Bethesda Upcoming Games Hands-On: PAX West 2017
During our coverage of PAX West2017, I got the chance to visit Bethesda’s Booth for some hands-on time with the upcoming Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. My session took place on a sub that was being boarded by Nazis which forces the player into action.
Since the title characters BJ Blazkowicz has just woken from a coma, he is required to use a wheelchair to get his fragile body around.
Fighting enemies with one hand on a gun and another on your chair, and using stairs and conveyor belts was a nice wrinkle and the enemies are as challenging and satisfying to dispatch as they were in the previous games.
The challenge was evident and the game offers multiple levels of difficulty for players too select from. I really loved the cut scenes that incorporated the main villains of the game.
What really stood out were the great graphics and gameplay as well as the challenge of the missions. They were at times dark and brutal but there was a rea sense of strong characters which bodes well for the final release of the game this October.
Next up was Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. The game is a stand-alone where players take on the role of Billie Lurk instead as she embarks on a new adventure inside the Dishonored universe. Players will note that she has powers like Corvo in the prior games, but there are some differences naturally. For example; players can take the identity of NPC characters they encounter as well as an ability to teleport to another point on the map.
This ability came in handy when trying to get around enclosed areas.
The gameplay seemed familiar yet fresh as I had to alternate navigating the map, collecting items, and attacking various enemies and guards that came along.
I am very interested to see what the new game offers as Dishonored 2 was one of my favorite games of 2016 and one that I loved playing from start to finish. The game has lofty standard to strive for, but based on my test play, it seems as if it is yet another winner in the series.
The final game we played was The Evil Within 2. The sequel to the smash hit is just as brutal and creepy as the original perhaps even more so. From the hanging bodies to the deadly saw-armed enemy that appears in the mirror, the game is a fantastic and terrifying mix of visuals and action. Using weapons ranging from pistols to stabbing implements we made our way through the map and encountered one challenge after another as the eerie supernatural setting made this one I really want to play more of.
I split my gameplay sessions with Joseph so he will be adding his take down the road in our next magazine and other outlets but we both agreed that Bethesda has three winners on their hands.
Images below from Neil Jordan
About the Author
gareth Syndicated movie & game critic, writer, author and frequent radio guest. His work has appeared in over 60 publications worldwide and he is the creator of the rising entertainment site and publication “Skewed and Reviewed”. He has three books of film, game reviews and interviews published and is a well-received and in demand speaker on the convention circuit. Gareth has appeared in movies and is a regular guest on a top-rated Seattle morning show. He has also appeared briefly in films such as “Prefountaine”, “Postal”. “Far Cry”. and others. Gareth is also an in-demand speaker at several conventions and has conducted popular panels for over two decades.
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