Bethesda E3 2016 Press Event Recap!
Bethesda is winning E3 2016! I know…the first official day of E3 isn’t even here yet. But just like last year’s showcase, Bethesda has raised the bar for game related press conferences…
If you missed the event, no worries; we made sure to add it to the site for your viewing pleasure. That said, we have highlighted the juicer tidbits below.
One of the best things about E3 is finding out about new games being developed. Whether it’s a new IP or another instalment of a popular franchise, we want to be surprised by what’s announced. Unfortunately, there seemed to be way more leaked information on the internet than in previous years. I mean, majority of what was shown during EA’s presser was leaked hours before their developers hit the stage. That wasn’t the case with Bethesda though; there were plenty of rumors but no proof beyond what we knew would be shown (Dishonored 2 for example). There were plenty of surprises for gamers to Tweet about all night long!
Out of the gate, Bethesda revealed a new installment of the dormant Quake series. Called Quake Champions, this competitive shooter is being built with eSports in mind. That’s not to say that the rest of us need not apply, just that there are systems running under the hood to help facilitate this goal. Speaking of goals, id is promising that Quake will run at 120hz with unlocked framerates, a roster of unique characters (each with their own distinctive abilities), fast paced action and more.
I wish we would have been able to see actually gameplay over a cinematic trailer. And the announcement that is only headed to PC (as of right now) feels odd. Still, just knowing that a new Quake is coming is enough. Next up was a surprise from Arkane Studios. Apparently, apart from working on Dishonored 2, they’ve been busy reimagining Prey. Yes…the Prey that was supposed to get a sequel years ago has been remade from the ground up.
This new Prey follows the story of Morgan Yu, the subject of morally dubious experiments designed to improve the human race. Of course, things don’t go as planned – Morgan awakens aboard the Talos 1 in the year 2032, a space station that’s been taken over by an alien force. Here he’ll have to use his mind-bending abilities and an assortment of firearms to fight off this threat while searching for a way home.
“At Arkane, our passion for creating unique worlds where you can improvise, experiment and play your way has driven our vision for Prey,” said Raphael Colantonio, president and co-creative director at Arkane Studios. “We’re excited to show you more of the sci-fi world we’re creating at QuakeCon this summer.”
I’m eager to find out more about Prey. Knowing that Arkane Studios is working on it makes waiting for additional news difficult. The next reveal wasn’t leaked but wasn’t a big surprise either. Rumors about a Skyrim remaster has been circling blogs for some time. And while I’m sure fans were hoping for a new Elder Scrolls…on second thought, most were probably disappointed that it wasn’t a sequel. Still, Skyrim Special Edition isn’t such a bad thing. Right?
Launching on October 28th, this remastered Skyrim will feature better graphics, and all previously released DLC. And, just like Fallout 4, gamers will be able to experience new quests, environments, characters and more via mods on their console of choice. That’s pretty cool.
The next major showing was of Dishonored 2. What was so great about this portion of the conference was just how much Arkane was willing to show. There were three to four distinct demos/trailers: one showing the different environments players will trek through, one showing Emily’s fighting prowess, one showing off some nifty time manipulating powers, and a gameplay trailer to boot. The videos just keep going and going, proving that the best way to show build hype for a title is with real gameplay footage.
Beyond the demos came the announcement of a Dishonored 2 Collector’s Edition, which included replicas of Corvo’s mask and Emily’s ring. What was really neat was Arkane including a free copy of Dishonored: Definitive Edition with every pre-order of Dishonored 2 (for a limited time).
Bethesda went on to reveal new add-ons for games that are already available. Fallout 4 is getting the Contraptions Workshop and Vault-Tec Workshop, both of which will allow you to create new items using all of that junk around the commonwealth. Conveyer belts, scaffolding, logic gates, your very own vault – there is a lot for gamers to drool over. They also showed a brief look at Nuka-World, a larger add-on that includes an amusement park/all new region to explore. All of these add-on’s are a part of Fallout’s season pass.
They also announced new content coming to Fallout Shelter, Doom and The Elder Scrolls Online, VR developments (Fallout 4 is coming to the Vive next year), The Elder Scrolls: Legends coming to other mobile platforms and more. As always, we wanted to hit the major announcements for those who weren’t able to watch the show. We will be covering these other, smaller, games/reveals in due time. What I want to get across though is that Bethesda did a great job presenting their games. I wish there was an Evil Within 2 or a new Elder Scrolls. That said, I was mostly satisfied with new Quake and Prey titles!
