With Bethesda holding their first E3 press conference, it seems like a no brainer that an announcement for, the post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout 4 was obvious, but could we now know more about what we’ll see from it? Batman: Arkham Knight is only just starting to reveal its secrets, and Nintendo gets into the theme park rides business. Let’s Go!
The German site PC Games reported a rumor from a trusted source that Bethesda Softworks will not only announce Fallout 4 at E3, but will also show off a 20-30 minute behind closed doors gameplay demo of it. Back in February, the developer announced its plans for a press conference before E3 and told everyone that no official word about Fallout 4 was ready.
Our thought:
They’re ready now. E3 is one the biggest announcement shows for gaming and they wouldn’t hold an event to not announce the game, so it’s a sure bet we’ll see at least a trailer for Fallout 4. When it comes to a demo at the show; there’s an excellent chance not all attendees at E3 will go hands on with it. The odds of Fallout having been developed to near completion for 2015 under our collective noses is slim, a release date of Fall 2016/Spring 2017 would be the likely target. Thus, Fallout 4 wouldn’t be ready for anything other than a guided tour video.
Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts today announced plans to bring the world of Nintendo to life at Universal theme parks – creating spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds. The agreement brings two icons of entertainment together and represents a significant partnership for Nintendo as it expands the reach and popularity of its characters and intellectual property.
More details will be announced in the future, as the Nintendo and Universal creative teams work to create specific concepts.
Our thought:
Mario Karts, Metroid 3d the Ride, Donkey Kong churro stands… yes! For years, movies such as Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, and most recently The Fast and The Furious have received the ride treatment. Even beloved comic book characters are the theme of attractions all over the country. It was only a matter of time before gaming made a big splash at tourist attractions. Though it seems odd to take a medium that’s meant to be enjoyed in-home and adapt it in such a way that will make gamers want to get outside and enjoy the big glowing thing in the sky. In the end, it’s a tremendous counter-programing start to Disney utilizing LucasFilm and Marvel properties in their parks.
Just when you think Rocksteady and WB couldn’t possibly tease gamers any more than they’ve already have for Batman: Arkham Knight… boom a new video drops.
As we already knew, the iconic voice of the caped crusader, Kevin Conroy would be in the game to finish Rocksteady’s epic trilogy. Now we get a look at the cast of talented actors brining their voices to a magnanimous group of characters in the game. Returning alongside Conroy are Tara Strong as Harley Quinn, Troy Baker as Two-Face and Nolan North as Penguin. If that weren’t enough, the newcomers of the group include Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul) as James Gordon, Ashley Greene (Twilight) as Barbara Gordon, Scott Porter ( Hart of Dixie) as Nightwing, and John Noble (Fringe) as Scarecrow.
Rocksteady also cleared up one area of confusion over twitter. Last week, more details were given about the inclusions in the game’s season pass option. The image of Batgirl along with details of her getting story content for the game were met with questions of who was under the mask. As we’ve seen in the trailers, Oracle appears in her wheelchair and the Batgirl in the image looks like the Barbra version of the character. Game director, Sefton Hill confirmed that Barbra Gordon was indeed Batgirl. Now more rumors are flying about what content being based on an iconic DC Comics story
Our thought:
This is one of the best voice casts that’s been assembled for a game, period. Hearing Noble talk about the Scarecrow is simply chilling. With all the surprises and twists the game is sure to deliver, it’s building up to be a game of the year contender even before its release.
Though it was about 95% certain the Batgirl in the image was Barbra Gordon, now the confirmation opens up new possibilities about what her part of the story will be. Could we learn what events confined her to the wheelchair? Will there be some sort of recovery story in the main game that leads to her DLC? Most seem to believe we’ll see a prequel set around events of “the Killing Joke”, but that would mean Troy Baker would once again voice the Joker as Mark Hamill had officially retired from voicing the character. Baker a superbly talented actor would be great as the Joker again and would simply place the Batgirl DLC events between Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum.