STACK J#165 Jul 2018

GAMES FEATURE

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Rage 2

Rage 2

Bethesda I f you’re going to do a press conference to capture the attention of a gaming world

mission brief was to infiltrate a facility and bring a space pod back down to Earth. However we were there to kill, and kill we did. You’re literally plunged into a demo that positively encourages you to destroy everything that gets in your way. This involves a heavy arsenal at your disposal including a ‘wingstick’ that is essentially a boomerang that can, satisfyingly, home in on enemies with a thud. A series of special abilities just adds to the fun, including a dash manoeuvre, a bone-splintering punch, and a magnificent Overdrive mode that rewards your carnage by replenishing health, ammo, and increasing your weapon’s effectiveness. It's what we expected and more. We also had the chance to check out the surprise announcement of another app from Bethesda, this time based on the Elder Scrolls franchise – Elder Scrolls Blades . From the excruciatingly short demo we got to play, it’s surprisingly intuitive, and responds really well to touch where you want to go, and slash in the direction of your enemies to slice them with a sword. You can, of course, use spells and deplete your stamina bar with heavy attacks, and there’s rewards to be found in exploring around the levels for gold and other loot. Much like Fallout Shelter , we can see ourselves losing many hours to this. The best part? You can play in portrait mode. inputs. It’s simple – you walk around dungeons by tapping

Bethesda Fallout at E3 with Rage. Words Paul Jones & Alesha Kolbe

problem-solving challenges in preparation of being released from the vault. The queues here were some of the longest of the show, and no amount of bribery could get us a shot, so unfortunately, with a packed time schedule, we had to sit it out. It did look like a lot of fun. A quick conversation en route to our first appointment with the publisher confirmed that only one in our travelling trio had played the original Rage – themed heavily on the Mad Max film franchise. Far from a commercial success, it was actually a solid game, so we were keen to see what id Software, and co-developer Avalanche Studios, had to offer with the sequel that had leaked, like so many other

Release dates of note:

tuning in, then Bethesda at E3 this year was the model to follow. It’s a simple equation: grab your audience by its lapels and forcefully land a succession of compelling content right on the forehead. The publisher even managed to contain several surprises – that in itself is a miracle . O n the show floor, while Bethesda didn’t have Fallout 76 playable, it did have an intriguing Reclamation Day Vault 76 booth experience. Employing actors, attendees were basically fed through the booth in stages and tested through survival and

Fallout 76 - November 14, 2018 Elder Scrolls Blades -

TBC 2018 RAGE 2 - TBC 2019

titles, before the show.

It was, quite literally, an explosive demo with little time to draw breath. Combining id’s expertise in shooters and Avalanche’s mastery of open world environments, the post- apocalyptic Rage 2 – even from the short time we spent with the E3 playthrough – is going to be a must-play on release for shooter fans. Taking place 30 years after the events of Rage, we think the

Fallout 76

06

JULY 2018

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