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Bethesda shows off more 'Starfield' in a seven-minute featurette
Take a look at some concept art and footage from the sci-fi RPG.
Explore the depths of Far Harbor in 'Fallout 4's latest DLC
Already trudged through all of what nuclear wasteland simulator Fallout 4 has to offer? Crossed the first two expansions off of your list? Suit up, because it's time to head to Fallout 4's fictional island of Far Harbor on May 19th.
Make your own creature feature in Fallout 4's 'Wasteland Workshop'
Fallout 4's second DLC pack, "Wasteland Workshop", is scheduled for release next Tuesday, April 12th. Today, however, Bethesda dropped this wicked cool preview of what's in store for players. Wasteland Workshop will enable you to further upgrade your homebase with more elaborate decor like Nixie lights, letter kits and a taxidermy station but that's beside the point. The new DLC is primarily focused on a wholly new gameplay mechanicism: the ability to capture and tame beasts from across the Wasteland.
Struggling with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim one year later
This is a weekly column from freelancer Rowan Kaiser, which focuses on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity. This week Rowan explores the one-year anniversary of Skyrim, a game that – despite critical and commercial success, including a 5-star review from Joystiq – he still can't get a good handle on. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim hit the first anniversary of its 2011 release this month. Despite a year's worth of play, criticism, mods, and add-ons, I still don't have a good handle on Skyrim in its entirety. It's a game that I'm happy to have played, and recommend highly to anyone who might enjoy it and can afford it. But it's also a game that I give up on fairly quickly, every time I start a new character.The reason I want Skyrim to hold my interest is because I have a strong, positive gut reaction to much of what Skyrim does. Some of my favorite occasions in games occur when you come to an overlook and catch a moment of sheer beauty. When you wander into a snow-covered town and the music gently plays in the background. When game systems combine and something new emerges from what had been previously predictable. In these moments the experience feels just right. Moments like this help to enhance the experience, unfolding into something grand.And Skyrim is full of these occasions. Bethesda's latest title in the longstanding franchise has the relative beauty of Ultima VII, the magic of Daggerfall, and the emergent narrative of Far Cry 2. I get sequences in Skyrim where I'm faced with an impending dragon attack, introducing a beast much too powerful for my character. Worried about my survival, I duck into a tomb for safety only to be greeted by the most powerful undead adversary I've yet to meet. Stuck between both, and at the edge of a cliff, I fall and hope to catch tiny ledges on my way down. If I survive, the music calms and I can limp into town to lick my wounds and consider my next step.
Learning how to creep in Dishonored
Creeping up on your enemies and offing them is a crucial part of Arkane's Dishonored. Protip: Don't walk in through the front door.
Bethesda trademarks 'Hearthfire,' which is totally a thing from Skryim
Update: Please excuse us, but we've written about this before. Like, back in May. Sorry about that, y'all! Nothing to see here! Move right along!When Skyrim's "Dawnguard" DLC was first outed by a trademark filing back in March, we knew little aside from the name – references to the Dawnguard could be found in Skyrim, but only vague ones. It wasn't even clear that the filing was for DLC at the time – nor is it clear today that a recently unearthed trademark filing by Bethesda parent company Zenimax Media for "Hearthfire" is Skyrim's next DLC.But it sure smells like it. The term "Hearthfire" (or "Heartfire") correlates to the ninth month in The Elder Scrolls' world of Tamriel, as well as a set of books in the 2920 series. Bethesda is staying mum for now, telling VentureBeat that the studio, "does not comment on trademark filings." The filing was made back in May, so it's always possible that the idea has since passed.The filing is definitely game software, per the description: "Computer game software for use with computers and video game consoles; downloadable computer game software offered via the internet and wireless devices." There's also a wholly unremarkable image alongside the trademark filing, seen above.
Skyrim, and the case of the curious cat man Conan
Conan O'Brien's no stranger to Skyrim, and in the 11 months since the game came out, he's been exhaustively playing the game in hopes of crafting its most definitive review. The video above is the fruition of those efforts. Or something like that, at least.
Skyrim 1.7 patch headed to PS3 'in the coming weeks,' but Dawnguard is nowhere in sight
Don't fret, PlayStation 3 Skyrimmers, Bethesda says the game's 1.7 patch is heading to Sony's console "in the coming weeks." Bethesda acknowledged as much in a tweet yesterday afternoon. The game's 1.7 patch on PS3 includes the various updates from 1.6 (mounted combat, new kill cams, etc.), but it falls short of adding the Dawnguard DLC, which is still exclusive to Xbox 360.That DLC was issued a 30-day exclusivity period earlier this year – a period which expires today, reports Kotaku – but Bethesda's VP of marketing Pete Hines stated on Twitter, "We have not announced Dawnguard for any other platform, nor given a timeline for any such news. If we have news, I promise I'd tell you." He followed that up by saying, "I was simply stating that expecting/demanding something today is unfounded. Not that news is never coming." It sounds like Dawnguard may yet head to other platforms (eventually).We've reached out to Bethesda for further comment and will let you know if we hear back.
Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC review: Disappointment before sunrise
In Skyrim's "Dawnguard" DLC, I became a vampire. I feasted on the blood of the living. I propelled myself forward at super vampire speed with my leathery grey vampire lord wings. I sapped the energy of my enemies with one boney claw while raising the dead to fight for me with the other, growing my powers ever stronger. I even turned into a swarm of bats and flitted across a room.It's not as fun as it sounds.%Gallery-157878%
Dishonored's dishonorable sneaking looks like devilishly good fun
In between arguments about the current value of whale oil and somehow gaining superpowers, Dishonored's main character finds time to carefully sneak into brothels for murderous acts. Or he simply guns everyone down. Hey, it's your choice.
PSA: Skyrim's 'Dawnguard' DLC arrives tomorrow 'for English territories,' mid-July elsewhere
Your chance to become a vampire lord and block out Skyrim's sun forever becomes (virtual) reality tomorrow with the launch of Skyrim's first major expansion, "Dawnguard." Of course, if you can't speak English (how are you reading this?!) but can speak French, Italian, German, or Spanish, it won't be available for another few weeks. If you speak something else ... well, you might be skunked. But again, you're probably not reading this if that's the case. Also, you smell like feet. Take that, person who can't understand what we're saying!
'Rage: The Scorchers' pops up on PEGI, smells like DLC to us
When Rage launched last holiday, it made reference to a faction that didn't make it into the final game: The Scorchers. It appears that The Scorchers are back, as a listing on Europe's PEGI game rating website outs something named "Rage: The Scorchers" for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.Siliconera spotted the listing and dated it to less than a week ago. For its part, Bethesda hasn't offered a comment, though we've reached out for more info. Thus far, Rage has zero DLC beyond a day-one "Anarchy Edition" bonus. Ahead of the game's launch last year, id Software's Tim Willits told GamesIndustry.biz, "Our immediate plans, of course, are some DLC for Rage," so it stands to reason that DLC of some form for the game is still planned.
Doom 3 'BFG Edition' bringing Hellspawn to retail on Oct. 16 in NA, Oct. 19 in EU
Smack in the middle of the busiest game release season of the year, Bethesda is re-launching Doom 3. The publisher announced this morning that Doom 3 "BFG Edition" – which includes "re-mastered versions" of Doom 3 and its "Resurrection of Evil" DLC, as well as the new content dubbed "The Lost Mission" – arrives on October 16 in North America and October 19 in Europe.Should all that Doom 3 content not be enough, both Doom 1 and 2 are included in the repackaging, and the whole schebang runs $39.99 on 360/PS3, while it's $10 cheaper on PC. Of course, if you wanna play it in virtual reality, Lawnmower Man-style, that's gonna require a heck of a lot more money. And being friends with John Carmack would also help.
Seen@E3: Todd Howard's hostile takeover
We were so busy covering E3 2012, we barely noticed a smiling Todd Howard commandeering Joystiq.com (see it after the break!). Thankfully, freelancer Tyler Colp spotted the takeover and alerted us to it. We think we've removed all of Howard's hidden messages, commanding all to buy Skyrim, but we can't be BUY SKYRIM BUY SKYRIM BUY SKYRIM.
Bethesda's Todd Howard on Dawnguard, the future of Skyrim, and Steamworks success
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim game director Todd Howard and his team at Bethesda Game Studios are weeks away – if things go according to plan – from releasing the game's first DLC 'Dawnguard.' Speaking with Joystiq, Howard detailed the balance between quality and timing when planning new content for its critically and commercially acclaimed RPG."There's this weird line between – if you do DLC too early everyone's pissed off. We have found, if you wait too long, they're pissed off," Howard laughed. "We have a very smart audience," he continued, noting that Skyrim players deserve content that adds more than just a few extra quests or features. "We do feel the pressure to make sure it fits into the game smoothly."To ensure DLC doesn't remove players from the experience, Dawnguard won't notify players when the additional content has been purchased; players must find it for themselves."One of the potential negatives to like 'Joe Consumer' is they'll buy it, they'll load up Skyrim, they'll be like, 'Where is it?' Well, you gotta go find it," Howard explained. Dawnguard adds a new, detailed quest-line focusing on vampires, new weapons like crossbows, and even a Werewolf perk system.The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 'Dawnguard' is currently scheduled to arrive on June 26 for the Xbox 360.
Skyrim's Dawnguard DLC 'tentatively' scheduled for June 26
Following a demo of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 'Dawnguard' DLC, Bethesda's Todd Howard said that the game's first content will arrive in June."Tentatively," Howard explained, "it's coming on June 26." According to Bethesda's Lord of the Dragons, the DLC will hit that date as long as nothing goes wrong.To ensure the DLC is ready, Bethesda is offering a beta for the Dawnguard DLC on Xbox 360. Dawnguard and Skyrim's second DLC pack is set to launch on the Xbox 360 first.
Dishonored pre-order bonuses continue dishonorable tradition of splitting up content
The marketing team at Bethesda Softworks cooked up a pre-order plan to go along with Dishonored that's perfectly fitting for the game's title, it seems. Like so many pre-order schemes these days, the Dishonored bonuses are varied across several retailers, making it impossible to purchase the game without a sense that you're missing something (well, unless you buy four different copies of the game, all with pre-order bonuses attached).Should you choose to participate in this arcane chicanery, might we suggest not snagging Target's bonus? While GameStop, Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart each get their own "downloadable upgrade pack" for one of the game's playable characters, Target simply gets a Dishonored "smart phone decal." Not exactly what we'd call the best convincer. Also, the Best Buy one comes with a "Whale Oil USB Lamp," so, ya know, kinda the obvious choice.Take a look at all the options just below the break.%Gallery-156746%
Doom 3 'BFG Edition' brings Hell to 360/PS3/PC 'this fall' with entire back catalog in tow
Are you experiencing a dearth of Doom? id Software is worried about just that possibility, as evidenced by today's announcement of Doom 3 "BFG Edition." Doom 3 is getting remastered and repackaged, with the "Resurrection of Evil" expansion and seven brand new levels, which id are wrapping up as "The Lost Mission."Beyond remastering graphics, id's also adding Achievements, Trophies, and 3D. In the gameplay department, a "new check point save system" is being added, and the ever-frustrating flashlight issue is being resolved with "the new armor-mounted flashlight." If that weren't enough, the BFG Edition includes both Doom 1 and 2, so you can truly vanquish every single last demon in all of the space hells, all in one package. Finally!
Steam Workshop's Skyrim mods top over 13.6 million downloads, Macho Man is pleased
Between Valentine's Day and now, 11.6 million Skyrim mods were downloaded from Steam, totaling 13.6 million. That's a lot of hanging out with space cores and dragons modeled after Randy Savage.The top mods represented on Steam's Workshop as of this writing aren't adding or subtracting major things from the original game. Many extend the experience in minor ways – bolstered sound offerings, more robust map markers, new spells – while a few add whole new quests. Thankfully, Skyrim's mod community moved away from its obsession with clean faces. At least for today.
Bethesda teases first concept of Mikami's 'Zwei,' explains what 'pure survival horror' means
After Tango Gameworks head and veteran game dev Shinji Mikami outed news on his current game, "Project Zwei," to Famitsu earlier this week, publisher Bethesda apparently decided to do its own big debut. In an email missive early this morning, Bethesda announced Mikami's project as "the realization of *pure* survival horror" (Bethesda's asterisks, not ours), and included a collage of various environments in Zwei, "that communicate the tone and direction that the production is taking."Mikami said true survival horror is a situation "in which the player confronts and overcomes fear." From that note, we can only assume that the Black Eyed Peas must play some role in Zwei. Mikami added, "I've found my focus and once again I'm striving for pure survival horror. I am being very hands-on in the development of this game to ensure that the quality is there. Rest assured."As reported earlier, the game is still in the initial stages of development (as evidenced by the collage of environments above). It's expected to launch on "HD consoles" at some point in 2013.
