Friday, June 16, 2017

(E3 2017 Coverage Finale) A Bethesda, Ubisoft and Sony E3 Wrap Up


We’re at the finishing line of E3, actually as you’re reading this E3 is closing doors for the year and boy has it been a good year. Last year seemed to be awfully empty but we’re stepping into a new era of Video Games and this year is the beginning. Nintendo blew the doors off last Tuesday which is why my Wednesday blog was dedicated to that. You can go read that here: http://zakentertainment.blogspot.com/2017/06/finished-afterthought-heel-socks-and-nintendo-e3-2017.html. However I have not yet covered Bethesda, PC, Sony, Square Enix and Ubisoft despite those coming before Nintendo’s presentation. So today I’ll be covering as much as I can from those guys in hopes I can squeeze it all into one blog without it being massive. (Wednesday’s was a huge blog but it had multiple topics so it wasn’t that bad.)


Bethesda held their Bethesdaland event last Sunday night heading into Monday morning, which is why I wasn’t able to squeeze it into Monday’s blog, I had already finished writing the blog by then and I was asleep throughout the Bethesda Event, whoops. Anyway that doesn’t mean Bethesda was a snooze by any means no they announced some pretty big things, mostly aiming towards Bethesda’s trek into the world of Virtual Reality which is slowly becoming a normal method of play in the Video Game industry. Bethesda has finally unveiled some of their games they’re bringing to that Virtual Reality table. Bethesda announced a Virtual Reality version of the 2016 released Doom will be named Doom VFR (Should I even ask what that means?) and it looks like it’ll be coming with a new dash/teleport mechanic. Seems a dream come true for Doom fans. You can check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYOasB6aI_A. I can not find a release date but you’ll be able to play Doom VR on Playstation 4’s Virtual Reality system as well as the popular PC Virtual Reality system, Vive!

Also coming to the Virtual Reality table is Fallout 4 VR! Fallout 4 was a pretty incredible game on it’s own but it seems like the kind of game that would be absolutely mind blowing in Virtual Reality. No date on this as well but it’s only announced for the Vive so far.

That’s it for the Virtual Reality from Bethesda but they have a few more games (As well as some DLC) up their sleeve. First off Wolfenstein which they rebooted from the 1992 version in 2014 with Wolfenstein The New Order will be receiving a sequel in the form of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus! You can check out the trailer for that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUFryhE5rwA. This game will be releasing on October 27th, 2017!

The Elder Scrolls Legends was announced as a mobile game coming to Android phones. This game has been out on PC and IOS for a while and it’s apparently a Free-to-Play card game. This will be releasing sometime later this year.

The Evil Within 2 has been announced coming from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikamii! It’ll be launching on Friday, October 13th, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Not much was actually revealed but you can watch the cinematic trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7JbFBq4NAo.


Finally Bethesda showed off some new features that will be available in the Nintendo Switch version of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. Seems Skyrim keeps coming back fighting and with it releasing on the Nintendo Switch it’s about to go portable! You can now take Skyrim with you wherever you go, rest in peace social life. With this Nintendo version Skyrim will feature some Nintendo, more to the point, Legend of Zelda related items! Basically you can use the Master Sword in the game and dress up as Link from Breath of the Wild which will be unlocked via the Breath of the Wild Amiibo figures. I’m assuming it’ll be possible to get these via other means. Oh and apparently this game will support the motion control option within your Joy-Con controllers which will enable you to use Motion Control to do things like shoot your bow and pick locks, pretty awesome. All the current Skyrim expansions will be included and as I said in the Nintendo presentation coverage this version will be releasing this fall but no concrete date is out as of now.

Aside from some new Dishonored 2 DLC that’s about it for Bethesdaland for this year’s E3. Not sure how much of this I’m interested in I’m mostly looking forward to the Switch version of Skyrim. Fallout 4 VR also seems pretty incredible too. You can check out more at Bethesda's Youtube Channel!

Moving on from Bethesdaland we’re now diving into the next conferences that aired on Monday, Ubisoft and Sony!


Ubisoft kicked things off with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle which I discussed last Wednesday during my Nintendo Coverage.  This game is definitely going to be a wacky ride and apparently some of the Rabbids are dressed up as Mario characters, oh boy. The Princess Peach rabid also likes to take selfies, that’s a thing now. This game will be releasing for the Nintendo Switch August 29th, 2017.

Up next they released a new trailer for Assassin’s Creed Origins which was announced during Microsoft’s conference. Seems this time in the Assassin’s Creed storyline (For those coming here from my Monday blog yes I’ve been reading up on the storyline you don’t have to shoot me now.) they’re going back to the Origins of the Brotherhood. During the event they showed off some gameplay for this Open-World Adventure as well. You’ll be able to pick this game up on October 27th for the PS4, PC and Xbox One. They could've put this on the Nintendo Switch easily so it’s a shame they aren’t taking advantage of that.

The Crew, Ubisoft’s newest motorsports racing game which released in 2014 will be receiving a sequel in The Crew 2. Through the Pre-Alpha footage we get to see some gameplay and it seems they’ve redesigned the game heavily from it’s predecessor and apparently you can race powerboats and airplanes now which might add some cool new methods of play for those not interested in racing cars but the way they go about this makes it seem a little too much like Sonic and Sega All Stars Transformed with the car actually transforming into the plane/boat. Though unlike All Stars it seems you’re able to transform on the fly no matter where you are in the track, though I assume you wouldn’t want to transform into a boat while on the road, but a flying boat would be pretty cool, haha. The Crew 2 releases early 2018 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One.

South Park is receiving a new game in South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Which was actually shown off a year ago at GamesCon I believe.) and it seems like they’re poking fun at Captain America Civil War by having a South Park Civil War between the kids who are dressed up as heroes. (Remember those Episodes? Yeah.) There’s also a Charles Xavier reference as well. This game is releasing October 17 for PC, Xbox One and PS4.

Now we’re diving into some new territories, Ubisoft is actually bringing some new IPs to the table and this next one is fueling my recent Pirates craze. Ubisoft unveiled Skull and Bones which is a multiplayer Pirates Naval Battle game set in the Pirate Era of 1721. I actually just realized Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag had some naval battling in it so perhaps this is in response to those who enjoyed that. (Remind me to somehow get a hold of all the Assassin Creed games before there ends up being too many for me to catch up with.) This game looks incredible actually especially being multiplayer and might warrant it’s own blog later on but for now you can check out some gameplay as well as trailers on Ubisoft’s Youtube channel. This game will release sometime 2018.

Ubisoft is trekking into Virtual Reality again with the game Transference (With Elijah Wood’s help.) This game will be releasing spring 2018.

You all know about Splinter Cell: Blacklist, right? Well it’s developer after wrapping production has dove into a new game and it’s called Starlink: Battle For Atlas. I’ve been having a space craze as of late and despite flops like No Man’s Sky I’ve been eager for some more space in my Video Games. (Use bigger memory carts people.) Did not know what to expect from this but apparently it’s going to include a toy-to-life mechanic which has been present in the Video Game industry with Skylanders, Lego Universe and Disney Infinity (R.I.P.) This game will utilize toy ships in this pretty cool looking space combat game. You’ll be able to switch weapons/ship parts (As well as pilot characters apparently.) out on the physical toy and it’ll apply the changes in game instantly. Unlike Skylanders it looks like this game will utilize the scanner built into your controller.  (I didn’t actually know the Xbox One controller had one built in.) This game will be releasing for the Xbox One, PS4 and the Nintendo Switch. (Finally Ubisoft giving Nintendo some love.) Can’t wait to see where this game goes but it might end up emptying your wallet. It’s supposed to be releasing Fall 2018.

Man we’re not done with Ubisoft yet, they’re unleashing so much this year. Before I continue I’ll just drop that a new Just Dance, per tradition will be releasing this October for every platform imaginable, even the old Wii… Apparently.

Next up, this will be a big reveal for you guys, Far Cry 5 is finally being unveiled with some new gameplay. You can check that out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX_h8rneDxU. Far Cry 5 will be releasing February 27th, 2018. (Not much this year, huh?)

Finally Ubisoft’s conference wraps with a big reveal for a game that has pretty much dropped off grid for years now. Beyond Good & Evil 2 still exists! Yes they finally premiered a cinematic trailer for this game after so many years of no news. I mean the game was announced way back in 2008 and the original Beyond Good & Evil released back in 2003 so it’s been quite a long time. This game is actually going to be a prequel to the original game taking place before the protagonist of the original game (Jade) was born. Just looking at this game compared with the original game it’s amazing how far its come. Only thing is, what's up with the super vulgarity? I’m sure the original game wasn’t this vulgar and while I have nothing against adult humor, the original Beyond Good and Evil had it just as much but really? The F Bombs were complete overkill and unnecessary. Hope this isn’t constant throughout the entire game because this could end up being an incredible game otherwise. I’m assuming it will be open world, action-adventure video game like it’s predecessor. Can’t wait to hear more news regarding this but I really hope the vulgarity isn’t super prominent within this game, because as much as I am an adult what some people call adult humor I call unnecessary.

That’s it for Ubisoft (You can see more at their Youtube Channel) and while this blog is running long now I think we’re forgetting someone, who you ask? Well I don’t know. Some new company. Just kidding it’s Sony. Not a huge amount was shown off for Sony but there is one game that definitely caught my eye.

First up however Uncharted: Lost Legacy the next chapter in the Uncharted series has a new trailer released. Like Assassin’s Creed the Uncharted series is another franchise I’ve heard about, been interested in, but never played, which is a shame because the uncharted games are great treasure hunting, adventure games. This game will be out August 22nd for Playstation 4.


Horizon: Zero Dawn is getting an expansion! This open world game rivaled both Nier: Automata and Zelda Breath of the Wild as they all came out around the same time and share some similar gameplay. While I still hear people talking about Nier and Zelda I haven’t heard much of this game since it’s release despite it looking like a pretty great game. It’s nice they’re keeping it alive with some expansions similar to Breath of the Wild receiving expansions.  This expansion dubbed “The Frozen Wilds” will release later on this year.

Announced a while ago we got more information and a new trailer of At Days Gone by a stealthy zombie game. That’ll be releasing for PS4 December 29th, 2017.

Seems like lately Monster Hunter has favored Nintendo as of late but with the announcement of Monster Hunter World it seems Nintendo’s getting passed over. (Why I have no idea.) There’s a new gameplay trailer released. This game comes out Early 2018 for PS4 and Xbox One while the PC version a later date and a Nintendo Switch release nowhere in sight. I’m not really interested in Monster Hunter but that’s just my two cents.

Remember Shadow Of The Colossus? This game came out all the way back in 2005 as an action-adventure as you take down the colossi. Well get ready to experience all that again in HD on your Playstation 4! Shadow Of The Colossus is being remade in all it’s glory and it looks pretty awesome. You can check out the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdZQ98mWeto. This remake will be releasing 2018.

Sony also announced some PSVR games to add to their library one of them including Skyrim (Skyrim strikes again.) which might work out in Virtual Reality perfectly, though I’m still more interested in the Switch version.

Oh yeah remember that God of War sequel they announced last year? Well bearded Kratos returns in a new trailer for this game. This game looks like it’s based off Norse Mythology this time around acting as sort of a soft reboot of the franchise as previously it was based on Greek Mythology. Gameplay seems to of changed almost drastically from the previous installment either, putting the camera over Kratos’ shoulder instead of being a distant fixed camera. Will this change make the gameplay more stiff? I can’t say right now. This game is coming early 2016 and the biggest question will be answered, where did Kratos get this sweet ass beard from?

They announced a game called Detroit: Become Human which is apparently about robots taking over humanity or at least revolting against the asshole corporate guys in the game.  May and you’re playing as the robots, which is pretty interesting. I’m assuming this game will play similarly to Heavy Rain, which is fueled even more by the fact David Cage is a part of this game, the writer for Heavy Rain. This could be a pretty awesome game so be sure to check it out when it releases next year! (Gamestop actually says June 30th 2018 but that’s probably just a placeholder, it’ll be around that time however)

Now we’re at the end of Sony’s conference and onto the one game that I’ve been looking forward to seeing more off ever since they announced it. People have attempted to create a Spider-Man game that Rivals the Batman Arkham City and surpasses it but so far they ended up being cheap knock-offs. However last year they announced a Spider-Man game that might be the web slinging game we’ve been wanting for years. 


Coming from Insomniac Studios this game definitely plays similar to Arkham again but instead of being a cheap knock off Spider-Man seems to be taking everything that made Arkham’s gameplay great and adding it’s own Spidey twist, Spider-Man’s funny commentary included. The gameplay looks super smooth maybe even better then Arkham but i’m biased towards Spidey forgive me. (Can Batman Climb walls? Maybe but he doesn’t have SPIDER CRAWLING ABILITIES, okay I’m going to stop now.) This game also seems to blend cinematic with gameplay with ease so that’s nice, but boy those quick time events are going to be tough. This game is releasing in 2018. You can watch more at Sony's Playstation Youtube Channel

That’s game! I’ve covered a majority of E3 and all the major releases! E3 as of today is closing it’s doors for the year. It’s been an absolute blast and all the companies seemed to bring something to the table even though Nintendo won the show for me. I’ll be going over the games I thought were interesting in separate individual blogs with Super Mario Odyssey being high on my list. I apologize if my information gathering and writing wasn’t super great but hey I’m one guy, gathering up the multitude of information being put out and trying to shove it all into three blogs for one week. This is my first time in the blog’s 8 month run covering such a large amount of news so I should be able to handle stuff like this better in the future. Hope you enjoyed my E3 coverage however you can go back to read the first two days by clicking here for Day One and here for Day Two! Also searching E3 in the blog’s search will bring up all the E3 goodies. (Unless you’re reading this next year then it’ll probably be buried under E3 2018’s stuff.) I really wish I could of gone to E3 this year and experienced these games on hand for you guys but next year is always an option, the blog and myself will be a lot more experienced by then and I’ll be able to cover E3 with a higher quality. Plus I’m probably going to break my schedule next year and do a live coverage blog that updates throughout each day, that’ll be fun.

Until then however we’ll be going back to our normal blog goodness but before then I have a few more things to say regarding Nintendo. If you’ve not been aware Nintendo is holding a E3 sale (Which I heard absolutely nothing about until now, not sure whether that’s my fault or Nintendo’s fault for not advertising it.) that’ll be continuing for three more days. Various Wii U and 3DS games are on sale and you can check out which ones by following this link: https://e3.nintendo.com/sale/.

With that all said and done I’m out of here, be sure to donate to the ZAK Entertainment Patreon if you like what I write! I don’t mean to sound like I’m begging for money, I’m not but with your help I could go full time with ZAK Entertainment and perhaps even get new equipment (I kind of need a new computer.) to better the content you enjoy. I know the Patreon seems like a tip jar of sorts right now but I’m still trying to come up with rewards that will please my entire audience not just the knitters. I’m accepting all feedback and ideas so please don’t feel shy when it comes to that. You can donate to my Patreon by clicking this link: or clicking the button on the side of the blog.

That’s a wrap folks!

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