The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Preview

To give us something to sift through on a quiet Easter evening, the editors at CVG have put together a hands-on preview of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that covers such topics as the game’s new setting, NPC behavior, graphical prowess, and more.

More exciting is the prospect of quests attuned specifically towards your experience up until accepting the mission. Bethesda has designed a dynamic system that looks at your play history before sending you off to do something new. If you need to retrieve a stolen object from a network of caves, for instance, the game checks through its statistics to see which parts of the map you’ve explored and whether you’ve missed any areas.

It then assigns the mission to a particular dungeon you’ve yet to infiltrate and populates said tunnels with enemies tailored for your current level and play style. In addition to the mission flexibility, the people of Skyrim now react to you in believable ways.

On a purely fundamental level they’ll no longer be warped into a static close-up during conversations. Instead they’ll carry on tilling the land or checking over their goods while you speak, occasionally looking your way so as not to appear rude. Drop loot and people might scuffle over it – some will want to return it to you, others will want it for themselves.

You’re part of this world and the people around you act accordingly. As the first Dragonborn in over 500 years you’ll soon gain quite a reputation. Become schooled in a particular form of magic and people will want to see you perform like a dancing monkey, so they’ll ask or beg or request training so they can be more like you.