Bethesda Press Conference - Gi E32018 Recap #3

Bethesda's conference started off slow. I watched it ready to do a live tweet session, tapping my finger waiting for something to tweet. I looked at the clock, and 15 minutes in nothing had been announced yet. There was talking, some of it awkward. There was a lengthy rock show for the sake of promoting Rage 2. I was getting kind of bored...but then they made a joke that made me kind of forgive them...because it was hilarious. Bethesda had the unfortunate drawback of having some of their games, including Rage 2 leak early by Walmart. Fallout 76 was also leaked early. They got up and claimed that they were happy to show games "they announced early through their friends at Walmart Canada, best known for their ability to keep a secret" Not going to lie, having Rage 2 spoiled ahead of time may have made the opening for the event a little boring, but Bethesda's ability to make fun of themselves in the conference made up for it. Plus, they went out with quite a bang. I think Winner of E3 is going to be a close one between Xbox and Bethesda.

1. Rage 2 While it may have been leaked ahead of time, forcing Bethesda to reveal more early, Rage 2's E3 presence did what it needed to do. We already got the fun trailer, so now Bethesda was able to focus on the in-depth gameplay. I didn't really like Rage the original, and I didn't really care for Rage 2's announcement and found the first trailer exciting. BE3's indepth look changed my mind. I thought the game looked fun and alluring to a new player like me. It reminded me of a cross between Destiny and Far Cry. It looks awesome; check it out!

2. Elders Scrolls Legends

Do you like mobile card games? Do you like Elders Scrolls? Well good news for you. This card game is getting an overhaul and new look. If you hate card games, have no fear...theres far more mobile and more Elders Scrolls content for you to enjoy...

3. Elders Scrolls Online Summerset

Summerset, the latest expansion for Elders Scrolls Online is already out, but at E3 we get more of a look at Summerset content. ESO sure has come a long way since the beginning. With falling meteors, giant demons crashing from sky, and pet polar bears, Summerset looks to be very exciting addition to the game.

4. Doom 2...er we mean Eternal?

I literally was starting to type Doom 2 into twitter while watching the trailer begin. Then I saw Doom Eternal? There is always a gamble when abandoning traditional numeric progression. Your product can be mistaken for a DLC, expansion, or spin off. Have no fear though, Doom Eternal is a full sequel. We get a small glimpse of this game above! We loved the first Doom, especially on Switch, and we can't wait for this.

5. Quake Champions

Console gamers skip ahead. In a world of multi-platform games, and rampant console adoption with the Switch and Playstation breaking records, and the Xbox One X bring PC level power to the TV, Bethesda is making the odd decision to double down on a PC exclusive with Quake Champions. Theres really no reason this game can't play on Xbox or Playstation. It is an Esports Online Shooter. Good news for PC players is that as of the announcement players can try the game completely free!

6. Prey Mooncrash If the trailer feels like groundhogs days with aliens, than I think Bethesda got what they were trying to accomplish with Prey Mooncrash. Unlike Doom, this is an small expansion not a full sequel (See why numbers are important Bethesda?) Bethesda also announced a new VR experience for Prey as well where players get to play hide and seeks as mimics vs a human player.

7. Elders Scrolls Blades

I could almost hear hard core Elders Scrolls fans groaning in their seats when Bethesda showed that they are making a full RPG Elders Scrolls game on mobile. This was literally right after they just got done making fun of themselves for Skyrim. Bethesda made the joke that the real reason everyone was there was simply to see what they put Skyrim on next (which was hilarious by the way). They jokingly made it seam like they were releasing some old school talking based dungeons and dragons-esque build your own adventure for Amazon Alexa. This turned out to be just a joke. I did however really think they were going to reveal that Skyrim was coming to mobile. It is the only major platform left that doesn't have Skyrim. Instead we got Elders Scrolls Blades. An entirely new game that plays like an Elders Scrolls game. While at first many may be turned off by the mobile nature, have no fear, Bethesda has stated they want to bring THIS game to every platform possible, announcing support for VR. They briefly mentioned cross-platform multiplayer but did not detail how and with what; but that was still very exciting. They did show that the mobile version can play in both landscape and portrait which is pretty cool. We have to say for a mobile game it looked pretty great. Did we mention it is also FREE?

8. Fallout 76 We have seen Fallout 76 already at this point. Bethesda gave us a teaser before E3 and revealed a fun an nostalgic trailer at the Xbox Briefing. At the Bethesda Event, they should a full gameplay walkthrough. As someone who never really played much Fallout, and someone who was unimpressed by Fallout 4, I was pretty apathetic towards a new Fall Out game. The trailer does look amazing; however the walk through will win over even new players. This game is 4 times the size of Fallout 4, but more importantly it looks better. Also, Bethesda is adding online multiplayer elements to this game for the first time ever. They called it a "soft core survival game". They showed also a new nature which includes players having the ability to work together to collect launch codes to launch nuclear missiles on enemy parts of the map. I was sold.

9. Fallout Shelter

You may know Bethesda for Skyrim or Quake or Fallout 3/4, but did you know that one tiny mobile game has more players than all their other games combined? Thats right, more people have apparently played Fallout Shelter than all of Skyrim, ESO, and Fallout 3 or 4 COMBINED. That is insane. When I heard this, I cant really blame more and more Publishers bringing mobile content on stage. That stuff apparently is popular? I guess people like smart phones. Now being a free game (which may have helped) doesn't mean Shelter has made them the most money, but still being their most played game is an impressive feat. No wonder Bethesda made the announcement that Fallout Shelter is now available on Nintendo Switch and PS4.

10. One More Thing... STARFIELD

Starfield is their first new franchise in over 25 years. That's right, Bethesda is making a new game. At the end of the conference, Bethesda revealed their new project is something their are very excited about and are in a unique position to make. We know almost nothing about it from this teaser, genre, story, characters, none of it. We think, we think...it may have something to do with space. It was introduced as a game looking at Bethesda's future, which heavily implied Starfield is a ways away.

11. Actually...theres still

one.

more.

thing.

After showing the trailer for Starfield and a entertaining Event, Todd Howard got up and started to wrap things up. He said Starfield is the future, but then with a pause and a smirk, that they are looking to the "game after that". The crowd started to cheer. He smiled and said, "Yes it is the one you keeping asking about" The crowd started to cheer even more. We all knew. I was on my feet hand over mouth excited cheering and yelling as they revealed... well if you don't know, just leave.