I love the smell of Dragon Souls in the morning.
The New Dragon Shout: Shout, shout, let it all out! Ahem. As a dragon born in Skyrim, your character possesses the ability to absorb the souls of slain dragons. Kill one of the powerful winged beasts and you'll unlock its power -- whether it's breathing fire or spitting ice crystals -- in the form of Dragon Shouts, literally, three word phrases shouted in the language of dragons. Bethesda says players will be able to unlock 20 different Dragon Shouts in total, including the ability to create a lightning storm or summon a dragon to fight with you in combat. And if PETA is on your back about killing endangered species, there are always Dragon Walls. Find three of these rune covered shrines in Skyrim and you'll be able to unlock a Dragon Shout.
The New Finishing Moves: Bethesda sprinkled a little Mortal Kombat in Skyrim, allowing players to deliver a fatal blow with style. Depending on the weapon and the attack, players will see various finishing move animations, including our favorite from the E3 demo: jumping up on a dragon's back and burying an axe into its skull. Get some.
The New Menu: Bethesda went back to the shop for Skyrim's menu system. Influenced by Apple's flowing iTunes menus, the devs wanted to make it quick, easy, and intuitive for players to find the map, spells, weapons, equipment, and character info they're looking for. Our personal favorite is the game's new world map, a 3D topographical rendering of Skyrim that you'll likely spend hours zooming in, out, and around just for fun. It. Is. Gorgeous.
An example of Skyrim's iTunes-inspired menus.
The New Repair: Sick of hammering away on dented armor? No worries. In Skyrim, weapons and armor will not degrade and become weaker over time. You'll still be able to create and improve weapons in a multitude of ways, you just won't have to worry about maintaining them.
The New Level Scaling: You hated it, we hated it, even Bethesda wasn't very pleased with it. The level scaling mechanic in Oblivion – which leveled up and equipped enemies to match your own character's level and gear – was just plain absurd and our biggest complaint about a game we truly love. Bethesda hasn't ditched level scaling for Skyrim, but it has given it an overhaul that's akin to the system found in Fallout 3. Yes, enemies will scale to your level, just don't expect to be jumped by a bandit decked out in Glass armor. And we've heard reports that we're trying to confirm that the level at which you enter one of the game's more than 150 dungeons will be the level that the dungeon's enemies remain for the entire game. Just don't go quoting us on that one just yet.
The New Marriage: Yup, you can marry that pretty young NPC you met in town, and if you buy a house nearby, she'll move in with you.
The New Guardian Stones: Travel through Skyrim, and you'll eventually come upon stone obelisks gathered as shrines to the three Guardian birthsign constellations: the Warrior, the Thief, and the Mage. Pick your stone of choice and you'll instantly begin increasing the rate at which your skills in that particular category improve.
All this and more is coming in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on November 11. And if you'd like to see some of these new features in action, check out IGN's interview with Todd Howard, who brought video of the E3 Skyrim demo along with him:
Spy Guy says: When Bethesda created The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it had a team of roughly 60 designers. On Skyrim, that number has jumped to more than 100. For me, that says everything about the size and the scope of the adventure we should expect in Skyrim. So, what new features are your looking forward to the most?
