Game - The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim
Publisher - Bethesda Softworks
Developer - Bethesda Game Studios
Platform - TBA
Release Date - 11 November 2011
The story
Skyrim is set in… well, Skyrim, which is located north of Cyrodil. It is a snowy area and it’s ultimately where Nords are from. The story is set 200 years after the events of Oblivion. You play as a Dragonborn (a dragon hunter) and you are mentored by the last living Blade member. There is also a civil war going on after the dead of the king. Looking back at the song decoded, there is a strong hint here that 2 brothers will wage war, causing Alduin; the dragon who can destroy the world, to be spawned.
Enemies
enemies will include zombies, skeletons, trolls, giants, ice wraiths, giant spiders, dragons, wolves, horses Elk, mammoth and saber-toothed cats among others.
The engine
The new engine is brand new. Snow now falls dynamically. Trees are more detailed (and they have fixed branches and leaves). Wind is used to determine the flow of water and the direction in which leaves point. Also, there are now dynamic shadows.
Combat and weapons
Combat with weapons is said to be more dynamic in Skyrim. Bethesda are working hard to make sure every weapon type feels different to play with. Also, you can now smith your own weapons out of red hot metal. There is also supposedly a deal-wield option, in which you can wield any one-hand weapon in your left or right hand, so a warrior might have 2 swords, whilst a battle-mage might have one sword and one hand free for magic. Also, weapons have unique finishing moves.
Magic
There are now 5 magic schools; Destruction, Alteration, Conjuration, Restoration and Illusion. Mysticism has been removed. Enchanting is now a skill.
Cities
There are 5 “massive” cities. There is now more to do in cities, including cooking, farming, mining, woodcutting and blacksmithing, but exactly how these will work is yet to be described. Killing a shop keeper will not close it down for good, a relative of the keeper will usually take over the shop. There is talk of cities being attacked by dragons too.
Levels and skills
There are now 18 skills to choose from (3 less than Oblivion). The skills will be tailored to you, so if you would like to be a powerful mage, you would be able to put up the skills relevant to you, but there is also room for people who like all the skills. The game now has perks, similar to Fallout 3. You can choose a perk when you level up, and you can also choose to put up your health, magicka or stamina upon leveling up. Once you have reached level 50, it will be harder to level up, and you won’t be able to select new perks.
NPCs
Non-playable characters are more dynamic and interactive. When you talk to someone, the camera won’t zoom into their face, they will instead move around and do things (you know, like a human). Depending on where you drop something, NPCs can interact differently with it. For example, dropping a weapon could lead to a child trying to return it to you, it could also spark a fight between men who want to claim it. Oh, and if you didn’t catch that, there are now children. You can now duel NPCs in cities.
Quests
Quests can be more dynamic than ever. Some quests will be randomly generated for you. For example, an NPC could ask you to find something, the game will check all near-by caves/forts to see which ones you haven’t entered and which ones have suitable enemies, and then the quest would be to go to the selected area and retrieve it. Also, some quests will be tailored to your preferences (magic, combat etc).
The player
There are several player improvements. Third-person view has been improved. Players (and NPCs) can now have beards. Upon creating your character, you will be able to edit their body as well as their face. There are 10 races to choose from, but you won’t choose a class at the start of the game (your class is determined by your skills). Players can now sprint, which will take up stamina.
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