Being a recent newcomer to the press conferences of E3, having started just last year, publisher Bethesda is still continuing forward with their own stage for announcements and was the first press conference of E3 which took place last Sunday evening at the LA Hangar.
Having avoided early leaks which seemed to have hit nearly every other company, they kicked off the show with a DOS command prompt which listed out a history of their games before finally making the grand reveal — Quake Champions. A new game in the beloved FPS franchise, it seems to pack as much action and intensity as previous games, and most notably Quake III Arena. There wasn’t much information provided as a detailed look will be given at the company’s annual QuakeCon event. In any case, it seems it will definitely fulfill the void of intense multiplayer FPS games for fans of the series.
Next up the conference was focused on The Elder Scrolls: Legends, a collectible card game which will be releasing this year. The game seems similar to the likes of titles like Hearthstone, but will feature a single-player story campaign, which will differentiate it a bit from the competition out there. Sadly it’s not Elder Scrolls VI as fans may have hoped, but maybe it will hold them off until then.
That wasn’t the only title Elder Scrolls fans might be excited about, as there was also a reveal of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, a remaster of the original game coming to PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. With refreshed textures, lighting effects, and support for mods on consoles, it will be the definitive version of the game and provide more hours of exploring for fans.
Reviving old franchises is something that Bethesda love to do, and another one that was brought back to life was Prey. A sci-fi horror mash-up, your character is a human experiment living on a space station. However something goes terribly wrong and the station is overrun by aliens, which will leave you trying to survive using special powers.
Bethesda is also stepping into the VR segment, with an announcement of a playable E3 demo of Doom, as well as a release of a VR version of Fallout 4 for the HTC Vice. It’s great to see the companies are willing to try to get their hands wet in VR, even at this early stage.
Closing off the show we got a gameplay look at Dishonored 2, the stealth-focused FPS from Arkane Studios. The sequel provides you a multitude of ways to complete the game; whether you want to be a loud boisterous assassin, a silent killer, or a pacifist, you’ll be able to complete the game’s missions in any way you’d like. You will have many unique powers at your disposal to strategize and take out enemies, or avoid having them notice you.
After the press conference, Bethesda opened up another portion of the venue, which they called BE3Plus, and it did feel like a mini E3. Along with The Elder Scrolls: Legends and a multiplayer Doom setup, there were demo stations for Doom and Fallout 4 in VR, with long lines for each throughout the event. Caricature artists were on hand to put you into an outfit from your favorite series, and costume and weapon replicas from Dishonored 2 were on display. The evening was capped off with a performance from Blink-182, who played a lengthy set to entertain the crowd.
It seems that Bethesda still has a good reason to put on their conference, as they are putting out quality titles each year and don’t seem to be slowing down. While they seem to be distancing themselves from the actual E3 show a bit, it will be interesting if things change next year.
