About Author: Marykate Clark

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Lover of games, philosophy, art, music & pancakes. Writer, artist, gamer, lava lamp owner.

Posts by Marykate Clark

2

Skyrim Dawnguard confirmed for June 26

Following a successful beta run this past week, Bethesda has announced (via Twitter) that the first DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will launch on schedule June 26 (1600 MSP), an Xbox exclusive launch ahead of PC and PS3. Dawnguard brings approximately 10-20 hours of additional gameplay, roughly the same length as other faction quest lines, such as completing the Thieves’ Guild  (revealed at E3). Along with the new story and quests, the DLC adds new features including vampire lord and werewolf skill trees; there’s even a spectral mount.

The main story of the DLC surrounds the struggle between the Dawnguard, a brotherhood of vampire hunters and the pure vampires, lead by Lord Harkon (featured in the Dawnguard trailer). Additional content includes: side quests, the Soul Cairn realm (a plane of Oblivion), a host of new skills, new weaponry, new shouts, and an assortment of  creatures and characters; including one woman in Riften who allows players to change their character’s appearance (another E3 reveal). Are there  any of the rumored Snow Elves? It’s possible, but, when asked at E3, Todd Howard stopped short of directly confirming it. The DLC is integrated such that it comes seamlessly incorporated as part of the existing Skyrim world, accessible within the regular game. Characters need to be level 10 to begin the main Dawnguard quests, which begin at the far North of Skryim.

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Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC ready for launch June 26

At long last, fans will be getting the promised Extended Cut DLC to Mass Effect 3, won (in late March) by popular demand, outcries of dismay, and a very public campaign of protests by fans and critics frustrated by the endings they were given. It will be available June 26 for Xbox, PC and Playstation 3. The new DLC is offered as a free download (1.9 GB) and adds additional scenes and epilogue material to the original set of endings (a Director’s Cut, if you will) in hopes of offering players closure and a more balanced finale. As with the original ending treatment, the extended endings will require multiple playthroughs for players to see all the possibilities played out. The long trilogy of Mass Effect games depicted an evolving narrative centered very heavily on players’ choices and relationships with other characters; Bioware is hoping that the new material will honor that long investment and the passion of the trilogy’s fans. Only time will tell if the compromise finally satisfies the masses.

“The Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut is a downloadable content pack that will expand upon the events at the end of Mass Effect 3. Through additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes, the Extended Cut will include deeper insight to Commander Shepard’s journey based on player choices during the war against the Reapers. The Extended Cut will be available to download at no additional charge on June 26th on Xbox 360 and PC and PlayStation 3.”  (via Mass Effect)

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Kinect voice search support for Australia and New Zealand

Today’s mandatory Xbox Live update adds support specifically tailored for Kinect users with Australian and New Zealand accents. The streamlining and improved access to voice search features will no doubt be a welcome enhancement for our Aussie and Kiwi XBL friends. The support upgrade falls in line with new Kinect augmentation plans revealed at E3.

As announced at E3, Microsoft already plans to broaden voice recognition access; newly incorporating 12 countries (including Australia and New Zealand) and 6 languages that will all soon gain support and access to voice search, powered by Bing, heretofore only designed to service English speakers in select countries. The latest expansion demonstrates a Microsoft initiative to make signature services specifically related to Kinect more universal and user-friendly across the many countries serviced by Xbox Live.

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Just Dance: Disney Party revealed at E3

Ubisoft and Disney Interactive have announced at E3, the upcoming new addition to the Just Dance franchise, the newly revealed Just Dance: Disney Party. The announcement comes on the heels of yet another E3 reveal in the same series, Just Dance 4, announced just the day before.

Disney Interactive is hosting demos of the Disney Party edition at E3 starting today. Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Ubisoft North America said, “We’re proud to be collaborating with Disney at a time when the Just Dance franchise is growing and evolving to reach new fans. Just Dance: Disney Party allows families have an authentic Disney experience through dance right in their own living rooms.” Check out the track list and more info after the break.

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Skyrim patch brings battle in the saddle this June

 

*UPDATE: Bethesda announced (via Twitter) that Update 1.6 will launch the last week in June, the same week as the first DLC, Dawnguard.

Announced on Twitter with an accompanying post on Bethblog, Bethesda Softworks released plans for another free patch coming soon to consoles and PC. Update 1.6 will deliver a wealth of bug fixes (including numerous repairs to the Kinect integration introduced via the previous update) along with mounted combat! Both melee and ranged combat will be available to players while riding via the upcoming patch. So whether it’s Shadowmere, Frost, or that random horse you just stole; gone are the days of running away or dismounting when trouble interrupts your ride. No exact date has been given for console launch, but the specifics of the update were covered in detail in the official announcement posted on Bethesda’s Bethblog site, which you can find below.

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