The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Developer	Bethesda Game Studios
Series	The Elder Scrolls
Platform	Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	November 11, 2011
Genere	Action role-playing, open world

The games on show at E3 2011 are some of the best in living memory. So you really owe it to yourself to vote in CVG's inaugural E3 2011 Awards... in the Most Anticipated Title category.

Shortly before the show, we'll work out which of these 60 special E3 game previews have enjoyed the most page views, Facebook 'Likes', ReTweets and poll votes (see below) and crown our first victor at the Los Angeles event. Show your favourites the love!

Game: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Publisher: Bethesda

Likelihood of E3 2011 showing: Certain

Like you, we're fans of Elder Scrolls. We simply make the game we'd love to play. The game we'd book vacation time to play. And like you, we've waited a long time to see The Elder Scrolls return." 

So says Todd Howard, game director of Skyrim and veteran developer of every Elder Scrolls adventure. Perhaps more than any other studio, Bethesda love their fans and take feedback very seriously. It's why you've waited five years for the sequel to Oblivion, and why Bethesda created a new engine - no mean feat - just for Skyrim.

"We knew, like before, we had to start over," says Howard via Skyrim's official website. "We needed to reinvent large parts of the game and its tech. We started with the graphics renderer and how we would bring the scale of snow-covered mountains, dynamic weather systems and massive dragons to life, along with the small details of how people lived - from the forks they used to the fish they caught and the meat they cooked. We then rewrote all the major graphics and gameplay systems, including lighting, shadows, level of detail, animation, interface, scripting, dialogue, quest systems, melee, magic and more."

NEW BEGINNINGS

The end result has the potential to redefine what we expect from adventure game. Although far from fault-free, Oblivion's vast world remains a technical marvel. Tech that creates both far greater scale and more detailed minutiae can only add to Bethesda's world and its sense of place. Skyrim is the most rugged region of Tamriel, the continent upon which all Elder Scrolls games are set. It has the five highest peaks, and its inhabitants are mostly clustered to the west.

CHILLED OUT

The first trailer showed a sniff of its scale and featured plenty of snow and icy backdrops - a far cry from Oblivion's lush forests and marshes. More than this, though, Skyrim features some breathtaking architecture, both human and natural: cities constructed precariously on sheer, rocky outcrops; temples built into caves or hewn into the summits of mountains.

The inhabitants of this land are suitably imposing and deadly. Obviously, animals such as bears and big cats (we're guessing lions
will be replaced by snow leopards and similar) make a return, but more exotic wildlife such as frost trolls, ice wraiths and wereyetis will also challenge your combat skills.

Fitting, then, that the fighting mechanics have been reworked too. Gone are the days of circle-strafing enemies and whacking them with your sword or blasting them with magic - it's heavier, more brutal stuff now, and if you start a fight you'd better make sure you can finish it.

Perhaps the biggest innovation in scrapping is two-handed combat, via a system that lets you combine weapons and magic to suit your fighting style while making the most of class-based skills. Vanilla load-outs see you packing a sword and shield, while more adventurous play could see you toting a pair of daggers or even dual wielding magic. 

Obviously, certain combinations fit specific scenarios, so you can save custom load-outs and quickly switch between them - hopefully without too much menu faff. In addition to base combat you can learn Dragon Shouts, special abilities afforded to your character. 

Why? According to Elder Scrolls lore you are Dovakin (translation: dragon born), a person fated to rid Skyrim of a massive Dragon Demon. This means you have a love-hate relationship with the scaly beasts, both fighting against them and calling on their help.

DIAL-A-DRAGON

Dragon Shouts range from low-level boosts, such the ability to blast enemies into nearby objects and walls, right through to calling up an actual dragon to help in combat. You learn them by reading what's etched into the walls of specific dungeons - something you can only do after slaying a dragon and absorbing its energy - so expect some to come as standard in the main stories, and others as rewards for exploring the world.

Dragon Shouts aside, the rest of your set-up is entirely down to you. The appearance, name and race (Bethesda have confirmed that all ten of Oblivion's races will be available) are up to you, as are the skills and classes that accompany them. There are fewer options for skills in this game - most notably, the magic class Mysticism has been scrapped - but you can diversify your talents with Fallout-style perks. Skyrim even has finishing moves and assassination techniques.

Given its popularity in Oblivion (and everywhere else right now) we expect Vampirism to return, along with Werewolves - something missing since Morrowind Game Of The Year Edition. Skyrim is infested with various lycanthropes, and fans of Oblivion mentioned the ability to become a Werewolf frequently on their 'Most Wanted' lists. It seems certain Bethesda has listened.

Quest-wise, Skyrim offers a more dynamic system than Oblivion. Gone are the unsettling close-up zooms of rubbery faces every time you fancy a chat; now non-player characters continue about their business as you approach them, chopping wood, pouring drinks, cooking or whatever. It all adds to the immersion, as does more natural-sounding dialogue and superior animation.

Even better, certain side-quests become available as you progress, and they're tailored towards your specific style of play. On a basic level, this means more magic quests for mages, more assassinations for anyone who likes whacking fantasy mopes for pennies, and so on.

MAD WORLD

It all feeds into the aspect that makes The Elder Scrolls truly special: the water-cooler moments. For us, the true beauty of Oblivion was chatting to friends who were playing too, hearing their adventures differ so wildly to our own. 

The winning mixture of a vast open world and a wealth of choice and customisation means that - genuinely - no two play-throughs are the same. 

If Skyrim can nail that again on a bigger, better stage with brighter, better stars, no other RPG will touch it this year. Or the next five. And without wanting readers to dial 118 and ask for a Super-Turbo Hype Ambulance to take us away, everything we've seen

of Skyrim so far - indeed everything we've seen of Bethesda so far - points to that happening.