Honest Opinion : E3 2018 - Bethesda Conference (Sunday June 10, 2018
The whole conference kicked off with a mini rock show starring Andrew WK. Yeah...he's still around. He treated the fans (or tried to at least) to a live version of the RAGE 2 theme song, but not before a little shoutout was thrown at Wal-Mart Canada for leaking this game a few weeks ago and the going forward promise that Bethesda clearly needs to find people who are better at keeping secrets. After the concert was over, we got a bit more info on RAGE 2, along with some clipped game footage detailing a mission in the game and showing off some of the weapons and moves you'll have available to you. What we know now is your character's name will be Walker, who's the last ranger of the wasteland. In the video, there looked to be quite a lot of different terrain environments, and they even spliced in a commercial on an in-game TV to show off one of the pre-order bonuses with the special edition. A wall-mounted, singing mutant. Yup, just like that old bass we used to know and...not love.
My Take : I never got to finish the original RAGE but I loved it, and honestly have kicked myself ever since for not finishing it. Obviously I will be now. The sequel looks intense and over-the-top and that's just what this series needs. What made this opening segment even better though was Todd Howard's blatant dig at Wal-Mart Canada for leaking this game early, and it wouldn't be the only fun moment of the night either. But definitely expect some RAGE 2 to find it's way into my life when it comes out.
Bethesda followed up this extended reveal and announcement with a small update section on a couple of their games that have already been out. Elder Scrolls Legends is their strategic card game (fans of Blizzard's Hearthstone may see a lot of similarities), and it's getting some updates in the way of art and cinematics going on in the game. Additionally, by the end of the year, console players will be able to sink some time into this one as it's coming out on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Elder Scrolls Online then showed it's head, thanking everybody in the community for being a part of the game with the recent launch (literally last week) of the games newest expansion Summerset. They then showed off a couple new DLC expansions that would be expected to drop in the final two quarters of this year, Wolfhunter and Murgmire.
My Take : These two games I've known about and surprisingly never played yet. Even more so considering that Legends is free. As far as Online is concerned, my biggest issue was deciding where I wanted to play it : PC or console? I told myself if Steam ever had a sale of it I'd probably just get it on both and what do you know? After the Bethesda conference was all done, I got a notification on my phone that earlier in the day....ESO went on sale on Steam. It's downloading right now and based on everything I've seen I can't wait to jump in. Legends is also gonna finally see some action from me as well. I wish I could expand more on these games now, but both communities just got two new players out of myself and my wife.
Doom is coming back, again. The video that opened this segment was dark, filled with tons of destruction everywhere, and it ended with a slow pan up the side of a body that led to a double-barreled shotgun being cocked and unloaded. Everything panned backwards and we came out between the two very familiar looking O's. After, a couple members of the team came out to say that basically, after the huge positive reaction fans had to the reboot a couple of years ago, they were inspired to make this sequel and couldn't wait to show it off at QuakeCon later in August. We didn't get to see much more of it now, but the promise of twice as many demons and the returning (and twice as powerful) DemonSlayer...August can't get here fast enough.
My Take : I have only very recently gotten into this franchise. The older style of these games, I've never been a huge fan. When the reboot was announced I got extremely interested in it. Knowing that it's going to go even further with this title to come is incredible. This one will be appearing on my blog/stream for sure, and you can expect the reboot title itself to poke it's head in as well.
Bethesda kept things rolling with a few more segments focused on updates of games that have already been out. First, Quake Champions is getting a facelift of new features designed not only for the old school veterans that play the game, but to welcome in new players as well. As a pitch to bring in more new players, the team will be launching a free-to-play version of the game along with a new trailer to go with it. What's more, the trial of said free-to-play version is active starting this week, and players who download the trial now can continue to play for free after the trial ends.
My Take : This is another series that I've never been very big into. In fact I recently played my first Quake game ever when I covered the first title on the Nintendo 64 in my Chronicles series on Twitch. Now, with the free-to-play trial going though, what's the harm in checking it out? You've pulled me into giving this one a chance, Bethesda. Let's see if what I encounter gives me reason to stay.
Prey is another series that got rebooted by Bethesda a couple of years ago, only this one wasn't theirs to begin with. The first installment back in 2006 didn't do so hot, and it's a very mixed discussion on whether or not the reboot did a lot of the same. Players of this game are going to be treated to a free update for Prey that will bring in a few new game modes. Single players will earn a New Game+ option. Moon Crash looks to be a never ending gauntlet of a survival mode that loops and loops, changing every time you play through the things you'll encounter and how you'll encounter them. Lastly, Typhon Hunter, dubbed a "dangerous hide-and-seek" game, pits a single player against five others. The goal is for the team of five to work together and find the one. Only problem is, that one is a Mimic, with the ability to disguise itself as anything in the world. So don't trust any coffee mugs you see, because who knows if it's really a coffee mug...
My Take : Like I mentioned above, it's a very mixed reaction on whether this game was great or not. It definitely appears to change from person-to-person. Unfortunately, this announcement almost made it seem like there weren't enough persons that had a favorable reaction to this game. While the updates seem fun (I personally love the sound of Typhon Hunter), it came off as more of a "Please play more of our game?" I own it, have yet to check it out myself but I'll definitely sink my teeth into this one very soon.
To wrap up the announcements on things already-released, the Wolfenstein team came out to remind everyone that the game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch, spreading to as many consoles as possible their message of "Fuck Nazis" which received the right and beautiful reaction from the audience in the theater.
This shifted into a new announcement, with the arrival of Wolfenstein Young Blood. Time will be jumping ahead into the 1980's and will focus on the twin daughters of BJ Blazkowicz, and an accompanying trailer to show some footage of what's to come. The keyword of this though was "twin", as the announcement was capped off by stating that Young Blood would be completely playable...in co-op.
My Take : First off I agree that the message of "Fuck Nazis" needs to spread to as many consoles and platforms as possible. I was never big into the older Wolfenstein games, I'd only played a demo of one on original Xbox and a couple others here and there. The reboot drew me in and I loved it, and I've been waiting for the sequel to get it's Switch release so I can play it there. Young Blood looks like a lot of fun and I love the idea of co-op coming to this franchise, it should definitely be a welcome addition.
As the show wound down, talk shifted to the one thing that everybody in attendance wanted to know. Bethesda took a dig at themselves and said that they knew what everyone wanted most in the world : What are we going to do with Skyrim next? The following skit detailed some crazy new Skyrim expansions, letting you play the game in places you never thought you would, for reasons you never asked for. A voice-enabled edition for the Amazon Echo, a text based version for old school pagers. Oh and don't forget those new fangled fancy refrigerators now...you can slash at some dragons while you grab some ice at 2:00 am. Honestly, this skit was hilarious and it showed Bethesda's good humor with the fans and their reactions to "another" Skyrim release. But, the best part is that the Amazon Echo version is REAL! You can enable the Skyrim : Very Special Edition if you have any Alexa enabled devices and enjoy this one. By the way, I've tried a bit of Skyrim with Alexa, it's amazing. Download the Alexa app, enable this module, and enjoy it.
Sike! They know what the fans want, and the fans got it. So far we'd just gotten a bit of info : It's the earliest set game in the franchise, you're among the first vault dwellers to emerge into the wasteland and...that was really it. We knew the setting was West Virginia, we found out the map was four times larger than anything they'd done before.
However, Bethesda gave us a lot more. Not only is the map the largest one we've been given, it's going to have six unique regions, and the engine used to build the game has allowed them to cram in 16 times the detail. Oh and they confirmed a rumor that's been floating around : Fallout 76 is going to be an MMO.
Which raised a bunch of questions, that Todd then tried to answer by giving us even more info. THe game is fully playable solo, as well as in a squad of friends. Your character and all the progression you do between solo and/or online will automatically transfer back and forth. There's a photo mode, and building is back. Only this time, you can build wherever you want. To build you'll receive the C.A.M.P. or Construction and Assembly Mobile Platform, which will assist greatly when you want to move servers, you can pack up and take everything you've worked on.
What makes this even more special is these servers will be small. It's a wasteland after all, so you're not meant to encounter thousands and thousands of other players. But the players you do come across will be the only characters you come across while you play. To put the icing on the cake, each map online will have multiple nuclear sites spread out, and the codes to activate said weapons will be scattered as well, in pieces. You'll want to find these pieces, and the other players who may have them because players will be the only ones with full control over what happens with these nuclear sites.
Outside of the game, we got a tease of some goodies that will come with the Power Armor Edition of the game. You'll get a map, and it "glows in the fucking dark" to quote Todd. Small figures that you can place all over the map. Oh and a working Power Armor helmet. The game is expected to full release in November of this year, yes THIS year, and you can sign up for the BETA now on Bethesda's website if you'd like to try and get access.
After all this time, we're getting another trip into the wasteland, and it looks like it'll either be the best one yet, or the worst. We'll have to wait until November to find out.
My Take : I have a very weird relationship with the Fallout games. I love what they do, the settings, how they change them after a devastating nuclear war. It's beautiful and so easy to fall into. Yet, gameplay-wise I find myself struggling to keep up. I can't count how many times I've started and re-started Fallout 3, New Vegas, and Fallout 4. And no matter how many times I feel like I've run into a brick wall with no armor on, I still love these games and I want to be better at them. So naturally, Fallout 76 is in my scopes, and its multiplayer so I can make my friends carry me right? Nah, I'll be giving this quite the go alone, and I can't wait until it drops. Hopefully I can nab a Power Armor helmet too...
That wasn't all. We got a small (very small) segment on Fallout Shelter, the mobile game that expanded on to PC. As of them making this announcement on stage, the game was readily available to play on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. But, this led into something better...
After the success of Fallout Shelter, which had more players than the rest of all their projects combined (Todd's words), they wanted to dip into the mobile market once again, and they're bringing Elder Scrolls this time. Blades will be a mobile, first-person RPG with console quality graphics. All the dungeons in the game will be procedurally generated, and there's going to be multiple modes available. Abyss gives you an endless dungeon gauntlet to test your skills and see how far you can make it, Arena let's you play PvP against another player, one-on-one. This feature is made even cooler because you can be in a meeting tapping and swiping on your phone, and your opponent may be at home playing Blades in VR, so this game will connect over all platforms that it's available on. Lastly, the game gives a town-building mode where you can expand on your settlement and the people living in it. Expect Elder Scrolls Blades to be available this fall for Android and Apple devices, for FREE. Oh and it's playable in both landscape and portrait modes so you know....you can play at work while stuck in a meeting (Todd's words again).
My Take : I can't get enough of playing Fallout Shelter and from was shown, Blades is going to be exponentially better. I work from home so I won't be stuck in any meetings trying to sneak my way through a dungeon, but there just may be some mobile streams on my channel in the future.
After thanking the crowd for their continued support of Bethesda's projects since Fallout 3, Todd wanted to send everyone off with a tease of what's to come. There wasn't much to say about these, so I'll leave you with just about the same amount that he did.
