Boomtown X

Bethesda sends word this morning that Honest Hearts, the second add-on pack for Fallout: New Vegas, is now available on Xbox Live and Steam.

An expedition into the unspoiled wilderness of Utah's Zion National Park goes horribly wrong when your caravan is ambushed by a tribal raiding band. As you try to find a way back to the Mojave you become embroiled in a war between tribes and a conflict between a New Canaanite missionary and the mysterious Burned Man. In Honest Hearts, the decisions you make will determine the fate of Zion.

Honest Hearts is available for download on Xbox LIVE for 800 Microsoft points as well as Steam for £7.49, and will be available on the earliest date possible via PlayStationNetwork. For more information on Fallout: New Vegas or Honest Hearts please visit http://fallout.bethsoft.com.

Bethesda has just sent word of plans to release the Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money DLC for PC and PlayStation 3 on February 22nd.

The developer says there are plans for three more DLC packs for the game in the coming months and these will launch simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Dead Money was released for Xbox 360 in December 2010.

Bethesda Softworks has announced the first piece of DLC for the hit action-RPG Fallout New Vegas.

The content will be an Xbox 360 exclusive for now and will arrive on December 21st.

Called Dead Money, the content sees you and "three other captured wastelanders to recover the legendary treasure of the Sierra Madre Casino. In Dead Money, your life hangs in the balance as you face new terrain, foes, and choices. It is up to you how you play your cards in the quest to survive."

"We’re pleased to give fans a chance to expand their experience in Fallout: New Vegas this December with Dead Money," said Pete Hines, VP of PR and Marketing for Bethesda Softworks. "The release of Dead Money illustrates our commitment to creating entertaining add-on content for players to enjoy in already massive games like Fallout: New Vegas."

Dead Money will cost you 800 Microsoft Points.

Bethesda Softworks has announced that it has shipped five million copies of Fallout: New Vegas.

"We are delighted by the reception Fallout: New Vegas has received from fans around the world," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. "Despite the large launch quantities for this title, we have already received substantial re-orders from our retail partners, underscoring the tremendous popularity of this highly entertaining game. We believe Fallout: New Vegas will be the “must buy” title for gamers throughout the holiday season."

Of course, shipping and selling are two different things, but the figure is testament to how popular the multi-format RPG is.

ZeniMax Media - the parent company of Bethesda Softworks - has acquired Tango Gameworks the developer founded Resident Evil creator by Shinji Mikami.

"It’s refreshing to find a publisher who understands, trusts, and supports the development of blockbuster games and works to make it a collaborative effort," said Mikami. "The library of AAA franchise titles ZeniMax owns speaks for itself. We are very excited to be joining ZeniMax and working with a company that is dedicated to creating the best games ever made."

"Shinji Mikami has earned a stellar reputation as one of the industry’s finest game developers," said Robert Altman, Chairman and CEO of ZeniMax Media. “He has repeatedly created hit titles that have earned praise from fans and critics around the world. We share his vision for innovative, genre-defining games and look forward to working with Shinji and his team at Tango."

Obsidian's Fallout: New Vegas was last week's best selling game here in the UK, knocking Medal of Honor from the top spot.

But where is DJ Hero 2? Oh dear, seems not many folks are interested in pretending to be someone pretending to play music.

1 FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS BETHESDA SOFTWORKS -
2 MEDAL OF HONOR EA GAMES 1
3 FIFA 11 EA SPORTS 2
4 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE LOST FUTURE NINTENDO -
5 JUST DANCE 2 UBISOFT 3
6 WII PARTY NINTENDO 4
7 WII SPORTS RESORT NINTENDO 15
8 F1 2010 CODEMASTERS 6
9 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2011 KONAMI 5
10 DEAD RISING 2 CAPCOM 7
11 HALO: REACH MICROSOFT 8
12 VANQUISH SEGA -
13 TOY STORY 3 DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS 13
14 JUST DANCE UBISOFT 12
15 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. NINTENDO 19
16 WII FIT PLUS NINTENDO -
17 RED DEAD REDEMPTION ROCKSTAR -
18 CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2 ACTIVISION 14
19 MAFIA II 2K GAMES -
20 CASTLEVANIA: LORDS OF SHADOW KONAMI 10

Source: ChartTrack/ELSPA

Bethesda says it has released a second update to Fallout: New Vegas which is available now via Steam. This second patch solves issues with autosave and quicksave features.

"We are also pleased to say that we have just released a second fix for PC users to address the autosave and quicksave issues that some people were encountering," explained senior producer Jason Bergman. "That particular issue was never seen prior to release and it was extremely difficult to reproduce reliably, even after the game had launched. In order to fix this problem we have had to disable Steam Cloud functionality. It has been turned off, and we won’t turn it back on until we’re absolutely sure it will not cause any more problems. Please restart your Steam client to make sure you get the update."

An update for the Xbox 360 version - which solves scripting and other bugs - went live overnight.

And it looks like everyone loves it. Check out the strong scores below:

• Eurogamer (9/10)
• GamePro (4.5/5)
• Official Xbox Magazine UK (9/10)
• IGN UK (9/10)
• The Guardian (5/5)
• Destructoid (9/10)
• GameInformer (8.5/10)
• Planet Xbox 360 (8.8/10)
• The Escapist (4/5)
• Avault (5/5)
• GamesTM (9/10)
• ArsTechnica (Buy)
• IncGamers (9.1/10)
• NowGamer (9.3/10)
• Atomic Gamer (9/10)
• Feed Your Console (10/10)
• The Charleston Gazette (9.5/10)
• FileFront (91/100)
• Hooked Gamers (9.0/10)
• FrontTowardsGamer (9/10)
• TQCast (4.5/5)
• RPG Fan (85/100)
• Just Push Start (4.5/5)
• Xbox 360 Achievements (90/100)

Bethesda Softworks has announced plans for Fallout: New Vegas that will once again see the content coming to Xbox 360 before PlayStation 3.

The game is set for release this week on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC - but console owners wanting to play DLC before Christmas will need to pick up the Xbox 360 version.

"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 Pete Hines, VP of Marketing and PR of Bethesda Softworks. "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."

"Bethesda set a high bar with the quality of the Fallout game add-ons," said Matt Barlow, General Manager, IEB Product Marketing for Microsoft. "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."

Given this is how the wind blew on Fallout 3 this announcement isn't a great surprise. Sucks for PS3 owners though.

Bethesda has just dropped us a line to tell us about the UK pre-order campaign for Fallout: New Vegas.

Game has managed to snag an exclusive, so you'll only be able to pick up these bonuses via its Game and Gamestation stores.

Details after the jump.

Bethesda has just sent word of the pre-order bonuses available for those putting down the green for Hunted: The Demon's Forge in North America.

There are four different packs on offer - the Darkset, Griffin, Demon and Assassin packs.

Full details after the jump along with images of the various goodies.

Bethesda Softworks has revealed the UK release date for id Software's eagerly anticipated shooter RAGE.

The game will hit PC, PS3 and X360 hardware in North America on September 13th. Here in Europe and over in Australia we'll have to wait until September 16th.

Full PR after the jump: