Preview from eurogamer.net [translation]
Preview of 'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'
Alex Mir, 10.17.2011
Dragons! Presumably, loads of dragons. Perhaps I should have chased them for the three hours I spent in 'Skyrim.' Instead, I engaged in sword crafting. It may not be the best activity for a reviewer, but it shows what 'Skyrim' is really like, rather than what it looks like in the pompous trailers.
Battles with dragons are a part of 'Skyrim,' but the game is not solely dedicated to them. Despite all the grandeur and the atmosphere built up by the trailers, this is still 'The Elder Scrolls,' and consequently, it revolves around the development and enhancement of the role-playing system that 'Bethesda' has been honing for its fantastical adventures for the past twenty years. So personally, I spent my time in the game searching the vast world for things to steal, wear, sell, or upgrade. A strange part of my subconscious enjoys this pastime far more than deadly battles with creatures the size of a bus.
Thus, the bulk of my three hours in 'Skyrim' (the demonstration started from the very beginning of the game, but the story setup was completely cut out) was spent crafting items and cooking, as well as looting above and below ground. At first, a few simple recipes were available, but then I faced the dilemma of dilemmas — should I spend experience points to unlock the ability to weave more powerful spells, or craft better-quality items?
It didn't take me long to deem my choice misguided — while I was crawling through dungeons looking for crafting stations to stitch improved boots, I was constantly being beaten to death by bandits and zombie Nordics. Sure, I had upgraded the armor on my boots, and my dagger got much sharper after I found a piece of iron, but it's tough to get by with just footwear and knives.
Maybe I should have found someone to fight for me. So, I delved deeply into the dark art of raising zombies. If I managed to take down at least one opponent (in which my sharpened dagger proved to be quite helpful), I could summon their damaged corpse to attack those who attacked me. I just had to calmly finish off the wounded.
Thus, I became a tailor-necromancer (though there are no necromancers as such in 'Skyrim' — technically, I was just using the magic of the summoning school), and this is the charm of 'Skyrim.' On its canvas, players can map out whatever they want to be: if they want to be a Cool Dragon Slayer, that's their prerogative. If they are enticed by the life of a necromancer... uh, kleptomaniac-summoner, so be it. The game won’t hinder them.
It also includes strange little scenes that spark the imagination. Deciding to swim across to the opposite shore, I stumbled upon a lonely fisherman sitting on an island. Presumably, he will have some purpose as the game progresses, but at that moment, he merely sadly stated that if it weren't for greedy people, there would be enough fish for everyone.
I thought about my bags stuffed full of fish (the fish was meant for honing my culinary skills, and strangely enough, I caught it with my bare hands while swimming) and felt a pang of guilt. Well, the healing properties of fish will undoubtedly help me save the world, so the fisherman won't be at a loss. In my 'Skyrim,' the fisherman was connected to this particular story — in someone else's, he would have been killed and robbed, or people would avoid him, or he might not even be found.
Well, onward! Or rather, upward. The dimensions of Skyrim are comparable to those of Cyrodiil, but the latter lacked the hellishly high mountains that add verticality to Skyrim. I climbed higher and higher, passing the clouds, until a panorama of Skyrim unfolded before me.
The game, in principle, hasn't advanced much graphically from 'Oblivion,' but in such moments, the scale of the world that 'Bethesda' has created is breathtaking. All the land that stretched before me was open for exploration. The game seemed to acknowledge my awe and played majestic music in the background instead of the usual muted piano tunes. It felt as if someone would leap out from behind the rocks and shout, 'Behold!' And I beheld with joy (though, to be honest, I would prefer to be playing on PC rather than on 'Xbox 360' for better detail and more anti-aliasing).
The feeling of being high up in the mountains in a strange and fantastical world was quite palpable. However, I climbed very high but found hardly anything interesting, which disappointed me somewhat. Perhaps I was unconsciously chasing dragons after all. Or maybe I was simply too low level for the game to throw a decent challenge at me. While climbing, I encountered some wolves (so I can guarantee that the game allows you to summon wolf-zombies) and bandits, but I did not see a single giant or flying crocodile. On the way down, I encountered a poacher and grimly thought, 'Hey, I’m the main piece of animal meat here, so back off!' So while she was chasing a fox, I jumped on her horse and galloped away. Quite the escape, huh?
Unfortunately, my encounter with the horse was short-lived — as soon as I dismounted, it bolted away, perhaps back to its owner, the fox-loving lady. I should have killed it and skinned it. However, it turned out I landed in a decent spot since there was much more interesting stuff on the mountain slope than at the peak. I casually visited a couple of settlements, rushed through several dungeons (ugh, spiders!) and cleared some ruins of cowardly bandits. Nearby, someone joyfully shouted, 'Look, a dragon!' and everyone immediately squealed in excitement. I didn’t even turn my head. You see, I found a tanning station. Time to craft new gloves!
That was my 'Skyrim.' What will yours be like?
'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim' releases on 11.11.2011 for PC, 'PlayStation 3' and 'Xbox 360.'
Translation by author.
Thanks for the provided material — mchammer.
Thanks for the proofreading — Soth.
Thanks for the offline post editor — Midest.
Thanks for the support — Sinmara.