Mobile Friday - The Elder Scrolls: Castles - I Can't Recommend It

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out The Elder Scrolls: Castles, from #Bethesda, on my #iPhone 14 Pro. 

After spending an hour with it, i can't recommend it. i'm just as surprised as you are. the game has been in development for such a long time that it's surprising that it's launched in a somewhat broken state. when zooming in and out in a mobile game causes soo many issues, it's not good.

But it's not just that. it's design feels old, if not actually designed with mobile in mind. the best example of that is just how poor the tutorial is. more than once it would mention something and not even tell me where it is or how to do the thing it wants me to do. Tutorials in modern big mobile games tend to be a little more hand holdy, it's a smart way to slowly introduce game mechanics to the player but also it slows the player down so that the "grind", if there is any, is delayed or hidden. in The Elder Scrolls: Castles, i felt like i was grinding away fairly early on. and there are whole important aspects of the game that are never explained, like the whole day night cycle.

And talking about the design, it feels like the game was made by two teams who didn't talk to each other. one team did the mechanics whilst the other did the story beats. but in the hour i played, neither worked well together. for example, in these sort of games you need characters working to produce goods. but The Elder Scrolls: Castles would continuously bring up things it wants us to do that took characters away from making the goods the game had also told us we need. the most frustrating of these was getting a shrine we could get married at, but to do so meant removing one or two characters from making stuff. later, we got the ability to make a bed so that those characters could have a child. but again, you have to remove those characters from working. up to this point, i had only gained 2 or 3 extra characters which wasn't enough to fully populate all the jobs i need to survive. But that's not all as the game had also introduced the ability to sell stuff to earn money, which i needed to do, so i not only needed goods to survive but also goods to sell, and then there's the goods i need to help villagers around the castle. it ended up with the game wanting me to do two different things that weren't compatible with each other.

With the content being so thin that the grind started early and the game mechanics fighting each other, i'd hope that the story at least would be what saved The Elder Scrolls: Castles. But i'd argue there's little to no story. apart from our father at the start of the game, there was no significant story element for the rest of the hour. there were small interactions that helped talk about what was happening outside the castle, which we couldn't see happen, but other than that i felt like the game had no story to tell.

Even the graphical style of the game felt old. it looks fine, but it doesn't wow me. the style they've gone with doesn't look great zoomed out and has little to no character until you zoom in. The castle itself looks odd, especially the areas yet to be built on.

It feels like Bethesda tried to shoe horn The Elder Scrolls into a "Fallout Shelter" style of game and in doing so they lost what makes an Elder Scrolls game fun to play and what makes a Fallout Shelter game interesting and unpredictable. what we have here is a bad Fallout Shelter style game that's also a bad Elder Scrolls game.

Version ? Played.

Cloud Monday - Brink - Part 2 - It's Not Designed For The Cloud, But It's An Experience Worth Having

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 2 of playing the PS3 version of Brink via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4. I have previously uploaded the PlayStation 3 XMB game Previews for the Beta to Brink, version 1.00 https://youtube.com/shorts/uWjRVuGWWZ0 and version 1.01 https://youtu.be/AQGrYqGH7Bg, but it was so long ago i don't really remember much about the game. 

In Part 1, https://youtu.be/M9xZ-ufWVl0, it became clear that the game isn't designed around being played in the cloud. whilst it has some ideas that feel modern, there are a few aspects of the game stuck in PlayStation 3 past. But actually playing in in the cloud was fine. i didn't notice any lag, nor were there any video issues. across both days, it was a great experience playing Brink in the Cloud.

Whilst it's not designed for it and it will be frustrating if you're kicked off the service whilst playing it, i would still say it's worth trying out. There's an aspect of preservation about being able to play Brink on PS3, an experience worth having whilst the game is still on the service. It has it's quirks, but i'd also argue there's some good worth playing too.

If you enjoy it, then you can get it for free on Steam and join in the the community on there. But outside of that, it's difficult to recommend. 

Cloud Monday - Brink - Part 1 - An Interesting Approach To Single Player Missions

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS3 version of Brink via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4. I have previously uploaded the PlayStation 3 XMB game Previews for the Beta to Brink, version 1.00 https://youtube.com/shorts/uWjRVuGWWZ0 and version 1.01 https://youtu.be/AQGrYqGH7Bg, but it was so long ago i don't really remember much about the game. i know that it didn't do as great as they expected and i remember there being some complaints at the time, but i don't remember what specifically the main issues with the game were.

It starts well with an interesting intro video detailing the story of the game. it tries to provide both the point of view of both sides as when it finishes it asks you to pick a side to play as. Whilst the following character customisation section was easy to navigate, i wasn't a fan of the character design. i didn't like how at this point, it asks you to customise and at first glance it looks like there are lot's of options, but in reality a lot are locked behind progress. i would've preferred the lock stuff to be separated.

Brink has an interesting approach to the tutorial in that it's a video, longer than i expected. it's very detailed and seems to go over everything. There's bonus XP for watching it. i was just surprised that there was no where to go and practice it. the video is a lot to take in and i honestly forgot a few things as i played.

The online servers for Brink are offline, but it does have a single player mode. i was really interested to see how this would work not just in this game but also as something that's being played in the cloud. some of the best designed games are those with lots of auto saves and manual saves. It soon became apparent that the single player part of the game is built inside the multiplayer. It was never made clear if your progress was being tracked with an auto save, so if Sony does disconnect you from the service you could hop back into where you were, or not. personally, i think that there is no auto save/check pointing and if you're disconnected you'll have to start again from the beginning. 

As the single player mission are timed, the compromise is that you won't loose too much progress other than the mission you're currently playing. But the fact it's being played inside a multiplayer shell also means how it works is kinda interesting. What took me a little time to realise is that i can respawn. i kept on expecting my team mates to heal me but when i understood the respawn mechanic other aspects started to make sense. i had noticed that the enemy was relentless but so where my team mates. but i also noticed that players on both sides were getting killed. now i understood that both sides have a respawn mechanic. A bonus to dying is that you're able to respawn and change your job to suit what's happening. I only tried out the medic, but by the end of the video it was clear that the medics job in this mode isn't that beneficial as the Ai players die so quickly. 

I wouldn't say the Ai players are that smart either. it wasn't too frustrating playing with them, but it certainly was unpredictable. Ultimately, it's great that we're able to still play this game. it looks good, the cinematics were great, but i still don't like the character art styles. aspects of the game feel very modern, so it's possible the game was ahead of it's time, but there are certainly aspects of it's design that feel very much of the PS3 generation. Having the ability to play it on PlayStation Plus in the cloud is a bonus, but it's clear that the game isn't designed well enough for it. Part 2 of playing Brink is will probably be more about experiencing this past game.

Cloud Monday - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Part 2 - Maybe Not The Best Version Of The Game

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS3 version of Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

In part 1, https://youtu.be/ckR9cha291o, it was clear that playing Oblivion via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service is a good way to play the PlayStation 3 version of the game. the ability to manually save quickly and that the game clearly shows when it does auto saves are big positives as the service only gives you a 20 second warning when it's going to disconnect you.

For today, whilst i was playing the question that was one my mind moved from whether this is a good game to play in the cloud to is this a good version of Oblivion to play.  Something i repeat throughout this video is how there's a disconnection between what i feel as the player and what happens in the game due to the game not supporting rumble (DualShock3). Oblivion came out when Sony was focusing on Sixaxis, that and they didn't want to pay for DualShock tech licensing, and unfortunately the game, or this version of the game that's available in the cloud, was never patched by Bethesda to support it, or trophies.

By the end of the video i was getting the feeling that if this was the only version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion you had access to, then you'll have a good time. But if you can get it, or have it, on another platform like Xbox then it's highly likely that'll be the better version of this game to play. 

Cloud Monday - The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Part 1 - The Cloud Is A Decent Place To Play This

This week's Cloud Monday video is part 1 of playing the PS3 version of Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion via the PlayStation Plus Cloud Streaming Service to my Japanese launch model PlayStation 4.

I have tried to start The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion a few times across Xbox 360 and PS3, but i have never finished the game. during this video i find out that i had tried it when the service was PlayStation Now and still had no memory of it. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a game i do want to play and explore and i picked it as part of Cloud Monday as i was curious if it's game design would allow for it. 

It came out in a time where RPG's had a mix of fixed location saves and in-world saves. i couldn't remember which one this game had. I did remember the game had auto saves, but only in a negative way because on PlayStation 3 Bethesda games had an issue where if you played the game for hours and hours, the auto save file gets huge and then breaks. but i don't remember the details on that, just that i remember being told back around this time to manually save and to close the game after a few hours.

Even tho i had this negative memory of Bethesda on PS3, i still went in hopeful and even tho is this part 1 i still had a good time. The game makes it clear when it auto saves, and whilst i'd prefer it to be more frequent, loading the save was quick. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion also makes use of manual saves, so when you're free you can pause the game and save. this is an amazing feature for a game being played in the Cloud as Sony's Cloud Streaming Service only gives a 20 second warning. this means we can hit pause and save, quickly get through a conversation to either get an auto save or manual save, or hope that we did it fairly recently. 

With any Bethesda game on PS3, i'd recommend saving regularly because of how buggy they were known to be. but this behaviour works well for games being played in the cloud and should be encouraged. Part 1 was mostly in confined spaces so saving and loading were quick so in part 2 it'll be interesting to see is saving times increase to the point where a save might be incomplete before we're kicked off the service if there is a streaming issue. But for now, even tho there are parts of the game dated, playing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on PS3 in the cloud is a solid option to play the game.

Bethesda Have Released A New The Elder Scrolls Online Video Showing Character Creation

Bethesda have released a new video for The Elder Scrolls Online. this video is narrated and focuses on the character creation in the game. in-game action of the creation options are shown showing the variety of ways you can customise your character.



Source: Bethesda Blog

Bethesda Have Released A 11 Minute Game Play Demo Video For The Evil Within

Bethesda have released a game play video for The Evil Within. this 11 minute video shows in-game action from two levels in the game.

Bethesda And Arkane Studios Announce Dishonored: Game Of The Year Edition, Coming 11th October

Bethesda and Arkane Studios have announced they are re-releasing Dishonored with all it's DLC in one package. the Dishonored: Game Of The Year Edition is set to come out on 11th October across, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 for a reduced price of £29.99/€39.99. 

Press Release

Bethesda Reveal The Elder Scrolls Anthology, 5 Games Coming To PC's 13th September For £49.99 / €59.99

Bethesda have announced they are releasing all 5 Elder Scrolls Games together in one Anthology on PC. this Anthology is set to come out on 13th September for £49.99 / €59.99 and will feature physical maps for each of the games.

  
The Elder Scrolls Games:

• Arena
  Assume the role of a lone prisoner and travel to Tamriel’s most famous and dangerous sites to collect the shattered Staff of Chaos and save the Empire from the evil Imperial battlemage, Jagar Tharn. The Anthology features the original version of Arena and will launch within a DOS emulator.

• Daggerfall
  The ancient golem Numidium, a powerful weapon once used to unify Tamriel has once again been unearthed. In the power struggle that follows, the King of Daggerfall is murdered and his vengeful spirit haunts the kingdom. The Emperor Uriel Septim VII sends you on a heroic path to put the king’s spirit to rest and ensure that the golem does not fall into the wrong hands. The Anthology features the original version of Daggerfall and will launch within a DOS emulator.

• Morrowind 
  To fulfill an ancient prophecy, the Emperor sends you, an unknown Imperial courier, to the island of Vvardenfell to rid the land of Morrowind of a dark curse. Through a series of dangerous and magical quests, you are transformed into one of the Empire’s most enduring heroes. Also includes: Tribunal and Bloodmoon add-ons, plus The Elder Scrolls Construction Set.

• Oblivion 
  With the Empire ready to crumble, the gates of Oblivion open and demons march upon the land. In the shadow of evil, a hero will rise from the ashes of a fallen Empire. You must find the true heir of the Septim line and restore him to the Imperial throne, while unraveling the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel. Also includes: Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles expansions.

• Skyrim
  Dragons, long lost to the passages of the Elder Scrolls, have returned to Tamriel. The future of Skyrim, even the Empire itself, hangs in the balance as they wait for the prophesized Dragonborn to come; a hero born with the power of The Voice, and the only one who can stand amongst the dragons. Also includes: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn add-ons.

Press Release

Bethesda Reveal New Dishonored DLC, The Brigmore Witches Coming Out 13th August On PS3, PC, Xbox 360

Bethesda have announced new DLC for Dishonored is set to come out across PS3, Xbox 360 and PC from 13th August. this DLC is called The Brigmore Witches and will cost 800 MS Points/ $9.99 / £7.99 / €9.99 / AU$14.45.

The Brigmore Witches continues the story of Daud :

After discovering the identity and intentions of Delilah, the leader of the Brigmore Witch coven, you set out to disrupt her from completing a powerful ritual that will spell your doom. Having already been betrayed by your lieutenant, Billie Lurk, you must rely on feuding gang factions—the Dead Eels and the Hatters—to negotiate your way through previously unseen districts of Dunwall en route to Delilah’s stronghold. Regardless of the way you reach your destination, one thing is for certain – you will finally answer for your treacherous actions and fall before the mercy, or punishment, of the Royal Bodyguard and Assassin, Corvo Attano.

The Brigmore Witches also features new powers, includes new areas of Dunwall to explore like Draper's Ward, and continues how Dishonored allows you to play the game your way. Your power, weapon and item upgrades, Chaos level, and player actions from The Knife of Dunwall will carry over via a compatible save file option.

Screenshots And Artwork


Press Release

Bethesda Announce The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Supports Steam Trading Cards

Bethesda have revealed that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim now supports Steam Trading Cards, on PC.

Source: Bethesda Blog

Bethesda Have Released New The Evil Within Screenshots And A E3 Trailer For Wolfenstein: The New Order

Bethesda have released a E3 trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order and new screenshots for The Evil Within.



Screenshots

Bethesda Announe Wolfenstein 3D Is Coming Back To The PSN, XBLA And Steam For $4.99/400 MS Points

Bethesda have announced Wolfenstein 3D is being released on digital stores. the game will hit the USA PSN And XBLA stores from today, with the EU also getting it from today on Xbox Live and the EU PSN release is coming soon. Wolfenstein 3D is also back out on Steam too and can be bought for $4.99/£2.99/400 MS Points (EU PSN Price not yet confirmed).

Source: Bethesda Blog

Bethesda Have Released The Debut Trailer And Initial Boxart For Wolfenstein: The New Order

Bethesda have released the debut trailer for Wolfenstein: The New Order as well as showing the current boxart for the games. the trailer is a cinematic announcement trailer.



Current Boxart

Bethesda Announce Wolfenstein: The New Order, Coming Q4 2013 To PS3, PC, 360 And Next Gen

Bethesda announce Wolfenstein: The New Order, a Q4 2013 game being developed by MachineGames. Wolfenstein: The New Order is set to come out on PS3, PC and Xbox 360. Bethesda say it's coming to next gen consoles which probably means the PS4 and Xbox Third. Wolfenstein: The New Order is a re-imagining of the franchise, more details will be revealed later.

Press Release

Bethesda Reveal The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition, Coming 7th June To PC, PS3 And Xbox 360

Bethesda have revealed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition. coming 4th June for $59.99 in the USA and 7th June across the EU on PS3, PC and Xbox 360, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition brings together the game and all it's DLC into one package. also included are updates made to the game via firmware, up to 1.9, and these include Legendary difficulty mode and Legendary Skills.

Boxart


Screenshots


Fact Sheet

Bethesda Have Released A New Dishonored Gameplay Trailer For The Knife Of Dunwall DLC

Bethesda have released a new gameplay video for Dishonored. this video is for the upcoming The Knife of Dunwall DLC that comes out from next week, 16th April, on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC for $9.99 or 800 MS Points.



Source: Bethesda Blog

Bethesda Announce Dishonored DLC The Knife Of Dunwall Comes Out 16th April

Bethesda have announced The Knife Of Dunwall DLC for Dishonored comes out on 16th April across the Xbox 360, PC and PS3. for $9.99/800MS Points, The Knife Of Dunwall lets you play as Daud and see events from the game in a new perspective. other features of the DLC include:

New Powers, Weapons and Gadgets – The mark of the Outsider empowers you with unique supernatural abilities. Call upon the Whalers to assist in combat with ‘Summon Assassin’, track down hidden Runes and Bone Charms with ‘Void Gaze’ and learn to use new variations to powers, including ‘Blink’. To aid in your dangerous exploits your customized arsenal of weapons and gadgets will include Chokedust to daze your enemies, whale oil powered Stun Mines to shock your targets, and a concealed Wristbow to launch sleep darts and explosive bolts.

Explore More of Dunwall –Make your way through the Legal District and infiltrate the Rothwild Slaughterhouse, a steaming factory filled with colossal whale carcasses and their hulking butchers. Revisit the decaying Flooded District, the location of Daud’s hidden base, first seen in the original game. Return to the scenes of key events in Dishonored with a new perspective, including the fateful moment that sets off Corvo’s journey.

Choose Your Path – On your search for answers, approach each mission with your own style. Your redemption – or your turn towards darkness – depends on your skills and the decisions you make. Discover the mystery behind Delilah in this stand-alone chapter, and then conclude Daud’s story in the upcoming final add-on, The Brigmore Witches.

Source: Bethesda Blog

Bethesda Announce The Elder Scrolls V DLC Is Coming To PS3, Dragonborn, Hearthfire And Dawnguard Out by End Of February

Bethesda have announced The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim DLC is coming to the PS3. Bethesda aim to have all of the Skyrim DLC that has been released on the Xbox 360 out on PS3 before the end of February. 

However, first there will be a title update for the game. update 1.8 will come out before the first DLC is released. details on this update have not been revealed as yet. after this update, the first DLC released will be Dragonborn.

• Explore beyond Skyrim: Leave the province of Skyrim and travel to the coastal island of Solstheim. Encounter the Dark Elven settlers of Raven Rock and the native Skaal, as you unravel the mystery of a Dragonborn’s return.
• Become the ultimate Dragonborn: Harness the power of the Voice as you face off against the first Dragonborn. Wield new shouts and spells including Dragon Aspect – allowing you to summon the inner power of a dragon to deliver colossal blows and strengthen other shouts.
• New powers: Discover dark powers as you journey into a new Daedric realm. Collect books of forbidden knowledge and choose new paths for your skills and abilities.
• New dungeons, creatures, weapons, and more: Suit up in Bonemold and Chitin armors and wield Stalhrim weapons as you navigate through a myriad of dungeons. Battle formidable foes like Ash Spawn, Rieklings, and more.

After Dragonborn, the next piece of DLC will be Hearthfire:

• Choose your land: Choose from property in the salt marshes of Hjaalmarch, the forests of Falkreath, or the vast tundra of The Pale. For the more ambitious landowner, purchase multiple plots and start building a real estate empire.

• Customise your home - Expand your home with a variety of room combinations including an armory, alchemy tower, kitchen, trophy room and more. Grow plants in your new greenhouse, cultivate slaughterfish in the fish hatchery, house your Arcane Enchanter in the enchanting tower, or display your latest conquest in the trophy room. Add additional features like stables, mills, smelters, gardens and more.
• New objectives and interactions: Guard your home from unwanted visitors like marauding kidnappers, armed bandits, and skeever infestations. Turn almost any follower into your personal steward to improve and protect your home. Or if you require more help, hire a personal bard or carriage driver to ease the burdens of home ownership.
• Adoption: Transform your house into a home with Hearthfire’s all-new adoption system. Adopt children and discover new ways to interact with your family. Play games with the kids, allow them to have pets and gain new bonuses from having a family.

The Final Piece of DLC will be Dawnguard:

• New weapons, armour, spells and shouts: Join the Dawnguard and wield all new crossbows and craft your own arrows, bolts, and Dragonbone weapons. Use new weapons, armour, spells and shouts, including the Soul Tear shout – that rips the souls from your enemies and turns them into your minions.

• Become a vampire lord: Side with the vampires and become a Vampire Lord yourself. Hover across the ground, turn yourself into bats, levitate your enemies as you drain their life, and more. The Vampire Lord features its own upgradable perk system.
• Werewolf Perks added: Playing as a werewolf now has its own upgradable perk system including Bestial Strength, Animal Vigor, and Savage Feeding.
• New locations and creatures: Choose from two new fortresses to upgrade and call home, Castle Volkihar or Fort Dawnguard. Discover lost valleys and travel to a new realm of Oblivion, the Soul Cairn. Battle new creatures including Death Hounds, Gargoyles, Armored Trolls, and all new vampires and dragons.

Each of these pieces of DLC will be 50% off during its launch week on the PSN.

Source: EU Playstation Blog And Bethesda Blog

Bethesda Announce The Scorchers DLC For RAGE, Comes Out Next Week For $4.99/400 MS Points

Bethesda have announced new DLC is coming to RAGE next week on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. The Scorchers brings 6 new areas, a new season of Mutant Bash TV, Mini-games, a Nailgun and it will have you defending the Hager settlement from a new bandit clan called The Scorchers. 

Bethesda have also announced this DLC brings a new difficulty level to the game called Ultra Nightmare and it will also allow players to continue the game after the original ending, enabling players to finish quests and get achievements.

Source: Bethesda Blog