From Oblivion to Skyrim: Changes and Predictions

The guys at IGN AU have slapped up a new “From Oblivion to Skyrim: Changes and Predictions” feature that speculates about some of the alterations and enhancements Bethesda might bring to the table with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Glancing through it, it seems that there are an awful lot of faults being mentioned for a game that took home a near-perfect score:

Artificial Intelligence or lack thereof, can be a real killer for gamers looking for realism and total immersion. In Oblivion, it was all too easy to exploit AI-driven characters in shops and enemies in the environment to your advantage. You could use the poor cone of vision to get the jump on your enemy in broad daylight, for instance. Elsewhere, it was far too easy to sneak up on a character and pick-pocket them or ransack a store by similar methods. It just cheapened the experience. Logic in a situation like this is hard to pull off in a game world but not impossible. Games like Red Dead Redemption’s dynamic AI systems and responsive enemies really took the right next steps forward and we think Skyrim should seek to take it even farther.

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PC gamers can probably rest easy knowing a mouse and keyboard combo is still superior to a controller for a game like this. However, Oblivion’s console user interface (UI) really needs some retooling. Text-rich and item-heavy games always struggle with the best ways to display information but Oblivion never quite made the process as smooth as it could’ve been. The tabbed browsing on consoles was cumbersome and it made browsing a chore.

And I couldn’t agree more with these two paragraphs:

As we’ve seen in the debut teaser trailer, Skyrim will have dragons in some capacity and the stone carvings point towards fearsome encounters. In classical fantasy, there are different breeds of dragons; some fly, some are deeply intelligent all are punishingly powerful. We’re not sure how The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will handle these mighty beasts but we’re hoping they’re going to play a pivotal role and more than just boss-figures to be defeated.

Perhaps we’ll be able to tame and raise dragon whelps, using the tamed offspring as transport or, bleakly, as a source of Dragonbone weapons and armour. Perhaps there are whole factions of dragonkin scattered throughout mountainous Skyrim waiting deep in cave systems or circling far above the tallest peaks. Our mind reels with the potential and as long as they’re not voiced by Sean Connery, we’ll be happy regardless.