Having spent more hours playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion than just about any other game in the last couple years it would be an understatement to say that I would be merely keeping an eye out for Bethesda Softworks at this year\'s E3. Interestingly, the three games that they have confirmed for E3 are all licensed properties.
For the PS2 and the PC Bethesda is offering up Pirates of the Carribean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow. To be honest with you, this isn\'t a property that just screams to me. The first Pirates of the Carribean was decent, but overshadowed by better games, like
Sid Meier\'s Pirates! The Legend of Jack Sparrow is a third-person Action Adventure title that retells the story of the first movie through the eyes of Captain Jack himself. Sure to be full of puzzles and swashbuckling we will just have to see if this title can buck the curse of movie-based games or if it will sink like the rest.
The other franchise the Bethesda Softworks will be exhibiting at E3 this year is the Star Trek franchise. Now this is a franchise that is a little closer to my heart. Unfortunately, I have never had a really great Star Trek gaming experience. Bethesda is going to try and change that with not one but a pair of Trek offerings.
For the handhelds (the DS and PSP) Star Trek:Tactical Assault is a strategy game taking place during the original Star Trek timeline. You will have the option of playing a Starfleet campaign or a Klingon campaign. You\'ll have full control of phasers, shields, etc. of you favorite Starfleet and Klingon vessels. Once we get our hands on it at E3 we should have a good idea about system specific features. It does sound like the DS will sport some fancy touch screen gameplay. Perhaps, even all of the gameplay will be available on the touch screen, with visual to match the displays featured on the television show. That would be really cool. That, combined with the DS\'s lack of loading times and PSP\'s excess of loading time, could push the DS version over the top for me. Hopefully they will have something similarly cool special for Sony\'s handheld. Both versions should support some kind of wireless multiplayer. Definitely a game to look out for.
For a couple months now, since it was first announced, I have been keeping my ear to the ground for rumblings about Star Trek: Legacy. Like I said earlier, Bethesda Softworks has been dominating my 360, and many people\'s PCs, for over a month now with Oblivion. Legacy is a real time tactical combat game for the PC and Xbox 360 and I think this one may end up being another title a person could easily lose a month to.
They couldn\'t pick just one era for Legacy. Instead it will span all of the Trek series. Enterprise, the Original series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager will all be represented in a storyline that pits the player against a new time traveling nemesis.
You can expect this game to be pretty. The developers seem to have all the right intentions and they know if they want to make the Star Trek fans happy (I am deliberately avoiding the labels trekkies and trekkers) they are going to have to pay attention to the details. I expect the ships to look better and truer to the show than we have ever seen. Bethesda is even promising real-time, full damage modeling.
Add, to all that, multiplayer modes and it sounds like they are really going out of their way to give us the Star Trek experience that we deserve. My excitement for this title is reaching fever pitch so I will be heading right to it so that I can pass along the fine details. This also means that it better perform well because I will be expecting a lot.
Keep checking in with Gamefirst! Over the next two weeks for our continuing coverage of what Bethesda Softworks has to show this year at E3. So far it looks promising and I am excited to see if these games play out half as well as they sound. You can read all the press-releases you want but there is nothing like actually getting your hands on the games and we\'ll let you know if they live up to expectations. Personally I am rooting for Bethesda and especially for the Star Trek fans.