Bethesda kicked off E3 this year with a rundown of the upcoming DOOM. Claiming to be taking the franchise back to its roots, this new entry in the long-running franchise sees an increase in movement speed, the return of the health bar and more varied weapons. All this as well as a new close-quarters takedown system and the rather pretty graphics make Doom quite attractive. That’s not to mention the multiplayer and the user-generated content system, Doom Snapmap, which is a first for the series. Those of you interested in the new Doom can mark down that nebulous ‘Spring 2016’ window for its release. Try to maintain your hype for the entire season I guess.

In other news we were given a glimpse at Battlecry, the game with a title you’ll have forgotten by the end of this paragraph, with the announcement of its open beta. There really wasn’t a whole lot shown here despite how long we’ve known about Battlecry but you can now sign up for the beta at battlecrythegame.com now.

Arkane Studios made an appearance to publicly announce a sequel to Dishonoured, confirming that the accidental leak the previous day wasn’t some sort of ruse or diversion. Arkane look to be on the right track with this sequel, taking everything fans enjoyed about Dishonoured and improving upon it but it’ll be hard to tell until we get to see some game footage. A CG trailer was all they had on show, also stating that Dishonoured 2 would be available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Oh, and there’s a ‘Definitive Edition’ of the original Dishonoured coming out. In case you care.

The Elder Scrolls Online showed its face briefly with a trailer for some new content. Tamriel Unlimited promises to add plenty for those who have been playing the game but it’s clear that the development team are busy with maintenance and the lack of stage time does nothing to instil confidence in the future of the MMO.

Instead Bethesda are choosing to hop on the Hearthstone bandwagon with The Elder Scrolls Legends available on PC and iPad later this year.

Saving what I personally hope will be the best for last, Tod Howard made an appearance to show off Fallout 4. It was revealed that the game will start in a pre-war setting and feature a voiced protagonist for the first time. There seems to be a new focus on characters and interaction in this entry with third-person cut-scenes and a scathe of names recorded to it feels like you’re immersed. I guess. In a move we can only assume was inspired by Peter Molyneux, we’ll see an early and developing relationship of some sort between the player character and their dog, although given past experience we can just as likely assume that the new Dogmeat will be totally replaceable. Mr. Howard also showed off the pack-in for the collector’s edition of Fallout 4 – a Pipboy mount for your smartphone which you can use to enhance your Fallout 4 experience via the second-screen experience. If this thing is responsive enough, it actually looks like it could be useful for once. In a series of shorts, some more gameplay systems of the next Fallout were revealed. Namely a settlement construction mechanic that will allow you to build and customize your own home as well as the area surrounding it, adding trading stands and defences to hold off raiders. Some talk of improving the combat systems was accompanied by sneak peeks at the improved crafting system which seemingly offers much more customisation as well as a much more convenient material gathering mechanic.

Finally, Fallout Shelter was announced for immediate release. A vault simulation game set in the fallout universe, Fallout Shelter puts you in the position of the overseer of your own vault. Todd Howard seems really hyped about it so maybe check it out?

All in all Bethesda had a decent showing and definitely played to their strengths. They knew what their audience wanted and they teased it out masterfully. A release window for Fallout 4 would’ve been nice but given their reluctance to mention it, I think it’s safe to assume we’ll be waiting until sometime in 2016 to get it.

UPDATE: Apparently the release date has been announced as 10^th November 2015