Daily Archives: June 12, 2016

E3 2016 – Bethesda Press Conference

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BETHESDA E3 2016:

Finishing off day zero of E3 2016 is the Bethesda press conference, like last year, holding their own solo event away from the convention itself. EA also did this earlier today with EA PLAY. Why these two studios have decided to do this is unclear. Is it so they get their own spotlight before the mass media coverage that starts tomorrow. Is it because they feel that E3 is a media only event, that gamers are included, so they host their own public shows. It’s unknown.

Either way, let s get to the show already.

QUAKE Champions

A quick teaser for QUAKE Champions is revealed and Pete Hines takes the stage.  Pete thanks the fans, welcomes us to the Bethesda E3 briefing and announces Quake Champions. What ID does best. Fast crazy FPS games. Gorgeous visuals, only for the PC without a frame rate cap.

Pete Hines also discusses the big hits from the last year:

  • Fallout Shelter
  • Elder Scrolls Online Console Launch
  • Fallout 4
  • Doom

We are then introduced to Elder Scrolls: Legends, a Strategy Card game in the Elder Scrolls Universe. Will have a single player and multiplayer story, available across all platforms.

Fallout 4 Additions and Fallout Shelter

Next up is the Bethesda Game Studio where we are introduced to the new additions coming to Fallout 4: Contraption Workshop, Vault-tec Workshop, and Nuka-World.

As well, a big new update is coming to Fallout Shelter, which includes new locations, new enemies, update combat system, new characters and quests. As well, it’s coming to PC.

Skyrim Remastered

Coming out October 28th, a remastered edition of Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Also, Skyrim mods coming to consoles.

PREY

Raphael Colantonio from Arkane Studios takes the stage and quickly ackowledges the work that half of Arkane Studios is eorking on: Dishonored 2. But his team has been working on PREY.

A reboot of the franchise that never saw its sequel. A first person psychological sci-fi thriller that takes place on  a space station overrun by aliens. You’ll need your wits, weapons and mind-bending abilities to play this game. Out next year, more info at Quakecon later this year.

DOOM

New updates coming to DOOM are announced. More free updates coming to Doom Snapmap, new construction modules, new props, logic options, and the ability to make campaign-like stories that include the weapon wheel.

Two new team modes are coming to Doom Multiplayer soon. Later in the summer 3 new free-for-all modes will be released, and then later in the year, the first batch of Premium DLC will drop, including new maps, new playable demon, new guns, armour, and equipment.

A DOOM demo is also available now for free, and includes the fist level. For a limited time.

Elder Scrolls Online

Celebrating the One Year Anniversary of ESO released on consoles, and now has 7 million players online. A quick highlight package is shown, and the the Dark Brotherhood DLC expansion is announced for console. Also “One Tamriel” which automatically levels the game for all players, and drops the restriction barriers for all zones, so you can play with your party, no matter what level your character is. Never been done in an MMO before.

Bethesda VR

The team quickly announces that they are working on VR for their games: DOOM and Fallout 4, and is available to try on the game floor. Will be available on the VIVE Platform for the PC

Dishonored 2

The presentation wraps p with a huge chunk dedicated to Dishonored 2 from Arkane Studios, and Harvey Smith takes the stage. In Dishorored 2, like its predecessor, we play a supernatural assassin in a steampunk city. A lot of love has been put into the new location with a new custom game engine: The Void Engine, which brings a lot of atmospheric enrichment to the world.

D2 takes place 15 years after the events of the first game and gives the player the choice of playing either character: Emily Kaldwin, or her father from the first game, Corvo Attano. Both have their own unique set of abilities. Once you pick, you can’t switch.

First level that is shown is the Dust Districts that has random weather that can assist with assassinations as it effect visibility. The player has the ability to join different factions or work alone and there is a lot more work done to make the game more vertical. We are shown Emily’s new Mesmerize talent, which distracts enemies and holds them in place and will allow you pass unseen. The Far-Reach talent is also shown, with allows the player to reach distant ledges, as well as grab enemies. The Domino talent is showcased. This talent allows you to tag multiple enemies, and whatever happens to one,will simultaneously effect them all. Finally the Shadow-Walk ability turns you into a silent creepy shadow that crawls along the floor and can take out enemies unseen.

The biggest gameplay addition is the Timepiece. This device allows you to see the past through a lens in the level or area you are in. You can also jump into the past, interact with the enemies, and jump back.

Dishonored 2 will be available on the Xbox 1, PS$, and PC November 11, and if you pre-order any of the digital editions, you get the Definitive Edition of Dishonored 1 for free.

All the global Bethesda teams are shown on screen waving. Thank you to the fans. Goodnight.

Definitely a good way to wrap up the night. Bethesda’s conference I think was stronger than EA’s, but I think EA’s was hurt by some early leaks. I am most excited for Dishonored 2 and the newly rebooted PREY. A strong conference that hit all the key points, and was over just as quick.

I’m excited for the free copy of Dishonored 1 when pre-ordering 2. I’ve always wanted to replay D1, but couldn’t bring myself to buy it again on the latest-gen. Now I don’t need to.

See you tomorrow with E3 Day 1.

-iRogan

 

 

 

E3 2016 – Electronic Arts Press Conference

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ELECTRONIC ARTS E3 2016:

Starting of E3 first – well, before E3 officially begins – EA is jump starting the festivities by hosting their own event: EA PLAY, at their own venue in Los Angeles, and also hosting an event simultaneously in London. Using this simul-event to announce their upcoming annual sports games like Madden and FIFA, discuss Star Wars, and Battlefield 1.

TITANFALL 2

After kicking off the show, Vince Zampella from Respawn Entertainment is introduced and happily acknowledges the leak from earlier in the morning: Titanfall 2 Story Mode:

Telling the tale of the connection between Pilot and Titan. They also showed off a very exciting Multiplayer trailer highlighting some of the new Titans and their abilities, as well as the new Pilot abilities.

Next up, we move over to the London crown where Peter Moore discusses Madden 2017, and EA’s focus on competitive gaming, and ESports. They want all players to feel like pro players with multiple tiers of competitive gaming events as well as Premiere and Major competitive global events. They finish that segment off with a video package of the best Madden players and the Madden major event, and the top 8 players are brought to the stage to get their spotlight.

MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA

Like last year, not a lot of news, but they do show a behind the scenes look at the making of this next huge arc in the story. No new gameplay, but they’re promising bigger worlds and a bigger story. And the game is now on the Frostbite engine. Frostbite was the big story of the day as FIFA 17 is also now on the Frostbite engine.

FIFA 17

The next version of the largest sports franchise in the world, FIFA, now on Frostbite also has a new mode called The Journey, which is a single player career mode where you play as a young up and coming star, Alex Hunter, and work your way up through the ranks to premiere, and deal with all the club, coaches, management, and fame along the way.

Peter Moore also announces that Premiere Managers will also play  part in the upcoming game.

EA Originals

Patrick Soderlund is back on stage in LA and reminds us about last year where we saw Unravel. Soderlund announces EA Originals, which is the studio’s focus on working with smaller innovative studios and helping them bringing their ideas to light. EA Originals first game is called FE, from a Swedish Studio call Zoink.

A very pretty, unique exploration title which boasts that no helpful hints will be given to the player. They are just asked to explore and interact with the forest and the creatures.

STAR WARS

Next up, Jade Raymond hits the stage and talks about everything Star Wars, and a look ahead at what the many studios under EA are working on. No real gameplay, but a reminder that teams at DICE are working on Battlefront, and Visceral is working on a title coming out in 2018, and even Respawn Entertainment is working on a Star Wars title.

BATTLEFIELD 1

Last up in today’s press conference is Battlefield 1.

A very intense gameplay trailer is shown. They announce that it’ll be playable on the floor this week at their event, and remind us that it has horses, and trench wars, and airships, and tanks, and 64 player online combat.

Overall, EA‘s showing was just OK. No surprises. Nothing new was announced. The Titanfall 2 game has me the most excited, but that had already been announced, as well as Battlefield 1. The gameplay for Titanfall 2 has me excited, as well as the release expected later this year. Battlefield 1 was announced a few weeks ago as well, so all they showed was a more robust gameplay trailer which didn’t show and real gameplay. But they did have a 1 hour gameplay reveal following the show and available on the demo floor. Star Wars news left us actually wanting something tangible, as well as the nothing-to-show Mass Effect talk. The simultaneous broadcast in both LA and London was a unique idea.

Overall, it left me wanting more.

Hopefully Bethesda has something more in store. On at 7pm later tonight.

-iRogan