A few hours late to the party, let's take a look at what Bethesda bought to the table on their first E3 outing.
No video this time, seeing as I wasn't up at 3am this morning. So, onto the Good and Bad!
The Good
Fallout 4
The fact that it was revealed a week early seemingly hasn’t dampened the impact that Fallout 4 had at E3 this year. The gameplay demo looked as amazing as we hoped it would. Brilliant character creation, new Mass Effect style dialogue options, the building and settlements mechanics, and surprising amounts of humour; It looks like a huge step up from Fallout 3, a game that I personally lost interest in quickly. I also love that the game will kick off in the pre-apocalypse world, which is what I loved about the reveal trailer. And, of course, VATS is back, baby. What really took me back was the showcase of the attentive detail that the team behind this game have gone to and are seemingly continuing to do. Even the marketing element of the presentation was genuinely satisfying. It’s coming in November, it’s next-gen and PC only and you can drop 100 notes and get your own PipBoy. Sign me up.
Fallout: Shelter
Look past the iOS exclusivity, and you’ll see a passion project from the guys who made Fallout. It looks like a fun blend of a number of great management sim games, with an art style and humour that oozes character. I love the look of it and I hope greatly that it comes to Android in the near future.
Doom (Single player and SnapMap)
The game that kicked off the show and this years E3 did not disappoint. It may be a little too washed out to fans of the original, but what was shown was a run and bloody romp through the tight corridors of the mars base and the chaos of more open areas when you journey into Hell itself. The survival horror of Doom 3 is gone, and the silly over-the-top action of the originals and fan creations like Brutal Doom is back. And it is glorious. No word on the release date, but we’re all waiting with baited breath. And the added depth of the Snapmap multiplayer map creation, which will also feature on consoles, adds way more value to the game.
The Bad
Doom (Multiplayer)
I said Doom has value, but mainly if you’re into competitive gameplay. Sadly, Doom lacks a co-op campaign, but a multitude of competitive modes. If you’re into that sort of thing, Doom looks like frantic fun, but if you’d prefer to storm the games of hell with a handful of friends, you’ll have to wait for the likely sequel a few years down the line. It’s not a deal breaker as such, but it is very disappointing for people who wanted to tear up Hell in the company of other Doomguys.
Dishonoured 2 & Dishonoured: Definitive Edition
We heard it was coming, but even this was a poor showing. The CG trailer was fine, I guess, but the innovations it’s likely going to bring were just glazed over. We have a new female playable character, but you can still play as old protagonist Corvo, if you hate women. There are new powers, but with zero explanation. There’s a new setting, which we saw about ten seconds of. A poor showing all around. But fear not, you can just play the old game with added lens flares on your new system for another 40 notes! Fuck this remastering nonsense. Zenimax, I love you, but this was a crap showing.
The Elder Scrolls: Online
I don’t claim to know a lot about MMOs, but at least World of Warcraft were clear about their expansions. I have no idea about what’s going on with Elder Scrolls Online, nor do I care. Yawn.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends
And we know even less about this tablet exclusive collectible card game. No gameplay footage, no platform announcements, no show floor demo. It was kind of like they needed to kill a few minutes in order to secure an hour timeslot at the theatre. I’d rather have seen two more minutes of Fallout 4.
Keep visiting back after the conferences and visit our Twitter for as-it-happens commentary and humour on this years E3!
Keep visiting back after the conferences and visit our Twitter for as-it-happens commentary and humour on this years E3!
By Mike Owen
@ThatMikeOwen
The Editor in Chief of Foul Entertainment, Mike edits most of what you see on the site. He runs the production of our podcasts, and currently pens Pop Culture Club and The Death of Video Games.
@ThatMikeOwen
The Editor in Chief of Foul Entertainment, Mike edits most of what you see on the site. He runs the production of our podcasts, and currently pens Pop Culture Club and The Death of Video Games.