Games

A failed assassination attempt on the Dragonborn hints that an ancient evil has returned to the island of Solstheim, located off the north-eastern coast of Skyrim and north of Morrowind's foreboding Red Mountain. The Dragonborn sets sail for the island and is confronted by a mystery that will take them across the island and into the Oblivion realm of Apocrypha to confront Miraak, the first Dragonborn. Dragonborn is the third piece of DLC (downloadable content) for Skyrim , the monstrously successful fifth game in The Elder Scrolls . Unlike Hearthfire , which simply added the ability to build houses to the game, and Dawnguard , which was a short, linear quest adding the ability to transform into a vampire lord, Dragonborn is a proper expansion like we used to get in the good old days. The setting is Solstheim, previously the setting for Bloodmoon , an expansion to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind . The island has changed a lot in the subsequent 200 years, with the eruption of the ...

Bethesda has filed a trademark for an 'ongoing television program set in a post-nuclear apocalyptic world', sparking speculation that they are planning to turn their Fallout franchise into a TV series. The Fallout series depicts a parallel history where the United States built a technologically-advanced future based on the designs and visions of the 1950s, only for this world to be destroyed in a nuclear war between the USA and China in 2077. The games are set between 100 and 205 years later and show the rise of new societies from the ruins of the old one. There are four main games ( Fallout , Fallout 2 , Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas ) and two spin-offs ( Fallout: Tactics and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel ), as well as a tabletop wargame. The series was created by Interplay and Black Isle Studios, who created the first three games in the series. After Black Isle's dissolution in 2004 (whilst working on a third game in the series), other studios produced the spin-of...

The city of Dunwall and its surrounding territories are ruled by the Empress Kaldwin, a fair and strong ruler. When she is assassinated and her daughter Emily kidnapped, her bodyguard Corvo Attano is held responsible and imprisoned. After six months, a brutal new regime under the Lord Regent has been established and the city placed in a state of fear. When Corvo is rescued by loyalists to the old regime, he is given the tools to carry out a series of missions aimed at removing the Lord Regent, rescuing Princess Emily and restoring justice to Dunwall. But a virulent plague and uncertain loyalties amongst the various factions make Corvo's job a lot harder as he must decide to take the path of blood-soaked vengeance or striking surgically from the shadows. Dishonored is a first-person action game developed by Arkane Studios, with several of the developers of the Thief , Deus Ex and Half-Life franchises working on it. It is a richly atmospheric game which, refreshingly, rewards you ...

It's been widely speculated for a while that Bethesda would be setting Fallout 4 in Boston, Massachusetts. That speculation has gained some credence with reports that Bethesda writers and researchers have been spotted in Boston undertaking research for an upcoming game. MIT, Boston. Expect to see a Fallout -ised version of this vista if the rumour is correct. Fallout 3 featured multiple references to the Commonwealth, a small nation established in the ruins of New England following the apocalyptic war. Several characters were featured who hailed from 'the Institute', widely taken to mean the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (or its Fallout equivalent). With Bethesda apparently planning to steer clear of the traditional Fallout stomping-ground of the California/Nevada/Arizona area (the setting for the first two Fallout games and the more recent New Vegas ), fans had been speculating that either the Commonwealth or New York would be the focus for Fallout 4 and thi...

With the second Song of Ice and Fire computer game - A Game of Thrones: The Roleplaying Game - now out in the States and getting somewhat mediocre reviews, there seems to be a growing consensus that Cyanide were perhaps not the best company to develop a game based on the series. One of the most common comments has been that a bigger company should have tackled the project, with Bethesda (makers of the Elder Scrolls fantasy RPG series) and BioWare (the makers of the Dragon Age and Mass Effect series) frequently cited. However, what a lot of people don't know is that both of these companies, and others, have considered exactly such a project in the past. Bethesda Softworks Some time between the completion of their fourth Elder Scrolls game, Oblivion (published in 2006) and starting work on the fifth, Skyrim (2011), probably whilst they were still working on Fallout 3 (2008), Bethesda were approached by George R.R. Martin's agent as he believed they were a 'good fit...

Two major new games have been announced for 2013. First up is Company of Heroes 2 . The original Company of Heroes was released in 2006 and was brilliant, easily the finest RTS released since StarCraft (a position it retained in the face of the latter's good-but-unoriginal sequel). Two so-so expansion packs followed, but it was the game's fiercely engaging multiplayer and its ridiculously inventive mod scene that really made it a success. Eastern Front , in particular, was an amazing mod that allowed players to play as the Russians. Company of Heroes 2 is due for release in 2013 and will in fact be focused on the Eastern Front, allowing players to play as the Russians against the invading Germans (no word on if players will be able to play as the Germans as well; I assume so). The first game was noted for its destructible terrain and the sequel will continue to evolve that, with soldiers now able to leap over obstacles and snow forming a barrier which can slow troops and tan...

Bethesda and Arkane have released the first full trailer for Disonhored , their highly-promising steampunk stealth 'em-up. Whilst made up of cut-scenes, the trailer showcases some of the things you'll be able to do in the full game. The game is due for release later in 2012.

Two centuries after the Oblivion Crisis and the death of Emperor Uriel Septim VII, the Empire of Tamriel is a shadow of its former self. A powerful new nation has arisen in the south and pushed the boundaries of the Empire back, forcing the near-bankrupt Empire to accept its religious pogroms or face open war. In the north, the province of Skyrim, home of the Nords, has become divided between those who wish to support the Empire in its moment of weakness and those who are enraged at the oppression of their religion and seek to make Skyrim an independent kingdom once again. Against this backdrop, chaos is unleashed when the elder god Alduin returns, unleashing a storm of dragons to devastate Skyrim. Only a warrior known as the Dragonborn can stop Alduin and save Skyrim and all of Tamriel from his wrath. Skyrim is the fifth game in The Elder Scrolls series, following on from Arena , Daggerfall , Morrowind and Oblivion . As usual with this series, the game contains only minor continuit...

Whilst playing Skyrim , it has often occurred to me that what the game really lacked was that space core from the end of Portal 2 floating around like ten feet behind you occasionally bellowing, "SPAAAACE!" in its unique style. "I'm in space. And by 'space' I mean 'Tamriel'." Of course, Valve and Bethesda have recognised this glaring deficiency in the game, and created a mod that allows the space core from the end of Portal 2 to float around behind you and etc. The same update also adds high-resolution texture packs to make the PC version of the game look totally awesome(r) and activates the Creation Kit, which allows you to adjust and tweak all aspects of the game, but frankly this is just small fry compared to the space core thing. So, does this mean that it is now canon that the Half-Life/Portal and Elder Scrolls franchises take place in the same universe? Will we see headcrabs and Combine invade Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls VI ? Will Drag...