A little over two years ago now I wrote a review for The Crew, Ubisoft's racing-game-slash-MMO hybrid, a game that touted all of America as its map. And it made good on that promise--I spent a long time just admiring the scenery contained therein. That's about all I admired though, because it was a pretty damn mediocre racing game. And here we are again, with The Crew 2. Another game with an identity crisis, of sorts. Another game where the map is the biggest draw--and it's a fantastic draw, let me say that up front.

Seems like every single 2018 release will be revealed by one or the other. This week it's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, probably one of the worst-kept secrets, which Square finally confirmed is arriving later this year. Oh, and those rumors about Geralt of Rivia coming to Soulcalibur VI also turned out to be true. This is gaming news for March 12 to 16. Uh...not much to add to this one except that it exists, and it's coming. Square claims Shadow of the Tomb Raider will release on September 14, an extended reveal is coming in April, and there's the short cinematic teaser below.

French video game publisher Ubisoft has a six month reprieve from worrying about a hostile takeover right now, but the company still has other problems to worry about. Namely, at least two of its biggest upcoming games have been delayed in one fell swoop. Reported by Eurogamer, Ubisoft delayed "Far Cry 5" and "The Crew 2," which were both originally slated to release in spring 2018. "Far Cry 5" was supposed to launch on Feb. 27, but was delayed exactly a month, to March 27. "The Crew 2," meanwhile went from March 16 to the first half of Ubisoft's 2018-19 fiscal year, which starts in April.

It seemed like a press conference of zero surprises as we rolled through Ubisoft's E3 2017 spectacular. Which is not to say there were no games--just that almost all the games on offer were announced beforehand, either officially or unofficially (read: leaked). That being said, we did get extended looks at all the above--some, like The Crew 2, for the first time ever. Then Ubisoft started pulling stuff out of left field. Transference had a bizarre cinematic trailer, while Skull and Bones looks to be the standalone pirate game Ubisoft hinted at after everyone loved Black Flag.

Sometimes when it rains, it pours, including official confirmation of new Far Cry, Assassin's Creed and The Crew games in the offing, thanks to Ubisoft doing what amounts to a celebratory dance after an upbeat fiscal earnings report. The France-based multinational games conglomerate isn't getting specific yet -- we'll likely have to wait until E3 mid-June to learn more. But it posted teaser images for Far Cry 5, The Crew 2, and an untitled Assassin's Creed game by way of the latter franchise's symbol above the words "A new era begins." Far Cry is the company's sandbox pulp-adventure series, usually transpiring in perilous renditions of remote tropical islands or romanticized non-Western locales. The Crew, which debuted in in 2014, is that same open-ended approach mapped onto a mass driving sim with automotive roleplaying elements.