new fallout 3 dlc a bit broken

The latest and last installment of downloadable content for Fallout 3 on the PC apparently is riddled with issues upon its release this week. Fallout 3: Broken Steel, which among other additions ups the level cap from 20 to 30, has fatal errors that are evident upon installation. Developer Bethesda is aware of the problem and looking for a solution, and this isn't the first time Fallout DLC has had issues. I know this is the DLC that the boyfriend was waiting for for Fallout so it's a shame that it can't be played as of yet.

New Fallout 3 DLC Broken, Again

how developers price dlc

Ever wondered exactly why Horse Armor costs 200 points and how developers like Bethesda Softworks come around to deciding how to price and market downloadable content for their games? Thanks to Gamesradar, we have an answer from Todd Howard, game director for Fallout 3:

For Fallout, we decided the sweet spot for us developing and for what the users wanted was to do themed “packs”, not one-off weapons or armors, but a pack that comes as one long adventure that has its own identity, that has some more meat on it. And so far, that model has been very popular both internally and externally.

GR Asks: How do devs decide the size and price of DLC?

new fallout game

Looks like there is a new Fallout game in the works by Bethesda and Obsidian, makers of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and Neverwinter Nights. The new title is called Fallout: New Vegas and is due out for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. It will apparently be an RPG like Fallout 3 although it isn't a sequel. I bet it will have a lot of the cool aspects of Fallout 3 like V.A.T.S. along with some interesting innovations and the obvious differences in setting between DC metro and Vegas. Sounds cool!

New Fallout Announced

fallout movie in the works?

Apparently developer Bethesda Softworks has trademarked the rights to a television series and film based on the Fallout universe that was the focus of Fallout 3, one of last year's most highly acclaimed games. This seems to indicate that we will probably see a major motion picture in the works over the next few years based on Fallout 3. Cool stuff! While Fallout will make a cool story for a movie, I think it would be even more awesome if they eventually make an Elder Scrolls movie! That would really rock.

Fallout movie coming? Bethesda trademarks television series and film

oblivion dlc discounts, horse armor increase

Strange marketing decisions, or just a silly April Fool's Day gimmick? Who knows. Bethesda Softworks has discounted its downloadable content for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the next week so if you've never expanded your Oblivion world, now's the time to pick up these expansion packs. Every Oblivion DLC is half-price for the next week, except the Horse Armor pack, which has jumped from 200 to 400 Microsoft points ($5). Bethesda's PR/marketing guy Pete Hines had this to say:

"In celebration of the arrival of April, the wackiness of April Fool's Day, and the upcoming 3rd anniversary of the release of Horse Armor (Friday, April 3), we are pleased to announce that for the next week all Oblivion DLC for Xbox 360 is half price, except for Horse Armor, which is twice as much as usual."

Oblivion DLC half off, Horse armor twice as much

fallout 3 expansions rolling out

The first of three planned packs of Fallout 3 downloadable content, Operation Anchorage, is now available. Operation Anchorage pits you against the communist Chinese in the frozen landscape of Alaska. The future packs apparently include one expansion that allows you to play past the ending of the original storyline. Cool stuff!

Fallout 3 Operation Anchorage DLC Now Available

fine decor in our apartment

Click picture at left for full size view of my newest wall decoration, a life-size Fallout 3 Vault Dweller. I think it really adds a woman's touch, don't you think?

xbox on the pc monitor!

We've taken our co-gaming to a whole new level thanks to the Xbox 360 VGA HD/AV cable we just picked up. With the Xbox and the Wii both plugged in to our TV, what are we to do now that the boy is done with Fallout 3 on the PC and deep into Mass Effect and I have many Wii games I'm fixing to try out? Stream the Xbox to the 22" flatscreen HD monitor of course! This actually improved the graphics despite a small decrease in size, and we're lucky to already be working with a small enough space that the wireless 360 controller works fine and the cords all reach. We can now play 360 and Wii games simultaneously and since we're big dorks we've got many options on both. Technology these days! At right: Xbox 360 PC tower case complete with red ring of death (sort of).

trying to find dogmeat?

Okay, I've been enjoying the steady traffic I'm getting from the keyword "fallout 3 companions" so I figured I'd post something actually useful to those of you trying to figure out how to accrue a posse in Fallout 3. You can find several useful characters who will fight for you and follow you around as you fight super mutants and blow stuff up. The Vault, an excellent Fallout 3 wiki, has a section featuring each of the available companions and how to find them and use them to your advantage. Enjoy!

Unlike previous Fallout games, the followers don't level up independently, but they are scaled to the level of the player character. The PC will receive full experience points for enemies killed by the companions provided they cause some damage.

It is possible to have more than one follower.

The Vault: Fallout 3 Companions

october's top ten games

Sales-tracking research group NPD released its list of the top ten best-selling console game titles for October last week. Nintendo continues to dominate, proving that games with accessories sell amazingly well especially before the holidays with Mario Kart, Wii Fit and Wii Play making strong appearances. The Wii also sold 803,000 consoles in October, compared to 371,000 Xbox 360 and 190,000 Ps3 systems, proving that people really love cheap options and also that the casual gamer demographic continues to expand. Here's the rest of the top ten best-selling console game titles for October 2008:

1. Fable II (Lionhead, Xbox 360) - 790,000 units
2. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 487,000 units
3. Fallout 3 (Bethesda, Xbox 360) - 375,000 units
4. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 290,000 units
5. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 282,000 units
6. Saints Row 2 (Volition, Xbox 360) - 270,000 units
7. SOCOM Confrontation (Slant Six, PS3) - 231,000 units
8. LittleBigPlanet (Media Molecule, PS3) - 215,000 units
9. NBA 2K9 (Visual Concepts, Xbox 360) - 202,000 units
10. Dead Space (EA Redwood Shores, Xbox 360) - 193,000 units

A Closer Look at October's Strong Game Sales
October Console Game Sales: Fable II Tops The Charts

the unicorn is free again

I ended things with the unicorn in my Oblivion game when I finally got around to downloading some expansions for it from Xbox Live and came to the sad, sad realization that I couldn't outfit the unicorn with armor from the Horse Armor Pack. He was just a little too at risk of being killed at all times and I just couldn't have that on my conscience, so I set him free to return to his grove. And no, I will never do Hircine's quest, which involves killing the unicorn for its horn. So now I am back to the super fast Cheydinhal black horse and it has lovely gilded Elven armor to protect it, so now I'm on a quest to find a full set of Elven armor for myself. Gotta match the steed, for sure.

fallout 3 companion site

Whether you've played Fallout 3 yet or not, check out this awesome companion site to Bethesda's newest game title, Prepare For The Future. You can view preview videos of game aspects and in-game items and tools in awesome grainy 50's style. Also, turns out Fallout for the PC shares a cool feature with the Sims - you can customize the radio stations with your own songs. Personally I actually think the Fallout radio songs are pretty awesome, so here's the extended trailer with my favorite one:

i have ridden the unicorn

When I found out that you could adopt the unicorn in Oblivion as your own steed I of course decided I wanted to do so but it has not come without its price! First of all you have to kill a bunch of Minotaurs, but even once you've ridden the unicorn it will totally attack you any time you have a weapon drawn, including when you are defending its stupid ass from bears and mountain lions. Still working on figuring out how to build my disposition with the beast. Fleeing and fast-traveling helps and the unicorn does have an awesome attack and good resistance against magic and weapons but it's also pretty slow if you're used to one of the awesomely fast black horses. We'll see how long my relationship with the unicorn can withstand his deep hatred for the presence of any weapon in my hand.

fallout 3 is ridiculously huge

Nerds over here! Many hours this weekend were spent "co-gaming" as we call it with me playing Oblivion on the Xbox and the boy finishing Dead Space for PC. He totally beat it and immediately wanted to go get Fallout 3, so we did! He's logged quite a lot of time already and seems to be rapidly sliding down the "good" scale, hehe. It's impressive but not surprising how similar to Oblivion it is in some RPG aspects, but of course it has a very different feel to it and a much bleaker landscape and general storyline. It seems to have a lot more emphasis on your conversations with people than Oblivion does, which is intriguing. Also I love all the Atomic Cafe style music and Big Boy-esque logos, all the ruined American monuments and the beautiful graphics, which are super smooth and amazing to look at on my sweet 22" widescreen monitor. Still, it's fun playing my fairy-tale like game, riding around on my black steed and slaying goblins, while the boy blasts Radroaches and fiends with a double-barrel shotgun and deals in bottle caps and cigarettes. Also, the official strategy guide to Fallout (which we did not buy) is YOOGE, apparently because there are literally 500 possible endings to this game! Craziness. I may eventually make a character but I'm not sure, because I really do like my games more cute than terrifying. Anyway, check out IGN's awesome Fallout 3 section for reviews, screenshots and more about this cool new game.

fallout 3 highly anticipated

Fallout 3, the newest RPG title from Bethesda Softworks, drops for release tomorrow on the Xbox, PC and Playstation 3. Bethesda is the company that made Oblivion so you know they've got their RPG strategies down. Fallout takes place after I guess a nuclear apocalypse/global war-type thing. Here's the description from IGN:

Vault 101 – Jewel of the Wastes. For 200 years, Vault 101 has faithfully served the surviving residents of Washington DC and its environs, now known as the Capital Wasteland. Though the global atomic war of 2077 left the US all but destroyed, the residents of Vault 101 enjoy a life free from the constant stress of the outside world. Giant Insects, Raiders, Slavers, and yes, even Super Mutants are all no match for superior Vault-Tec engineering. Yet one fateful morning, you awake to find that your father has defied the Overseer and left the comfort and security afforded by Vault 101 for reasons unknown. Leaving the only home you’ve ever known, you emerge from the Vault into the harsh Wasteland sun to search for your father, and the truth.

Um, global atomic war of 2077? Anyone else a little worried here? I mean, I won't have hit 100 yet by then and I feel like people will probably be pushing 120 or so before they die and you know, I'm really not too interested in witnessing global atomic war at age 93. Still, it does sound sort of cool to explore post-apocalyptic America and see all the burnt-out landmarks and whatnot. Also, Super Mutants! I'm pretty sure this one will be gracing our game shelf in no time, probably for the PC now that we've already got the gamepad.

a cool oblivion quest

So I've done a few Oblivion quests thus far with my awesome Khajiit and have scored some sweet new weapons and items. I'm really enjoying this game and the many directions it allows you to take, and I loooove the horse riding, of course. My favorite quest thus far has been A Brush with Death, in which a dude has been trapped in a painting (see picture) because a bandit stole his magic paintbrush and painted them both into the painting with a bunch of painted trolls, which I then had to open a can of whoopass on with my turpentine-poisoned sword. I got the Apron of Adroitness as a reward. I think it's awesome that I can play my game with some fighting but not a ton, while my boyfriend plays his game pretty much all fighting and not much talking. Oblivion is definitely the kind of game that can appeal to many different kinds of gamers and offer nearly infinite replay value. Also, I'm very proud of finally conquering the double-sticked controller on the Xbox.

I created an oblivion character!

After several weeks of watching the boyfriend play The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for hours on end I finally broke down and had him help me set up my own character. I've never really played RPGs so this is a fun new challenge for me. I made a female Khajiit (translation: kitty person) that specializes in stealth and sneakiness. So far the game is pretty awesome and definitely amazing to look at. The graphics of the world and the detail to every little item, plant or character is mind-blowing. I've also been pleasantly surprised at my own ability to kill enemies, which I generally underestimate (although the sliding difficulty scale helped this too). I'm sure I will get many hours of fun playtime out of this crazy expansive game. Also, the boy found this cool Oblivion Character Creator online, where you can enter the attributes you picked for your character and it spits back the skill levels/points you'll be starting with. Pretty nifty, and just the tip of the iceberg of amazing online Oblivion resources, including this Google Maps lookalike Oblivion map. Amazing!