Finally, E3 2015 has officially started. CELEBRATE, Y’ALL!
Ok, now that you are done celebrating, let’s get started with some reactions to Bethesda’s first ever E3 press conference. This press conference was inconsistent at times, but there were enough high points to excite everyone, including me. Seriously, the amount of Fallout 4 info was exciting, and I have never played more than a few hours of any Fallout games.
No, don’t leave! I swear, I’m a good guy.
Okay, now that I’ve admitted to my shameful lack of Fallout experience, I think it’s time to react to the conference and give a rating.
Doom
Bethesda started off the conference in a big way by showing off quite a bit from Doom. The single player demo showed off the bloody, yet pretty world, the creepy demons of all sizes, and some really cool guns. The Super Shotgun looks like a really great weapon with some fun effects. I couldn’t get enough of exploding demon heads, at least until the Super Chainsaw showed up. The chainsaw attacks were so funny in a disturbing way, and I loved how the demons tried to block the blade with their arms.
The rest of the single player demo showed off demons of increasing size and skills. One enemy was even invisible. Of course, the playable character also had bigger and better weapons to deal with these enemies, including the much-loved BFG.
Additionally, this demo also showed off the fast-paced multiplayer matches, complete with hidden demon characters. There are tokens hidden throughout the multiplayer arenas that allow players to turn into super powerful demons. The other players simply grab bigger weapons to keep killing each other. I will be terrible at this style of multiplayer, but it still looks really fun.
Finally, Bethesda showed off an editor called Doom SnapMap. This tool is the first of many Bethesda modding tools that will be available soon. This editor provides the ability to create custom modes and maps for Doom that can be shared with other players. Modding games is always fun, and SnapMap looks like a user-friendly tool.
One more thing: Doom lets you rip the leg off a demon and then curb stomp him with this leg. Damn, that’s cool.
My Rating for Doom : Awesome
BattleCry
Much like last year, Bethesda showed off some short gameplay videos of BattleCry. This stylized multiplayer game features playable classes from different countries fighting in big arenas. Bethesda didn’t show too much about BattleCry, but the company did show a new class base called the Han Dynasty and the main soldier types.
The new classes from the Han Dynasty seem to be pretty cool, but the lack of information was kind of a letdown. The Doom demo showed off all sorts of gameplay, so the lack of info turned this portion of the press conference into a boring segment.
One cool moment was the announcement of the BattleCry Beta, which begins soon. You can sign up for the Beta on the official web site of BattleCry.
My Rating for BattleCry: Between Decent and “Meh”
Dishonored
After BattleCry, the Bethesda press conference switched to my favorite moment—Arkane Studios came out and officially announced Dishonored 2. This announcement was very exciting, but I wasn’t expecting the next piece of information. The sequel to one of my all-time favorite games retained the protagonist (Corvo) from the original game but also added another playable character—lady Emily Kaldwin. Emily was the little girl from Dishonored that Corvo saved and helped become Empress. Now, Emily is all grown up and apparently really pissed off at some people. Oh, and Emily now has powers that rival Corvo’s, including a cool web thing that totally doesn’t look like it came from Venom.
HOLY CRAP IS EMILY A SYMBIOTE?
Okay, back to reality.
In Dishonored 2, Arkane lets you switch between the two protagonists and their unique powers as you progress through the story. Thankfully, Arkane is also bringing back the option to play through the entire story without killing anyone. This option made Dishonored into a really fun puzzle game, so I can’t wait to try it again. Plus, I’m just really excited for this new location—which I believe is the city of Karnaca, located on the island of Serkonos.
My Rating for Dishonored 2: I haven’t stopped running around in excitement. I’m typing this with one hand while dancing a jig.
Elder Scrolls
Bethesda also dedicated part of their press conference to the world of Elder Scrolls. First off, Bethesda announced that new locations would be coming to The Elder Scrolls Online. Additionally, Bethesda also announced a new strategy card game would be coming out later this year. The Elder Scrolls Legends will be released sometime in the future for both iPad and PC and will include elements from the entire Elder Scrolls universe. Bethesda didn’t provide a ton of information, but it is assumed that The Elder Scrolls Legends will be similar to Hearthstone.
Look, I understand that these announcements were cool, but I have no experience with either The Elder Scrolls Online or strategy card games.
My Rating for The Elder Scrolls Online and Legends: Cool for some, but not for me.
Fallout 4
Finally, Bethesda finished off the show by bringing out a very charismatic Todd Howard to discuss Fallout 4. This presentation was the longest portion of Bethesda’s press conference, but it was completely stuffed with information. Somehow, all of the Fallout 4 info was really cool, and now I’m tempted to play this game.
First, Howard showed off some concept art for Fallout 4. Honestly, I love concept art, but it seemed like a weird addition to the presser. It’s ok because he switched to one gameplay demo showing off the world before war, the enhanced character creation mode, and a robot butler that sounded like John Cleese. This portion of the demo showed off some basic interaction options and some important product placement. Nothing major was shown, but Howard did explain that your character would occupy the vault for 200 years before coming back to the post-apocalyptic version of Boston.
The next—and way more important—portion of Howard’s presentation showed off the improved combat system and the dog companion. The dog seems like he will be a helpful addition to your team since he can help in battle and fetch useful items. The combat looked downright awesome with all of the immensely customizable weapons and powersuit.
Howard then interrupted his own press conference to reveal the new Fallout 4 companion app for iOS and Android, the Pip Boy special edition, and the new Fallout mobile game, Fallout Shelter. This mobile game puts you in charge of your own little vault, complete with residents and shops. If this app sounds like fun, well you are in luck because the game is available right now on the app store.
So much happened during the Fallout portion of Bethesda’s press conference that I probably forgot most of it. All I know is that everything during this segment looked very interesting. I can’t wait until Fallout 4 hits store shelves, which is November 10, 2015, by the way.
I have to say that Bethesda definitely impressed with their Sunday press conference. I didn’t care about every game during the conference, but the big three were all quite tempting. Also, I can never complain about a press conference that makes me want to play a Fallout game and lets me finally hear about Dishonored 2.
Not too shabby, Bethesda. Not shabby at all.
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