The Elder Scrolls Online Previews

A fistful of new hands-on/hands-off previews for ZeniMax and Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls Online have made their way to the Internet, courtesy of the game’s appearance at last week’s E3.

PlayStation Lifestyle:

While the preview demo was showcased on PCs, I was assured that the console version of The Elder Scrolls Online would feature no changes except to the control scheme, which is a testament to the power of the next generation of consoles. Setting up my player offered a ton of different options to choose from such as nine different races that include all of the Elder Scrolls classics. From there, I was shown how to select and set up the large variety of skills exclusive to that race and chosen class. Note that the final version may include more races or classes. This comment was overheard, not told directly to me so I have no additional details on that.

The amount of customization for your character goes as deep as anything that you will find in Skyrim, and I was told by a Bethesda rep that what I was seeing for this preview was not the full scope of options that would be available in the final build. Once our characters were built out, Dan and I partied up immediately and easily to take on Tamriel multiplayer.

NZGamer:

The mechanics of the game are fairly similar to most other MMORPGs. You find people in distress, take on their quest, complete them, earn experience points, and level up. It seems that ESO is taking this tried and true route to their game, and it doesn’t markedly differ.

With the exception of the camera views you can select – it was confirmed for me that first person mode would be available and gamers would be able to select it if they wished. This more tightly ties together the ESO experience, along with the classic Elder Scrolls style of combat that singleplayers have enjoyed so far.

And Gaming Illustrated:

The game behaved similar to Skyrim when interacting with the mouse and keyboard as opposed to something one would experience in World of WarCraft or The Old Republic. While there are abilities that are unlocked through the course of play, combat is not the mundane slamming of number keys to get through battle. Fortunately, it’s much more RPG than MMO in this regard as players will have to aim, move and click at the right times to have success during combat. Holding the mouse button down longer will increase melee attacks but will also be much slower to execute. More powerful abilities are loaded into the number keys so there is the element of using special powers traditional to MMOs, but at the same time, don’t give the boring, grinding feeling normally associated to killing mobs.

Those lucky enough to get hands-on time at E3 didn’t get too much of the backstory behind The Elder Scrolls Online, outside of an impending (or current) Daedra invasion, which clearly sounds like a pretty horrible world event for those of you familiar with Elder Scrolls lore. Specific to the hands-on preview, players were dropped just outside a city and encouraged by on-site staffers from the development team to make their way to a nearby castle. Once there, a dog approached that kicked off a quest chain that ended in a large battle inside the castle to save the King’s life. Once saved, players are made into a protector of the city, which kicks off more quest chains. There does seem to be a main storyline to take part in but there are tons of side quests that should keep players busy to gain experience, loot and more story.