The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Preview
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Disappointed by what Falkreath had to offer us, we carried further on into the depths of Skyrim, heading towards one of the most northern places on the map: Solitude, knowing full well we wouldn't get close to it. Along the way we ducked into Peak's Slade Tower an abandoned tower protected by a Spriggan, which is a little like a tree man with the power to shoot illuminous green flies at you before heading into the Hall of Dead and the Shrine of Arkay, almost bringing our journey to a close at a snow temple called the South Shriekand Bastion. Outside we made quick work of the skeleton-warriors and the Draugr guards that jumped out of various tombs as we ascended its steps, but without further ado, we ventured further than we had ever been before. or something like that.
It's a dungeon or series of them that is vastly different to the ones we'd previously encountered, with stone walkways, steep stone steps, an iconic glowing tree in the middle of one of its cylindrical chambers, huge steel doors and vampires blocking your progress. Here, anything went and that included fighting Skeevers and watching a dead vampire get resurrected by a nearby powerful mage. It's such a diverse game world, filled with many iconic moments and situations, and this just goes to prove that. and this was just in one hour!
After reaching the other side, our demo was coming to a close and where better to end it than under the orange moon of Skyrim on a clear night dominated by the powerful stars that left such an impact on the opening moments of Oblivion. So many years on, they're still as enigmatic as ever and seeing them twinkle in the night sky with the crickets chirping certainly made up for the initial wow moment that Skyrim's opening lacked like you had when you reached the plains of Cyrodiil in Oblivion or when you broke free of the Vault in Fallout 3. Incidentally though, it took us an hour and 20 minutes to get about a tenth of the way to Solitude and Markarth which sit at the far north of the map, so get ready to lose hours upon hours this November.
