E3 2016: Bethesda Press Conference Overall Review: 6/10 A solid game plan from Bethesda (despite a 15-minute delay) helped this conference move at a solid pace as 8 games were discussed in the first half. They wisely intertwined DLC announcements for marquee titles through pre-recordings to break up the pace. Unfortunately a second half slump as the focus was entirely on Dishonored 2 will make this conference appear weaker than their debut in 2015 when Fallout 4 was announced. Quake Champions Skip – CGI trailer only. Looks like a hero-based shooter which is a market that Overwatch is dominating and will continue to do so by the time this title comes around. PC only kills any interest that I may have. Stay tuned for QuakeCon to learn more. Elder Scrolls: Legends Skip – Elder Scrolls: Hearthstone. Game could be great but I already play Hearthstone daily and don’t have the patience or time to devote to another collectible card game. Nice to see the game being F2P with a release on PC, iOS and Android for fans who are interested. Fallout 4 DLC Skip – First, I don’t own Fallout 4. Second, this looks to be the worst aspects of the game expanded upon; More weird building options for your cities, A 3D version of Fallout Shelter and an amusement park area? Also there will be an expansion to Fallout Shelter the hit game of 2015. Skyrim Remastered Skip – Coming to Xbox One, PS4 and PC (for some reason…the mods for Skryim will still probably look better than this title). Speaking of mods, they are also coming to PS4 and Xbox One, which could be interesting. Skyrim is a masterpiece and if you haven’t played it yet this will be the best version to pick up. However, Skyrim is a 100+ hour game so I can’t imagine many people diving back in for a second go. Prey Rent – Sci-fi horror looks gruesome and intriguing. An interesting mix of Groundhog’s Day, Portal and Dead Space – Prey is an interesting pedigree and Bethesda has proven that they are handling these rebooted franchises with care. Doom DLC Rent – Free DLC coming in the next couple months reveal new multiplayer modes (capture the flag and zone control) as well as new editing features. Starting now, there is a demo available for Doom for the next week that I’ll be trying out and recommend you should as well. Premium DLC will follow. Also, stay tuned for more at QuakeCon (an event which they were really plugging during the show). Elder Scrolls Online: Dark Brotherhood Skip – You either are playing ESO or aren’t. This expansion won’t sway you one way or another. One interesting thing mentioned is a scaling system that will allow you to play with a mixed-level party without any penalty. Bethesda VR Rent – Doom and Fallout 4 VR coming to HTC Vive. If you are in the area and don’t mind me stopping by your house I would love to give these a shot. Dishonored 2 Skip – The marquee title for the show that took up a huge chunk of time through 4 trailers and on-stage discussions. Players can choose to control Emily or Corvo, each with their own unique skills in this tale set years after the first Dishonored. The team built a new engine, The Void Engine, to help with the lighting to make every scene look like a painting. I’m the lone crazy person in the universe who didn’t like the first Dishonored so I’ll skip this one. What are your thoughts on Bethesda’s sophomore appearance? Should they have quit while they were ahead with one stellar year? Is Bethesda the best second party at E3 these days?
