Elder Scrolls Online Gameplay: Early Hands-On Impressions of Game Positive

Elder Scrolls Online is the game many fans of the RPG series has been waiting for. It promises players the chance to explore many different areas of Cyrodiil with a far more human element involved - other people. Some lucky gamers have been able to get their hands on early demos of the game, and so far reaction to these hands-on demos have been positive.

People were given four hours to play through the early portion of the game, and many noted that the game can be played in several different ways. Players will not be forced into completing story missions but can rather play as they want.

"There's a main storyline that you can direct your attention to immediately, or you can put it on the back burner and occupy yourself with myriad side missions. I wandered around outside of the first area for a few minutes to get acquainted with the controls, and within minutes, my quest log looked completely different from the log of the fellow playing next to me"-Joystiq

What also sticks out is the choices players make when dealing with NPC's. Players are given several options for completing quests, and reviewers note that these choices vary from simplistic good versus evil options.

 "The choices felt much more meaningful than the simple light/dark options of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Even better, you don't have to worry about your punky leveling buddy forcing story decisions on you that you don't want to make."-IGN

The game allows for players to customize their characters in a wide variety of ways, both aesthetically and in terms of the players skills. Players will be able to choose several different skill trees to follow, based on class, weapons, armor, and race. Early reaction to this level-up system has been positive, as critics point out that the player isn't shoehorned into a certain build for their characters.

"My experience with the system was extremely positive; it let me experiment with different combat styles and roles without undue cost, while still forcing me to make choices about how I developed my hero. "-Gameinformer

It Appears Elder Scrolls Online has the potential to be the next big MMO. Early reactions are all positive, and it seems the Elder Scrolls experience has translated well to the new genre. Still, bear in mind there are a number of changes that make the online game play slightly different than traditional Elder Scrolls games. No release date for the game has been given, but beta testing has already begun for the game.