Ok, so this week I'm once again obsessing over the newest Elder Scrolls installment: Skyrim. For those of you who are not familiar with this series (How dare you?? Why don't you just log off and go play some more Madden?) It is a very expansive, open-world, fantasy RPG. This game seems like it will mimic the jump that Oblivion made from Morrowind. I do regret to inform you that there are no added playable races; we are stuck with Altmer, Argonian, Bosmer, Breton, Dunmer, Imperial (btw...who really plays Imperials?), Khajiit, Nord, Orc, and Redguard. That being said, according to www.elderscrolls.com all of the character models have been revamped and are way more distinct than before. One of the features of TESV that made me most excited is the ability to dual-wield weapons. Can you say sneak attack with two daggers?? You can also pull a dualy with spells if you're a mage-type like I usually am. And as for spells, they are more logical to their elemental typing: frost spells drain stamina from opponents as well as slow their movement, and fire spells have a DOT effect and can ignite the environment (YESSS!). On a different note, for those of you who think that the previous marksman scheme was a little lacking, arrows are now hard to come by and do massive amounts of damage (this may or may not be an improvement). Generally, I never use shields but with the new, Skyrim bash function they are adding, I just may.
Did I mention that you can make your own weapons at a forge? Well don’t get too excited…along with that, they have integrated a professions aspect to the game; players can now preform cooking, woodcutting, mining, and other such rubbish that sucks many pointless hours out of you (thank WoW again for driving these tedious mini-games). On a more positive note, players can now use stamina to sprint as well as jump, which will allow for charge attacks and the ability to better flee your enemy. I think that this will greatly add to the realism of the game.
Do you ever create a new Oblivion character just to play the dungeon portion in the beginning again? I almost liked the idea that I didn't have to subscribe to a class and suffer the punishments later for picking something that I thought was fun at the time. The entirety of Skyrim is like that; skills increase as you use them (they are easier to level as they increase). This means that the character's "class" will be a reflection on you, and not vice versa. The creators have instilled a ‘Perks’ feature like the one we know and love from the Fallout games. All of these should help to smooth out the gameplay of Skyrim.
Why, oh faithful reader, should you drop $60 on Skyrim on November 11th? The entire main story is based around fighting dragons! And If that weren’t enough (greedy little buggers!), you learn that you are essentially infused with dragon’s blood. Slaying a dragon will grant you skills like dragon shouts, the ability to manipulate time, and even summon your dragon brethren. If you liked the other Elder Scrolls, then you’ll probably enjoy this one as well. All I know is that I’m just as excited as some eleven year old girl with a backstage pass to a Bieber concert and I can’t wait to donate another three hundred or so hours into the series. Until next time folks, and remember: a life AFK is a life wasted.
-G
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