Xbox Gaming in South Africa

Following on from the Fallout: New Vegas Dead Money DLC announcement last week, Bethesda has posted a short interview with the game's senior designer, Chris Avellone, revealing further details on the setting and content in the upcoming Xbox 360 exclusive add-on.

Can you discuss the setting for Dead Money?

Dead Money is set in the Sierra Madre, an opulent and extravagant resort that was supposed to be the greatest casino in the west – except that it never opened. Bombs fell before the gala opening, and the Sierra Madre froze in time, its state of the art security system locking the place up tight. Nothing could get in, and none of the guests could escape. Years passed. The climate control and air conditioning system within the facility began to spit toxins into the surrounding city, causing a slow cloud and haze to form over the area - which proved lethal to anyone who tried to explore the city. Only a mysterious group called the Ghost People survived to call the city home, trapped inside what appeared to be hazmat suits and never speaking to their victims... only capturing them alive and dragging them away to the depths of the city deep within the Cloud.

And so the Sierra Madre faded from the history books, only occasionally being seen in posters across the wastes, until it took on mythic ghost story status... a supposed "City of Gold" in the Mojave Wasteland where all the treasures of the Old World were rumored to be held. It was kept alive as a late-night saloon story by prospectors who'd claimed to have found maps leading there... and were willing to part with the "map" for a few caps. Or a drink. Or a warm place to sleep.

How will the player reach this area?

The Sierra Madre is a mythical place in the wastes, with travelers all risking their lives to find it. Only one man truly "found" it - and lived. After the fall of HELIOS One, Father Elijah of the Brotherhood of Steel set out to find new weapons to eradicate NCR. And in the process he found the Sierra Madre. The Courier is lured to the Sierra Madre by a faint radio broadcast advertising the gala grand opening.

From a gameplay standpoint, Dead Money is accessed by loading a save file from any point in Fallout: New Vegas prior to the endgame sequence, in the same way as Operation Anchorage, Point Lookout, The Pitt or Mothership Zeta were triggered in Fallout 3.

Can you share details on some of the new creatures/enemies players will encounter?

This being an extension of Fallout: New Vegas, players will encounter several unique characters, each with their own motivations, all of whom will have to work together if any of them are going to survive. Aside from just struggling with their would-be companions, the courier will also have to deal with the mysterious Ghost People as well as the casino's substantial defense systems.

Along with the short Q&A, Bethesda announced that the Dead Money DLC is set to launch on Xbox LIVE on 21 December for 800 MSP.