Skyrim mods have always been a vital aspect in keeping the aging Elder Scrolls ga?me alive and well. While the vast majority of them are free to download and install, Bethesda is once again interested in keeping some of the higher quality o?nes back for profit.

A recent update for Skyrim was sent out and with it, Bethesda announced Creations, a new way for "players to discover, download and play community-made content." In a nutshell, it means modders speci??ally picked by the developer can earn a bit of money for their m?ods. That's right, you'll have to pay for these if you want to play them.

An FAQ explains those that have been vetted �referred to as "Verified Cr?eators" �can set a price for mods "from a set selection of options." They will then receive royalties from their content. While anyone can apply to be entered into the "Verified Creator Program," it seems it's reserved mainly for those with experience and expertise, possibly bordering on professional levels.

Because it was so popular last time...

As you can imagine, it isn't going down well with the Skyrim community at all. Recent reviews on Steam show many are angry about this new "evolution," as ??Bethesda is calling it. Not only does it?? reintroduce paid community content, but some have said the update has broken some mods.

Something similar was at?tempted back in 2015, when Bethesda teamed up with Valve to implement a way of getting players to pay for custom mods. That didn't go down well then, either, so it??'s interesting that it's being tried again.

Whether this is something that's being attempted to see if it'll work with Starfield is just speculation on my part. It should be noted that modders can choose to upload content to Skyrim for free. But in any case, the Elder Scrolls and Fallout studio is once again making itself unpopular? among the community.

The post Skyrim brings back paid mods, and it’s going down as well as you’d expect appeared first on Destructoid.

Back at the tail-end of 2021, Bethesda released the Anniversary Edition of Skyrim. Along with new content and the official DLC, the game also came with a ne??w fishing mode. Pleasant though it was, one person felt it needed a bit of tweaking.

Veteran Skyrim modder JaySerpa is back again with another improvement to TES5. This time, they've deci??ded to overhaul the fishing aspect of the game. Their latest mod tackles (funny joke!) the overall mechanics of this chill mini-game.

In particular, they've added a third-person mode, made it so you can move the camera around in fi?rst-person, and added a "bait requirement" as an optional addition.

Not all citizens approve, though

It wouldn't be a JaySerpa mod without the addition of some new dialogue. In this instance, we get to hear what Skyrim NPCs think about us stopping for a little bit of fishing betwixt ?questing. Around 200 lines have been added in, allowing for a more immersive experience as followers react to your newfound hobby.

The above video gives us an idea of what kind of dialogue?? can be spoken. This could be someone simply saying they'll stand guard while you fish. Others simply comment on how much they enjoy the sport. Then there are those who suggest an air of ennui or even boredom.

In any case, it's just one more way to kick the immersion of Skyrim up another notch. The modder says this should be compatible with other fishing quality-of-life mods, but they also warn the animations in third??-person are "not perfect." But what is in this wil?d world?

The post Skyrim mod overha??uls fish?ing, includes a third-person mode appeared first on Destructoid.

The Internet has no shorta??ge of lists depicting the creepiest enemies you can find in video games. Yeah, the Pyramid Head is very scary, but what about NPCs that, due to glitches or wacky design, become just as monstrous as the most intentionally scary monsters in gaming?

Sure, we already covered the? ??creepiest glitches in video games. But for those who need even more cursed conten??t, here's a list just for you.

Kids in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

‌In previous Assassin's Creed games, Ubisoft generally modeled regular-looking kids. But in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, the company managed to come up with a bunch of monstrositi??es when it came to portraying Viking children.

Did the devs have a huge bone to pic??k with Scandinavians? At best, these NPCs only look okay. Most loo??k extremely scary.

And that's not even the glitch. That's the feature. The glitch is one that makes these kids grow as large as adults.

Babies in Bioshock Infinite

‌Eerie children have been a staple of horror movies for the longest time, so it's no surprise that video games would eventually follow that trend. Granted, the world of Bioshock Infinite is weird. But it ??never gets worse than when you look at some of its babies.

‌What the hell is that? Why does ??the game have some normal babies in it, and then some have the bodies of children but the heads and faces of adult men? Is this a side effect of taking plasmids during pregnancy? That could've made for such a great side plot.

The super-human drone controller in The Division 2

Upon release, the drone controller NPC in The Division 2 was just someth??ing else. She was just too good, like, impossibly good. Please see if you notice anything strange about her mannerisms in the clip above. Imagine being a poor criminal or rebel and knowing that's what you're up against.

‌I'm not keen on d??rone warfare in real life, so I actually enjoy Ubisoft's accidental attempt at making it look gross and weird in games.

The mannequins in Skyrim are straight out of a horror movie

‌If you look closely at the mannequins in Skyrim, you might notice that they look back at you. In fact, they never stop following you with their u??nseeing eyes.

That's because those goddamn mannequins aren’t objects, they're secret NPCs. Sometimes you gotta make some shortcuts when you're developing a game, but some shortcuts will do more harm than good. This is not one of?? those cases, beca??use I absolutely love these cursed monstrosities.

The soldiers�wives in Medal Of Honor Warfighter

‌Remember Medal Of Honor? That series met its demise after the launch of Medal Of Honor Warfighter, a big-budget game that came out in 2012 with NPCs that look straight out of the early ??00's.

The male models don’t look great, but they have one thing going for them: short hair. Their wives, on the other hand, have both really weird faces and hair animations. Also, how old are they? They manage to look both 30 and 60 at the same ??time.

The cutscene? looks like an attempt to make one ?of those creepy AI-made deepfakes long before that was a thing.

Stalker Watson in Sherlock Holmes Nemesis

Watson in Sherlock Holmes Nemesis is always following players around, and teleporting behind their backs when they let him out of sight. It's a good thing that this man l??oves Holmes. Otherwise, there'd be serious caus??e for concern.

This odd feature grew into such a classic that the devs behind the vastly superior Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments made an in-engine short film starrin??g Sherlock Holmes' creepiest friend.

Red Dead Redemption 2’s Bald Man

‌The Bald Man is a weird NPC that has appeared for many Red Dead Redemption 2 players seemingly just to haunt them. Nobody knows why he’s there or how he showed up. He's become the Slenderman of the RDR2 community.

The only thing we know about the Bald Man is that sometimes he's floating, and sometimes he shows up in a see-through manner, just like a ghost. I don't really know anything about him, as nobody does, but I recommend that you don't engage with him in a shootout. We know how well ??shooting supernatural entities tur??ned out for John Marston.

This poor man from Assassin’s Creed Unity who is is immune to hanging

Assassin's Creed Unity caught a lot of heat upon release due to the presence of a variety of obvious glitches, but I believe that more discrete glit?ches m?ake for better horror.

What you see above is not an NPC that you'll learn later was faking his death. That's supposedly a very hanged, very dead, man. Still, a weird glitch forced him to be conscious and hilariously nonplussed ab??out the fact that his neck was broken.

I just find it very interesting that the Assassin's Creed series, one that I'm assuming is made b??y people who know a lot about death, don't always manage to kill their NPCs dead.

The post Most unintentionally creepy NPCs in video games appeared first on Destructoid.

Some games provide intentionally scary moments??, while others turn into horror masterpieces entirely by accident. In honor of the sentiment, here's a list of regular games turned into ho?rror masterpieces via the miracle of video game glitches.

Skyrim NPCs can survive decapitation

‌The world of Skyrim is? a magical pl??ace, though not all the magics contained within are necessarily good ones.

Remember that guy who gets beheaded right at the start of Skyrim? Well, he does lose his head every time, as there's no way to mess with that scripting,? but the wound isn't always fatal. This guy �as well as other enemies who wind up headless �can just get up and go on with their lives.

While there's no recording of this headless horseless man going on a vendetta against Dovakhin f??or doing nothing to prevent his execution, I would keep ??my eyes open on a playthrough where that happens.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

Demon babies in The Sims 3

‌The Sims series is as far as it gets from a horror experience �or is it? Well, it turns out that babies in The Sims can become pretty hellish. There's a glitch that turns the babies in The Sims 3 into what feels like an early version of the necromorphs from the Dead Space series.

Putting our offspring in this world can be scary, yes, but I doubt this was an intentional allegory for the fears of parenthood like in David Lynch's Eraserhead.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

The Manimals in Red Dead Redemption

The original Red Dead Redemption could sometimes mix up human and animal models, which resu?lted in? human NPCs behaving like animals. No, not in the Wild West sense where we expect everyone to play like barbarians.

I'm talking about people literally behaving like animals. Some move like fo??ur-legged animals, some others even fly as if they were birds. Sure, this sounds fun when you're just reading about it, but it's probably not as fun to get mauled by a bunch of suit-and-tie-wearing coyotes.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

The evolved Manimals in Assassin's Creed Origins

Video games have gotten better over time, and that's why Assassin’s Creed Origins features an evolved version of the Red Dead Redemption glitch shown above. Now, instead of having humans behaving like animals, we have some animal NP?Cs that adopt human mannerisms.

This might not be ancient Egypt done right, but it sure as hell is ancient Egyp??t done cool.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Low

Inexplicable Statue in Witcher 3

‌The Tower of Mice is already one of the eeriest places in the entirety of The Witcher 3, but it gets even worse if you pay attention at the wrong time.

If you stand in the specific spot shown in the video above, you’ll get to see a weirdly lean creatur?e phasing in and out of existence. What is it? Nobody knows for sure, but it's creepy as hell. The good news is that it's completely harmless. Maybe it? actually likes Geralt.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: This specter is there for any player who ?wants to meet it.

‌Alma following you in FEAR 2

Alma is the little The Ring-inspired girl that serves as the poster child for the FEAR series. She shows up to spook players throughout FEAR 2, naturally, but this weird glitch makes her follow you around nonstop. The player in the video above gets rid of her by throwing a punch, ?which caused her to fly ??away in the most awkward manner possible. This is the perfect combination of funny and terrifying.

‌‌The FEAR series is already scary enough as is. It does??n't need its scare factor to get further ??inflated by wacky glitches.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough??: Astronomically low. ??This may be the only recorded instance of this glitch.

NBA Jam has ghosts

�em>NBA Jam came out in �3??, a few months after th?e tragic death of Drazen Petrovic.

Imagine trying to enjoy the game when the arcade machine starts shouting his name �and no one else’s �even though he's not even playing. That’s as close as it gets to a video game haunting �and it's totally real.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: 100%. This glitch ??is present in every early version of the game.

Fallout 4 companion becomes your greatest enemy

Most Fallout 4 fans don’t like Preston Garvey very much because of how pushy? he gets with helping settlements, and most of them haven’t even had to deal with him going mad.

Yes, it's possible that Garvey will turn into an unkillable Terminator-like figure that will hunt players down until the heat death of the universe. Yes, that's something that happens, and someone has lived to document it.

This brave wasteland journalist tried everything, from regular bullets to explosives. Nothing would stop Garvey. The best he could do was temporarily stun the unstoppable force. He then had an idea, to build the most powerful settlement ever built. Maybe it??s concentrated firepower would destroy Garvey. Too bad the settlement refused to shoot Garvey, seemingly remembering that he's the only person in the land who cares about settlements.

The ordeal ended not with Garvey's death, but with him randomly going back to friend??ly mode. There's no way of knowing how long this peace will last.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough:?? Extremely low, but k??eep your eyes open, and don't neglect your settlements.

Mount and Blade’s terrifying skybox

‌In Mount and Blade: Warband, a weird glitch might turn the entire skybox into? the face of an angry man who merely stares at the player. Who is that? Why is he so pissed? Nobody knows.

I’m ?assuming that’s a very pissed-off medieva??l god, which is sadly the worst possible kind of god.

Chances of it happening on your playthrough: Very high. This is a s?urprisingly common glitch.

The post Creepiest glitches in video games appeared first on Destructoid.

The Skyrim modding community continues to be a haven of creativity for those that like messing with Bethesda's formula. Want to carry corpses around like you're Garret from Thief? Now you can. Want NPCs to break wind? Thy will be done. What ab??out healing your followers mid-battle? That's also a possibility.

Thanks to veteran modder JaySerpa over on Nexus Mods, there's a way to assist downed companions with a press of a button. Providing you have some potions, ?you can heal friendly NPCs, rather than waiting for them to recover automatically.

They even come with some lines of dialog for when you help them, as demonstrated in the video above. JaySerpa says the idea for their "Press E to Heal Followers" mod came straight from Starfield, which has a similar feature.

It just won't die

Say what you will about Skyrim, it's the gift that keeps on giving. A?t least as far as custom content is concerned. ??Given that we're approaching 12 years since the game first released, it's actually quite impressive that it's stood the test of time.

Okay, it's definitely aged at this point, but that's where modders like JaySerpa come to the rescue. Over the years, we've seen everything from graphical overhauls to bug fixes to new ways of being immersed incorporated into TES5 by the fan base.

We'll never know whether The Elder Scrolls 6 will be able to enjoy such longevity. We still don't know when it's coming out, but so long as the Skyrim community keeps releasing mods, Bethesda's 2011 epic won'?t be going anywh??ere for a while.

The post Skyrim now allows you to “press E to heal followers,” thanks to this mod appeared first on Destructoid.

Get your very own Skyrim foe

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim can be modded to the moon and back with new magic, models, and systems. But a new Skyrim mod adds the Nemesis system, for a little extra Shadow of Mordor in your Elder Scrolls.

Created by modder Syclonix, the "Shadow of Skyrim" mod adds a new Nemesis-style system to Skyrim. It essentially adds a new player death mechanic, making it so dying in Skyrim adds a bit more narrative flavor and mechanics.

When an enemy takes the player down, they gain a unique name, stats, and more?. For example, they might become a shield-breaking vampire. Toggles can allow the enemy to also loot your stuff and use it against you, donning armor the player had been wearing.

Not only does this give you a new objective and quest, but it can turn into a boon, too. The player might gain a certain?? debuff upon dying, but be able to remove that and replace it with a new buff in its place once besting their rival.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-_56Ouy8II

Rivals of Skyrim

While the mod takes inspiration from the Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War games, the modder emphasizes that it's not drawing on specific Mordor gameplay ideas. The con??cept might have arisen from having a named Nemesis, but its systems are notably different.

And while the important distinctions are one thing, I also like the twists Syclonix puts on this rival system. The flavor text is fun, and I like the idea of gaining rewards and having to recover your armor, almost in a Tarkov-style manner. It's also designed to work with a number of other The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim mods. For full compatibility info, you'll n??eed to check out the mod page.

You can find the Shadow of Skyrim mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on NexusMods here.

The post Skyrim modder adds a Nemesis-style syste?m to the game appeared first on Destructoid.

In case you've been holding out on Skyrim

Yup, there is another version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the way. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition will contain all three expansions, the Special Edition enhancements, over 500 unique?? pieces of Creation Club co?ntent, and also fishing.

The Anniversary Edition is part of Bethesda's celebration of Skyrim's 10th anniversary, which also includes a special "Skyrim In Concert" broadcast on Nov. 11, the date Skyrim was originally released in 2011, and a Skyrim fan art museum.

Skyrim's Anniversary Edition will also launch on Nov. 11, 2021 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The game will wrap up all three of Skyrim's major expansions�em>Dawnguard, Dragonborn, and Hearthfire—and also include some content from the Creation Club. Over 500 unique p??ieces will be in there, including quests, dungeons, weapons,? spells, bosses, and more. And also, apparently, fishing.

Owners of Skyrim's Special Edition will be able to upgrade to the Anniversary Edition, so there's that. And honestly, if you haven't played Skyrim in a long time, this all seems well and good. Yes, Skyrim is on just about every platform, but it also ends up on every platform for a reason: people really like to play Skyrim.

I don't think I've booted Skyrim u??p since the last time I powered on my Xbox 360. For me, this seems like a decent excuse to jump back into the frozen wilderness. Maybe fish a bit, or just replay the Dark Brotherhood questline.

Bethesda also announced another port-of-sorts today: a remaster of Quake for modern consoles and PC, with a new expansion from MachineGames. While a new game is just around the corner from Bethesda in the form of Deathloop, it's a good time for players looking for excuses to traverse the publisher's back catalog. See y'all in Skyrim.

The post The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ??is getting an Anniversary Edition this November appeared first on Destructoid.

It's a rather elder scroll at this point

Xbox has fallen into a biweekly routine of letting us know all the imminent-arriving games on Xbox ?Game Pass. We're due for another one of those soon, but we got word about a high-profile game a little early.

During tonight's Game Awards stream, Microsoft announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is coming to Xbox Game Pass on December 15. Great news fo??r anyone who somehow doesn't own that game yet. The Bethesda acquisition keeps paying immediate dividends in the form of a more robust Game Pass library.

The post Skyrim joins Xbox Game Pass on December 15 appeared first on Destructoid.

Enough savings to drink the Sega Kool-Aid?

We're almost exactly a month out from the release of Total War: Warhammer from Creative Assembly (published by Sega) and the deals are looking better. This weekend, Green Man Gaming is running a 25 percent off deal on the Steam version of Warhammer, knocking the pric?e to $45. This slightly beats out the previous standard 20 percent off deal.

In other PC weekend sales, Fallout 4 is discounted again in a GamesPlanet's Bethesda sale. Now through Monday, get up to 80 percent off select Bethesda games. The best of the lot includes Fallout 4 for $33.63 (lowest price yet in April), Wolfenstein: The New Order at $12, and Skyrim Legendary for under $10. Prices shown are British Pounds at GamesPlanet, but you can buy worldwide?.

Earlier this week, Microsoft released its new 1TB Xbox One Spring Bundle (which we wrote about here). Beyond that promotion, there are also two noteworthy Xbox One deals this weekend from Dell Home. At Dell, there's a 500GB bundle with an extra free controller for $300, as well as a combo 43-inch 4K Vizio TV bundling with an Xbox One Quantum Break Bundle for $599. You can find all the Xbox One deals listed here or check below.

Top Deals

• Total War: Warhammer (Steam) — $45  (list price $60) <- Use code: DEALZON25
• GamesPlanet Sale: Bethesda — Up to 80 percent off
• Fallout 4 (Steam) — $33.63  (list price $60)
• Wolfenstein: The New Order (Steam) — $12.59  (list price $60)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition (Steam) — $9.59  (list price $40)
• PlayStation Plus 12-Month Card — $39.99  (list price $50)

Console Hardware

• Xbox One 1TB Spring Bundle + free game — $349  (list price $399)
• Xbox One? Quantum Break Bundle + Vizio 43" 4K UHDTV — $599.99  (list price $950) <- Use code: GAMEON
• Xbox One Name Your Game Bundle + extra controller — $299.99  (list price $410) <- Use code: FREECONTROLLER
• Xbox One 1TB Rise Tomb Raider Bundle + four games — $349.99  (list price $400)
• PS4 Black Ops III Bundle + Division + Battlefront — $369.99  (list price $470)

Recent Releases

• 04/21: Battlefleet Gothic: Armada (Steam) — $31.99  (list price $40)
• 04/19: The Black Death (Steam) — $13.50  (list price $20)
• 04/19: The Banner Saga 2 (Steam) — $15  (list price $20)
• 04/18: Battlezone 98 Redux (Steam) — $12.80  (list price $20)
• 04/14: Final Fantasy IX (Steam) — $16.79  (list price $21)

Upcoming Releases

• 05/03: Battleborn (Steam) — $44.99  (list price $60)
• 05/09: Stellaris: Galaxy Edition (Steam) — $52.50  (list price $70)
• 05/05: Stellaris: Nova Edition — $37.50  (list price $50)
• 05/09: Stellaris (Steam) — $30  (list price $40)
• 05/13: Doom (Steam) — $45  (list price $60)
• 05/24: Mirror's Edge Catalyst (Origin) — $45  (list price $60)
• 10/07: Mafia III (Steam) — $45  (list price $60)

PC Game Deals

• Tom Clancy's The Division (Uplay) — $41.99  (list price $60)
• Far Cry: Primal (Uplay) — $32.04  (list price $60)
• Just Cause 3 (Steam) — $27.49  (list price $50)
• Call of Duty: Black Ops III (Steam) — $26.32  (list price $60)
• Assassin's Creed Syndicate (PC DVD) — $17.99  (list price $60)
• Rocket League (Steam) — $11.99  (list price $20)
• Lords of the Fallen Digital Deluxe Edition (Steam) — $10  (list price $20)
• Resident Evil 4 HD (Steam) — $6.80  (list price $20)
• Brink Complete Pack (Steam) — $5.75  (list price $25)
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Steam) — $4.80  (list price $20)

Console Game Deals

• Tom Clancy's The Division (Xbox One, PS4, PC DVD) — $44.99  (list price $60)
• Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (Xbox One, PS4) — $39.99  (list price $60)
• Diablo III: Reaper of Souls Ultimate (PS4, XOne) — $19.99  (list price $40)
• Dishonored: Definitive Edition (Xbox One, PS4) — $14.99  (list price $20)

PS4

• Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess (PS4) — $20.99  (list price $30)
• Call of Duty: Ghosts Hardened Edition (PS4) — $16  (list price $120)
• Duck Dynasty (PS4) — $6.99  (list price $30)

Xbox One

• Life is Strange (Xbox One) — $19.99  (list price $30)
• Ryse: Son of Rome (Xbox One) — $9.99  (list price $50)

3DS

• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 RB (3DS) — $24.99  (list price $50)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (3DS) — $9.99  <- eShop deal

HDTV Deals

• 65" Vizio 1080p SmarTV + $250 eGift Card — $849.99  (list price $930)
• 55" Panasonic TC-55CX420U 4K Smart TV — $599.99  (list price $900)
• 55" Westinghouse WE55UC4200 4K Smart TV — $449.99  (list price $700)

Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.

The post Weekend Deals: Total Warhammer and Bethesda games appeared first on Destructoid.

You're a dragon now

Since Splatoon has been mixed with practically everything now, clever modder Higeyosi360 has created one for Skyrim. The Peryite Shooter weapon allows players to shoot ink, and is hilariously effective as it also does poison?? damage.

If you want to download the mod, you can find it right here. I'v?e definitely enjoyed the mods more than the core game at this point.

Higeyosi360 [Twitter]

The post Splatoon invades Skyrim with new, goofy mod appeared first on Destructoid.

$8 Skyrim Sanic Legendary too 8)

Update 7/21: Deals are back for next 48 hours or until OOS.

If you were ever hesitant on Elder Scrolls Online, GMG is giving extra incentive on Day 3 of their Summer Sale by pricing The ELder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited to only $12 after coupon.

The pricey Imperial Edition (aka give us more money edition) is also ?on sale for $21. We personally don't think this is worth the extra money but its also the only? way you'll be able to play the Imperial race in game.

In other Elder Scrolls related deal, Skyrim and its Legendary Edition are also both on a big discou??nt, hitting historic low price of $8. For the price of two (or three) happy meal, you can get ?the complete Skyrim experience, and we think that's pretty swell.

Both deals expire tomorrow 7/13 at 9AM Pacific.

Use coupon: DEALZO-NGMGSA-LESVVC

• Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlim?ited I??mperial Edition (PC/Mac) — $21.76  (list price $80)
• Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited (PC/Mac) — $12  (list price $60)
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition (Steam) — $8  (list price $40)
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Steam) — $4  (list price $20)
• Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion GOTY Deluxe Edition (Steam) — $6.80  (list price $25)
• Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind GOTY Edition (Steam) — $5.44  (list price $20)

As for console version of ESO Tamriel Unlimite??d? They're "on sale" for $40 at Best Buy... mmmkay.

Update: Forgot to menti?on earlier, purchasing Skryim or ESO standard will get you a free mystery Steam game from GMG. Also added Morrowind & Oblivion.

U??pdate 2: Looks like ESO standard and Skyrim Legendary is OOS. Bummer?

Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.

The post Elder Scrolls Online is no??w only $12 (u?ntil tomorrow anyways) appeared first on Destructoid.

Open world time

Whether its fighting random dragons or avoiding helicopter spawns, ther??e's lots of solid deals this weekend for PC gamers.

If you know for sure you're going to buy Grand Theft Auto V on PC on release day next month, you can snag 25% off this weekend via our special code here. For $45, you'll get to enjoy RockSt??ar's DRM and play a 1.5 ye?ar old game. Seriously, best deal of the century.

The same digital retailer is running a sale on a ton of Bethesda titles including the Elder Scroll V: Skryim Legendary Edition for only $10. The deal is so good?? that the tit?le is currently "out of stock" - but GMG is guaranteeing that every purchase thru the weekend will receive a copy by March 31st.

In the console department, things are a bit more light but there's a pretty good deal on a Mario Party 10 + amiibo combo for $52 at Newegg - though uh, the title hasn't exactly won raving reviews.

Top Deals

Saturday stuff:

• Grand Theft Auto V — $45.60  (list price $60) <- definitely April 14th
• Pillars of Eternity Hero Edition (Steam) — $33.74  (list price $45) <- for RPG fans
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition (Steam) — $10.61  (list price $40)
• Alien: Isolation (Steam) — $12.50  (list price $50)
• Valkyria Chronicles (Steam) — $6.80  (list price $20) <- if you don't have it yet get it

Just added on Sunday:

• Nintendo amiibo 25% Off Sale (Target) <- rare deal
• Battlefield: Hardline (PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/One, PC) — $39.99  (list price $60)

Console Sale

• Sony PlayStation 4 — $349.99  (list price $400) <- retailer is Monoprice
• Xbox One + Halo Master Chief Coll??ection + 2 Controllers — $349  (list price $470)
• Wii U + Super Mario 3D World + Nintendo Land — $259.99  (list price $300)
• PlayStation Store: 10% Off Coupon  

Recent Releases

• 03/27: Borderlands: The Handsome Bundle (Steam) — $46.80  (list price $130)
• 03/24: Dragon Age: Inquisition - Jaws of Hakkon (Origin) — $11.70  (list price $15)
• 03/20: Mario Party 10 + Mario Amiibo (Wii U) — $51.99  (list price $60)
• 03/17: Battlefield: Hardline (Origin) — $47.99  (list price $60)

Upcoming Releases

• 03/30: Dead or Alive 5 Last Round (Steam) — $26.99  (list price $40)
• 04/14: Mortal Kombat X Kollector's Edition (PS4, Xbox One) — $134.99  (list price $150)
• 04/14: Mortal Kombat X Premium Edition (Steam) — $60.74  (list price $90)
• 06/23: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward — $29.99  (list price $40)
• 06/23: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Collectors Ed. — $44.99  (list price $60)

PC Game Deals

Bethesda Deals (more titles here)

• The Elder Scrolls Anthology (PC) — $19.99  (list price $40)
• Dishonored: Game of the Year Edition (Steam) — $7.95  (list price $30)
• Fallout 3: GOTY Edition (Steam) — $3.90  (list price $20)
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Steam) — $3.90  (list price $20)

Blizzard Deals

• Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls — $14.99  (list price $40)
• StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm — $9.99  (list price $20)
• Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty — $9.99  (list price $20)

More PC Deals

• Resident Evil Revelations 2 (Steam) — $26.39  (list price $40)
• Thief Power Pack (Steam) — $22.91  (list price $77)
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown The Complete Ed. (Steam) — $19.50  (list price $50)
• Grid 2 Reloaded (Steam) — $15.60  (list price $50)
• SimCity: Complete Edition (Origin) — $13.60  (list price $40)
• Bioshock Triple Pack (Steam) — $9.28  (list price $70)
• Sleeping Dogs (Steam) — $5.95  (list price $20)
• Tomb Raider (Steam) — $5.80  (list price $20)
• Deus Ex: GOTY Edition (Steam) — $2.08  (list price $7)

Console Game Deals

• Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One) — $39.99  (list price $60)
• The Crew (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360) — $29.99  (list price $60)
• Assassin's Creed Rogue (Xbox 360, PS3) — $19.99  (list price $60)
• Just Dance 2015 (PS4, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii) — $19.99  (list price $50)
• Assassin's Creed Unity (PS4, Xbox One) — $19.99  (list price $60)
• Metro Redux (PS4, Xbox One) — $14.99  (list price $50)
• Sniper Elite 3 - Pre-owned (PS4, Xbox One) — $12.99  (list price $50)

Laptop Deals

• 14" Razer Blade 1800p, i7-4702HQ, GTX 870M, ??256GB ?SSD — $1,799.99 <- baller?
• 17.3" Dell 5000 Se?ries, i7-5500U + Venue 8 Pro Tablet — $999.99
• 15" Dell 5000 S??eries, i7-5500U, 8GB + Venue 8 Pro Tablet — $799.99 
• 17.3" Lenovo Z70-80, i7-5500U?? Broadwell, 8GB, GeForce 840M — $749 
• 13.3" Toshiba Click 2 Pro, i7-4510U, 128G??B SSD, IPS — $649.99
• 14??" Lenovo Y40-80, i7-5500U Broadwell, Radeon R9 270, 8GB — $629  

HDTV Deals

• 55" LG 2160p 4K Ultra 3D HD LED TV with WebOS — $1,299  (list price $1,999)
• 60" Samsung 1080p Plasma HDTV — $679.99  (list price $850)
• 50" Samsung 120Hz Smart HDTV — $649.99  (list price $1,499)
• 32" Samsung 1080p Smart HDTV + $125 eGift Card — $277.99  (list $400)
• 40" Hisense 1080p LED HDTV — $219.99  (list price $400) <- at least its cheap

Storage Deals

• WD Elements 5TB External HDD — $129.99  (list price $200)
• Samsung 850 Pro Series 2.5" SSD 128GB — $84.99  (list price $140)
• Crucial BX100 SSD 2.5" 250GB — $79.99  (list price $130)

The post Weeke??nd Deals: $10 Skyrim Legendary, 25% Of??f GTA V PC appeared first on Destructoid.

The best-looking Elder Scrolls project right now

Devise a lofty goal for fans to work toward and they'll come together to create something truly remarkable. This is Skywind, an in-progress mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that intends to bring the content of Morrowind into the new engine, and then some. It's slightly insan??e -- many of the best community-made works are -- bu?t it hasn't blown up yet. Real progress is being made.

The team behind the mod, now known as The Elder Scrolls Renewal Project, has come out with a second developer diary showing what it's been up to since the last major update. As this is a non-commercial mod, the folks working on Skywind are in need o?f volunteers across multiple disciplines? including voice acting, 3D modeling, level design, and texturing.

Step aside, The Elder Scrolls Online. The fans have our attention.

The post The mod that’s bringing Morrowind into Skyrim is coming along nicely appeared first on Destructoid.

Who'd have ever guessed?

I don't think that anyone really thought that Skyrim provided an accurate depiction of a blacksmith's trade. I mean, those dudes have to hit stuff for a ??really long time. It looks too tedious to be fun. Unless they have a power hammer, which is an incredibly cool tool. I think I'm going to unnecessarily add it to my Amazon wishlist.

Impressively (and through the magic of the power hammer), this real life blacksmith makes a piece of armor and a dagger out of some soda cans and leather strips. It probably won't be good enough to take down his first dra?gon, but I guess I haven't seen many of those around anyway.

The post Turns out blacksmithing is tougher than in Skyrim appeared first on Destructoid.

There goes my weekend

Just hearing the Morrowind theme fills me with the need for adventure, and seeing the streets of Balmora makes me feel at home. Now I have a chance to revisit my favorite Elder Scrolls game as a mod for Skyrim.

The epic modders over at Morroblivion just released the first alpha build of Skywind, a mod that will let you play Morrowind inside of Skyrim. Right ??now you can't do any questing, but you are able to walk around the world and explore. This mod looks absolutely fantastic, and I can't wait for them to have it all finished.

I love Morrowind, and I always have it installed on my PC, but even with mods like the Morrowind Graphics Overhaul and Morrowind Rebirth, it still looks insanely dated. It came out when 3D games were blocky and awkward, and it's hard to mod that out without tossing out half the assets and using a new engine. Thankfully, with a PC game as open as Morrowind you can r?eplace half the assets and?? use a new engine.

This mod requires you to own and have installed Skyrim and Morrowind with all of it's expansions.

Skywind v0.9 Released! [Morroblivion]

The post Download the Skywind alpha and play Morrow??ind in Skyrim appeared first on Destructoid.

Another great live-action take on Skyrim

Remember that awesome live-action Fallout movie fr??om Machinima Prime? It was the start of a series of live-action takes on videogames, and the latest one has finally arrived.

This one is based on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and sees the Dragonborn has been weakened by a vampire's curse. The Dark Brotherhood captures him, and offer to cure hi if he res??cues another?? vamprie from the Necromancers.

The post The Dragonborn fights vampires and Necromancers appeared first on Destructoid.

Featuring 25 hours of new content

Skyrim mods are the best, like the one we just featured that brings in Dishonored powers into Skyrim. This one, though, takes the cake. Falskaar is a new mod and it features nearly 25 hours of new con??tent. That's new characters, new voices, new quests, and a new land mass that's a third of the size of the original game.

All this is made even more impressive when you learn that it's a mod made largely by j??ust Alexander Velicky, a 19-year-old who's using this mod to help him try to get a job at Bethesda.

“I organized everyone involved, but the voice actors thems?elves recorded all the dialogue and submitted it to me,” Velicky told PC Gamer. "I had some people help me out with a few models and textures, someone wrote a book or two for me… But otherwise all content was implemented, written and developed by me.”

Note that a number of people also recorded voices for the dialogue, and someone even composed an original soundtrack.

You can try out this ambitious mod through Skyrim Nexus. Very impressive stuff.

Behind? Falskaar, a massive new Skyrim mod, and the 19-year-old who spent a year b??uilding it [PC Gamer]

The post 19-?ye??ar-old spent a year making this amazing Skyrim mod appeared first on Destructoid.

You can now wield Corvo's arsenal, including the handy Blink power

The Skyrim modding community continues to impress; this time it's a new mod entitled The Gift of the Outsider which has brought the powers wielded by Dishonored's protaganist Corvo into Skyrim. Blink, Devouring Swarm, Wind Blast, Posession, and Bend Time are all available to use at your discretion??. Some of the p?owers do look like simple re-skins of existing Skyrim spells but it's still nice to see them bundled together thematically. 

The mod isn't just a simple collection of spells; there's a full quest line to play out including an appearance by the Outsider. It's impressive stuff and it's just yet another mod I want to install for Skyrim. Whilst it's a little out of date (written pre-Steam Workship integration), Joshua's modding guide still has some great ideas for starter mods.

Unbelievable Skyr??im Mod Let's You Use Dishonored's Powers [Kotaku]

The post New mod brings the powers of Dishonored to Skyrim appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh god no

Such innocence a?nd b?loodshed, yet that smile never goes away.

The post The Villager pays a visit to Skyrim appeared first on Destructoid.

Obvious "GOTY" release is obvious

Bethesda has today announced The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition. Can you guess what that means? Did you guess a rerelease of Skyrim with all of the dow??nloadabl??e content? Wow, you're psychic!

Released on June 7 for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC, the Legendary Edition includes Hearthfire, Dawnguard, and Dragonborn, along with updates that includ?e mounted combat, combat cameras, Legendary Diffi??culty and Legendary Skills. 

And so soon after the PS3 finally got all t??he DLC, too! Damn. 

The new release will retail at $59??.99 if you're interested.&nb??sp;

The post The ??Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition announced appeared first on Destructoid.

Legendary skills now available; still no Dovahbear

Just a few weeks ago, Bethesda released its 1.9 Beta update to the PC version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which introduced its Legendary difficulty, Legendary skills, as well as a number of bug fi??xes. It didn't take long for the company to migrate update 1.9 to its console counterparts.

While version 1.9 tackles a large list of bugs, none more disconcerting than the rare appearance of naked couriers, it also adds in the challenging Legendary difficulty for players to sharpen their Daedric weapons against. Legendary?? skills will now be open to players who have reached level 100 in any ?particular skill set, allowing players to reset that skill and its associated boons.

I'm glad to hear that Bethesda is keeping on its toes about updating all versions in a timely manner. Let's just hope that we don't get a repeat performance of what happened on the PS3.

The post Skyrim update 1.9 hits consoles, adds in L???egendary mode appeared first on Destructoid.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will have its downloadable content available at half price until April 1, meaning you can snag Dawnguard and Dragonborn for ten bucks apiece. Rather, you can get them for 800 Microsoft Points, as this is pa??rt of Xbox Live's seaso??????????????????????????nal sale. 

As well as the two expansion campaigns, you can also nab Hearthfire for 200 MS Points ($2.50). 

Good news for those who waited. Sucks if you bought any of this last week. Did any of you buy this stuff last week? We'd love?? to hear from you.

The post Skyrim DLC 50%?? off until April 1 (on Xbox Live BOO??O!) appeared first on Destructoid.

Version 1.9 planned to roll out later this month

Bethesda has opened up testing of features coming to the next update of Skyrim to those who opt in to the beta on Steam. Version 1.9 will add a new difficulty setting and allow players to tag any of their rating 100 skills as "Legendary," resetting them back to 15, returning perks and allowing the skill to affect leveling again. So, now you can play Skyrim&nbsp;forever and always ????feel like you're making progress.

There's also a whole bunch of bug fixes, far too numerous to list here. You can check those out on Bethesda's blog.

T?he update is expected to release publicly later this month.

Now on Steam: Skyrim 1.9 Beta Update [BethBlog]

The post Check out the Skyrim beta for ‘Legendary’ features appeared first on Destructoid.

Better late than nevahkiin

2011's smash hit The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has final??ly made its first downloadable content available for PS3 users ... in 2013. Yes, today is the day you PlayStation Store shoppers ??can get your hands on Hearthfire! 

..... yaaaaay.

Hearthfire was at the center of some angry PS3 user backlash when it hit Xbox Live in 2012, but now it's here, joining Dragonborn on the? PlayStation Network. For those who might still be interested, Hearthfire allows you to craft your dream house and raise a family. For this week only, it'll be 50% cheaper than usual at $2.49.

Da?wnguard is h?ot on this item's heels, slated for a February 26 launch.

The post Skyrim ‘Hearthfire’ DLC finally available for PS3 appeared first on Destructoid.

A joke becomes a real mod

Fans of the Dovahbear video are in luck -- one brave modder took that ridiculous idea to heart, and made a real mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Now, for the first time, you can fight alongside of the legendary Dovahbear by grabbing the mod here.

Gu??ys, I might have to restart a completely new character for this. Bearmadon, friend of bears, and his loyal companion Dovahbear roam the countryside in search of boo??ze, brawls, and general debauchery.

?Questlines be damned, the Dragonborn will save us at some point. Probably.

Dovahbear Companion [Skyrim Nexus]

The post Skyrim fans, kneel before the Dovahbear Companion appeared first on Destructoid.

Fear the awesome pointyness of the Dragon Priest

Here's a new story trailer for the upcoming "Dragonborn" expansion to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and it's pretty much what I would expect. It has a bunch ??of dragons, both dead and alive, some wicked envir??onments and a weary narrator. 

That Dragon Priest is creepy as hell, though. Meanwhile, the copy of Skyrim which I bought for my wife sits unpl??ayed. Trailers like this motivate me toward the idea of cracking t?he case and diving in but I think I'll resist. I can't afford to lose myself (and hundreds of hours) to this.

The post New Skyrim video sets the stage for Dragonborn appeared first on Destructoid.

They're not dovahkidding!

PS3 owners who haven't burned their copies of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim have been given a little incentive to keep their discs, with Bethesda announcing that i??t's "close" to releasing content on the system. 

Last time we checked in with Skyrim's PS3 DLC situation, the publisher wasn't even sure if new content would ever come to Sony's system. Seems that is no longer the case, and wit??h the Xbox 360's smarmy exclusi??ve window ready to expire, stuff should be on the way. In case you're wondering, this counts for PC as well!

"To update: we’re also close on new Skyrim content for PS3 and PC," Tweeted Bethesda, proving what I just said. 

Any PS3 users still playing this? Excite?d at all? I'm genuinely curious if you guys actually still h?ave any patience left for it!

The post Bethesda is ‘close’ to releasing Skyrim DLC for PS3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Supposedly features dragon riding, more

With Dawnguard and Hearthfire well out of the way, it seems that we're due for some Skyrim DLC, right? That is, unless you're a PS3 user. Well, some crafty PC players from the Bethesda forums looked into the files of yesterday's Skyrim beta update and found something worth of?? note. Particularly, some keywords found in the filenames include "DLC2" and "DragonMounted." Okay, that second one has me standing at attention.

People are speculating the new content will be titled Dragonborn (as hinted, again, by the filenames), will include dragon mounting, and might even take you to Morrowind. This just gets better and better, right? Four new armor names have been found as well. Hearthfire had similar rumors about its release beforehand, and they ended ??up coming true. I'd imagine the same could be said here, but onl??y time will tell.

Oh, did I mention there's talk that you can shoot spells from the bac?k of a dragon? I'll just let that one sink in.

Skyrim DLC "Dragonbo?rn" to feature mounted dragons, Morrowind armour, Solstheim [OXM via VG 24/7]

The post Rumor: ‘Dragonborn’ to be the next Skyrim DLC appeared first on Destructoid.

Xbox fans dish out advice to PS3 users

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim received it's Hearthfire home-building DLC this week, but only if you have the Xbox 360 version. PC users will have to wait, while PS3 users haven't even got Dawnguard -- and may never get it.

Naturally, Bethesda's Facebook page is inundated with complaints, but interestingly it seems that a number of fans have been able to offer some solutions -- either buy an Xbox 360 or shut up. It's a nice little example of the modern gamer attitude, where logging a complaint is no longer a valid consumer option, and you should just keep giving the industry more of your money until your problem goes away. Well ... I guess it's a solution that works in a perverse sort of way. 

If you're a PS3 user steamed at Bethesda for its handling of games on you??r preferred system, you'll want to read this fantastic advice from a range of experienced gamers. It's the first step on the ?path to happiness.

[Thanks for spotting this, Charlie!]

"Love how when PS3 users get an exclusive game or DLC they rub it in then when it happens to them they rage about it ha, heres an idea why not trade in your very clearly inferior console for an xbox? And stop crying !!!!" - Daniel Anderson. 

"PS3 users quit complaining. If it sucks that much to you, quit being a bunch of cheapo's and go get a 360. Then you will realize why 360 users pay for their content. How often do you see PS3 go out and provide their fans with exclusive content. THEY DON'T! Xbox puts our hard earned money to where it should go, video games. AND THEY KNOW THE ONES TO SPEND THE MONEY ON FOR SURE!" - Logan Phillips. 

"Oh boo hoo! Not Bethesda fault that PS3 is crap to code for! Just buy it on PC since you obviously have problems with getting a XBOX! I have it for 360 and PC! As well as Dawnguard on both machines! Just buy a second copy on steam! And stop complaining!" - Anthony Darryl Abeyta.

"The PS3 will most likely not be getting the DLC! Don't you guys already know this! This is for XBOX users who actually pay for online service that in turn Microsofts spends the money on EXCLUSIVE content! Get over it, your system sucks and you all know it!" - Anthony again ... he just really wants you to know!

"Maybe the reason we (xbox players) got them first is we actually pay for a service rather than be cheap and use an inferior service because its free xbox buy rights to early content because its users pay its not bethesdas fault you ps3 players don't get DLC its Sonys blame them and buy a console that cares about its customers!" - Jack Brown. 

"There are no 'AMAZING' PS3 exclusive titles... Average ones at best!" - Stuart Robb.

"Were lucky Microsoft actually kno how to make a console, people say the ps3 is more powerfull etc, yeah ofcourse it is lol well.... enjoy ur extra bit of power, im off to play skyrim an all the dlc :-)" - Doran Doz Seddon.

"I love PS3 people complaining about no DLC. What about Morrowind that was never on PS2, not to mention 4J studios ported Oblivion over to PS3 in the first place. Your lucky you even got Skyrim, they could have never even made it for PS3. So just let them take their time in working on the DLC for a system they never worked with before. Or you could get a PC that can run it or a 360. The choice is yours." - Jeremy Jeffries.

"Anyone who truly truly is an Elder Scrolls player will in no doubt appreciate this cheap and cheerful add on. Hearthfire is for true fans of the series much like any other previous dlc. The only people complaining are pc and ps3 users. Bethesda signed an exclusive 2 DLC deal with Microsift before they released Skyrim. This info can be read on wiki and other related pages. I played this dlc today and it is great, new, fresh ect. All xbox owners should play this game. All ps3 owners should just go away." - Adam Jeffryes.

"You guys complaining about PS3 not getting stuff, blame Sony. Bethesda tries hard to get stuff released on all platforms at the same time but Sony sucks for getting stuff." - Jason Radeke.

"All I hear and see is QQ about why its not on PS3. Id suggest you all make the wise decision and buy an xbox already. With all the crap Sony has put you through, why havent you bought an xbox ages ago? oh ya thats right...some people like their account and credit card information stolen (insert darcastic face)" - Tanner "Darcastic Face" Bills.

"Ps3 players don't deserve anything." - Chris Morris.

"Oh ps3 gamers...I would feel bad if your consoles main selling point wasn't free online play haha why don't you get a real piece of hard ware instead of that flimsy pile of trash." - Matt Moffett.

And finally, Rhett Killner here keeps it real:

"It's like racism but with consoles. Awesome job Bethesda."

The post PS3 user? Mad about Skyrim’s DLC snub? Just stop crying! appeared first on Destructoid.

Making a surprise announcement at QuakeCon earlier today, Bethesda announced that the first expansion DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would be available for PC today. And sure enough, it's up on Steam this very instant for $19.99 (note: Skyrim is also half off for the weekend). Dawnguard has bee?n hotly anticipated by PC and PS3 users ever since Xbox 360 have had their hands o?n it for about a month now.

Still no word on when Danwguard will make it to PS3 though, as that version appears to have been pushed back. They really have gotten the short end of the stick in terms of their version of Skyrim, eh? Hopefully it's not pushed back too far, those poor souls on PS3 just want to play some Skrim!

The post Dawnguard is now available for PC users appeared first on Destructoid.