About The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (pronounced [skaɪ'rɪm],sky-rim) is a role-playing video game being developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth installment in The Elder Scrolls action role-playing video game series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2011 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Skyrim is set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion, in the eponymous land of Skyrim. The province has erupted into civil war after the assassination of its king. Concurrently, the god Alduin, who takes the form of a massive dragon, has arisen to destroy the world. The player character is the last living Dovahkiin (Dragonborn), and must fend off Alduin and save Skyrim from destruction.


Gameplay

Skyrim retains the traditional open world gameplay found in the Elder Scrolls series. The player is free to roam the land of Skyrim at will. Within Skyrim lie five major cities, and expanses of wilderness and mountainous ranges. When visiting cities, the player can complete activities such as cooking, farming, woodcutting and mining. The player levels up by raising skills, and doing so allows for better items to be bought or looted from dungeons; it also increases the strength and variety of wilderness monsters. Eighteen skills are present in Skyrim, and the class system from Oblivion has been removed. Perks are skill-specific abilities, organized in a system of branching groups called "skill trees". Each rise in level allows for another perk to be picked. There are 280 perks, which are balanced between approximately fifty levels; although the theoretical maximum level depends on the character's skill choices. The on-screen heads-up display only appears when the player's health, stamina, or magicka is being depleted. Items and equipment layouts can be saved to a quick-access menu, and the pause-screen inventory menu is presented in a compass-style overlay; while in the inventory, the player can rotate and zoom in on acquired items.

Weapons can be created by the player at a forge and are assigned to each hand individually, allowing for dual-wielding. At the cost of stamina, the player can sprint and jump. Shields can be used with a bashing attack, and timing is required for blocking with a shield. Blunt, bladed, hacking and stabbing weapons each have specific advantages and roles; as an example, the player is granted the ability to perform finishing moves. There are over eighty-five spell types, which can be used in ranged and close combat forms. Spell types have specific qualities; a frost spell slows and drains stamina, whilst a fire spell causes prolonged damage through burning, and may also ignite the environment. When practicing archery, arrows take longer to draw back than in previous Elder Scrolls games, but do greater damage. Because of this, arrows are expensive and considered rarities. A player equipped with a bow can use it defensively in close combat, in a charging counterattack. The player can sneak, and non-player characters (NPCs) become alerted if the player's movements are detected. Daggers are specifically effective when used in a sneak attack, inflicting devastating damage.

Predecessors to Skyrim made use of an artificial intelligence system known as Radiant AI. Skyrim makes use of an updated system known as Radiant Story. It allows NPCs to "do what they want under extra parameters", as stated by lead designer Todd Howard. Side-quests are dynamically altered based on the player's actions, and are tailored to the player's abilities and progress within the game. As an example, the player might be sent off to a dungeon that has not been previously explored, and face enemies that are defeated most effectively with the player's preferred combat style. Aside from dynamically altering side-quests, Radiant Story allows NPCs to interact with their environment, such as by working at bars, mills and mines. NPCs also interact with the player character through conversation, and may request favors or training in a particular skill, or challenge the player character to a duel. These events are generated as random encounters, taking influence from Fallout 3, a game created by Bethesda in 2008.

Folklore

Folklore is commonplace within Skyrim's game world. Creatures such as mammoths and sabre-toothed cats are encountered throughout the game and can be slain. The legendary dragons have a particular influence on gameplay and story, and are a challenging opponent for the player. Different races of dragons are encountered throughout Skyrim, either alone or in small groups. They can speak directly to the player character in the world's native language of Draconic. Dragons can attack cities and towns at random, "merrily [ravaging] towns without warning"; often, dragons nose-dive to the ground, march through city streets and breathe fire, which engulfs and causes significant damage to city structures.

Through a course of events, the player character learns that he/she is "Dragonborn." Because of this, the player is granted the ability to use dragon shouts. These are powerful skills gained by slaying dragons, examples of which include teleportation, slowing down time, and summoning a dragon to aid the player. Dragon shouts (Dovahzaan) are described as battle cries spoken in the native language of the dragons. There are over twenty different dragon shouts to be gained throughout the game, and they become more effective as the player absorbs the souls of slain dragons. A minority of non-player characters also have the ability to use dragon shouts.



Plot

Skyrim is not a direct sequel to Oblivion; rather, it is a new chapter in the Elder Scrolls series, set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion. In the premise to Skyrim, the Empire began ceding territory to the Elven nations it once ruled, because there was no heir to the Emperor's throne. The Blades had no one to defend, and gradually died, were murdered, or secluded themselves from the rest of the world. After the king of Skyrim was assassinated, a civil war broke out amongst the native Nord race – the majority being those who wished for Skyrim to secede from the Empire, and the rest being those who wished for Skyrim to stay in the Empire.

As with previous Elder Scrolls games, Skyrim begins with the player character as an unknown prisoner. The player character eventually learns that Skyrim's civil war is last in a sequence of prophetic events foretold by the Elder Scrolls, who also foretell of the return of Alduin, the Nordic god of destruction. Taking the form of a gigantic dragon, Alduin is prophesied to consume the world with his servants, the Jills (a race of black dragons). The player character is the last Dovahkiin (Dragonborn), a dragon hunter anointed by the gods to help fend off the threat Alduin poses to Skyrim and Tamriel. Aiding the player is Esbern (voiced by Max von Sydow), one of the last Blades.


source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim