Paladin Skylark

Skyrim 2.0 Is Go... Hello and welcome to yet another instalment of Open Letters! In this “weekly” column I write an open letter to something relating to news, or I respond to a letter sent in from one of you, the readers! (if you want to send in a question/concern for me to write about, email me at: [email protected]) This week however this article/column/trash-heap is aimed at Elder Scrolls VI Rumours. Rumours, they've ruined High School Prom, they've ruined your chances with Scarlett Johansson or Leonardo DiCaprio and now they're going to ruin your hopes and dreams of having Elder Scrolls 6 any time in the future. Pete Hines is the Vice President of PR/Marketing at Bethesda and he had some lovely words to say earlier this year about the upcoming sequel to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; what were those words? "Elder Scrolls VI is happening, but not any time s**n" The game itself has been described as "Skyrim 2", by Hines himself which leads to the thoughts of where the game will actually take place. My money is on Valenwood, since the Thalmor had a part in the war in Skyrim - but we have yet to see. The game itself will begin production as soon as the Fallout 4 DLC has stopped churning out, which should be by the end of the year - which means if they begin working on the game at the start of 2017 we may have the game itself out in 2019 or 2020 depending on game scale and if pre-production has already begun. So after getting your hopes up I shall now provide, my open letter to the Rumours of Elder Scrolls 6. Hello. I've heard you may be at E3 this year, we both know that's not true and I don't appreciate getting any hopes up for seeing the next instalment in this amazing franchise so please just don't rear your head on the internet again until you're ready to show yourself off. Thanks. Where will the game be? What role will you play? Will Talos ever be a God again? Guess we're going to have to wait to find out. Image credit: Christian Post

You're Going To Die Today Todd Howard (AKA Game Developer God) discussed the upcoming Survival Mode that is debuting in Fallout 4 in April. The mode is currently in Beta on Steam for those of you PC players out there who wish to give it a go, for those of us on console we are to expect it in April. When? We have no idea, Todd Howard doesn't like release dates. What can you expect in this new mode? Todd laid it out for us: Saving With Sleep - The only way to save the game is to find a bed and sleep for at least an hour. No Fast Travel - You know that settlement across the Commonwealth that's being attacked? You have to walk there, the entire way there. Hardcore Damage - You deal out more damage, but you also take a lot more, stay safe kids. Threats On Compass - They're being removed, so you can literally walk right into a pack of bandits, or that Deathclaw you've been avoiding. Adrenaline - This is a new perk that provides a bonus to damage output by killing things, lots of things. Although sleeping will remove the effect so keep that in mind. Needs - No it's not The Sims, but you will need to eat, sleep and drink to ensure that you stay in fighting shape! Fatigue - Walking is hard, this affects your Action Points - the more fatigued you are, the less you can sprint or use VATS to get those easy kills. Wellness - Crippled limbs are no longer healed by Stimpacks, nor are effects removed by using them. Carry Weight - All ammunition will now weigh you down depending on size of calibre, as well as your legs will give out if you carry too much. Companions - No longer get back up if downed by combat - they run back to a settlement to heal up, wastelanding is hard work. Will you be taking on Survival Mode when it gets released some ambiguous time in April? Let us know below or on the forums! Thanks to Youtube channel Open World Games for the title picture!

Return To Your Roots Hello and welcome to yet another instalment of Open Letters! In this "weekly" column I do one of two things, write an open letter to something relating to news, or I respond to a letter sent in from one of you, the readers! (If you want to send in a question/concern for me to write about, email me at: [email protected]) This week however this article/column/trash-heap is aimed at Game Developers of the Battlefield/Battlefront/Mirrors Edge franchise, DICE. For clarities sake, today we are focusing on the Battlefield aspect of the previous sentence - as many people may be already aware Battlefield 5 was announced back at the end of 2015 and there is a rumour flying around that the franchise will be returning to its roots by taking place during World War I. I'm getting ahead of the curve here let's have a history lesson. (learning is fun!) DICE was founded in 1992 and has been a subsidiary of Electronic Arts since 2004 and have a hefty list of games they've developed including but not limited to: NASCAR Heat*, Battlefield 1942, Midtown Madness 3*, Battlefield 2/3/4, Mirrors Edge/ME: Catalyst, Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit*, Medal of Honor (multiplayer), Star Wars: Battlefront *Indicates DICE co-developed this game with another developer Okay the list is huge and I've already made it too big but they've made some of the best games for the past two decades and I'm trying to make a point here that they created Battlefield, which is one of the (if not THE) direct competitor(s) of that other huge FPS series called Call of Duty, developed by Infinity Ward/Treyarch/Sledgehammer Games and financed by Blizzard/Activision. Don't let my ADD drive you off course, this conversation is about Battlefield - specifically about Battlefield 5 which is due out in what is estimated to be October of 2016. And finally, for the love of God finally an FPS game developer has listened to me. With no further ado, my open letter to DICE: Dear DICE, If you are reading this, then first allow me to say - yes I will happily beta test anything you need for the foreseeable future. But that's not what I'm writing to you about, I am writing to thank you for listening to not only me, but what I can only assume is a very large collection of gamers (both male and female) who are incredibly tired of shooters all feeling the same. Call of Duty has gone so far into the future I get the feeling that the next iteration will be World War III including sticks and stones; however you over at DICE have decided to return to the roots of what made these franchises so successful - you're returning to the most fascinating period of history and wartime that exists. World War I/II settings used to flood the marketplace over a decade ago - to be fair many of them still exist however none as popular as what Call of Duty or Battlefield can pull off. I have fond memories of playing the old games with bolt action rifles, running about as hulking tanks drove past to crush the opposition. Ah, nostalgia why do you feel so damn good? Hindsight is not 20/20 however so if you really do intend to bring Battlefield 1914 into 2016 it needs to be incredible, bring back that nostalgia that I had as a kid but revitalize how it feels because I have car payments now. For Battlefield to truly continue to succeed the franchise needs to evolve in the right way and I feel like going back to what you're good at is a great move. I'm sure we have things to look forward to at E3 this year. How do you feel about Battlefield 5 going back in time? Let us know down below - or hop over to the forums, sign on up and be sure to donate your teeth to the growing collection. Image credit: Yibada