Five reasons why Skyrim is the most exciting RPG

For an Elder Scrolls fan, watching the new Skyrim trailer is almost too exciting. The rousing music, the sweeping vistas, the dragons – it’s an enticing glimpse into a world we’ll likely be spending 100+ hours in. It’s also full of gameplay clues, five of which we’ll analyze here.



(1) Exploring Skyrim will be immensely exciting, with forests, caves, mountains, towns and cities all ripe for discovery. Its vast mountains eclipse even Oblivion’s highest peaks, and there’s a lot more interesting scenery, like this rocky outcrop with a town resting precariously on top. This will be our home for many, many hours.

We also catch glimpses of our hero (2) battling dragons. It all looks a bit staged and cinematic, but Bethesda say this is how these battles will play out in-game. They’re real-time skirmishes that see your scaly foe swooping overhead, giving you a brief chance to swing your sword.

Another scene sees our hero aiming his bow at a wild dog in the countryside. (3) Improved enemy Al means that not everything in Skyrim will attack you on sight. Some creatures will simply ignore you, only attacking if you give them a reason to – like shooting them. This means no more constant fleeing as you explore. Town and out The trailer also reveals shots of a town and tavern populated by NPCs that actually look like people. rather than weird, stiffly-animated meat puppets. Let’s hope the voice acting improves too.

Look, ma – (4) two hands! Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but in this scene we see our hero battling a hairy three-eyed troll using two hands at once – one for his sword, the other for magic. A small change that should add a much-needed layer of tactical depth to the first-person combat.
Finally, after besting the dragon, the hero strikes a manly pose and absorbs some kind of swirling energy. This is the (5) dragon’s soul, which grants you special new magical powers, or ‘Dragon Shouts’, making killing the beasts worth the immense effort.