E3 Special: Bethesda, In the Hood Rollin' Hard (By Rebecca "Bonks" Rothschild)

Toe to toe with the big boys now, Bethesda made a statement this year. Winner of an Electric Playground award they put on quite a display. But it wasn't just about looks, they had heavy hitting titles to back it up. Fallout 3, Hunted, Rage and Brink, I was seriously over stimulated.

I didn't get a whole lot of face time with Hunted, but there were some things I saw that I liked. It's pretty and it's very intense. There's some good writing in here, you know I'm a total dialog snob and hate the choppy stuff. This game proved that Betehesda knows a thing or two about variety, sticking to a formula of epic storyline and deep character development I feel fantasy lovers will want a piece.

Rage has a lot of promise. Get ready for unpredictable enemies and unique weapons. Although the story isn't fully rounded the gameplay has an addictive nature to it. It's not all hack n' slash the ugly critters, but they are super ugly and deserved to be slashed (Although it would appear I'm cozying up to one).

I could tell they were trying to create something new within the genre and I feel it will work in their favor. There may be a few stumbles for this first game but I can already smell sequel because there's a great foundation here.

Brink is one I've been keeping my eye on. Now this game has done something truly novel with FPS. Brink takes teamwork communication to a new heights. Weapons borderline bizarre in appearance and ability. The environment is dank and splashed with acid like color which gives it a real deliberate look. It's a little more cartoony than I prefer but it makes the title stand out, and the story more than compensates.

You guys may not know this but there's this game series out there called "Fallout." Ever heard of it?

Role like a regular Robert De Niro in New Vegas. Casinos and Creatures and a hot new interface Oh My! Fallout 3 is on a mission to deliver and it most certainly does. A fun new interface with a sense of humor takes out a lot of the unwanted dialog. Traversing the landscape is nice and smooth and a lot of the "where do I go?" guess work has been subtracted from the equation. And of course and quite literally hot weapons. The game maintains all the great features that we know and love with a Vegas twist. Play some slots, maybe a little blackjack, or go set a Fire Gecko on fire (those things are frickin' adorable by the by). I feel like I don't have to say too much because most of you planned on buying this anyway.

You always have to watch out for the new guy on the block, sleep with one eye open Bethesda, I think they're onto you.