The Bethesda conference started out tonight with Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb interviewing some Fallout cosplayers outside the venue. There were some impressive costumes on display. They also interviewed the person at the front of the line, who said he has been waiting 6 years for Fallout 4 and looked quite sweaty and dehydrated.
After a replay of the reveal trailer of Fallout 4, the hosts then moved on to discuss the change in color palette and how the world looks much brighter. And of course, there is a dog.
After some more discussion about Fallout, they moved onto Doom. And played the trailer (which admittedly is 4 seconds long) 4 or 5 times in a gag that got tired very quickly.
Bethesda moved on to an opening montage of their games and then brought out Pete Heinz to the Skyrim theme to introduce their first ever E3 conference. First up on the presentation was a history of Doom, along with Marty Stratton, the Executive Producer of id Software. The first reveal of Doom was interesting to say the least. We started out with a marine moving through a futuristic facility, using the shotgun to take on hordes of enemies. There was plenty of blood and gore on display, but the game looked very sluggish on screen. Granted, the game seemed atmospheric, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t actual gameplay. Also, there was a slow motion effect when switching weapons that seemed very out of place. Also on display were several gruesome executions. Of course, it wouldn’t be Doom without tons of weapons, and all of them were on display. Shotgun, super shotgun, plasma rifle, machine gun and the chainsaw. The chainsaw kills were particularly gruesome, but the same animations were repeated several times. Granted, it is a demo.
Multiplayer on the otherhand, looked fast, snappy and, with one player snagging a powerup and transforming in to the revenant. It was bloody and frantic looking. They also showed off the new map editor called Snapmap, which allows players to create new maps easily and quickly. They then closed out the Doom segment with a look at hell. The area was grim, creepy and awesome, showcasing some hard fights with high powered weaponry like the rocket launcher. Near the end, the Cyberdemon made an appearance and then they…cut the trailer right as the BFG was charging up.
Moving back to the wider picture, Bethesda announced Bethesda.net, their own platform for launching all of their games . The next game to be shown off was Battlecry, which looked somewhat like a TF2 clone. While I wasn’t impressed, it may be for some people. They also announced that you can sign up for a beta of the game and it will be coming in 2015.
The next major highlight has to be Arkane Studios coming out on stage. This is the team that brought us Dishonored, and they jumped straight into a trailer for the sequel. Perhaps the biggest reveal was that you will be playing as either Corvo, orEmily Kaldwin and she apparently has the Outsider’s Power. The trailer was stylish, fast paced and stunning. Dishonored 2 will be available on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Also announced was Dishonored Definitive Edition, an enhanced version of the game which includes all DLC for Xbox One and PS4.
Next up was a peek at whats coming to Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited. The realm of the Orcs was shown, as were several new areas that looked to be dungeons. Mobile also played a part in the presentation, with the company showing off an Elder Scrolls themed card game called Elder Scrolls Legends. Only art assets were shown, but no actual gameplay. It will be free to play on PC and iPad.
The final presentation was for Fallout 4, after some rather forced jokes about it being the end of the show. Todd Howard director of Bethesda Game Studios took the stage to show off the new game, first talking about the power of games to transport the player to new worlds, and the experiences that they deliver. They then launched into a montage of concept art for the game, showing some impressive concepts and ideas, including what the world looked like before the bombs fell.
Character creation was up next, allowing you to simply drag your character’s face in real time to create your custom avatar. You can also play as a female. The new game starts before the bombs fell, which is an interesting change from the established formula. As the characters you created head for the vault, a bomb goes off and the screen cuts to black. However, Bethesda refused to reveal much more of the story. They instead cut to post bomb gameplay, 200 years into the future. The open world looked impressive. And, of course, they showed off the dog, highlighting the ability to give the dog contextual commands by simply pointing at the environment and pressing a button. A brief combat section was shown, showcasing the VATS targeting system before moving into a montage of various areas in the game. There was an impressive level of detail on display, although Bethesda’s character animations still leave a bit to be desired.
They also provided a look at the new Pip Boy, showing off the various menus and highlighting the idea of a latered armor system. You can also insert game tapes into your Pip Boy and play Fallout versions of classic games on it. You will also be able to get a real Pip Boy with the collector’s edition of the game, including an app for it for iOS and Android. Keeping with the mobile theme, Fallout Shelter was shown off. This is a 2d game that has you in command of a vault and its dwellers in a kind of cross between the Sims and Progress Quest. The game will be free and they claim it will have no paywalls and they announced it would be available after the conference. Unfortunately, its iOS only.
Jumping back to Fallout 4, they showed off a mode that allows you to build your own settlement and fully customize every aspect of it from lighting to defenses. They were quick to note that it is completely optional, but you will be able to create multiple bases and craft all manner of things. This transitioned into the weapon crafting system, which allows you to use almost any item you find in the game world to modify your weapons and your armor. They then closed the Fallout segment with a combat montage set to trademark Fallout period appropriate music. And…a Teddy Bear cannon…..
Fallout 4 will be released November 10, 2015.
The presentation closed with a thank you from the studio. All in all, a strong showing for Bethesda’s first ever E3 conference.
