The weather on Sunday June 10 2018 was warm and sunny as in comparison to the New Jersey rain that I had left that previous morning when I boarded my flight bound for Los Angeles and this year’s Electronics and Entertainment Expo. The first stop on the E3 2018 reality tour was Bethesda, the aces of first person shooters. The event was part mixer, part press conference and the mixer had a pretty nice spread of food and drinks. You were able to get your hands on Nuka Cola as well as other Bethesda themed snacks. Before going into the mixer, Bethesda gave everyone a portable battery that looked like it came straight out of Prey and that was pretty cool! Anyway, when the presentation was about to begin, everyone was asked to take their seats and each seat had light-up wristbands on them, another parting gift from Bethesda with the #BE3 on it so you would always know how to use social media and include Bethesda.
The theme of the night was “create” and each game that was going to be presented would play off that theme of the night. The night started off with a bang with Andrew W.K. playing along the trailer for Rage 2, which I’m not usually a fan of live music, sounded great. As for Rage 2, the developers feel it fits in perfectly with Bethesda’s style since they invented the first person shooter as well as it being the most intense shooter you’ve ever played. You play the role of Walker, the last Ranger of the wasteland and from the looks of what was shown, there will be little argument that Rage 2 will be the most intense FPS you’ve played. There was a scene in the trailer that has Walker shooting enemies and they vaporize, how crazy is that? You’ll be able to travel the wastelands in 2019.
The Elder Scrolls was up next in the form of Legends and Online getting new variations. It was announced that Legends would be getting an overhaul/relaunch with new visuals. It would also release for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch after the presentation. The Elder Scrolls Online is inline for new DLC soon and it will be good for new players and veterans alike. You get to travel to the Island home of the High Elves and in another DLC, Wolf Hunter; you’ll get to hunt Werewolves. The new DLC for the Elder Scrolls isn’t just dungeon crawlers; it will also be gorgeous environments that you’ll have to traverse through.
Next up was Doom Eternal, the sequel to Doom. It was stated by the developers that the passion and love from the fans brings out the best in them and thus more out of the game. Doom Eternal will have quite a few more demons that Doom did as well as other situations for the players to handle. The game will be premiering at Quake-Con so keep an eye out for it there. Speaking of Quake, Quake Champions was next on the docket for the Bethesda presentation. It was revealed that Quake Champions would have eSport competitions during both Quake-Con and Dreamhack Winter this year. It was also revealed that starting after the presentation, the game would be available free-to-play for the week. Anyone who gets it this week will be able to keep it for free so anyone who has had cold feet about Quake Champions, now might be the time to jump! Prey was next and it was getting an update, complete with new modes. You’ll be able to play the game in survivor mode, new game plus, and a modified story mode. It is also getting DLC, Moon Crash that changes every time you play it. Every death will be important so you’ll have to play you’re best every time! There will be another mode/DLC for Prey, Typhon Hunter, coming out in the summer, that will be a 1 on 5 hide and seek game where the team that is the five are mimics and they can disguise themselves as anything. It was also revealed that Typhon Hunter, along with a new Wolfenstein game, Cyberpilot, would be available to play in virtual reality. Typhon Hunter VR will have a single player mode to play as well.
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus will be coming to Nintendo Switch on June 29th and it was also revealed that there is another Wolfenstein game in the works, starring BJ’s twin daughters. Wolfenstein: Young Blood takes place in 1980’s Paris where you’re tasked with taking down the Nazi forces but you’ll be playing solo or co-op with BJ’s daughters to do it. If this sounds right up your alley, then get ready for a 2019 release.
We finally got to the part of night that everyone was waiting for, Fallout 76. Not much was known about Fallout 76 other than the short trailer that was released but during the presentation, we got a lot more information. It’s going to be a prequel to all Fallout games and will be four times the size of Fallout 4. It takes place in West Virginia and you’re tasked with rebuilding America after you in a way, take your first steps out of Vault 76 on Reclamation Day. The detail of the world is fantastic, as it will have sixteen times the detail and six distinct regions. One of the interesting things shown was that folk lore from West Virginia was used to create some of the wild-life and other creatures you’ll have to deal with during your adventure. Another interesting point made was that Fallout 76 is entirely online. The game will have a solo mode that you can still perform quests/level up/perform the story.
You’ll be interacting with live people while you play and that adds to the creative factor of the game because you never know what’s going to happen next. One time, you might run into a player who wants to shoot you for stealing something or things you stole it. Another time, you might need to shoot that same guy so he doesn’t kill innocent people and someone you need something from. Progression goes with you in Fallout 76. If you die, you won’t lose all your progress and that’s something I like to hear. Another thing I liked hearing is that the servers will be 100% supported and not over populated for Fallout 76. Online games have issues with their servers and hopefully Fallout 76 doesn’t have that problem. Fallout 76 is going to release with a Power Armor Edition that’s like a collector’s edition that comes with a glow in the dark map, figures, and a power armor helmet, which is pretty badass! Another thing that is badass is the nuclear sites in the game where you’re allowed to do pretty much whatever you want with them. If you want to launch the nukes, get the codes from other players who might have them and then launch the nukes. That could cause a problem later as radiation could kill you or mutate monsters but you’ll have to worry about later. While we’re still on the Fallout subject, Fallout Shelter is having its 3-year anniversary and what better way to celebrate than by bringing it to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch for free right after the presentation.
Mobile games are all the rage right now and Bethesda is bringing out a good looking one, The Elder Scrolls: Blades. It’s a cross between a first person perspective and a role playing game with touch screen attacks. While playing you have the option to use range attacks as well as melee attacks in battle. You’ll also have the option of playing Blades in portrait mode. It will have dungeons and outdoor areas as well as other interesting areas too. The Abyss allows you to test how far you can go and the Arena is 1 VS 1 against other players and then there’s the town or the hub. The game will also have a town builder mode as well as give you the option to visit your friend’s towns. The Elder Scrolls Blades will be available for free this fall and you’ll be able to pre-order after the presentation.
When everything was all said and done, it was revealed that Bethesda had two more tricks up their sleeve, one game they haven’t worked on in about 20 years, Starfield, and one the masses have been asking about for years, The Elder Scrolls VI. Both games were teased at the end of presentation with “games are in the works” but the presentation was a rousing success for Bethesda. It will be interesting to see how an all-the-time online version of Fallout will work but only time will tell. Rage 2 looks really cool and Andrew W. K. killed it. After the presentation, there was another mixer where more Nuka Cola and other drinks/food was provided as well as Bethesda swag. I’d like to thank Bethesda for having me to their presentation and wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.