Re: Elder Scrolls V
The Game Informer issue containing the long awaited details of Skyrim has hit the internet, and it’s a mixed reaction. Fans everywhere are outraged and happy at the same time. In a gleefully pissed off stupor, fans have taken to the internet to post their muddled thoughts of upcoming Elder Scrolls: Skryim game from Bethesda set to hit in November this year.
The game is set 200 years after Oblivion‘s end. This new environment is called Skyrim. It’s north of the Imperial City, and in that bitterly cold habitat where the Nords live. Gamers will get to tackle the god of the dragons, his kin, and the usual assortment of common pissed off wildlife creatures like the were-yeti. Your character himself (or herself) is a dragon-born dragon hunter living in a world of civil war between people who like the Empire and people who don’t. That sort of thing usually comes about when kings die. The game will take place in five massive cities, and more than just two variations of caves like the previous iterations contained.
Some are seeing these new additions as lazy. Classes have been removed, and all skills you level contribute to an overall level. Taking (or self-stealing, since they are from the same company) a note from Fallout 3, your character will gain perks as they progress through the levels. Speaking of leveling, when you finally upgrade a number, you gain a boost in health plus your choice of more health, stamina, or magicka. Finally, there is a soft cap of 50, but you can go beyond. Just expect to take far more time grinding to surpass that.
Skills have gotten changed, and many think it not for the better. One reason that people are already at the throats of Bethesda is that Mysticism is no longer a skill. Not only that, but it only contains 18 skills. To put that in better perspective, that’s down from the 21 skills in Oblivion, and 27 skills total on Morrowind. On the plus side, the game will tailor itself to your playstyle while still giving breathing room to be a jack of all trades. True that this may mean you can be overpowered in every regard, but it gives less room for players to screw up with “the wrong character build.” Enchanting is making a return, alongside weapon smithing.
The company is planning on making the combat far deeper and more dynamic. Mashing a button like crazy to win was as deep as Oblivion got, but this iteration is changing things up. Each hand will have a different function, so one for magic and a shield, magic and magic (allowing for some powerful combos), or just put a sword in both hands and dual-wielding. The game has a quick-set up option, so fixing up the way you want to play will be a breeze even in mid-battle. Your character will now be able to sprint, which of course will waste stamina. Combat has been a focal point in development, so much so that each weapon will feel different within your hands. And yes, level scaling is back, for better or worse. But it’s more akin to Fallout 3, so thank the gaming gods you won’t fight rats for the majority of the game.
The game’s quests are far more dynamic in the way they play out, all based on what your character is like and how they’ve reacted to the world previously. An example of this is if you play a more magic-based game, then you’ll be approached by more magic-based enemies. To go further, if you murder a store owner that has quest for you, he will be replaced by his sister who will begrudgingly give you the quest. Dropping items has a more dynamic effect, in the sense that the NPCs may react to it. Maybe a kid will pick it up and give it back to you, or maybe some people will fight over who gets it. I can see the kid thing getting annoying. No, don’t give it to me you little brat, I obviously don’t want it! The location of quests themselves can be determined by places you have or haven’t visited. The game might shoehorn you into a spot you’ve never been to.
Little things have been improved as well. The third person camera has been improved, and there is an option to turn off the HUD. NPCs will now do other things while talking, making your conversations with them less static and awkward.
Gamers all around are complaining and praising at the same time, despite this not being all of what’s revealed. Some are noting how similar to Fallout 3 it looks, even though it has a different engine, though many are stating that the graphics are fantastic. We’ll have more when more information drops, like if Fargoth or his kin will be in this game or not. Let’s pray they aren’t.
Ryan collins
IGN:
The latest issue of Game Informer contains fresh gameplay details on Bethesda's next massive title, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, set for release this November.
Skyrm's story is set 200 years after the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and the world of Tamriel is in shambles. The empire has fallen to the elves, the Blades are gone, the Nords hate each other, and a civil war is about the break out. Oh, and that big dragon the Elder Scrolls prophesied about? Yeah, he's arrived, too. Players will take control of the last remaining Dragonborn, a dragon hunter anointed by the gods to help fend off the threat.
Bethesda's newest title features a brand-spanking new engine where every object in the game now casts a shadow as well as improved draw-distances. Textures are sharper and more detailed and the environments are livelier. There's also the addition of a HUD-less first-person view and "improved" third-person camera option.
There will be five massive cities that span Skyrim's environment, which ranges from frozen tundra to rocky mountain tops. There is also new wildlife, such as Sabre-toothed Cats and Wooly Mammoths.
The combat is getting a bit of an overhaul, too. Players will be able to equip any weapon or spell to either hand at any time and even duel wield two of the same weapon. A new customizable menu is being added to help swap load-outs easily in battle.
Bethesda has also done away with the character class system and reworked the game's leveling mechanic. Players' skills will level up the more they are used, contributing to your overall level growth. "Raising one skill from 34 to 35 is going to level you faster than raising one from 11 to 12," Bethesda designer Todd Howard told the magazine. Players can also level pass 50, but it becomes much slower after that point.
The team has also added Fallout 3's perk system, where each new level gained allows players to add special abilities to their character, including increase in damage to dagger stealth attacks or allowing your mace to ignore enemy armor.
Skyrim's NPC conversations are a lot more realistic. Aside from including even more voice actors, the AI-controlled characters will actually move about and continue on with the activities they were doing before being interrupted. Towns also include more activities to do, such farming, mining, woodcutting and cooking.
Bethesda also revamped the game's menu system. Howard said the team used Apple's iTunes as inspiration and direction. Players will be greeted with a compass-style overlay with four options: Skill, Inventory, Map, and Magic. Weapons and spells can be tagged as a 'favorite' for quick selection. Every item is a 3D object than can be viewed and examined.
Check out the latest issue of Game Informer for additional details.
The suspense can now end, as the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim edition of Game Informer has blown the lid off the mystery surrounding the next game in the series. We’ve examined the scans, which finally shed some light on the game’s story, the role of dragons in the narrative, and the cast of characters that players will come to know and love.
Game rant:
Those familiar with the previous titles will still be in for a new experience, as the ability to wield a weapon in one hand and use the other for spellcasting is just one facet of combat that Skyrim will be employing.
The cover of the magazine featured a message written in the dragon tongue foretelling of a prophecy that the dragons would one day rise when brothers took arms against eachother. while all might seem lost, the hope of mankind rests in the hands of the one known only as ‘Dragonborn.’
In the scans of the magazine, this story is confirmed as the main plot of the game, with the player stepping in as possibly the last of the dragonborn:
“The Elder Scrolls have prophesied the return of the dragons. In fact, the signs that the dragons would be returning were clearly laid out in the predictions. The shattering of the Staff of Chaos (The Elder Scrolls: Arena), the appearance of Numidium (Daggerfall), the volcanic Red Mountain (Morrowind), and the opening of the Oblivion gates (Oblivion) all heralded their arrival. the last sign is the citizens of Skyrim turning against eachother in civil war, an event that is unfolding as Skyrim begins.”
The dragons won’t be a vacant threat, but a constant enemy that will have to be fought on several occasions. As the last of the dragonborn, the player will be able to use the power of the dragons themselves, to eliminate the remaining dragons before Alduin rises. Also known as the ‘World Eater,’ this dragon possesses godlike power, and a desire to swallow Tamriel whole.
In the journey against the dragon scourge your character will get help from some other characters, notably Esbern, one of the last of the Blades, warriors tasked with protecting the line of dragonborn. This character will be voiced by Max von Sydow, and was heard revealing the prophecy in the game’s announcement trailer.
So with a guardian of your own, the one known as ‘dovahkiin’ will need to learn to wield the power of the dragons if victory is even possible. To do that, you will need to make your way to the home of the mystical Greybeards, atop a mountain known as ‘The Throat of the World.’ To do so means climbing the 7,000 steps up the slope, which we can only hope won’t be achieved by alternating button presses.
The magazine isn’t filled with in-game images to give an idea of what the finished product will look like, so we’ll have to wait to see that spectacular new game engine in action. We can tell that the game definitely has a Norse feel to it, both in the abundance of crumbling buildings and ruins that populate Skyrim, and the look of the characters themselves.
We’ve already thought about the potential for multiplayer in the world of Elder Scrolls, but have to admit that the idea of all previous titles having been a prelude to the events of Skyrim is a fantastic one. Long-time fans are sure to enjoy an abundance of references to previous games, and the advances in technology since Oblivion will only improve the odds of the game becoming a hit with newcomers.
Given the emphasis on cinematic presentation when it comes to RPGs, we can assume that the script, voicing, and character design will be given even more attention than usual, which is always welcome. However the mechanics of the game end up, fans can breathe a sigh of relief now that they have a better idea of what to expect from Skyrim.
So now that Game Informer has confirmed our suspicions, are you more or less excited for Skyrim, and a chance to take on dragons with the power of steel and magic? Do the images of the new realm live up to your expectations?
Whether the game ends up soaring to new heights, or being burnt to the ground, we’ll find out how the story ends – perhaps -when The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is released on November 11, 2011.
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New Charcter/ New Race/ New Skills 
