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Bethesda is getting crazy with its pre-orders lately. Depending on where you reserve your copy of Brink and Hunted: The Demon’s Forge, you’ll get a unique bonus package that can’t be acquired at rival retailers. OCD gamers, prepare to tear your hair out.

Brink Pre-Orders
The DOOM Pack – Available at GameStop and GameStop.com
Spread fear amongst your enemies with this exclusive character customization pack based on the world-famous DOOM games by id Software. Filled with a unique set of hellish customization options for both Security and Resistance characters, the DOOM Pack will make you stand out from the crowd and bring Hell to the Ark.

The DOOM Pack, available when you pre-order through GameStop, contains:
■Unique “Hellspawn” body tattoo
■Exclusive UAC (Security) and Cacodemon (Resistance) customized skins for the Bulpdaun SMG
■Exclusive UAC Marine Body Armor (Security) and Lost Soul Screaming Skull (Resistance) t-shirts
■Exclusive UAC beanie cap (Security) and DOOM bandana (Resistance)

The Fallout Pack – Available at Best Buy and BestBuy.com
Attention, wannabe Vault-dwellers! With exclusive Fallout-themed character customization options for both Security and Resistance characters, the Fallout Pack lets you publicly proclaim your affiliation to Vault-Tec’s post nuclear simulation.

The Fallout Pack, available when you pre-order through Best Buy, contains:

■Unique Fallout Vault 101 body tattoo
■Exclusive Vault 101 (Security) and Fallout New Vegas Vault Boy (Resistance) customized skins for the CARB-9 SMG
■Exclusive Fallout Vault 101 (Security) and Fallout New Vegas Vault Boy (Resistance) t-shirts
■Exclusive Vault-Tec beanie cap (Security) and Fallout bandana (Resistance)
The Psycho Pack – Available at Amazon.com and Direct2Drive
Push your Brink character even further with new and exclusive customization options. Containing a new weapon, a terrifying face mask, a unique Janus body tattoo and exclusive silencers, the Psycho Pack will turn you into a deadly and terrifying assassin as you fight over the future of the Ark and its inhabitants.

The Psycho Pack, when you pre-order through Amazon.com or Direct2Drive, contains:

■Exclusive weapon: the “Caesar” Revolver
■New attachments: The Resistance’s improved Soda Can Silencer and Security’s ArkTactical Silencer
■Exclusive Resistance “The Grin” Combat Mask
■Unique “Tortured Soul” body tattoo

The Spec Ops Pack – Available at Walmart, Walmart.com, and Steam
Kit out your Brink character with new and exclusive customization options. Containing an exclusive weapon, a new scope attachment, a slick combat mask, and a unique “Dogtag” body tattoo, the Spec Ops Pack will put you amongst the Ark’s most elite warriors as you fight over the future of humanity’s last refuge.

The Spec Ops Pack, available when you pre-order through Walmart or Steam, contains:

■Exclusive weapon: the “Hockler” Machine-Pistol
■Exclusive “GreenEye” Combat Optical Scope
■Exclusive Security “Sloani” Combat Mask
■Unique Dogtag body tattoo

Hunted: The Demon’s Forge Pre-Orders
Darkset Pack (available through GameStop):
•Caddoc’s Darkset Armor — exclusive shoulder armor for Caddoc
•Caddoc’s Darkset Axe & Shield — exclusive Darkset Axe and Shield used by Caddoc
•E’lara’s Darkset Armor — exclusive magical artifact which improves E’lara’s magical abilities
•E’lara’s Darkset Light Sword — exclusive Darkset Light Sword used by E’lara

Griffin Pack (available through Best Buy and not limited to just Griffin McElroy):
•Caddoc’s Griffin Bracer — exclusive magical artifact which improves Caddoc’s magical abilities
•Caddoc’s Griffin Maw Crossbow — exclusive crossbow used by Caddoc
•E’lara Griffin Hide Armor — exclusive armor used by E’lara
•E’lara’s Griffin Claw Bow — exclusive repeating bow used by E’lara

Demon Pack (available through Amazon and Direct2Drive):
•Demon Boss — Demon boss unlocked in Crucible
•Demon Level — Demon boss level unlocked in Crucible
•Annuvin — Annunvin character skin unlocked after completing the campaign
•Notch Axe — Caddoc’s notch axe unlocked

Assassin Pack (available through Walmart and Steam):
•Assassin Boss — Assassin boss unlocked in Crucible
•Assassin Level — Assassin boss level unlocked in Crucible
•Seriphine — Seriphine character skin unlocked after completing the campaign
•Assassin Bow — E’lara’s Assassin bow unlocked

Introduction

At PAX 09 we got our first look at the revolutionary title Brink. It brings a compelling story that takes place on the Ark, a man-made floating city that is on the brink of all-out civil war. Originally built as an experimental, self-sufficient and 100% “green” habitat, the reported rapid rise of the Earth’s oceans has forced the Ark to become home to not only the original founders and their descendants but also to thousands of refugees.

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We spoke with Joe Sanabria at Bethesda’s booth at this year’s E3, getting some demo time with Fallout: New Vegas. Joe set us up with the demo, explaining the different casinos and how they are like separate cultures unto themselves. For instance, the Tops Casino is big on entertainment, while the Ultraluxe is all about opulence and Gomorrah is hedonistic heaven. Jolly tried his hand at a few games of chance, such as blackjack and slots, before deciding to check out combat.

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Introduction

Fearing a planet-wide extinction from a massive asteroid headed towards Earth, world leaders are faced with the inexorable task of ensuring human survival. Left with few alternatives, life-sustaining pods filled with select people are buried deep beneath the earth’s surface. You are one of the chosen members of these modern day arks and abruptly enter the RAGE universe after surfacing alone. Leaving you to your own devices to stay alive in a world filled with those who prefer you dead, RAGE combines powerful storytelling with heart-pounding action.

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Tired of the same old maps (that were already installed on the disc)? DICE has set a date for the upcoming Onslaught mode for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Save up your points, because on June 22nd you should be ready to drop 800 of them for a pick-me-update. It’s going to be the same ol’ Valparaiso, Atacama Desert, Isla Inocentes, and Nelson Bay maps, but Onslaught will bring new co-op, objective-based mission play for up to four players. Kit Shortcuts will also become available on June 16th, granting players the option to unlock a kit’s weapons, gadgets, and specializations for about $7 per kit (or $20 for all four). Or, you know, you could just do the work, lazy.

June 15th brings a Massload of space RPG content. On this day, Mass Effect 2 will not only unleash its demo upon the Marketplace, but it will also publish the Overlord DLC. Those new to the title will become (re)acquainted with the cast of Mass Effect 2, while the savvy may explore the expansion’s five new areas as they check out an ominously silent Cerberus research base.

In an unexpected turn of events, Fallout: New Vegas will come with four different bonus packs, each one exclusive to its own specific retail chain. GameStop will bestow upon its customers the Classic Pack, which includes an Armored Vault 13 Suit, a Vault 13 Canteen, a Weathered 10mm Pistol, and four Stimpaks. Amazon is packed with the Tribal version, which includes Tribal Raiding Armor, a Broad Machete, five Bleak Venom doses, and 10 Throwing Spears. For Steam/Walmart loyalists, the Caravan Pack is for you; this bundle is composed of Lightweight Leather Armor, a Sturdy Caravan Shotgun, four Repair Kits, and a pair of Binoculars. Finally, Best Buy gifts consumers with the Mercenary Pack, a collection of Lightweight Metal Armor, the Mercenary’s Grenade Rifle, three Super Stimpaks, and three Doctor’s Bags. While it’s nice to see GameStop’s iron grip on add-on bonuses loosened a little, this bonus pack versatility is sure to rub some collectors the wrong way.

Remember the Dreamcast? Sega has announced that they will begin porting the throwback console’s classic titles to XBLA and PSN later in the year. Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi are slated to lead the rereleases, which will be outfitted with better sound, quality, and the Achievement/Trophy system. Maybe E3 will fill in a few more details?

E3 2010 is almost here, which means anxiety levels are high over at 360 Rant Rave. Do we have everything we need? What are we wearing? Can we get to each appointment on time? Should we stop in and check out Leonard Nimoy? These and many more questions run through our heads, but perhaps chief amongst all these queries, is how we will pay for it all.

Don’t you fret, for we’ll figure it all out somehow. We’ve got a gameplan set up on the new forum (which should go live once the diligent Jolly gets the style and chat in place), so we’ll not be spending our first E3 looking like chocobos with no heads. The funding, however…well, we won’t turn down donations

Here’s a list of who is bringing what to the video game potluck going down in just a few days:

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According to an interview at Joystiq, Bethesda may be tight-lipped June 15-17th at this year’s E3. Why the silence from a publisher with such upcoming titles as Fallout: New Vegas, Brink, Hunted: The Demon’s Forge, and RAGE? Apparently the forces that be deem it the wrong venue.

Vice president Pete Hines stated that “Just me, personally, both from my days, even though it seems eons ago where I used to attend E3 as a journo and now with my ten-plus years at Bethesda, I just don’t think E3 is a great place to announce anything. It’s just so much stuff going on that it tends to get lost, so I think we tend to try and go outside of that window for new announcements. I think we’ll have a lot of new things to show. For example, all these games that we’re talking about will have new stuff. We hope to be hands-on with the majority of them for the press, that kind of thing. But as far as new announcements, I think we would either do those kinds of things and maybe be more inclined to do them at events like QuakeCon. That’s now kind of an event that we’re working with id to make bigger and better. One of the ways you make it bigger and better is you take some of your stuff and do announcements there rather than doing them elsewhere. So I think it still remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t expect any big announcements from us at E3, although it is only April and it’s two months away.”

Bummer. Ah well, we’ll be there in case they DO slip up and spill more beans than they intended. Counting those days!

Fallout: New Vegas picks up three years after Fallout 3 with the story of a courier thought dead in the Mojave Wasteland of Nevada. You’ll be able to select your character’s age as well as the starting S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats before venturing forth over the New Vegas strip, the Hoover Dam, and many other locales where organisms have accumulated in the desolate land.

The V.A.T.S. targeting system will be slightly modified, as it is hinted at including special move commands for melee combat. Karma returns, influencing your standing in the eyes of Caesar’s Legion, the New California Republic, and the Brotherhood of Steel. Companion control will be easier thanks to a “companion wheel”.

Weapons will be fully customizable in Fallout: New Vegas, which is sure to cause many a wastelander to salivate. Mods from larger magazines to special ammunition will provide a considerable improvement to the arsenal available in Fallout 3. Weapons will also offer proper zooming, surely for no other reason than to allow gamers to use the RPS abbreviation once more. Slow motion will be available outside of V.A.T.S., which probably means that the game’s playtime will range from 60 to over 9000 hours. Mercifully, this feature can be toggled on or off.

If Fallout 3 didn’t give you enough reasons to want to break your disc, Fallout: New Vegas has the remedy in Hardcore Mode. In this foreboding method of play, brave (read: foolish?) wanderers must consider dehydration, ammo weight, hunger, and much more conventional healing properties. Definitely not E-Z-Mode.

Fallout: New Vegas will arrive this October.

So almost a full year after Bethesda announced the next Fallout title we get a lovely little teaser trailer for Fallout:New Vegas and a Twitter/Facebook contest to win signed posters. I for one can’t wait for this not-a-sequel to hit the shelves. Tons of hours were spent playing Fallout 3 and I expect nothing less from New Vegas!

Check out the teaser trailer here.

Contest details here.

So have you been paying attention to the news lately? Did you know that Bethesda was giving away a free theme to everyone that purchased all of their DLC for the hit game Fallout 3? Well incase you had not purchased the DLC and want a chance to win a free copy of the theme just sign up on our forums and be an active member! Later this week one lucky forum member will win a code to download the hot new Fallout 3 Premium Theme!

If your a member of the forums stay tuned to this thread here, if not sign up for them here.