The Long Road to Falkreath. Preview translation by Hbox360achievements.org
When the guys from Bethesda contacted us right after Gamescom and asked, "Do you want to check out Skyrim at PAX?", we honestly thought, "But we just saw it." But we quickly changed our minds when we heard the words "hands-on", "wander wherever you like", and "Gamescom version"… after all, it was a great opportunity to roam around Skyrim without any limitations (except for time, maybe). How can you refuse such an offer, right? Of course, right!
We wanted to choose a path that was completely different from the one we saw during the game’s presentation at Gamescom, and our goal was simple: pick a city on the map and head toward it, enjoying everything the game has to offer along the way. The lucky city turned out to be Falkreath, and the only obstacle in our way was a massive mountain. Great choice, Dan! About thirty to forty minutes into the game (in Oblivion at this time, you were just removing the shackles of your prisoner), we were free to go wherever we wanted and do whatever we wished. It's a pity that the first few seconds of freedom do not produce the same wow-effect we all experienced the first time we broke free in the previous installment. But the subsequent gameplay more than makes up for it.
As at Gamescom, our first task was to create a character. Having already been an unappealing orc at GC, we decided to choose something less boring this time – because orcs, as you know, are quite boring fellows – and so we chose to play as an Argonian – those intelligent reptiles from the TES series. Argonians have many advantageous racial traits (as do other races, of course) – 50% resistance to diseases, a spell that significantly speeds up regeneration, and of course, the ability to breathe underwater. Look, mom, I’m a fish!
Recalling Todd Howard’s words, "If you see this place, you can get there," I decided to test their authenticity by climbing the mountain, thereby choosing the shortest path to Falkreath. It turned out I wouldn't be able to reach the summit – not this way, at least – so I did the following: I took up spelunking… I mean, I saw a cave and wanted to explore it. The cave, the Graywater Grotto, turned out to be quite a damp but picturesque icy dungeon, which even had a waterfall. But, seeing the skeleton of some unfortunate wanderer at the entrance and a half-eaten deer inside the cave, I can say that appearances can be deceptive. However, in Skyrim, you are always rewarded for refusing the obvious and beaten path, so after killing a bunch of wild wolves, we were able to loot the unfortunate traveler’s corpse and rummage through a chest that contained the Amulet of Arkay – an artifact that adds 10 health points when worn.
Fortunately, since Skyrim is no small territory, Bethesda came up with quite a convenient idea – every location you explore and loot gets marked on the map with a special tag. This, among other things, helps you know if you've looted everything you needed in that location. Realizing that Diana Ross's words this time turned out to be false – at least in this place, the mountain was too steep to climb – we descended back to where we came from and found ourselves at the foot of the mountain near a stone arch, with icy steps behind it leading to the entrance of another cave.
Since we decided to do everything we could on the way, we didn’t have much choice and stepped into the unknown – a place called the Passage of the Chilling Terror. And it lived up to its name. Here we also encountered a couple of wolves – possibly stronger than the previous ones, but with the help of our trusty bow and arrows, we quickly took them out – sneaking bonuses and staying out of the enemy's sight are valued here just as highly as in Oblivion.
After some time into our adventures in the Passage, we leveled up, which gave us a reason to evaluate the impressive Skyrim menu. When you level up, the first thing you need to do is choose to increase health, magic, or stamina, but the most beloved part of the process among people is, of course, choosing a perk. Although you can’t immediately select the best one. In general, choosing a perk is a multi-step process: you must not only acquire the perk preceding the one you fancy, but your stats must also meet a certain level. In our case, we could choose the perk "Tension," which increases bow attack damage by 20%, as the character's level met the requirements and this perk was the first on the tree. However, "Eagle Eye," which allows for better aiming before shooting, and "Critical Shot," which oddly increases the chance of a critical hit – are perks that require a level 30 archery skill… and of course, all the preceding perks. Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t level up that well due to a lack of arrows, so we had to switch to a dual casting of "Fire" and a steel two-hander – both options worked well against the skeletons, draugrs, and bandits we encountered along the way.
Be that as it may, the journey through the Passage turned out to be fruitful – we scored heavy armor and put it on immediately after taking it off the bandit’s corpse, not taking the time to sift through our inventory. Additionally, we got a book and "Iron Armor of Minor Illusion," which saves 12% of magical energy when using spells from the corresponding school, and it stands out in the inventory with its blue glow. But the real reward awaited us at the end of the path through the Passage.
It was another snow-covered road that led further into the mountains, and at the end of the road was an ancient stone structure guarded by three wolves. The wolves posed no real problem – thanks to "Fire" in each hand – and finally, we discovered the dragon shout for the first time – one of the special abilities that players can unlock and use throughout the game. Engraved on this ancient stone was one of the three Words of Power needed to use the most potent version of that particular shout. As we got closer, the screen darkened, epic music with choral chants played in our headphones, and then a hissing voice uttered something. A couple of seconds later, we were congratulated on successfully learning one of the Beast's words – the dragon shout "Beast's Loyalty," which can be used to summon wild animals that can assist the player in battle. However, we couldn’t use it, as we hadn't collected a single dragon soul yet – but saying that all of this sounds ultra-cool is an understatement.
Before we got to Falkreath – which was now much closer – we paused to catch our breath near an abandoned cabin standing near a large lake. By that time, we had already emerged from the grim mountain depths, and the blue lake shimmered under the midday sun, butterflies danced over the green grass – in general, the setting was much friendlier. However, not entirely – the charred remains of the cabin’s inhabitants and a note found inside talking about a dragon reminded us that Skyrim is a dangerous place. By the way, the note mentioned where to find the dragon, so now you know where to start if you’re looking for dragon souls.
After about an hour of gameplay, we finally reached Falkreath – and I must admit, it was the biggest disappointment of the entire game because the city turned out to be just an old fort that now served as something resembling a military outpost. Even after we supported the local economy by working at the mill – calling out at different points in the appropriate building – the locals still looked down on our character and treated him like an outsider. Although we were offered a quest to join the Imperial Legion, so it wasn’t too bad.
Disappointed by what little Falkreath had to offer us, we ventured deeper into Skyrim, toward one of the northernmost points on the map – Solitude, although we knew we wouldn’t make it there in time. Along the way, we climbed into an abandoned tower that stood in our path guarded by a spriggan – a kind of woman-tree capable of launching swarms of glowing green flies at the character. Then we headed to the Hall of the Dead and the shrine of Arkay, and later reached a snow-covered temple. Outside, we quickly dispatched the draugrs and skeletons that jumped from their tombs, hindering our descent – but, nevertheless, we climbed further than ever without much fuss.
The temple turned out to be a dungeon – or several dungeons – quite different from all those we had encountered before. There were steep stone steps and gloomy stone passages, a shining tree in the center of one of the rooms, huge steel doors, and vampires obstructing our progress. Here we fought giant rats, and once right before our eyes, a powerful mage resurrected a recently slain vampire. This is an incredibly diverse game world filled with vibrant moments and situations… and we confirmed it all within just an hour!
When we exited the dungeon, the time to get acquainted with the demo was already coming to an end, and there was no better place to conclude it than under Skyrim’s orange moon in a starry night sky, which had left such an impression on us back in Oblivion. So many years have passed, and the stars remain mysterious and beautiful, and observing them while accompanied by chirping crickets compensates for that lack of a wow-effect that is characteristic of Skyrim, reminding you of how you first emerged into the vastness of Cyrodiil or stepped out of the Vault in [Fallout 3](/games?search=Fallout 3). By the way, it took us about an hour and 20 minutes to cover roughly a tenth of the distance to Solitude and Markarth, located to the north of the game world, so prepare to lose many hours of your free time in November.
Personally, Skyrim gave me the same feeling that Oblivion did several years ago – a desire to simply explore this vast world. With no particular goal, we wandered from one interesting place on the map to another, and the hour we were allotted ended faster than we could think – actually, we played for another whole 20 minutes, so shhhhh! Don’t tell anyone! This is a very rare trait for any game – the ability to completely immerse yourself in it and saunter back and forth without much of a goal, but Skyrim possesses such an attribute.
The release of [The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim](/games?search=The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) is scheduled for November 11.
Thanks to Condottiere for the provided material.