the game and running around the auditorium during the press conference.[7] The introduction of Battle Tag won GameSpot's "Biggest What the...?'" special achievement award from E3 2010.[7] G4's Andrew Pfister thought that presentation of the game was poorly thought through.[8] The Guardian's Keith Stuart stated, "I'm not sure I entirely understood what was going on".[5] Eurogamer's Ellie Gibson called it "Laser Quest for your house."[9]
Release/Pre-release
Finally after months of little to no advertising (only an official site was up) on November 20, 2010 a limited test release of 15 Toys R US stores in Texas and all Zellers stores in Canada was announced.[10] The three initial available sets are The Starter pack (US$129.99/CDN$169.99: two "sensor vests", two "t-blasters", two different "ammo packs", two "bases", the "UbiConnect" RF Rx/Tx device, install CD and manual), T-Blaster Expansion Kit (US$70: one "sensor vest", one "t-blaster") and the Med-Kit Expansion Pack (US$20: two "med-kits", two "t-bases"). The November 15, 2010 Ubisofts official US & Canada store websites opened The Starter Pack for pre-order (US$129.99/CDN$169.99) with shipment slated for November 30, 2010 "the official release date" according to pre-sale receipts.
Support
While no longer supported by Ubisoft, support can be found at the unofficial battle tag user forums: http://www.battletagforums.org. Many new game modes and hardware mods have been added to the system created by the user community.
References
- ^ Watts, Steve (June 14, 2010). "E3 2010: Ubisoft Presents Battle Tag". 1UP.com. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
- ^ a b c Burt, Andy (June 14, 2010). "E3 2010: Ubisoft Press Conference Highlights". GamePro. Archived from the original on 2010-06-19. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Balkin, Adam (June 30, 2010). "Find Adventure Through Laser Tag, At Hogwarts". NY1. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Joystiq (June 15, 2010). "Ubisoft Battle Tag Video". Joystiq. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Stuart, Keith (June 15, 2010). "E3 2010: Ubisoft reveals Michael Jackson dance game – and more". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Chapman, Glenn (June 14, 2010). "Ubisoft getting videogame players off the couch". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c GameSpot staff (June 25, 2010). "Biggest 'What the...?' Best of E3 2010". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 30 June 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Pfister, Andrew (June 14, 2010). "E3 2010: Ubisoft Press Conference Wrap-Up Report". G4. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Gibson, Ellie (June 15, 2010). "Ubi unveils Laser Quest-style shooter". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Yoon, Andrew (November 11, 2010). "Ubisoft's Battle Tag launches assault on Texas tomorrow, Canada next week". Joystiq. Retrieved November 20, 2010.