Obsidian Entertainment
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Rumor: Fallout: New Vegas GOTY Edition spotted on Amazon UK
Apparently, a PC Game of the Year edition for Fallout: New Vegas briefly surfaced over on Amazon UK, though the listing has since been pulled. It was spotted by VG247, who unfortunately did not take a screen capture. The Amazon page reportedly listed a price of £20.62, 30 percent off the current MSRP of £29.99 for Fallout: New Vegas. The listing also failed to provide box art and package contents, though if Fallout 3's GOTY edition is any indication, it'll include all the released DLC, which probably means Dead Money and possibly the Honest Hearts pack.
Fallout: New Vegas patch coming to all platforms
The post-launch support team at Bethesda and Obsidian is preparing to launch a fix for one of the biggest issues still facing Fallout: New Vegas. No, not its apocalyptic levels of irradiation -- the game-crashing bugs and other performance-wrecking snafus that pepper the game's ruined landscape. According to a recent post on Bethesda's blog, a patch targeting "optimizations and stability improvements" is currently in the certification process for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. Though the blog post doesn't go into specifics, it does mention, "we have fixed a great deal of the crashes and lockups that people were experiencing," and later adds, "we scoured the forums and this patch includes weapon balance tweaks and other requested fixes." The update also prepares for an upcoming add-on -- likely the "Honest Hearts" DLC. Bethesda suggests you keep an eye out for the patch "in the next couple of weeks." We will! We might just keep two eyes out.
Buy Dungeon Siege 3 on Steam, get the first two games free
Steam is offering the first two Dungeon Siege titles gratis should you choose to purchase the third entry in the series through Valve's digital distribution platform. Locking in your purchase now will grant you access to the first two games immediately, prior to the newly announced June 21 launch date for Dungeon Siege 3. On top of that, Valve and Square Enix revealed that Dungeon Siege 3 will employ the Steamworks suite, adding "auto-updating, Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud support, downloadable content and more" to Obsidian's upcoming action-RPG. For the full skinny, cast your cloak of click-through to check out the press release past the jump.
Dungeon Siege 3 delayed, adventure begins June 21 in NA, June 17 in Europe
When Square Enix originally said Dungeon Siege 3 would have a May launch, it must have meant may, the lower case verb and not the calendrical noun. The publisher announced today that Dungeon Siege 3 is, in fact, coming June 17 and 21 to Europe and North America, respectively. "Although the final polish phase has demanded a bit more time than originally planned," said Mike Fischer, president and CEO of Square Enix, Inc., "we want to assure fans and followers that the additional effort will allow us to deliver an action-RPG worthy of its rich heritage." There have been no platform-specific delays, so it'll be available at the appointed time on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Plus, June doesn't have a verb, so there's no slick way out of delay notification next time.
Obsidian working on XBLA title for Q1 2012 (and some other things)
Obsidian Entertainment is currently working on "an original IP XBLA game," which is being targeted for release in the first quarter of 2012. In a recent interview with Game Revolution, Obsidian CEO Feargus Urquhart mentioned, "It'll be an action RPG that's focused on fun -- not Dungeon Siege; it's quite a bit different in a different genre with a different camera." "We also might throw our hat in the whole free-to-play thing," Urquhart added, before passively referencing another game -- based on a "licensed product" -- he'd be "killed" if he talked about in detail. In our own recent interview with him, Urquhart similarly hinted at a "once in a lifetime" licensed game that is "something we've been working on since the middle of last year; just with a small team -- it's only been five or ten people." This could be that Wheel of Time project, or something separate -- "I'm hoping that'll be announced around E3," Urquhart told GR of the mystery project. The studio has also pitched an Icewind Dale reboot to Atari, in addition to shopping around general pitches for a game based on "a new world" and a sort of "what if" Sauron won scenario for a Lord of the Rings title dubbed "Defiance." But first! Obsidian has to wrap up Dungeon Siege 3. Talk about keeping busy.
What's in a Name: Obsidian Entertainment
Feargus Urquhart co-founded Obsidian Entertainment (Knights of the Old Republic 2, Fallout: New Vegas) after Interplay's Black Isle Studios closed in 2003. After we left Black Isle, we were going to start a company and we needed a new name. We wanted it to be a good name, a strong name, and we wanted it to be something that people would remember. And so we threw all of these names around -- we had Scorched Earth, we had Three Clown Software, and lots of other stuff. And eventually Obsidian got on that list, because we were Black Isle, and what's something like that? And someone said there's that Obsidian thing, that glassy, magma stuff, and we put it on there. So we came down literally with a short list, and we showed it to our significant others. And they were like, "All these names are dumb, except that one." So really it was the significant others that actually said that's what they would name a company, because it sounds cool, it has some relevance ... and it's not Three Clown Software. Obsidian Entertainment is currently working on Dungeon Siege 3, available this May and published by Square Enix. Like this feature? Be sure to check out the What's In A Name Archives.
Obsidian Entertainment: Playing in other people's worlds
Obsidian Entertainment has no shortage of street cred -- its founders originally created Interplay's Black Isle Studios, and put together some of the most classic PC RPGs around, including the original Fallout, Planescape: Torment, and the Icewind Dale series. But since forming Obsidian in 2003 (and making Knights of the Old Republic 2, Fallout: New Vegas, and most recently, Dungeon Siege 3), Feargus Urquhart and his crew have created another reputation: That of building sequels for properties created by other studios. "Correct," he tells Joystiq in a recent interview, as if fessing up to being called a "sequel house." If there's a connotation associated with that term, Urquhart doesn't really care. "What I grew up on was obviously roleplaying games that had the fifth and the sixth and the eight and the twelfth," he says. "So I think in general, RPGs have a lot of sequels, because you can keep on adding on to the world, you can keep on coming up with new stories. I think from that perspective, it's great to be able to make these, even if they're sequels, because you get to go play in someone else's world."
PSA: New Vegas 'Dead Money' DLC now on PC and PS3
If you're a PS3 or PC owner who's been out of the loop on all this "Dead Money" business, you might be under the impression that it's actually the name of some kind of new, SoCal-based hip-hop dance crew. This impression is wildly incorrect. It's actually the name of a DLC expansion to Fallout: New Vegas that's been available on 360 since December -- though your native console has access to it starting today. The DLC is available now on Steam, and will arrive in the PlayStation Store update later today. It's all yours, provided you've got $9.99 to spend -- which is kind of appropriate, since it would more or less make that money "dead." Well, dead to you, anyways. Bethesda will find said money quite alive.
Seize this new Dungeon Siege 3 trailer
The new trailer for Square Enix's co-op dungeon crawler, Dungeon Siege 3, speaks of "loyalty" -- but all we see is a lot of butt-whooping. Now, we're not saying that's a bad thing, so you can just put that sword down slowly and count to three before eyeing the new trailer and screens.
Fallout: New Vegas 'Dead Money' coming to PC and PSN this month
Fallout: New Vegas' Dead Money DLC will have PlayStation 3 and PC users playing its vicious little scenario on Tuesday, February 22. PS3 owners can pick it up through the PSN, while PC owners have the choice of Steam and Direct2Drive. Bethesda also mentioned that the next three expansion packs for New Vegas will launch simultaneously on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Dead Money will likely be $10 on PS3 and PC (as it was on Xbox 360), but we're currently following up with Bethesda for confirmation. Update: Bethesda tells Joystiq that it hasn't announced price for the DLC, but will announce it in the "coming weeks."
Lay siege to Dungeon Siege 3 on May 31
Hackers and/or slashers, listen up. Dungeon Siege 3 has officially been given a North American release date. The Obsidian-developed dungeon crawler will hit shelves on May 31, and publisher Square Enix has detailed a number of retailer-exclusive pre-order bonuses to entice players. Most pre-orders include some in-game items, though both Walmart and Steam offer more tangible bonuses. Walmart is offering a mini Dungeon Siege comic from Dark Horse and a mini Prima strategy guide. Meanwhile, those who pre-order on Steam will receive free single-player versions of the original Dungeon Siege and Dungeon Siege 2. For the moment, it seems that the first two Dungeon Siege titles will be exclusive to those who pre-order the game. Whether or not they are offered for individual purchase in the future is "still under internal discussions" at Square Enix. See the breakdown of each retailer's pre-order bonuses after the break.
Fallout New Vegas mod Project Nevada adds sprinting, new vision modes
For us, plodding through the Mojave in search of things to kill and people to steal (or is that the other way around?) can sometimes take forever. Look, we're busy marauders, so we're glad to hear that a mod for Fallout: New Vegas, dubbed "Project Nevada," aims to change things up -- specifically, it'll add sprinting to the game and some handy vision modes, including thermal and night vision. There's also the addition of bullet time and some new scopes to use. Currently, there's no time table for release, but in the meanwhile you can at least catch a trailer past the break.
PSA: Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money DLC is live on Xbox Live
Dead Money – the first DLC pack for Fallout: New Vegas – is now available 'sclusively on Xbox Live (but for how long?). If you're getting caught up, here's the short version: You're wearing a collar bomb and you need to steal the treasure of the Sierra Madre ... casino. Consider us all in.
Fallout: New Vegas visual mods make PC version prettier, no less buggy
While Bethesda and developer Obsidian Entertainment are busy taking a plasma rifle to the countless bugs still present in Fallout: New Vegas, devoted -- and programming-savvy -- fans are putting out mods for the PC version of the game that improve its texture maps and lighting, sometimes dramatically. Couch Athletics took a look at three of the more promising additions in its most recent "Mod Madness" feature. First up is the Arenovalis Weapon Retexture Project which, as its name suggests, replaces the textures on the game's weapons -- 11 of them so far, all of which look far better than the "stock" guns, and the mod's developer is continuing to add more. Then there's the Detailed Normals Texture Pack, which features improved normal maps for some of the world textures (ground and rocks, most prominently) that make them more 3D-looking, though sometimes very shiny. The most impressive of the new mods, however, is FNV Enhanced Shaders, which makes the game's lighting more realistic and adds a depth-of-field effect, among others, which are all player-adjustable. The results of combining these mods can be seen in the video we've posted after the break. Now, if only someone could make a "Bug-Free Pack" -- and we don't mean one that kills off all the mutated ants and radscorpions.
Fallout: New Vegas 'Dead Money' trailer hosts a heist
The first Xbox 360 "exclusive" DLC for Fallout: New Vegas, dubbed Dead Money, lays out all its cards in a new trailer. The add-on sees you caught in a dangerous deal, where saying "no" puts you on the bad end of an exploding collar. Okay, so there's no bad end to a circular object, but ... oh, oh, got it: you're being collared in the middle of an explosive situation. Nailed it. Dead Money will be available next Tuesday, December 21, on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 800 MSP ($10). Best start planning how you're going to break into the Sierra Madre casino and make off with all its ill-gotten riches.
The Game Archaeologist and the Nights of Old Winter
Here's a question for you: How much do you really, really have to love a game to pay $8.00 an hour to play it? Considering how much we tend to whine about a flat $15/month fee, I'm guessing the answer is, "Only if it loved me long time." And yet, in 1991 this wasn't considered crazy extortionist practices -- it was dubbed "Being a pioneer." While online RPGs were nothing new by then, nobody had tackled the jump from text-based RPGs (MUDs and BBS doors) to graphical games due to the technology (limited modem speeds and access) and funding involved. It took the efforts of a Superfriends-style team to make this happen with Neverwinter Nights: Stormfront Studios developed the game, TSR provided the Dungeons & Dragons license, SSI published it under its Gold Box series, and Aol handled the online operations. Thus, 19 years ago -- six years before Ultima Online and 13 before World of Warcraft -- the first multiplayer graphical RPG went online and helped forge a path that would lead to where we are today. With only 50 to 500 players per server, Neverwinter Nights may not have been "massively," but it deserves a spot of honor as one of the key ancestors to the modern MMO.
Fallout: New Vegas 'Dead Money' DLC tours the Sierra Madre's most exclusive resort
Late next month, Obsidian will launch the first bit of DLC for Fallout: New Vegas. That DLC, according to issue five of the Bethesda newsletter, will take players to the Sierra Madre, "an opulent and extravagant resort that was supposed to be the greatest casino in the west -- except that it never opened." Turns out that whole apocalypse thing really put a damper on the festivities. Who woulda thunk a silly thing like atomic bombs could be such a buzzkill? The vaykay-spot-that-almost-was had a pretty bitching security system, thus locking the complex up tight following the nuclear holocaust that befell America. As time went on, the climate control and air conditioning system starting pushing toxins out into the nearby area, surrounding it with a mist of poison and making the adjoining city impossible to navigate. A small band of survivors, dubbed the Ghost People, have only managed to scrape by, seemingly resorting to capturing healthy people outside of the plume of pollution surrounding the Sierra Madre. You know, to eat them. And that's pretty much all we have to go on right now. You can download "Dead Money" for Fallout: New Vegas on December 21, exclusively on Xbox Live, for 800 MS Points ($10).
Fallout: New Vegas ships 5 million, more patches incoming
Bethesda has announced that the Fallout: New Vegas launch garnered "record sales" last month. While the company didn't disclose precisely what those sales were, it did note that 5 million units were shipped to retailers worldwide. Combined with "a heavy volume" of digital downloads, the game stands to generate over $300 million in sales. Meanwhile, war keeps changing as the Bethesda Blog has posted an update on the upcoming updates for Fallout: New Vegas. The company notes that it has "come up with solutions" for the Xbox 360 save issues (amongst other issues) and that "a comprehensive patch" for the PS3, Xbox and PC versions of the game is currently in the final testing and certification phase. Further details should arrive "in the coming weeks." Furthermore, a patch should be issued for the PC version within the next week. Said patch should correct some save corruption issues and problems with companions. It will also improve performance for users with NVIDIA graphics cards and clear up some (presumably chaotic) Havok problems.
Yes, you can beat Fallout: New Vegas without killing anyone
You can safely add Fallout: New Vegas to the list of open-world titles which completely endorse the doctrine of complete and total pacifism. NeoGAF user Water_Wendi recently posted a screenshot featuring some braggable statistics after completing the game's campaign and nearly all of its quests: zero people or creatures were killed during the proceedings. Well done, Water_Wendi! We can't imagine how hard it must have been to suppress the gamer's natural instinct to constantly murder. Now that you've completed this challenge, why not move onto one of these equally arduous goals? Beat the game without talking to anyone Beat the game without picking up any items at all Beat the game without moving Beat the game without encountering any bugs, glitches or crashes
Stealing in Fallout: New Vegas -- the bucket method
Who wants to save up hundreds of thousands of bottlecaps for the right to buy all those tasty, expensive Energy Cells in Fallout: New Vegas? Sure, we could play Craps or Roulette, but wouldn't this handy dandy ghost bucket be, like, way easier? Sure would!
