Dhruin
SasqWatch
Now that the site is back up, it's time to catch up on Skyrim previews from QuakeCon. We're a bit behind, so I'll highlight a few major previews and line-list a bunch of others (thanks crpgnut and CountChocula!).
IGN has Stomping Across the Snows of Skyrim:
IGN has Stomping Across the Snows of Skyrim:
Eurogamer, who point out 60 minutes isn't a lot to "make sense" out of a game like Skyrim:The feel of combat is still far from that of an action game, but doesn't feel quite as floaty as Elder Scrolls games past. Weapon strikes rebound off of enemy shields with a noticeable springiness, and because of how the camera moves when readying a heavier weapon strike, it feels as though there's more force behind each swing. Magic in the demo area was limited to three spells at the start, but each had cool effects, particularly the flame spell that shot a jet of fire forward, capable of setting the ground and trees alight or cooking bandits before they even had a chance to land a hit.
While some of the adventuring resulted in random combat, and some directed me through easy to follow labels on the world map and compass to quest goals, at other times I wound up discovering the bizarre and unexpected. Take for example the black door adorned with a skull I found near a frigid pond in a rocky recess. When I approached the subdued soundtrack of a tranquil forest was joined by a faint, menacing drum beat. The door spoke to me in an otherworldly whisper while shimmering faintly, and asked if I knew the music of life. I ran through the conversation tree to exhaust all options, answering drums, screaming, some kind of choir. The door promptly declared me to be unworthy and refused to open. I don't know what the correct course of action was, but knowing that oddities like this exist in Skyrim is just as exciting as the knowledge that I'll eventually be able to fight dragons.
Destructoid:I've kind of been here before – in my haste to just pick a direction and explore, I've wound up following a similar path to the one Todd Howard chose when I saw Skyrim in April. But whereas Howard showed us what he tells me was "a greatest hits of that dungeon", I get to examine it in detail.
If it's representative of the average quest, the Bleak Falls Barrow is hugely promising, rich in varied combat, booby traps, puzzles and lore.
There are bandits to eavesdrop on and sneak around – the Khajiit are especially good sneakers, so I huddle in shadow and draw a longbow on the nattering bad guys from a few feet away. Later there are the skeletal draguar, who employ magic as well as swords and axes, and there's a mini boss fight with a giant spider.
There are door switches rigged to banks of arrows that need to be disarmed by observing your surroundings and rotating totems like tumblers in a lock, and there are pressure plates and levers that activate spike doors and swinging blades, which are great for making short work of draguar as their numbers increase.
The first GameInformer article:My favorite weapon has to be the bow. The revamped physics and controls made me feel responsible for every arrow shot. The trajectory of the arrows is realistic and not randomly determined by stats, but the damage is. A stealth arrow to the head is something I don’t think I will grow tired of during the many hours I plan to spend with Skyrim. If you aren’t a natural Legolas like me, unlockable skills will help you perfect your bow-and-arrow skills by slowing down time or providing a closer zoom.
The cavern itself was rather impressive for being such a hum-drum locale. The elements of Skyrim’s new Creation Engine are displayed to great effect. The lighting generates a haunting atmosphere, and a waterfall coming down the multi-tiered levels of the cave presents a spectacle that interiors in Fallout 3 and Oblivion lacked.
Fans of Fallout 3 will be happy to hear that lockpicking, NPC followers that you can direct and weapon crafting will return in Skyrim with subtle improvements. For example, NPCs will follow you based on their perception of you -- a mix of your karma, dialogue choices and quest favors all brought together through the new Radiant AI system.
Once players exited the character creator, they fo...More information.