This isn’t the first time a potential official Elder Scrolls film has seen the prospects of a cinema release spike: around this time last year, Bethesda’s parent company Zenimax Media filed a trademark for a “Motion picture film production; entertainment services, namely, providing motion picture theatrical films in the field of fantasy games,” under the title “Oblivion”.

That’s conclusive evidence in itself that The Elder Scrolls creator is, at the very least, protecting what it sees to be a viable branch of the franchise. But with the current climate trending towards fantasy epic films and series’ thanks, in part, to HBO’s Game Of Thrones, the stage is set for an official announcement of an Elder Scroll movie, perhaps in the wake of the inevitable success of the looming launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bethesda’s recent live action TV commercial, posted on the official Skyrim website, could well be a teaser for more than just the video game, but a potential Elder Scrolls movie.

Excitable fans that we are, we’ve drawn up a wish-list of the who’s and the what’s we want to see in a potential Skyrim movie:

Dragonborn (the main protagonist) – Sean Bean, if for no other reason than (**SPOILER**) he dies at the end of Game Of Thrones and might be looking to get on board as a lead role in another fantasy epic. Plus – he has a history with Bethesda, having already voiced the part of Martin Septim in Oblivion.

Esbern – He’s an Agent Of The Blades and one of the last of his kind: Max Von Sydow voices the character but he’s 82, not exactly the perfect casting for an able-bodied veteran warrior. We think an actor who looks like he’s bitten off and spat back out more than he can chew on several occasions would be a good choice. Someone big, with acting chops… how about Liam Neeson?

Dragon – Some of Sykrim’s dragons are the dumb fighting kind. Others are quite inclined to chat, whether crispy Dragonborn flambe is on their menu or not. Sean Connery is a bit of an obvious one and Dragonheart wasn’t nearly hammy enough, so just for the lulz we propose Alan Oppenheimer, the actor behind Falkor the Luck Dragon in The Neverending Story, to voice at least one of these chatty reptiles.

Location – It’s cheaper than New Zealand but just as dramatic (if not as big): Snowdonia National Park in North Wales has one of the biggest mountains in the UK (Snowdon) with coastline within a couple of miles and is guaranteed to see several inches of the white stuff come winter time.

If you have an XBox Live Gold account and you’re a keen multiplayer gamer, then you’ve probably already earmarked at least part of another perfectly decent weekend to Black Ops. If you’re not a subscriber then, it doesn’t matter, because for this weekend your account will be upgraded for free. However, we’re not about to recommend some obvious multiplayer title to sink your three days of gratis playtime into. Nope, here’s an offline, off-the-radar single-player RPG for anyone that gets easily bored or frustrated with other people ruining their fun: Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga.

Try to set any prejudice you might for Euro-RPGs and ignore the diabolically buggy Divinity II: Ego Draconis that was released last year, because this remastered version of the original, plus another 50 hours of expansion, is just the antidote to the RPG itch those anticipating Dragon Age II will need in the run-up to February release of the Bioware sequel. 360 Magazine has ploughed a collective week’s-worth of play into it so far and has discovered a thoroughly clever, funny and rewarding RPG that effectively balances hardcore RPG values with modern accessibility. You also get to turn into a big dragon then fly, burn s**t and stuff.

The votes are in, the envelope’s right here, and we’re all ready to announce the nation’s favourite Xbox 360 pad buttons.

At 5, it’s DOWN ON THE D-PAD: because, hey, night vision goggles are always handy.

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4th place goes to the WIRELESS SYNCHRONISATION SWITCH: it makes your pad work with the console but – even better – used improperly, it creates an excellent roulette of pretty lights. Open a book on where it’ll stop, or save money on disco equipment. Your choice.

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In at 3, the GUIDE BUTTON: You can switch your 360 on remotely, which is amazing in itself. But you can also do it from three rooms away! It’s like entry-level magic or something.

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Narrowly pipped to top spot, it’s the good old RIGHT TRIGGER at 2: It shoots, which is both necessary and excellent. And it’s not too slippery, unlike a certain other console. Perfection, really.

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And the winner is…THE TWIN CLICK OF IMPATIENCE. Not strictly a button, more a manouevre for the outwardly pensive, the Twin Click has saved us from many a turgid load screen, keeping us in the mix while watching a perpetually turning circle icon or a numbingly dull cutscene. There are few who’d deny the ability to mash the sticks has saved them from the rubber room.

We’re not sure about where you are, but right here there’s a crazy wind hurtling round our office, rattling the windows as torrential rain smashes against the panes.

It’s clearly not going to be worth budging a muscle for the duration of the weekend, so that’s adequate time to get stuck into a few epic bits of gaming goodness.

Sonic Adventure

We’ve mostly put this in simply because young David Lynch ommitted it last week. Alright, it’s not the greatest game ever, but there’s certainly one overriding reason for spending your 800 points and spending ten hours on it. Namely, ten hours’ play unlocks Sonic’s awesome red power sneakers as an Avatar Award. You could theoretically spend this time by playing through the whole darn thing; including Big the Cat’s turgid fishing levels. Or, like us, you could simply sellotape the jump button down, leave Sonic alone, and go to sleep or something. Presto – power sneakers for the kids.

Hydrophobia

It’s only about five hours long, but the score attack potential is pretty huge. This early in the game’s release, you’ve got a genuine chance of topping the high score tables, if that’s your kind of thing. Remember: try to batter Malthusians with a range of elemental offenses. It’s possible to burn, shock and drown in one go if you try hard enough – massive points.

It’s the weekend, that means it’s Halo: Reach time!

Hooray, it’s the weekend! We know, you’re all probably chomping at the bit to play Halo: Reach and get stuck into that sublime Bungie multiplayer but hold on, there’s plenty of other things to do too. Here’s a run down off things on XBLA you can get your hands on if Halo: Reach is, you know, not really your thing.

Firstly, there’s a bunch of demos and they’re great as they’re all free. Check out:

DJ Hero 2, NBA 2K 11, FIFA 11 and if you haven’t played it already check out the Vanquish demo – it’s awesome.

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Plants vs Zombies

We know, this isn’t 800 points or less, it’s actually 1200, but it’s such a fantastic little game, it’s well worth a look. Funny, tactical and utterly addictive, plus it’s got zombies in it so you know it’s good.

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Crackdown 2 – Toy Box

If you’re still running around in Crackdown 2, this free addition opens up a whole new world of mayhem for you to indulge in. You’ll get access to the Squad Chopper, Suit Thrusters, new Agent armor colors, and Vehicle Tag to name a few. It’s free so what are you waiting for!

But, if you have to spend money you could always shell out the 560 points for the premium theme – it looks pretty.

It’s the weekend and it’s raining. Well, it is here, anyway. It’s twenty days till payday, our wife has left us, and even the family dog’s died. There’s really nothing else to do except drown our sorrows with some lovely cheap supermarket alcohol, but unfortunately we’ve just had a liver transplant, and until it fully ‘takes’, we’re not even allowed on the Special Brew.

At a time like this, we need to lose ourselves in some cheap, mindless, violent entertainment. Thus, here’s the definitive list of thrills and spills for any “lost weekend”.

Military Sniper Sim 3.18 – 80 MS points

It’s all about hiding in bushes and being very quiet on the 360 at the moment, with the mediocre-at-best Sniper Ghost Warrior continuing to cling mysteriously to the upper echelons of the retail sales charts, while this little gem rides high as the best-selling Indie game at the moment. A technically adept, almost military-grade sniping simulation, this will teach you many of the true fundamentals of actually firing a sniper rifle, taking into account wind speed, air resistance gravity… you name it. Mastery here will soothe your bruised ego and make you feel so much more like a man. (Even if you’re a girl – it’s that powerful).

Vanquish demo – FREE

There’s a lot to do in the Vanquish demo. Not only can you slide around on your knees blasting hell out of lots of robots, but you can  hijack enemy AT-ST style walkers, commandeer gun turrets, and take on an incredible, giant transforming robot boss. It’s one of the greatest slices of gratis 20-minute entertainment available right now.

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero – 400 MS points

While a rather watered-down taster of the full zombie-splatting experience, Case Zero is pretty much a mini adventure in its own right, set in an entirely different map to the finished product, and with a unique story of its own. Still perhaps more demo than standalone game, it’ll definitely leave you wanting more. In the meantime, there’s hundreds of zombies to stab, beat, chop up, blend, fry, squash, percolate, griddle and dismember, for only a few pounds. Excellent.

And there you have it. Strategic violence, twitch violence, and simple violent violence. Slope back to your rancid bedsit and indulge yourself. It’s what we’ll be doing.

In the summertime when the weather is hot…?

What’s the weather like with you? It should really be sunny, shouldn’t it? It is summer after all, but alas, the UK’s temperate climate has let us down yet again. With this in mind, put two fingers up to the British summer and go download a ton of DLC and play some games this weekend. Sounds like a plan to us…

Some awesome DLC:

Bioshock 2 – Rapture Metro – 400 Microsoft Points

Bioshock 2 – Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack – 240 Microsoft Points

BioShock Rosie Big Daddy Outfit 240 Microsoft Points

Bioshock Watchface Big Daddy Doll – 160 Microsoft Points

Aliens vs Predaor Swarm Map Pack – 400 Microsoft Points

Some totally cool Arcade games:

Zeno Clash Ultimate Edition – 800 Microsoft Points

No excuse. Now you have to play this surreal and really quite brilliant FPS brawler.

Alien Breed Episode 1 – 400 Microsoft Points

A nice little remake of a popular sci-fi title. If you like Alien and love shooting them, then this is probably the game for you.

Galaga Legions – 400 Microsoft Points

Like they say, there’s no school like the old school and this cabinet shooter proves its worth with some awesome score attack gameplay.

Welcome to the weekend…

As always, we give you a rundown of the best content you can get on Live for under (or around) 800 Microsoft Points. This week we’ve gone Dragon Age-crazy with some awesome prices on DLC.

Dragon Age DLC:

Awakening: 2400 Microsoft Points

Return To Ostagar: 240 Microsoft Points

Warden’s Keep: 400 Microsoft Points

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Borderlands DLC:

Pick up the Secret Armory, The Underdome and Zombie Island for 400 Microsoft Points all this week.

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We also feel it is our gaming duty to inform as many people as possible that Castlevania: Harmony Of Despair is this week’s Summer Of Live game and though you have to pay slightly more than 800 Points, its supreme amazingness more than makes up for it.

Pick it up for 1200 Microsoft Points and never look back.

It’s Friday, people, and you know what that means: tomorrow is the weekend. T’is a time for lie-ins, cooked breakfasts and slacking off. Celebrate this fact by treating yourself to a gaming gem for 800 of your finest Microsoft Points (or £6.85 in regular monies). Here are a couple of recommendations from us…

Earthworm Jim HD
800 Points
This HD remake of the classic SNES and Mega Drive game is a must-have title. From the gorgeous graphics, to the awesome gameplay, Jim HD doesn’t disappoint. Another awesome bonus is that you get a few brand new levels and the option to play four-player co-op too. Well worth 800 Points, in our opinion. Read our full review here.

Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2
800 Points
This is an utterly addictive game. If you are in any doubt about spending your hard-earned points on it, you should check out our review here.

It’s Friday once again! Time to throw off the shackles of your dreary work-a-day Masters and embrace freedom! And as gamers you know what that means: it’s time to play some games! Here are couple of likely candidates, all for under 800 MS Points.

Assassin’s Creed II: Expansion Packs
400 MS Points

We all loved Assassin’s Creed II, and we certainly had plenty of reasons to do so – its combination of an amazing setting, awesome story and atmospheric action make it one of the best games in the genre. And, as with most triple-A games these days, Ubisoft has released DLC to continue the adventure.

While some of it was fairly good, you’d have been forgiven for giving it a miss at its original high price; however, it’s currently part of the Xbox Live ‘deal of the week’, so you’ve no excuse not to play it! You can get ‘Bonfire Of The Vanities’ and ‘Secret Locations’ DLC for 400 MS Points; meanwhile, the ‘Battle Of Forli’ DLC can be purchased for a paltry 240 MS Points. If you’re hungry for more Assassin’s Creed II goodness, then now’s the time to buy. After all, what could be better than a summer weekend in Italy?

Streets Of Rage 2
400 MS Points

The 2D scrolling beat-’em-up will never die! At least not so long as there are great games in the genre like Streets Of Rage 2 to play. The old Mega Drive classic Streets Of Rage games may well have started up as a ‘me too!’ take on the Capcom’s classic Final Fight, but by Streets Of Rage 2 the series had actually developed its own character. Its gameplay features a deep (well, for the genre) combat system and a selection of great co-op moves. And, just like the first game, the pulsing soundtrack to Streets Of Rage 2 is to die for. Get hold of it, get a mate round and take to the streets!

Rez HD
800 MS Points

It’s come to our attention that some people (including – shock horror – one person on our team… don’t worry, we’re setting it as homework) haven’t played Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s legendary musical action-shooter Rez HD. And everybody should have. Its amazing combination of addictive, fast-paced shooting action and beguiling musical atmosphere will totally immerse you. This game is the reason why we can’t wait to play Mizuguchi’s Kinect  semi-follow-up Child Of Eden. Do yourself a favour and give it – or the very least, the free trial – a go!