TESV: Skyrim Collector's Edition Announced, Detailed News

For those of you who missed it, Bethesda unveiled The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's Collector's Edition at QuakeCon over the weekend alongside 30-minutes of leaked footage from the game, and now the publisher's UK arm has dished out details on the CE's release over here.

A retail price of £129.99 has been nailed down for the Collector's Edition, which is a touch on the pricey side considering what's on offer (statue, art book, and making-of DVD). When you weigh-up the fact that Batman: Arkham City's Collector's Edition is being priced at £69.99 and includes a Kotobukiya Batman statue, exclusive in-game items, the soundtrack and art book, you do have to ask where the further £60 is going with Skyrim.

No doubt Bethesda will be quick to point towards the quality of the art book and statue as reasons for the high price tag. Modelled directly from in-game digital files, the statue depicts the Skyrim dragon, Alduin The World Eater perched atop one of the game's many dragon walls and modelled in high-quality PVC. The art book, on the other hand, is a 200-page hardback with a foreword by Todd Howard, Skyrim's Director.

Bethesda's DVD documentary looks pretty handy too with plenty of exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. UK retailers, GAME and Gamestation are the only two participating stores for this Collector's Edition over here, and it's available for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

The premium quality world map of Skyrim had already been announced as a pre-order incentive for the game, so if you're not too bothered by the art book, DVD and statue but definitely want to buy the game when it releases on November 11th, then a standard pre-order is the way to go.

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Borderlands 2 Officially Announced News

2K Games has officially announced a sequel for one of the best-selling new IPs of 2009, Borderlands. Gearbox Software's FPS-RPG blend will once again come to Xbox 360s, PS3s, and PCs when Borderlands 2 is released at some point between April 1st 2012 and March 31st 2013 (2K Games has only revealed a release window of the 2013 financial year at this stage).

2K Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive has made no bones in the past about its plans to develop Borderlands into a series, so today's announcement doesn't come as much of a surprise – it was largely a case of when rather than if.

Details on the sequel are thin on the ground at the moment, although new weapons, characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons, and equipment have all been promised. While the planet of Pandora will be returning as the game's location, we're assured that there are going to be plenty of unexplored new areas.

2K Games will be publicly showing Borderlands 2 at the Gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany later this month, followed shortly after by a showing at PAX Prime in the US at the end of August.

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New Counter-Strike Announced News

Following leaks from game testers at the end of last week, Valve has now officially announced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for release in early 2012 on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam.

Few details have been revealed on the title at this stage, although the initial PR indicates that CS: GO will bring existing Counter-Strike content up-to-date while adding new characters, maps, and modes.

Valve appears to be favouring an 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach here, as tactical team-based FPS action is once again the focus while features such as new matchmaking, leaderboards, and weapons are layered on top.

Bringing the phenomenally successful Counter-Strike gameplay formula to consoles is also bound to be a major focus of CS: GO, as this will only be the series' second visit to consoles in its 12-year history (it was released on the original Xbox during the first half of the last decade).

Although Counter-Strike started off life as a mod, Valve has now released three full iterations of the series in the West. Following the first adaptation from the original mod in 2000, Gearbox Software's CS: Condition Zero was released in 2004 and added single-player bot games, while CS: Source was also released during that year and revamped the original CS using Valve's Source engine.

Both the original Counter-Strike and its Source remake have dominated the Steam most-played chart over the years, although Team Fortress 2 has mounted a serious challenge to its crown since the game went free-to-play earlier this year.

Hidden Path Entertainment will co-develop CS: GO alongside Valve having collaborated with the developer on CS: Source previously.

"Counter-Strike took the gaming industry by surprise when the unlikely MOD became the most played online PC action game in the world almost immediately after its release in August 1999," said Doug Lombard, VP of Marketing at Valve. "For the past 12 years, it has continued to be one of the most-played games in the world, headline competitive gaming tournaments and selling over 25 million units worldwide across the franchise. CS: GO promises to expand on CS' award-winning gameplay and deliver it to gamers on the PC as well as the next gen consoles and the Mac."

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