ESO Roundup

[+Brodo Swaggins]

Gaming press from around the globe visited ZeniMax Online Studios last week to play/learn more about The Elder Scrolls Online. Beginning this week, their impressions are making their way online.

In their second hands-on with the game, MMORPG.com has posted several new articles — including coverage of first-person controls, questing, crafting, AvA/PvP, playing as a sorcerer, and a new interview with Paul Sage.

At Destructoid, Chris Carter reports that the game’s plans for a fully-functioning first person mode looks “… extremely impressive, to the point where it looked like they were playing Oblivion and Skyrim at times.” In a separate article, Carter declares the game “a welcome hybrid of old and new school MMO mechanics” and shares the following thoughts on the game’s distinct Elder Scrolls feel:

“As the developers at Zenimax were showing off the game, you could tell that they really cared about the history of the Elder Scrolls franchise. It was clear after playing it for an extended period of time that there will be lots of lore here to uncover; perhaps more than any other Elder Scrolls game before it.”

For much, much more coverage on the game, hit the jump below…

Massively – “I’m happy to say that for ESO, the proof is in the pudding. I’ve barely scratched the surface of this massive online game world, and I already can’t wait to get my elderly Orcish hands all over it again at PAX East.”

IGN – “I’ll say this about ESO: I wanted to keep playing.I wanted to find out what lay at the end of an unmarked riddle quest I’d found in a half-buried treasure chest, and I wanted to find adventures lay in wait in the alleys of Daggerfall.”

Shacknews – “What I saw was heartening. The Elder Scrolls Online appears to have a solid foundation and, judging strictly from the small snippet of my hands-on time, hits the right tone for the Elder Scrolls series.” And for more from Shack, read about their discussion with Paul Sage on divergent questing.

ZAM – “For sheer enjoyment and the quality of the game at this early stage, this latest session with The Elder Scrolls Online confirmed its place as my most anticipated MMO of the year.” And for more from ZAM, read their article discussing revelations learned while touring the ZeniMax Online studio.

Games.On.Net – “The Elder Scrolls Online is shaping up to meet a lot of the promises it made when it was announced, and for this it should be applauded.”

The Escapist – During Susan Arendt’s playthrough, she forgot she was playing an MMO because of the game’s true-to-form TES feel, stating, “there’s a lot of distractions in Elder Scrolls Online, but at no point do you feel like you’re being forced in any one direction. The main quest is there, patiently waiting for you to give a damn about it, but you’ll find plenty to do just by walking around.”

Game Front – “If you enjoyed Skyrim and its DLCs, you’re going to enjoy TESO. It hits everything that made Skyrim great: deep world immersion, build-your-own class system, exploration-based content, action-based combat, discovery-based crafting and minimal UI intrusion.”

Ten Ton Hammer – “Without drilling down into storyline spoilers, much like my experience last fall, the main quest on the island gave me a certain amount of freedom to decide when I was ready to begin the heist and ultimately set sail for the orc-controlled island of Betnikh.”

PC Gamer – Game Director Matt Firor and Lead Gameplay Designer Nick Konkle discuss ESO in a lengthy video interview.

http://revision3.com/html5player-v18873?external=true&width=640&height=640" width="640" height="360" allowFullScreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>">Revision 3 – Watch the Rev 3 team’s interview with Nick Konkle.

And that’s far from everything! For the latest updates, be sure to bookmark ElderScrollsOnline.com.

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