Bethesda's E3 press conference was filled with familiar names and franchises, including Doom , Dishonored and Fallout , but the company also revealed more information about its latest IP - Battlecry. The highly stylised, team-based, free-to-play action game was something of a departure from the rest of Bethesda's E3 line-up, which mostly focused on FPS and RPG games, but the colourful trailer certainly helped it stand out against the dark and moody Doom.
Battlecry will pit teams against each other in arena-based, third person combat as one of three factions: t he Imperial Marines, the Cossack Empire, and the Han Republic. All three take inspiration from periods of history, but the game itself has an almost steampunk aesthetic, with technology that seems wildly out of place for its early 20th century locations and maps.
We like the concept; gunpowder has been banned in war, along with bombs and chemicals, leaving soldiers to fight each other in close quaters combat using the technology of the time. That doesn't stop certain characters from bending or breaking the rules, but it means most characters are equipped with swords rather than guns.
Only five character classes have been announced so far: the melee-focused Brawler, bow and arrow-wielding Ranger, long-range Enforcer, gun-toting Gadgeteer and the dual-wielding Infiltrator. Its currently unclear if new classes or factions will be added to the game in time for launch, but right now the gameplay looks to be more than hectic enough, with surprisingly violent animations and spurts of blood given the almost cartoony art style.
Battlecry was originally announced at last year's E3, but has been in development behind closed doors and gamers have yet to get their hands on the game. The sign-up page for the beta is now live at battlecrythegame.com , so if you're interested to see how it plays be sure to head over and register your interest for a chance to get early access.
Battlecry is expected to get a full PC release later this year.
