From the ConNewRecaps, Reports & Reviews

E3 2018 – Xbox and Bethesda Recap


By Mario Wario

The Microsoft E3 press conference, which was held in Los Angeles, had 50 games shown at this event, which included 18 exclusives and 15 world premieres.

The conference began with the debut of Halo Infinite, thanks to a ‘peaceful’ looking trailer (viewable above) that shows Master Chief without his helmet on, but (as always) his face was not fully revealed. This 343 Industries game will be powered by the Slipspace Engine, yet not much was said after that. As such, no release date was posted, but 343 did post some new information on Twitter, which fans can check out by clicking here.

Moving right along, Phil Spencer (the head of Xbox) had the stage to himself, and basically, it was buffet time. The other major ‘dishes’ were Bethesda’s Fallout 76, Forza Horizon 4 (October 2nd), Crackdown 3 (February 2019), Gears 5 (2019), Devil May Cry 5 (spring 2019), Kingdom Hearts IIIThe Division 2, and Cyperpunk 2077 (no release date yet). A Gears Funko Pop mobile game called Gears Pop! (2019) is happening (which I will play on day one, due to being a Funko Pop!/Gears fan), as well as Gear Tactics for the PC, which will be a turn-based strategy game. Sadly, no release date was given for this new tactical game, so stay tuned.

With Fallout 76, the game will be set in West Virginia and it will be four times the size of Fallout 4‘s main world. As for a release date, look for that in the Bethesda press conference. (More on that later!)

Kingdom Hearts III is invading the Frozen world, and hitting late Saturday night, the gaming community got word of the game’s release date: January 29, 2019! Look for it on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Bandai Namco presented a new game called Jump Force (2019), which will be a new crossover fighting game that will use characters from certain anime shows, such as Dragon Ball and Naruto. Now as a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise, this game definitely has my full attention; I cannot wait to see more in the coming months. I do want to see some actual gameplay footage soon, rather than a cinematic trailer. (And speaking of which, Gamespot tweeted out the first actual gameplay trailer of Jump Force late last night.)

Ubisoft’s The Division 2 invaded the press conference with one weapon of choice: gameplay footage that showed a devastated Washington, D.C. map, with a crashed Air Force One in the background. Instead of the winter theme like in the previous game, summer is in full swing, so say goodbye to the cold! The game will launch on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 15, 2019.

Before leaving the Xbox topic, one major piece of news was announced: Microsoft has acquired four studios: Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, Playground Games, and Compulsion Games. Lastly, a new studio has been created and its name is The Initiative.

In general, it’s nice to see that Microsoft is focusing on the future so heavily, thanks to that five studios deal. As for the conference itself, it was a good one. Although the games presented during the conference were great, most will be playable on the PlayStation 4. Hopefully those five studios mentioned above will change that notion soon.

Bethesda, meanwhile, ended the day with its press conference. It began with Andrew WK performing on-stage; the games were shown at long last. The games were Fallout 76, Rage 2 (spring 2019), Doom Eternal, The Edler Scrolls: Blades (fall 2018) and Legends (console version later 2018), Wolfenstein Youngbloods (2019), as well as a few VR games and Prey DLC being announced. By the way, a new IP called Starfield is being made and (finally!) The Elder Scrolls 6 is officially happening!

The major focus of today’s event was Fallout 76. The game is multiplayer-heavy, so gamers will be able to team up with their friends online, yet many can play it solo. Gamers can also build houses as well as go after some nuclear codes while fighting off mutated creatures/people.

As for the game’s release date, you can play the game on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on November 14. Until then, you can join the beta by pre-ordering the game. (The Fallout 76 trailer is viewable below.)

Overall, as with the Microsoft press conference, this one was good as well, although the Andrew WK part didn’t work for me as it delayed the showing of of the games. The Fallout 76 presentation was superb, thanks to the detail machine called Bethesda going into overdrive.

And finally, fans can expect more news to drop soon, since the E3 is about to begin officially this Tuesday! I know I am looking forward to this year’s E3!

Want to talk about about E3? Then head over to the FoCC forum by clicking HERE to join on the fun. Until next time, keep on playing your favorite video games and please follow the blog, as I will be covering E3 for the blog!

Mario Wario

Scott is a Spidey/Funko/video game fanatic, yet going to a pop culture convention is always his goal. Yes, he is also a fan of Mario and Wario. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottyTheWise.