The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has become one of the stars of this year's E3, despite only being shown off behind closed doors. However, Bethesda have given G4 TV a massive demonstration, which means you can see it for yourself right now. Woot! In it, you'll see the dragons, new 'shout' abilities, Guardian Stones and the new 'Radiant Story' dialogue system in action. As well as plenty of up-close-and-personal combat with a selection of fearsome and brilliantly-realised foes.
Impressions? Excellent. The thought of seeing a mountain in the distance and walking all the way to it, up it and probably down inside it is still mind-blowing, even though the same was true of Oblivion. Everything here looks bigger and better, from the giants and mammoths that roam the wasteland to the thousands of 3D objects that you can browse through in the inventory screens.
Considering the scale of the game and the wealth of content in here, it's amazing how polished it looks. Character animation is improved, combat is improved, weather, magic, character levelling... everything looks better. And when you consider how well Oblivion stands up even today, that can only mean this will be amazing. The only possible fly in the ointment is the buggy state that Bethesda's recent games and DLC have launched in. Some of the GR team are sceptical, but I'm not - I'm convinced this will be THE game of 2011.
10 Jun, 2011
