E3: Fallout, Doom, Dishonored latest installments previewed

Bethesda jump started the Electronic Entertainment Expo by showing off the latest installments of Fallout and Doom.

The video game publisher launched this year's annual video game extravaganza Sunday night with its first-ever E3 press conference at the Dolby Theatre.

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Bethesda Softworks spent most of its 90-minute briefing showcasing scenes from both a new edition of the hellish first-person shooter Doom and the post-apocalyptic role-playing saga Fallout 4.

"I think we can all agree that tonight starts a week with E3 that is the world's best week of entertainment ever," said Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard.

Howard went on to detail how the character creation, settlement construction and combat systems work in Fallout 4 amid the game's virtual rendition of Boston plagued by a nuclear attack. He announced Fallout 4 would be released Nov. 10.

In addition to Fallout 4, Howard said a mobile simulator game called Fallout Shelter would debut immediately following the conference, and a companion app that mimics the game's Pip-Boy doodad on smartphones would come out alongside Fallout 4 this fall.

"Yes, it's a second-screen experience," said Howard. "Usually, I find second-screen experiences are generally just stupid gimmicks, but as far as stupid gimmicks go, it's the best (expletive) one."

The briefing began with id Software executive producer Marty Stratton unearthing a new Doom, which is set to debut in spring 2016. The demon-blasting action focused on shotgun shooting and skull cracking on a pair of levels: one set on Mars, the other within Hell. Stratton also outlined plans for players to be able to edit and share their own Doom levels.

"We can't wait to see all the amazing things you come up with next," Stratton told the crowd.

Bethesda also unveiled the strategy card game The Elder Scrolls: Legends, a follow-up to the stealthy title Dishonored, as well as new content for the multiplayer battle game Battlecry and the online role-playing game The Elder Scrolls Online.

Journalists covering the event observed that both Fallout 4 and Dishonored 2 have playable female characters, which are rarer than they should be in the world of video games.

E3 runs through Thursday at the Los Angeles Convention Center.