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Bethesda announce Xbox 360 exclusive DLC for Fallout: New Vegas

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Fallout New Vegas DLC

Fallout: New Vegas publisher Bethesda has announced that the game will be getting DLC before Christmas, and that it’ll be exclusive to the Xbox 360. At this stage, we have no idea what the DLC for Fallout: New Vegas will involve.

“We’re excited to continue the partnership between Bethesda and Microsoft, and build on the success of the game add-ons released for Fallout 3 on Xbox Live,” said Bethesda’s VP of marketing and PR Pete Hines.

“Fans will once again be able to continue their experience in the Fallout universe with the add-on packs planned for after the launch of the game.”

Microsoft product marketing manager Matt Barlow added: “Bethesda set a high bar with the quality of the Fallout game add-ons.

“We have no doubt that gamers will be thrilled with seeing a new add-on pack extend their adventures with Fallout: New Vegas on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live.”

The announcement of Xbox 360 exclusive DLC for Fallout: New Vegas mirrors a similar scheme for Fallout 3. On the plus side for those planning to buy Fallout: New Vegas on other systems, the Fallout 3 DLC was later released on the PC and PlayStation 3.

The DLC isn’t the only exclusive on offer for Fallout: New Vegas. Different retailers are offering different pre-order bonuses in order to try and encourage you to give them your hard earned cash.

Fallout: New Vegas is released in the UK on Friday for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the so-called console exclusive DLC? Do you think it’s a good move by Bethesda, or is it unfair to give one specific console exclusive content? Do you think that this will be a timed exclusive as with the Fallout 3 DLC?

And what do you think about DLC being announced for Fallout: New Vegas before the game has even been released?

You can leave your thoughts about Fallout: New Vegas and DLC here on the Train2Game blog, or over on the Train2Game forum.

Microsoft reveal Kinect launch line up (And reportedly have $500 million for marketing!)

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Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360

Microsoft has announced that 17 launch titles will be available when Kinect for Xbox 360 is launched worldwide next month. The news has been revealed by Major Nelson, and you can see the entire list of Kinect launch games for Xbox 360 below.

Meanwhile, The New York Post reports that Microsoft has a massive marketing budget for Kinect of $500 million. Yes, that is half way to a billion dollars! The paper reports that this is more than the marketing budget Microsoft had to promote the launch of the original Xbox console back when it launched in July 2000.

The Kinect advertising will appear online, on television, magazines and on other products including food and drink packaging. If you pick up a burger, you may just see Kinect for Xbox 360 staring right back at you on the package.

“Kinect is the largest, most integrated marketing initiative in Xbox history, bigger than its launch,” said Robert Matthews, general manager of global marketing communications for Xbox. “We are going to be spending millions to launch this globally.”

The hype machine seems to be working, with 7,000 stores across the USA staying open past midnight when Kinect is launched on the other side of the Atlantic on November 4th.  So what are the titles will be available when Kinect, the hands free controller for Xbox 360 is released?  Well the Kinect launch title’s that’ll be available in the USA (UK games are yet to be confirmed) are as follows:

Kinect Adventures
Price: Packed in with the Kinect sensor.

Kinectimals
Price: $49.99 or $59.99 for the Limited Edition which comes with a plush toy and unlock code.

Game Party: In Motion
Price: $39.99

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 The Videogame
Price: $49.99

Your Shape: Fitness Evolved
Price: $49.99

Dance Central
Price: $49.99

The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout
Price: $49.99

DanceMasters
Price: $49.99

EA Sports Active 2
Price: $99.95 and comes with a heart rate monitor

Zumba Fitness
Price: $49.99

Kinect Sports
Price: $49.99

MotionSports
Price: $49.99

DECA Sports Freedome
Price: No Price listed

Kinect Joy Ride
Price: $49.99

Adrenalin Misfits
Price: $49.99

Fighters Uncaged
Price: $49.99

Sonic Free Rider
Price: $49.95

Kinect for Xbox 360 is released here in the UK on November 10th and will be available as part of a 250GB Xbox 360 bundle for £299.99. You can alternatively buy a Kinect for Xbox 360 on its own for £130.

So Train2Game, has anyone pre-ordered Kinect for their Xbox 360? What do you think of the launch line up? How about that massive budget? And do you think Kinect for Xbox 360 has the potential to triumph over the PlayStation Move?

You can leave your thoughts on Kinect for Microsoft Xbox 360 here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Portal recreated in LittleBigPlanet 2 beta

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More evidence has emerged of just how creative it’ll be possible to be with LittleBigPlanet 2. A video from the beta has appeared online, and it shows how one user has recreated Portal using the tools in LittleBigPlanet 2!

It reconfirms the fact that LittleBigPlanet 2 could be the Train2Game students dream with the Portal level just being the latest in a line of unique levels created during LittleBigPlanet 2’s beta test. Other games recreated using LittleBigPlanet 2 include indie game Flower, and Street Fighter.

You can watch Portal – complete with working Portal gun – recreated in LittleBigPlanet 2 in the video below.


LittleBigPlanet 2 is set for release in January 2011, after the original November launch date was moved back.

Meanwhile, Portal 2 is also scheduled for release near the start of next year, on February 9th.  You can watch a Portal 2 trailer starring Stephen Merchant here. Alternatively, you can watch these trailers showing how the new inclusions of Faith Plates and Repulsion Gel work.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the LittleBigPlanet 2 Portal level? And if you had to choose one of the two, would you go for Portal 2 or LittleBigPlanet 2?

You can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

(Source: Edge Online Twitter)

UK Charts: Medal of Honor out guns FIFA

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Medal of HonorMedal of Honor has topped the UK Charts in its first week, despite the ‘Taliban’ controversy that dogged its journey to release. However, this doesn’t seem to have put gamers off, with the Medal of Honor reboot achieving  the biggest ever launch in the series history.  It also achieved what some would see as the impossible byknocking FIFA 11 down to second place in the GFK Chart-Track All Formats Software Chart.

FIFA 11 had sold an impressive 2.6 million units worldwide in its first week, and then last weel comfortably held off the challenge of rival PES 2011. However, it seems that the men with guns in Medal of Honor have proved too strong for FIFA 11.

Ubisofts’ Just Dance 2 has made an impressive debut in third place. The original proved to be more of a slow burner, first entering the charts in 30th before going onto strong sales.

In fact, Just Dance 1 reappeared in the top ten as recently as last week. Nintendo’s Wii Party has jumped from tenth to fourth place, showing that the more casual titles can still guarantee big bucks.

PES 2011 has had a somewhat disappointing week dropping from second to fifth, while F1 2010 also falls two places down the table from fourth to sixth.

Dead Rising 2 had been in third place in each one of its three weeks in the chart. Unfortunately for Capcom, this feat couldn’t be completed a fourth time with Dead Rising falling down to seventh place. Halo: Reach also continues its steady decline down the UK Chart, dropping to eighth place after topping the charts only one month ago.

A third new entry enters the top ten this week with anime title Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 entering the chart in ninth place. Castlevania: Lord of Shadows completes the top ten, having dropped from its entry position of six.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West drops out of the top ten after just one week, falling to eleventh. This is a shame for Ninja Theory who spent three years developing the game. Meanwhile, the Borderlands Game of the Year edition has entered the top 40 in 35th place. Could the promise of a Duke Nukem Forever demo in future have encouraged sales?

The full  GfK Chart-Track All Formats top ten for the week ending October 16th is as follows

1. Medal of Honor (EA)
2. FIFA 11 (EA)
3. Just Dance 2 (Ubisoft)
4. Wii Party (Nintendo)
5. PES 2011 (Konami)
6. F1 2010 (Codemasters)
7. Dead Rising 2 (Capcom)
8. Halo Reach (Microsoft)
9. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (Namco Bandai)
10. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (Konami)

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Top 10? What do you think of Medal of Honors’ achievement despite the controversy and mixed reviews? Who is going to own up and say they bought Just Dance 2? And why has Enslaved: Odyssey to the West slumped so quickly?

Also, with Fallout: New Vegas released this week, will Medal of Honors’ position on top be short lived?

You can leave your thoughts on Medal of Honor, Fallout: New Vegas or any of the above here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Fallout New Vegas Developer Diary #5 – The Strip

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Obsidian has released a fifth Fallout: New Vegas developer diary. This time the team focus on one of the key areas of Fallout: New Vegas, the Strip.

The team at Obsidian discuss how getting the New Vegas look right was very important, and how it’s the part of Fallout: New Vegas they “put the most amount of work in term terms of design”. They also discuss the huge scale of The Strip and how they’ve captured elements that have always made Las Vegas exciting, then combined them with the pseudo 1950’s Sci-Fi world of Fallout: New Vegas.

Obsidian are obviously very proud of The Strip they’ve created for Fallout: New Vegas, saying that there’s nothing like it in the entire Fallout universe to date.

Of course, New Vegas isn’t all about the landscape, and we’re told how its glitz also features soldiers “walking around in drunken stupors, puking on the sidewalks and dancing naked in fountains, and that sort of thing” Naturally, you can also gamble and The Strip is also seems to play an important part in the storyline of Fallout: New Vegas. The developers say there is plenty to do!

You can watch Fallout New Vegas Developer Diary #5 – The Strip, below.


There are four other Fallout: New Vegas developer diaries from Obsidian. They cover The Story, the Tech & Sound, the Art Direction, and the Factions of Fallout: New Vegas.

You can also find out hardcore mode, morality, and combat in Fallout: New Vegas, by checking out this Q & A post in the PlayStation blog. You can also see the Train2Game preview of Fallout: New Vegas here.

Fallout: New Vegas is released in one week on October 22nd, and will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

So Train2Game, what do you think about the amount of effort Obsidian have put into Fallout: New Vegas’ Strip? What real world locations would you like to see transformed in a future Fallout game? And of course, who is going to be playing Fallout: New Vegas this time next week?

You can leave your thoughts about Fallout: New Vegas here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Third official Train2Game webinar details

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The third official Train2Game webinar will be taking place from 6:15 pm on Wednesday 20th October.

Previous Train2Game webinars have covered subjects including the games industry and the Train2Game Games Designer, Games Developer and Games Artist & Animator courses.

This time, the main speakers be focusing on will be on the new Train2Game Incubator Scheme. The Train2Game Incubator Scheme will give  best and brightest Train2Game graduates work placements at UK games studios. The Train2Game incubator scheme will also give the best students the financial support required to develop their own commercial video games. More information about the Train2Game Incubator Programme is available here.

The Train2Game webinar panel will be hosted by the Clive Robert (CEO of DR Studios) and Tony Bickley (COO of DR Studios). They’ll be joined b Mike Montgomery (Iconic Developer / CEO of the Bitmap Brothers), Jon Hare (Ambitious Games Designer & Founder and Owner of Tower Studios) and Dave Sharp (Incubator Scheme Co-Ordinator). More information about each of the speakers can be found on the Train2Game webinar website.

The Train2Game webinar is based upon questions from both students and the wider public. If you want to ask the Train2Game webinar panel a question, send it to live@train2game.com before the webinar begins.

It’ll also be possible to ask the panel questions during the Train2Game webinar through Skype. In order to ask live questions during the session, simply install Skype and direct your questions to the username train2gamewebinar.  Skype is available for download here.

The Train2Game webinar will take place at 6:15pm on Wednesday 20th October 2010.

The previous Train2Game webinar is available online, you can see it here.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare release date confirmed

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Red Dead Redemption: Undead NightmareUndead Nightmare, the expansion for Red Dead Redemption will be released on October 26th. The release of Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare in the run up to Halloween seems highly appropriate given the zombie based storyline! Rockstar has also revealed that Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare will also bring new multiplayer content and will be available on disc.

According to the Rockstar games website, the plot behind Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is as follows:

“Seemingly overnight, a zombie plague ravages the once bountiful frontier, decimating the landscape and reawakening the dead. In towns, settlements, and outposts throughout the world, the uninfected citizens are left to fight for survival against waves of the undead.  John Marston must ride out into the vast and terrifying world and survive long enough to find a cure.”

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare will feature four different types of zombie, each with their own characteristics, and there will be variety of ‘infected’ animals for John Marston to deal with. Ammo can be scare in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare but this can be combated through the use of a new weapon – the blunderbuss – which can be loaded with the remains of fallen zombies.

Additionally, the deadly Tomahawk and the Explosive Rifle make a triumphant comeback and will be available exclusively for those who downloaded the Legends and Killers Pack and the Liars and Cheats Pack.

Rockstar say Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare will feature a variety of new missions, challenges and events. Undead Nightmare also twists the ‘Wanted’ side-missions of Red Dead Redemption, and replaces them with ‘Missing Person’, where the player must find a missing survivor lost amongst the throngs of undead.

The expansion pack will also feature new multiplayer content, with Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare introducing Undead Overun. It’s brand new multiplayer survival mode where waves of infected enemies attack and players must work together to stay alive against increasingly difficult odds. (Sounds a bit like the Call of Duty zombie mode doesn’t it?)

You can see the trailer for Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare here.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare will be downloadable from Xbox Live for 800 points, and the PlayStation Network for £7.99. Alternatively, Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare will be available on a disc, along with the Outlaws to the End Co-Op Mission Pack, the Legends and Killers Pack, the Liars and Cheats Pack and all the Multiplayer Free Roam modes released to date.

There’s no release date for the Red Dead Redemption combined DLC pack yet, but it’ll cost £24.99 and oddly doesn’t even need the original Red Dead Redemption disc to play.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new details about Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare? Does the new multiplayer mode float your boat? Would you buy the DLC disc?

You can leave your thoughts on Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Halo: Reach DLC maps announced and dated

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Halo: Reach logo

Microsoft has announced the first DLC pack for Halo Reach. The Halo Reach: Noble Map Pack, will feature three new multiplayer maps. Bungie.net, the official Halo: Reach website states that the Noble Map Pack will be available on Xbox Live and “retail locations” from November 30th at a cost of 800 Microsoft points. The Noble Map Pack will contain all new Achievements worth a total of 250 Gamerscore points.

You can see the first pictures of the additions to Halo: Reach from the Noble Map Pack below.

The official description of the Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack from Bungie says:

“Our DLC team has been hard at work these last few months, cloistered together in the heart of the studio preparing three new multiplayer maps for your Halo: Reach multiplayer pleasure. Though they’re still putting the finishing touches on what we’ve now dubbed the Noble Map Pack as we speak, we’ve been itching like crazy to show off the trio of maps for quite some time now. Today, you get your first good look. The Noble Map Pack will be ready for download on November 30th for 800 Microsoft Points.

The fight for humanity continues on a galactic scale. From a frozen xeno-archaeology site harboring secrets centuries old to an orbital anchor defending the stars high above planet Reach to mysterious places far, far beyond, the Noble Map Pack injects three new explosive environments into the multiplayer battlefield, each designed to reinforce all of Halo: Reach’s vital warfronts, from small scale engagements to massive Invasion battlegrounds.”

You can see the descriptions of the new Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack levels below, and get a glimpse of their designs. You can see more pictures of the new Noble Map Pack levels on the  official Halo: Reach website.

Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack TempestTempest – “Though we may never fully understand these devices, it is not our nature to leave ancient stones unturned.” This abandoned shoreline facility bends both sea and sky to an unnatural purpose, but the ground itself has quickly become another all too familiar battlefield. Though the two opposing symmetrical bases may never reveal their ancient purpose, both now offer makeshift shelter and access to strategic routes perfectly suited for small and large scale skirmishes alike.

Tempest supports 8 – 16 players and offers a variety of modes including Free for All, Team Slayer, Team Objective and Big Team Battle. Tempest also provides players with a huge Forge palette, allowing them to create new custom map variants that can be shared with the community-at-large.


Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack Anchor 9Anchor 9 – “Orbital dockyards provide rapid refuelling and repairs for a variety of UNSC vessels.” Within the confines of this low orbit dry-dock, UNSC craft undergo rapid repair and rearmament in support of the enduring war effort.  But for the small squads of infantry who now fight over the mirrored interior hallways and open central hangar bay, this platform no longer provides any safe harbour – whether the close quarters combat is occurring inside or out of its artificial gravitational field.

Anchor 9 allows 2-8 players to face off in game variants including Free for All, Team Slayer and Team Objective.


Halo: Reach Noble Map Pack BreakpointBreakpoint – “ONI officials believe the data buried within this artefact is key to our survival.” Atop this icy precipice, the Invasion continues. These modular archaeological labs were never intended to withstand such a large-scale onslaught of Covenant military power, but the information being extracted here may prove vital to humanity’s survival. In response to the imminent Covenant threat, UNSC ground and air assets have been deployed to bolster entrenched Spartan countermeasures.

This dig site must yield salvation, or it will become a grave. Breakpoint offers multiplayer mayhem for 8-16 players, and supports the Invasion and Big Team Battle game variants.

Halo: Reach made $200 million dollars on its first day on sale, and easily topped the charts.

So Train2Game, do you think the Noble Map Pack will bring Microsoft even more Halo: Reach success? Will you be investing in the new maps? Or do you think the maps featured in the Noble Pack should have just been included with Halo: Reach on release?

Leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Call of Duty: Black Ops may be “biggest game ever”

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Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may be the best selling game ever, but retailer HMV has told Eurogamer that Call of Duty: Black Ops could very well be the “biggest game ever.”

“We’re seeing some exceptional interest for this title across its different formats,” HMV’s senior buyer James Brooks told Eurogamer.

“Particularly our co-exclusive on the Prestige Edition on HMV.com, where stock is nearly sold-through now and very little is left.

“Based on all this initial demand and the huge excitement that’s clearly being generated, I’d say this title has every chance of being the biggest game release ever, and it’s certainly shaping up to become the largest pre-order that we’ve seen in-store and online on HMV.com.”

The pre-order charts of various online retailers suggest that Brooks could very well be right about Call of Duty: Black Ops becoming the biggest game ever. The Play.com pre-order chart features Call of Duty: Black Ops for Xbox 360 in top spot, with Call of Duty: Black Ops for PlayStation 3 behind it in second.

The Game pre-order chart follows the same pattern with Call of Duty: Black Ops for Xbox 360 the retailers most pre-ordered title, with the PlayStation 3 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops again in second. Amazon list Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Xbox 360 as its second biggest seller behind FIFA 11 (EA’s football game has been quite successful itself)

However there is one retailer where Call of Duty: Black Ops isn’t the dominant pre-order title. The ShopTo.net pre-order chart shows the recently delayed (again) Gran Turismo 5 occupying pole position.  Call of Duty: Black Ops for the Xbox 360 is second most pre-ordered title on ShopTo while Call of Duty: Black Ops for the PlayStation 3 is third.

ShopTo Marketing Manager Phil Driver therefore doesn’t think Call of Duty: Black Ops will be as successful as others have claimed.  Driver told Eurogamer:

“COD will be in our all-time top 10 sellers”, but added Activision’s game “won’t be top”.

“We are expecting Gran Turismo 5 to be our greatest ever seller,”

Activision has continued to build the hype around Call of Duty: Black Ops this week, by releasing a new trailer with glimpses of the Call of Duty: Black Ops single player campaign. Call of Duty: Black Ops will also come with a zombie mode, and full 3D support. Naturally, Call of Duty: Black Ops also comes with an online multiplayer mode which will provide Call of Duty fans with hours and hours of entertainment.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is set for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 9th.

So Train2Game, do you think HMV are right? Will Call of Duty: Black Ops be the biggest game ever? Or will the once again delayed Gran Turismo 5 cause sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops to be less successful than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2?

Leave your thoughts about Call of Duty: Black Ops here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Rockstar reveal Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare trailer

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Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Rockstar has released a trailer for Undead Nightmare, the upcoming single player DLC for their smash hit Red Dead Redemption. In short, Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare trailer contains plenty of zombies and it looks good.

The Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare trailer starts with John Marston telling what looks to be his family that “something funny’s going on out there” Then of course all Hell breaks losoe and we have Red Dead Redemptions’ mental grave robber Seth telling us that “The dead are risen” and a plague is turning into “Flesh Eating Crazies” That’s all we know about the plot of Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare for now.

With this being an Undead Nightmare, we of course get to see plenty of zombie action.  The townsfolk of are running scared and it seems that in Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare, John Marston is the only one that can stop the wild western zombie apocalypse.

The trailer also reveals that characters from Red Dead Redemption including, Bonnie McFarlane, Nigel West Dickens and Marshal Johnson will return in Undead Nightmare. The fact that the opening scene of the Undead Nightmare trailer is set in the Marston Range, it’s possible that Undead Nightmare fits into the latter stages of the Red Dead Redemption timeline.

Here’s the Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare trailer in all its zombie glory.


Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is set to include:

  • New single player missions and challenges
  • 8 new multiplayer zombie characters
  • Zombie animals unleashed into the world
  • New dynamic events
  • Brand new gameplay mechanics
  • Mythical creatures
  • A brand new secret location
  • New weapons
  • New multiplayer modes
  • 3 new outfits: Zombie Hunter, Union Suit, and Legend of the Apocalypse

The Rockstar website says that Red Dead Redemption will be available simultaneously for download via PlayStation®Network ($9.99) and Xbox LIVE® (800 Microsoft Points). There isn’t any release date yet, but we can probably assume that Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare will be available in the run up to Halloween.

Zombies seem to be very much the ‘in’ thing right now, with Call of Duty: Black Ops also set to feature a standalone zombie mode. Meanwhile, Dead Rising 2 has rather very successful, remaining in third place every week since it entered the UK Charts. In fact, Dead Rising 2 entered the top 10 in the same week that Red Dead Redemption finally dropped out of it for the first time since it was released back in May.

Perhaps if zombies aren’t your thing, you can check out the Red Dead Redemption: Liars and Cheats multiplayer DLC. Alternatively, you can watch this video about the making of music for Red Dead Redemption. Of course, it’s likely the same techniques have been used to create atmospheric music for Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.

So Train2Game, what do you think of the Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare trailer? Is it a clever idea? Will the lure of zombies encourage you to return to the world of Red Dead Redemption? Or do you believe that Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare will ruin the ‘authentic’ western feel of the original game?

You can leave your thoughts on Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum.