Impressions: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
By Tom Yeates | August 18, 2011 | Previews | 3 comments | Share
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is at gamescom. I saw it…with my own eyes. I’m going to tell you about it, you lucky soul!
Understandably, Skyrim had been attracting a lot of attention over the course of the day. The game’s release draws ever closer and people have been itching for more information on issues as wide ranging as the size of the game world and whether the jumping has been improved since Oblivion…you know, that insane floaty slow jump? Of course you do. Well, good folk, fine readers, I got to see that extended gameplay demo everyone’s been talking about! Now I am talking about it too and through me, so can you.
Going Down The Country…
Just look at that babbling brook! Babbling!
The demonstration began with the stomping footsteps of a Dragon followed by a roar so loud that many members of the audience literally clutched their ears with suprise, it was really THAT loud, before opening up with the main character stood upon a mountain road. The breeze brushed the trees gently and there were snowflakes in the air. The snowfall higher up the mountain was being left behind, giving way to greener land, flanking the riverside.
It looked beautiful. The same way Oblivion did when footage first emerged. The detail of the environments was stunning and the level of fidelty in the foliage and the clutter of the world is very high. Bethesda always put focus on believable world environments and Skyrim is no exception to this rule – the landscape is a wonder to behold. The draw distances were also impressive, especially considering that this was a console version being demonstrated.
The animation system has been completely redone since Oblivion and Fallout 3 for the new “Creation Engine” and this showed through when demonstrating the third person viewpoint, which has had seen a lot of attention to make it into a viable way to play the game. The sword swings of the character looked appropriate, a far cry from the flimsy animations of previous Bethesda titles. Moving into some combat scenarios against wolves and roadside bandits also helped to showcase the improvements in this department and the game does feature some execution style animations just to add that extra bit of style to your slaughter.
Aha! But I Have Two!
The duel wielding mechanic has had some work done too. Now, you can rock out your sword and shield, or switch to an illuminating staff in your left hand and a sword in your right, two swords, two axes or two spells! There is a lot of flexibility here and in the case of duel wielding spells, it allows you to combine spells together much more swiftly and with deadly results. Indeed, the whole spell system has been given some much needed love. I myself have never played a a character with a magical focus in any Elder Scrolls game, but the strength of the spells and the versatility of the duel wielding mechanic has me itching to try it out in Skyrim.
...the strength of the spells and the versatility of the duel wielding mechanic has me itching to try it out in Skyrim.
We were shown a riverside town, which looked significantly more alive than Oblivion’s eerie NPC settlements which, whilst often full of hilarity, certainly left a lot to be desired in terms of immersion. Villagers talked to each other more fluidly, and went about their daily chores, which the player can involve him or herself with – the example we were shown was chopping wood. It was a much more believable experience, which was certainly assisted by the increased visual fidelity. Conversations now lack the sometimes immersion-breaking zoom element and the whole experience looks like a genuine improvement. There were also children wandering around, which probably raises a few concerns, given the breadth of player choice in this game…after all, how many people wandered into the first town in Fallout 3 and promptly slaughtered everyone? Don’t lie…I know you did it.
Dungeons, Dragons and Starry Skies
We were shown a bit of horse riding, a staple of the series, and the demonstration progressed upwards into the mountains, which gave us to opportunity to see the dynamic weather effects. The higher the player went, the thicker the snowfall became until it was practically arctic conditions. Eventually the path led to an ancient Nord barrow, one of 150 unique dungeons in the game, apparently, which will hopefully serve to answer criticisms laid against Oblivion that its dungeon environments were much too similar to each other. I was impressed, mainly because it asn’t just “15 unique dungeon types” but they went for the “monster kill” factor of 150. To paraphrase a true role model- It’s not improving…it’s answering critics with style. Thank you Buzz Lightyear, I knew you’d be there for me.
Without warning, a Dragon emerged from the ruins and circled around to engage. As with most things in Skyrim, the dragon behaviour is entirely unscripted. They do not follow any set routines of attack so in theory you can never guess exactly what they will do next, or if they will land. There was a brief exchange of fire (literally) and then the player fled into the “safety” of the dungeon. It was exciting and, as someone who has dealt with a lot of dragons in his time, be they in literature or gaming…I thought they certainly looked and sounded the part. The dragon spat a few jets of flame from above before landing and going for the bite, the player loosed several arrows, like some sort of quasi-Bard the Bowman and ranked up his archery. Yes, as has been the case in past games, in Skyrim you will skill up from actually performing actions. Fighting with bows improves your archery skills, using destruction magic improves your skill in that school etc. Skyrim also features a progression system involving celestial constellations, tracking your progress by looking to the heavens. It’s the sort of deep progression system we have come to expect and it’s good to see that Bethesda are keeping the system fleshed out whilst cutting the useless stuff from previous iterations – no more levelling athletics through constant ridiculous frog jumps. Life is good.
Celestial Advancement. It's the future!
The dungeon was excellently designed, a delaptidated underground tomb full of undead Nord guardians and shady bandits. It was also an excellent showcase for the games combat systems- stealth kills from the shadows with the bow, duel wielding swords to spells which slowed time or projected streams of fire. The dungeon culminated with the dispatching of a giant spider and freeing a rather talkative ghoulish fellow from a web, only for him to promptly declare “Why should I share the treasure with you?!” and running away. That earned him a sword through the sternum and led to the collection of sweet loot and the solving of a puzzle to open a barred doorway. The puzzle also bears talking about – in the inventory menu, you can look at every object in detail, zoom and rotate it etc but this is more than just an aesthetic touch. The puzzle was solved by examining an item from the dead thief, which gave clues to the solution. More than just a pretty face, indeed.
The whole thing culminated in a fight with two dragons, which proved a suitably epic conclusion to the demo. It gave us an overview of the “shout” magic, a different set of spells, each with three level of potency. By killing dragons, you absorb their souls which can then be spent on upgrading your shouts. We saw this in action and one shout was upgraded to the third level which allowed it to conjure a gigantic lightning storm – which literally transformed aclear day into a stormy nightmare, the lightning bolts causing a dragon to crash land, grounding it permanently. NPC guards also assisted in the fight with the dragons, one of whom met a grizzly end when one of the dragons landed and snapped him up – T-Rex style. It really made me want to watch Jurassic Park…what a movie! When a friend hangs up the phone after a conversation with me, I’m often seized by an urge to say: “Dr. Grant? … DR. GRAAAAAAAAAAANT!”…but that’s a story for another time.
You might not be a Dragon but you're DragonBORN!
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim looks in great shape. I’m a big fan of the series, but I’m also painfully aware of its penchant for open world related bugs. There were none that I saw during the presentation, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. I’m almost tempted to say that I would be dissapointed if there weren’t any bugs…but that’s not exactly true. I guess it would be like saying goodbye to an old friend, albeit an old friend that you don’t like very much. The game releases on 11/11/11 (oh you crazy marketers!) on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Based on this showing, I heartily suggest you make plans to purchase it.
Excellent review. Can't wait.
Oh I'm sure there's bugs - and we're going to find them!
@Ajané Celestin-Greer - Yeah, undoubtedly there will be bugs. There always are with these kind of open world titles. I find them endearing...kinda...I was very impressed anyway and I look forward to sinking my teeth into it.