However briefly, video game series newcomers and veterans alike enjoyed and explored the lush, fantastic realms of the Elder Scrolls universe, made famous by franchise hits like “Morrowind,” “Oblivion” and “Skyrim.”
Since the beta ended the weekend just before Valentine’s Day, perhaps this was Bethesda’s way of saying to its fans: “Get it out of your system now so you can be a real person again, you know, like go on dates and stuff.”
I remember first reading about the beta announcement in an issue of GameInformer over summer and feeling skeptical but no less excited than I would be for a regular Elder Scrolls game—it looked complex, engaging and totally distinct from other entries in the saga.
But considering the fact that “Elder Scrolls Online” marks Bethesda’s first jab at the MMORPG world, I worried that it would turn out to be another overhyped flop like 2012’s “Star Wars: The Old Republic.”
So naturally, as soon as Bethesda starting allowing signups for the beta release in mid-December, every other self-respecting RPG dork and I pounced on the opportunity with no small degree of zeal.
Unfortunately, when I received my code on the beta’s final day of operation, it happened to be a very busy day so although my time in Cyrodiil was short-lived, I could not have envisioned a smoother transition from sprawling open-world RPG to MMORPG of truly titanic proportions.
Immediately upon signing in, I was briefed about the context for the beginning of the game, which essentially amounted to my character being in a pickle, and quite a dark and rotten pickle at that—the Daedric Prince Molag Bal had me imprisoned in his dungeon deep within the heart of the hell-world Oblivion and I had to get out or suffer a fate far worse than death.
Basing my online avatar on my cat Pasha, I first chose my race, Khajiit. Then I was taken through a variety of character customization screens which were by far the most in-depth I have ever seen in an Elder Scrolls game, or in any other RPG for that matter.
The interface utilized a triangle icon, which allowed me to customize each feature of my character according to three main criteria; for example, the body included girth, height and muscle, which fluctuated according to where you put the cursor inside the triangle.
For a level of badassery that befitted his real-life model, I gave Pasha a samurai-style topknot, languid, panther-esque muscles and an eyepatch, barely concealing the scars underneath.
Finally, satisfied with my avatar’s appearance, I chose the dual axes for my weapons, selected the “Nightstalker” class (essentially an assassin specializing in skills like stealth, luck and theft) then clicked “Accept” and began my adventure.
Preferring to play through the default first-person perspective, I instantly found the controls logical and smooth, true to the standard set by the latest entries to the Elder Scrolls series.
Even the game’s atmosphere felt familiar—Molag Bal’s cavernous prison recalled quests through murky, goblin-ridden barrows from “Skyrim” in particular.
As I began my escape with the other prisoners, I noticed that they were called “Soul Shriven” so I asked the first stationary NPC that I could find what that meant.
An Argonian prisoner informed me that I was dead and that the dungeon was constructed to sap the lifeforce out of its inmates, causing them to become emaciated and braindead until they were essentially zombies.
I proceeded to the armory where I was able to find my axes and kill my first Soul Shriven with relative ease.
But as I neared the end of the prison, the Soul Shriven became increasingly resilient and erratic in their behavior—thankfully I had picked up plenty of bread and meat along the way so I was able to heal myself enough to complete my escape.
Although I didn’t play for much more than an hour, I was thoroughly impressed with everything I saw and from every beta gamer I’ve talked to, I’m not alone in that.
I was hoping to have one negative critique by the end of this review but I honestly can’t even think of one.
There’s been a lot of talk about the need for something to overtake the position of “World of Warcraft” as king of the MMORPG and I think this release could finally be the one to do it—only time will tell, but damn does this game have some epic potential.
“Elder Scrolls Online” beta will have a brief reboot this weekend, but the official release date for PC and Mac will be on April 4, then for Xbox One and PS4 sometime in June.