E3 kicked off on Sunday with press conferences from EA and Bethesda. EA’s conference failed to create much excitement, but Bethesda made up for it with a boatload of trailers and a few impressive announcements. Here are some of my favorites.
Quake Champions
As a die-hard fan of Quake III: Team Arena, I’m very intrigued by the new Quake Champions. If ID Software can recapture that fast-paced, ridiculous action, the game could be an absolute blast. Granted, it was sad that there wasn’t any actual footage, but I’m still excited about the possibilities. At least there were jump pads.
Prey
Prey’s sequel has been the focus of questions for years. No one knew if the game had actually been cancelled, or if it was simply in hibernation. Apparently, Prey was actually in a rebooting hibernation. Bethesda brought out an all-new version of the game with a trailer resembling Groundhog Day. The new gameplay looked like a horror/action hybrid with loose ties to the first game. I couldn’t tell if the enemies were aliens or not. Color me intrigued, but I wish the trailer gave more information.
Skyrim HD
I gotta be honest, I didn’t like my first foray into Skyrim. I was overwhelmed by everything in play, and I really didn’t know how to proceed. Fallout 4, however, is one of my favorite games on the PS4. I have a greater understanding of how to play those games, and I love the setting. I’m hoping that my experience with both Fallout 4 and The Witcher 3 will help me out when I try to play the HD version of Skyrim. I love fantasy games, and I really want to love Skyrim. Hopefully, this time works.
Dishonored 2
I love Dishonored so much. I played that game multiple times, and it was my game of the year, even over Sleeping Dogs. I was honestly surprised to see some in-game footage, but I won’t complain. The new Void Engine is gorgeous, and it makes the world of Dishonored look even better. Plus, it’s super exciting to see a world outside of Dunwall. The new location is considerably brighter, and with much fewer rats. Although the mosquitos look a bit suspect.
Holy crap, Corvo talked!!! It’s super weird hearing Corvo speak, but this will make the story much better, especially when switching between characters.
The actual mission gameplay showed off some new assassination moves, as well as Emily’s telescope. Being able to zoom in will completely enhance the game and reveal all manner of new information. As a bonus, the world has even more verticality, and more elements in play beyond whale oil. Wind is a huge power source, especially in the Dust District. The spontaneous dust storms will make some encounters more challenging as you constantly deal with limited visibility.
I may be a little biased based on my love of this series, but Dishonored 2 was the press conference’s high point. The new powers and the time piece in particular will make this game crazy entertaining.
Bethesda brought up many other exciting pieces of information, but these were by far my favorites. This is the second year in a row that the publisher has kicked off E3 in an exciting manner.
