Operation Backlog Completion 2025

E3 2018 Part 3: Bethesda’s New Games (and Numerous Jokes)

 Video games  7 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 102018
 

Table of Contents

EA
Microsoft
Bethesda
Devolver Digital
Square Enix
Limited Run Games
Ubisoft
PC Gaming
Sony
Nintendo
Nintendo Treehouse & Miscellaneous Announcements

Bethesda’s E3 2018 Press Conference

Bethesda is a big company, but I actually don’t play a lot of their games. Still, I’ve enjoyed some of their press conferences in the past. The Dishonored 2 trailers stand out as particularly cool.

Here we go!

There are always some leaks ahead of E3, and Bethesda referenced the Rage 2 leak by making a joke about it, which I enjoyed. Then… they had a brief concert? It was more my style of music than a lot of the typical E3 concerts, though, so I didn’t mind as much.

They showed Rage 2 gameplay next, although it’s not a game that particularly interests me.

They talked about Elder Scrolls Legends (which was also announced for Switch/PS4/Xbox) and then Elder Scrolls Online. I’m not a big MMORPG player, but I have to admit it was a cool trailer.

A new Doom game is coming called Doom Eternal. (Halo Infinite, Doom Eternal, where are these names coming from?)

Then they moved on to talk about Quake Champions, which players will be able to play for free this week.

I almost forgot Prey was a Bethesda game, but the Prey devs came out to talk about the new modes and content available in the new update, including the Prey: Mooncrash DLC (available now) and another new mode coming this summer. There was some oddball humor, but it wasn’t too bad.

Wolfenstein was next, with the announcement of Wolfenstein Youngblood, which stars the protagonist’s twin daughters and features optional co-op. (Unfortunately, all I can think of when I see the title is Linkara’s reviews of the Youngblood comics.)

VR is also big. VR is coming to the next Prey mode, and there is also a VR Wolfenstein game coming up called Wolfenstein Cyberpilot.

The humorous section next was hit-or-miss, but I enjoyed the “trailer” parodying how Skyrim is available on everything.

Update: Despite my assumption that it was a joke, the Skyrim Very Special Edition is real and free to enable for Alexa.

Then they moved on to Fallout 76, which of course is a huge game for them. It’s also… entirely online. It sounds like they’re trying to go for something different than the typical MMORPG, but it’s still not really my sort of thing.

(Fallout fans, how do you feel about this?)

There will also be a beta test, along with some more jokes about that.

Fallout Shelter is out on the PS4 and Switch tonight. I know the PS4 version was leaked, but I don’t think the Switch version was.

Next, they announced a new mobile game called The Elder Scrolls: Blades, which is basically a regular Elder Scrolls game, except for mobile devices… and eventually everything else, from what they said.

What do you think, Elder Scrolls fans?

After that, they announced that they’re working on an all-new single-player game in a new franchise: Starfield. The teaser trailer was short, but I’m intrigued.

Finally, they closed with a tiny teaser for The Elder Scrolls VI.

It was a good press conference. Not a lot of games I’m interested in personally, but it was entertaining and had some good trailers.

Next up, let’s see if Devolver Digital trolls us again or has a legitimate conference!

E3 2018 Part 2: Microsoft’s Exciting Show

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 102018
 

Table of Contents

EA
Microsoft
Bethesda
Devolver Digital
Square Enix
Limited Run Games
Ubisoft
PC Gaming
Sony
Nintendo
Nintendo Treehouse & Miscellaneous Announcements

Microsoft’s 2018 Press Conference

My relationship with Microsoft is an odd one. I had an Xbox 360 before I had any other consoles from that generation, but since then, my tastes have been more aligned with Sony and Nintendo. Still, sometimes Microsoft’s press conferences have some interesting stuff…

(Note: I wasn’t able to watch this one live, so apologies for the long wait.)

They started out with a familiar name: Halo! Yes, Halo is back as Halo Infinite. I’m not entirely sure why it doesn’t get a number, and the trailer didn’t seem like Halo at first, but I’m intrigued. I also need to eventually play Halo 5, or at least catch up on the story.

The next game excited me, because I recognized its cuteness as being something to do with Ori and the Blind Forest (which I still need to play; darn backlog). This sequel is called Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and it looks beautiful. Take a look.

FromSoftware’s mysterious game came next. And you know what? It wasn’t any of the things fans speculated it might be, because it’s a new IP! It’s called Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and it looks pretty cool.

At this point, I was surprised at how exciting the press conference was. Microsoft got off to a great start!

After a brief mention of Fallout 4, they showed a trailer for Fallout 76, which is a prequel. The Fallout series has never really been my thing, although I know it’s very popular.

When I saw Dontnod’s name come up for the next game, I wasn’t sure was to expect (since it wasn’t the game they recently announced)… but I definitely wasn’t expecting The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. This is a free game set in the Life is Strange universe, coming out on June 26. It follows a little boy who dreams about adventures, and while it looks lighthearted, I’m not sure I trust Dontnod. According to the official announcement, it will contain clues about Life is Strange 2’s story.

Next up was Crackdown 3, which I have little interest in, followed by the announcement that Nier: Automata is coming to the Xbox One. That’s cool news for Xbox players, although it was leaked earlier.

Metro: Exodus will be out on February 22, which surprised me a bit since I actually thought it was already out.

And then it was time for Kingdom Hearts III! I thought they might show a trailer at Microsoft’s conference, but I never expected that twist at the end.

It looks like Sea of Thieves is getting some interesting updates, maybe with new story content, although I was still reeling from the Kingdom Hearts III trailer.

The Battlefield V and Forza Horizon 4 trailers normally would have left me a bit disinterested, but this time they gave me time to compose myself as I continued to think about the Kingdom Hearts III trailer.

(Can you guess which trailer had the biggest impact on me so far?)

Microsoft has acquired some new studios, which led into a trailer for We Happy Few. This is another one I thought already came out, but I guess that was Early Access.

There was a trailer for PUBG’s War Mode, and then… the rumors were true! Tales of Vesperia is being remastered as the Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition, which includes all the content from the PS3 version!

Other news suggests it’s coming to PS4/Switch/Steam as well. Meanwhile, I still have an unplayed Xbox 360 copy. This is what my backlog does to me.

They showed The Division 2 next, followed by GamePass news and a montage of indie games, and then a new trailer for Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

I wasn’t thrilled by the skateboarding game Session, but the next game intrigued me until they revealed it to be the MMORPG Black Desert.

Then it was time for another highly-rumored title, Devil May Cry 5!

Devil May Cry is another one of those series I really need to get into someday, but I know a bit about the controversy. This looks like it’s going back to the original canon and ignoring the controversial reboot.

(Nero also looks weirdly like the Scalebound protagonist.)

A new DLC was announced for Cuphead, and then they moved on to a very adorable indie game. As I watched the trailer, I found myself thinking “Hey, what happened to that other cute game I wanted?” only to get to the title reveal and realize this was the same game. I didn’t miss it! I still want Tunic.

A bunch of manga heroes are coming together in Jump Force, which was then followed by Dying Light 2 and a new Battletoads game. After the announcement of Just Cause 4 (another popular series I’ve never been interested in), the Gears of War developer announced… Gears Pop?

Yes, as in Funko Pop. After this cartoonish Gears mobile game, they announced a turn-based strategy game called Gears Tactics, and then before any fans could explode, they revealed Gears 5. For the past couple of entries, the trailers have intrigued me. Someone let me know – is Gears worth playing for the stories?

Phil Spencer took the stage again to talk some more about the Xbox brand and their future plans, and then the press conference “glitched” a la Scarecrow’s takeover a few years ago, because it was time for some cyberpunk…

Yes, the long-awaited new trailer for CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077!

I didn’t really get a good sense for the game from this trailer, but it did do a fantastic job of presenting its cyberpunk world. It’s coming for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and more information is supposed to follow during E3.

Phew! That was quite a long, interesting press conference. Leagues above EA’s for sure, and much more exciting than I anticipated.

I think my biggest problem is that most of the games that interested me are multi-platform or at least coming to the PC. I still lack a compelling reason to get an Xbox One.

Anyway, share your thoughts on Microsoft’s conference in the comments and join me later for Bethesda and Devolver Digital!

E3 2018 Part 1: Schedule and EA

 Video games  7 Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 092018
 

Our E3 2018 coverage kicks off today with the first press conference! Here’s what we have to look forward to over the next few days.

E3 2018 Schedule

June 9
EA – 11 AM PDT / 2 PM EDT

June 10
Microsoft – 1 PM PDT / 4 PM EDT
Bethesda – 6:30 PM PDT / 9:30 PM EDT
Devolver Digital – 8 PM PDT / 11 PM EDT

June 11
Square Enix – 10 AM PDT / 1 PM EDT
Limited Run Games – 12 PM PDT / 3 PM EDT
Ubisoft – 1 PM PDT / 4 PM EDT
PC Gaming – 3 PM PDT / 6 PM EDT
Sony – 6 PM PDT / 9 PM EDT

June 12
Nintendo – 9 AM PDT / 12 PM EDT

The schedule looks a lot like it did last year, but with Square Enix returning and Limited Run Games having an E3 press conference for the first time. Of course, Nintendo will follow its presentation with Nintendo Treehouse gameplay.

Are you ready for E3 2018?

Table of Contents

EA
Microsoft
Bethesda
Devolver Digital
Square Enix
Limited Run Games
Ubisoft
PC Gaming
Sony
Nintendo
Nintendo Treehouse & Miscellaneous Announcements

EA’s 2018 Press Conference

EA has some games I love, but also several I’m not interested in, so my reactions to their press conferences vary. Let’s take a look…

EA started out with Battlefield V, which I have little interest in. They did get a big cheer when they announced it would have no loot boxes, and they’ll be adding a royal mode for the first time.

They moved onto FIFA 19 and the Champions League, which seems like a big deal if you’re into soccer games.

From there they decided to discuss cloud gaming, which they see as a major part of the future (maybe I was premature in assuming Capcom’s cloud gaming move in Japan was nothing to worry about) and a new subscription service called Origin Access Premier.

Despite them mentioning the “joys of subscription,” I’m not thrilled by the idea.

We learned the name of Respawn’s Star Wars game. Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order is set between Episode 3 and Episode 4, but they didn’t show anything from it, much to my disappointment.

Sadly for my KotOR hopes, the only other Star Wars game they discussed was Battlefront II, which is getting new features and modes in the future, including Clone Wars content.

But remember the cuteness of Unravel a few years ago? That magic returned with Unravel Two!

They actually showed quite a bit of Unravel Two, which surprised me at first, since it was getting more screen time than anything so far. Then they revealed it’s available right now. Unravel Two looks as cute as the original, and the co-op is optional, so I want to play it eventually.

Yes, I still need to play Unravel first.

Another indie game came next, Sea of Solitude. At first I didn’t quite get what it was about, aside from the themes of loneliness, but the trailer looks creepy and pretty cool.

(Actually, it looks like Sea of Solitude was first announced a couple years ago, but I missed it.)

After that, it was time for more sports, with NBA Live 19 and Madden NFL 19, followed by a long look at a mobile strategy game that turned out to be… Command & Conquer: Rivals. I’m not a Command & Conquer fan, but I didn’t expect it to go mobile.

They closed out with Anthem, and even though it’s from BioWare, I’m just not feeling it. Anthem got a gameplay demonstration, but so far it hasn’t captured me like their usual RPGs have.

As usual, EA’s press conference didn’t have a lot to excite me, but I’m on board with Unravel Two and Sea of Solitude. Come back tomorrow for more press conference reactions!

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