[PS3/XBOX 360] Official Thread ~ Elder Scroll V: Skyrim
[/quote]
Quote:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (pronounced ['skaɪrɪm],sky-rim) is a role-playing video game being developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth installment in The Elder Scrolls action role-playing video game series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
Skyrim is set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion, in the eponymous land of Skyrim. The province has erupted into civil war after the assassination of its king. Concurrently, the god Alduin, who takes the form of a massive dragon, has arisen to destroy the world. The player character is the last living Dovahkiin (Dragonborn), and must fend off Alduin and save Skyrim from destruction.
Skyrim retains the traditional open world gameplay found in the Elder Scrolls series.[2] The player is free to roam the land of Skyrim at will. Within Skyrim lie five major cities, and expanses of wilderness and mountainous ranges. When visiting cities, the player can complete activities such as cooking, farming, woodcutting and mining. The player levels up by raising skills, and doing so allows for better items to be bought or looted from dungeons; it also increases the strength and variety of wilderness monsters. Eighteen skills are present in Skyrim, and the class system from Oblivion has been removed.[3] Perks are skill-specific abilities, organized in a system of branching groups called "skill trees". Each rise in level allows for another perk to be picked. There are 280 perks, which are balanced between approximately fifty levels; although the theoretical maximum level depends on the character's skill choices.[4] The on-screen heads-up display only appears when the player's health, stamina, or magicka is being depleted. Items and equipment layouts can be saved to a quick-access menu, and the pause-screen inventory menu is presented in a compass-style overlay;[2] while in the inventory, the player can rotate and zoom in on acquired items.[5]
Weapons can be created by the player at a forge and are assigned to each hand individually, allowing for dual-wielding.[6] At the cost of stamina, the player can sprint and jump. Shields can be used with a bashing attack, and timing is required for blocking with a shield. Blunt, bladed, hacking and stabbing weapons each have specific advantages and roles; as an example, the player is granted the ability to perform finishing moves. There are over eighty-five spell types, which can be used in ranged and close combat forms. Spell types have specific qualities; a frost spell slows and drains stamina, while a fire spell causes prolonged damage through burning, and may also ignite the environment.[7] When practicing archery, arrows take longer to draw back than in previous Elder Scrolls games, but do greater damage. Because of this, arrows are expensive and considered rarities. A player equipped with a bow can use it defensively in close combat, in a charging counterattack. The player can sneak, and non-player characters (NPCs) become alerted if the player's movements are detected. Daggers are specifically effective when used in a sneak attack, inflicting devastating damage.[7]
Predecessors to Skyrim made use of an artificial intelligence system known as Radiant AI. Skyrim makes use of an updated system known as Radiant Story.[8] It allows NPCs to "do what they want under extra parameters", as stated by lead designer Todd Howard.[9] Side-quests are dynamically altered based on the player's actions, and are tailored to the player's abilities and progress within the game. As an example, the player might be sent off to a dungeon that has not been previously explored, and face enemies that are defeated most effectively with the player's preferred combat style.[10] Aside from dynamically altering side-quests, Radiant Story allows NPCs to interact with their environment, such as by working at bars, mills and mines. NPCs also interact with the player character through conversation, and may request favors or training in a particular skill, or challenge the player character to a duel. These events are generated as random encounters, taking influence from Fallout 3, a game created by Bethesda in 2008.[8]
Todd Howard has also confirmed that guilds will return in TES 5: Skyrim.
27th November 2012
[PS3/XBOX 360] Official Thread ~ Elder Scroll V: Skyrim
