A time when the game industry either has to put up or shut up. An announcement here can literally make or break your Christmas.
As with most conventions, most of the real news happens well before the doors to the show are flung open. So it was with Bethesda who chose to come out swinging on Sunday with blockbuster announcements from 2 cherished franchises, DOOM and FALLOUT.
Oh yeah and some stuff about a Dishonored sequel...
This year I decided I would suffer...err...watch the E3 Bethesda showcase livestream on TWITCH Sunday night. The game publisher and developer (among others in its portfolio including Id) was trotting out its big guns with announcements of upcoming titles like Doom, Battlecry, Dishonored 2 and Fallout 4
So let's take these in order.
The original First Person Shooter, Doom, has gotten a makeover and instead of yet another sequel, we get a brand new game with over the top gore, melee combat and a "snap together" level creator that allows players to create any hellish environment they're twisted little minds can come up with. Far from the pixelated environs of our youth, this new DOOM is guaranteed to give the squeamish nightmares.
Doom also includes multiplayer but from what I saw, it seemed more like Unreal Tournament than a DOOM game. It appears the developers are going to leave it up to players and the level creator to make multiplayer more interesting. Of course that also leaves open the possibility of creating custom 1 to 4 player co-op games as well. Still, DOOM has always been more about survival than objectives so don't look for much depth beyond the attention to detail given to the dismembered bodies lying about.
DOOM is due out in the Spring of 2016.
DISHONORED 2:
Dishonored, the stealth-action-adventure game franchise is getting a sequel. This time we go a bit deeper into the game's story as we're given the choice to play as either the original protagonist Corvo Attano or Emily Kaldwin, Corvo's daughter. Each has their own unique abilities but ultimately the same mission. That being, to get ol' Emily back on the throne. The game's all about assassination but the devs promise you can win without killing anyone.
Uhh, why would I do that? I mean, doesn't that kind of take the fun out of it?
Bah!
I don't really care. I don't get that wrapped up in game lore. It's basically one of those pretty games where you spend most of your time either sneaking up on people or avoiding them. There are elements of both RPG and FPS genres (the Adventure and Action bit) but for the most part you're going to try to quietly dispose of disagreeable people in interesting ways while traipsing about a late 19th Century English landscape.
The story was definitely more compelling than DOOM, however. Then again, what isn't.
Also announced was the "Dishonored: Definitive Edition" Which is basically the original 2012 game with all accompanying DLC. In other words a GOTY edition.
Dishonored 2 is due out in the Spring of 2016.
BATTLECRY
Not impressed so I'll be short...
It looks like some kind of team based Mortal Kombat game using RPG characters instead of the usual Asian stereotypes. Imagine hand to hand combat with....a Ranger? (You know those guys with the bows and arrows)
Pass.
FALLOUT 4
Perhaps no game since the last Call of Duty, whatever that was, has had more hype than the upcoming Fallout 4. One can find themselves the target of angry commentary for daring to even suggest that Fallout 3 wasn't the greatest thing since....DOOM.
In short, Fallout faithful are at least as rabid as Half Life fans. I'll say one thing for them, at least they're excited over an actual game! Still, expect retribution should you defile the series good name with complaints of a stupid AI, endless grinding battles and repetitive objectives.
But wait, this is a Bethesda game...
Oh right! What was I thinking! Yes of course! That's how ALL Bethesda games are. Overly ambitious, maddening, grind fests with endless trudging about like all those Hobbit movies.
At least they always seem to make the scenery interesting to look at. In fact I've often found the environments of more interest than the gameplay. So bring your camera!
And so it will be with Fallout 4 which looks great, has a very open world concept where you not only roam around the irradiated wastelands but can actually build stuff and have a pet dog!
Yeah, I know there was a dog in Fallout 3 but this one is a direct rip-off of Call of Duty's "Riley." What's with German Shepherds anyway? Don't they know how to draw any other kind of dog?
In any case, your faithful companion accepts commands and will help defend you against the bad guys. Of course...
By the way, in concert with Fallout 4's announcement came the reveal of a companion mobile game called Fallout Shelter currently free in Apple's app store. In it you basically construct your own vault and keep its occupants happy. At present it's only available for IOS (Apple) devices.
Fallout 4 is due out on November 10th.
Ok, so now that the news is over I've got to come clean...
I'm suspicious of Fallout 4...
I'm always suspicious of games that have so much kitsch and swag thrown around when they're announced.
Remember my hype formula from a while back? It's easy and goes like this.
The more hype the worse the game.
For example, if you're dumb enough...err...I mean one of the privileged few to pay $120 for the "Special Edition" of Fallout 4 you'll get a real life (kinda) Pip Boy wrist device that works in concert with your Iphone.
To top it all off, attendees of Bethesda's press conference were given special vinyl figurine sets featuring characters from the Fallout, Dishonored and Doom games.
If you're pushing the promotion button that hard you've got to be hiding something. It's a tactic of misdirection and I predict, as always, that none of these games will live up to hype.
Which means, once again, I suggest you don't pre-order any of them.
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