The wait is over! For the next three weeks, we’ll be releasing a new Skyrim add-on each week on the PlayStation Store. This week, with Dragonborn, you’ll journey beyond Skyrim to Solstheim, an island off the coast of Morrowind. Use all your abilities and skills honed in Skyrim to save the island from a mysterious power that threatens to destroy Solstheim’s inhabitants.

Beyond Dragonborn’s main quest, the content is packed with hours of new areas to explore complete with new characters, new towns, new dungeons and plenty of new side quests to complete. And for elite players that have attained Level 81 status, you’ll have a chance to square off with the game’s fiercest adversary, The Ebony Warrior.
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Today we’re excited to announce that, next month, we’ll be releasing all of Skyrim‘s add-on content on PlayStation Store.

The 1.8 title update will also release just prior to the launch of Dragonborn. We’ll keep you posted as release dates get finalised. Last but not least, each add-on will be 50% off during its launch week on PSN.

Ready to learn more about the content you’ll be playing? Here’s a quick overview:

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Some games have problems with bugs, but Dishonored has trouble with rats. Big, evil ones that prowl in packs and can rend a man’s flesh from his screaming bones. But killer rats are the least of your worries in the dark world of Dishonored, an imaginative action-adventure from Arkane Studios and Bethesda coming to PS3 later this year. The game nimbly blends inspirations from a pantheon of modern classics: The oppressive atmosphere and paranoid politicking of BioShock, the graceful bloodletting of Assassin’s Creed, the murky morality of Deus Ex, the stealth and shadow of Thief. This is a game about skulking in dark places, eavesdropping on secret conversations, setting up the perfect ambush and beating a hasty retreat.

You play as Corvo, an elite royal bodyguard wrongly accused of assassinating the Empress of Dunwall. Locked in a prison and left to rot, you’re sprung by a shadowy benefactor and set loose to claim your revenge in whatever manner you see fit. Though Corvo is a convincing protagonist the real star here is the city of Dunwall, a crumbling seaport perched over a vast and malignant ocean on a planet that is definitely not Earth. Dunwall’s decor comes from the art director behind Half-Life 2′s iconic City 17, and the attention to detail is palpable: Steampunk carriages slide down cobblestone streets as stormtroopers patrol atop giant biomechanical stilts. It’s old and new, weird and familiar, beautiful and grotesque all at the same time. If you liked BioShock’s Rapture, you’re gonna love this.

Touched by an amoral deity called the Outsider, Corvo now wields an array of supernatural abilities, everything from teleportation and time dilation to summoning hordes of voracious rats and pushing projectiles back at enemies. One supernatural talent enables you to enter the body of a fish or rat, handy for infiltrating a building via a drain pipe or access panel. In combat, Corvo has little to fear, being a master swordsman and pistol marksman. Exotic ammunition types (explosive bullets, tranquilizer darts) and gadgets such as grenades and proximity mines further expand the possibilities. As in Deus Ex you can strike openly, spilling beaucoup buckets of blood in the process, or pull your punches by quietly choking out enemies and tucking their snoozing bodies safely away.

Whether you coldly kill adversaries or show mercy will have consequences on the game’s story — the Outsider himself is curious to see which path you follow. It will also factor in the moment-to-moment gameplay: snuff out a guard and his buddy might alter his patrol route to cover the gap, potentially disrupting your carefully laid plans. But whichever way you play will be the “right” way to play — Arkane’s goal is to put players in full control of the game’s pacing.

As you unravel the conspiracy behind the Empress’s assassination and an apparent military coup, you’ll meet a host of sketchy characters, from members of a secretive resistance movement to spoiled aristocrats and plague-stricken townspeople. Some will become targets of your wrath and will need to be dealt with accordingly, while others will provide valuable information or services.

If Dishonored sounds like your cup of tea, check back early tomorrow for the next episode of Official PlayStation Blogcast and an interview with co-directors Harvey Smith and Raf Colantonio. Have questions about the game right now? Sound off in the comments and I’ll pass along what I know!

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Come next week, many of you will begin your adventures in Fallout: New Vegas – attempting to explore every nook, cranny, and Vault found within in and around Mojave Wasteland. Before your journey begins, we thought we’d answer some last-minute questions sent by you via Facebook and Twitter.

I’m afraid it’s going to feel like DLC. Are there enough changes to make New Vegas feel unique from Fallout 3? (thanks @acsguitar)

We certainly think so! While the gameplay is similar, the world itself is very, very different. And our main storyline plays out in a very different manner, with several very different paths to completion.

Can we expect the same wasteland experience as in Fallout 3? I’m kinda scared about playing in a city untouched by atomic bombs! (thanks @The_iCroco)

Yes and no. There are some areas that were hit directly, but for the most part, the destruction you’ll see in the Mojave Wasteland is due to neglect, not bombardment. Don’t expect sprawling, fully functioning cities, though. The New Vegas strip is self-contained and tightly managed directly by Mr. House, so everything in the city works perfectly. As you get farther away from the strip, you’ll see more and more ruins and abandoned buildings.

Would love to know how they will create that WOW factor that Fallout 3 had: the wasteland, the bomb at Megaton and so on. Tricky!? (thanks @bekblayton)

We think there are some similarly cool WOW moments in our game, and you should find one in each act of the main storyline.

How difficult will it be to take care of physical needs like hydration, sleep, and so on? Is it going to be overbearing?

Those features are only in Hardcore Mode, so they’re optional. If you find they’re getting to be too much of a hassle, you can always turn it off (although you won’t get the Hardcore trophy if you do).
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Following last week’s post introducing the companions you’ll be able to roam with in Fallout: New Vegas, Bethesda sent me this video offering insight into the game’s story.

I’m a total sucker for two video game distractions: looting and poker. I don’t know what this says about me, other than that I’m going to be a very sleepy young man for a few weeks after Fallout: New Vegas is released.

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