The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Previews
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We begin with part two and part three of G4's ongoing coverage:
Howard demonstrates one of the first shouts you learn in the game, unrelenting shout, which sends out a blast wave that will simply stagger enemies if you only use the first word (i.e. tap the right bumper) or blast them through the air if you charge up and shout the whole phrase. The one we just learned lets us slow down time, which comes in quite handy as just then, a floating Dragon Priest appears and summons an imposing Frost Atronoch to do his cowardly bidding. Howard uses the slow time shout to buy us precious seconds to dispense with the frozen beast with our fire spell before turning our attention, aka our axe, on the floating dragon priest, who quickly falls.
We exit the temple onto an arresting lakefront view. Our serene sightseeing doesn't last long, as another pesky dragon roars and soars overhead before landing in a clearing just ahead of us. Howard once again uses slow time to get in some solid sword swipes at the beast's frighteningly close face, which causes the dragon to swoop back into the air to regroup. The dragon's fluidity of movement and physical construction are as spectacular as they are terrifying. Howard then hits the dragon with a spell, which apparently caused enough damage to cause the dragon to fall out of the sky and then skid along the ground, further driving home the sheer weight of the creature. It regains its composure and begins walking after us with giant strides, spitting fire the whole way. Finally, we unleash a devastating electricity spell that puts the dragon down for good.
Then move to Shacknews for a shorter piece:
Underneath the skin, though, lies one of the most significant overhauls to the game. Gone are the classic role-playing set of attributes like strength, intelligence and wisdom. The only three such stats in the game are health, magicka, and stamina. Character development now leans heavily on improving skills (there are 18 in the game) through use. Wield a one-handed weapon and that skill will gain rank, cast destruction magic and that skill improve, and so forth.
Gaining ranks in skills in turn leads to leveling up, which earns points to buy perks. These perks then provide the boosts for detailed specialization. In one of the more gee-whiz moments of the presentation, Howard showed off the perk trees, which are represented by constellation, which the player looks up to the heavens to see.
And then we glean a few more details from OXM UK:
Beautiful as the scenery is, you're actually going to spend a lot of your time underground. At the last count, Skyrim has 120 dungeons, and before you recoil in horror at the thought of traipsing down endless identical stone corridors, a dungeon is a very different thing this time around.
The expanded team at Bethesda is now flush with level designers, whose job it is to ensure that no two areas are exactly alike. The expansive tunnel system beneath Bleak Falls Barrow is the one we're presented with, and every inch of these ancient Nord catacombs feels meticulously designed, with burbling underground rivers, tree roots punching their way through the walls and odd glimpses of light from the world above.
