Year after year, Bethesda has been consistently amazing at their E3 Press Conferences. They have demonstrated that you have great humor, practices, and games while entertaining the audience at every turn. This year was no different and, by far, their best one, yet. And the appearance of Todd Howard and his delightful humor was always a welcome treat. I mean almost everything in that press conference sung to my gamer’s heart and soul.
First, their business montage was very down-to-earth and started the press conference in a modest tone. But, the energy immediately picked up when Rage 2 was announced and showcased to the audience with a little help from a surprise performance in the form of Andrew W.K. The performance took the audience by surprise but was still well received. After learning about the partnership with Avalanche Studios, everything in the game looked very appealing to me which is another surprise because I’m not an FPS kind of gamer. The open world mechanics. The openly drivable vehicles. And, best yet, the way to dispatch enemies are vast and plentiful. Yeah, I really want to play this game.
Later on, Doom Eternal was announced BUT won’t be shown until QuakeCon later in the year. Quake Champion was also shown to still be kicking even more accessible with a limited free-to-play version for a week BEFORE the actual full free-to-play version launches in the future. Plus, if you download the demo and play it sometime this week, you can still play the game even AFTER the trial ends.
As the press conference progressed, more and more games were announced for the additional consoles including the Nintendo Switch. This includes the Elder Scroll Legends, Fallout Shelter, and Wolfenstein. As a bonus, the progress you made on Elder Scroll Legends and Fallout Shelter will be carried over to the Switch…provided you know your Bethesda account.
Speaking on Elder Scrolls, FOUR announcements were made regarding it. First, Bethesda broke the news that Elder Scrolls Online was getting two new DLC: a new dungeon called Wolfhunter and an expansion DLC called Murkmire. Even better, Elder Scroll Blades, a new FREE mobile game that functions just like any other installment but for mobile phone. With three modes to play around with (Abyss – endless dungeon, Arena – 1v1 & Main – town building/visiting & questing) and with the capabilities of crossing all platforms, Elder Scroll Blades is looking to be an interesting game to play around. Finally, yes…Elder Scroll 6 was announced. Nothing was shown but that was enough for me. Haha!
Prey is also getting some DLC magic this year, too. Actually, it’s getting it’s getting one big one as we speak. This update will add a story mode, New Game+, and a Survival Mode for players who want a healthy dose of challenge. In addition, another major DLC will be available tonight in the form of Mooncrash. It’s an arcade-like style of gameplay, where “every run is different”. And they do mean EVERY run will be different. Lastly, Typhon Hunter is another expansion coming to Prey and this one will be the most interesting one. According to Bethesda, Typhon Hunter will have players playing a “lethal game of hide-and-seek” where one player battles against five other players who are “Mimics who can disguise themselves as everyday objects.” It’s also getting two new VR experiences for it.
Along with Wolfenstein being ported to the Switch, two more were unveiled: Wolfenstein: Young Blood & Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot. Young Blood is a co-op game that stars the twin daughters of B.J. Blazcowicz that “pushes the story forward”. But Cyberpilot was what appealed to me more since it deals with VR and hacking robots to eliminates Nazi. So much fun!!
Last, but not least, Fallout 76…Fallout 76…this was the biggest news to date. The game looks amazing and four…FOUR-time bigger than Fallout 4 that takes place in West Virginia where interesting enough the nuclear program is located. Todd explained that they took a minimal approach to the online capability (though you don’t have to partake it) explaining that it will be squad base with a “build & defend” feature to the bases that can be settled. They spoke about the “Power Armor” edition but that didn’t catch my attention. What did is the fact that they are doing an early beta of the game, so it can be bug-free.
With a new IP closing out the conference in the form of Starfield, Bethesda shows that they are always on their game which is why they get a fabulous 95 out of 100. Only three games didn’t get my attention but they delivered in a way that makes me smile it’s worth something.
