Skip to main content

The Elder Scrolls Online still feels limited in its opening hours

First impressions from Tamriel Unlimited, the console version of Bethesda's MMO.

"You can see how making a massively multiplayer version of a popular single-player role-playing game would look like a no-brainer to a publishing executive." So began Oli's review of the PC version of The Elder Scrolls Online in April last year.

14 months later, and another no-brainer has come to fruition: the console version of the game. After all, The Elder Scrolls series has become a bona fide console blockbuster and, as online connectivity becomes the norm, the PlayStation and Xbox represent fresh territory as yet untouched by the market-warping ubiquity of World of Warcraft where a popular branded MMO might take root.

Is The Elder Scrolls Online that game? Based on first impressions, probably not. Despite its extended development time, the newly added subtitle Tamriel Unlimited proves sadly ironic. As with the PC original, this version of the franchise's fantasy land feels very limited indeed.

I'm a big fan of RPGs, and The Elder Scrolls series in particular. I'm curious about MMO gameplay, but while I've dabbled in a few, I've never fully taken the plunge. I spend my working day glued to my PC keyboard, so if I'm going to commit hundreds of hours to a game I prefer to do it from the comfort of an armchair. In theory, I should be the ideal target audience for this game. In practice, and after a few days of solid play, it's leaving me cold.

Area chat is switched on by default, so if you're near to a player who has Kinect plugged in you'll get to hear everything they're saying.

The reasons why are much the same as detailed in Oli's review. Tamriel Unlimited is a poor take on The Elder Scrolls, and a poorly structured multiplayer experience. Locking players into an uninspired and fairly linear series of story quests, depending on which faction they choose to align with at the start, it manages to obscure its best features almost entirely for newcomers. In a game that is presumably supposed to attract those who are unfamiliar with the MMO format, it's a bizarre oversight.

That stodgy tutorial section, set in the Oblivion prison world of Coldharbour makes for an unappealing introduction. Not only because the world it depicts is bland and featureless, and the objectives rote and insultingly simple, but because it immediately rubs your nose in one of the more absurd features of MMO games. The jailbreak setup is familiar from previous Elder Scrolls games, but this time you're surrounded by other characters, all experiencing the exact same story at the same time.

NPCs with essential plot to impart or quest objectives to update are swarmed by characters with names like xXJonno672Xx and (no kidding) MoistAsDurex, many of them jumping up and down on the spot or randomly shooting fireballs. It's as immersion shattering as you can get, and the fact that Tamriel Unlimited sticks so stubbornly to a quest structure meant for single player role-playing only heightens the ridiculousness. Those distractions do subside once you're deeper into the game, and players are dispersed more widely across different areas and quest lines, but they never fully disappear.

You have automatically recharging health, a simple change that drastically alters the way you play compared to previous Elder Scrolls games.

Not that those initial quest lines have stories worth paying attention to anyway. Anyone expecting the sweeping open landscapes of Skyrim will be immediately disappointed, as The Elder Scrolls Online constrains its action to a series of discreet self-contained areas. That thrill of striking out in any direction and stumbling across a village or a ruin that leads to a new adventure is entirely absent here. The zones into which you're herded are small and feature only a handful of quests and locations. Objectives are painfully basic, with many quests involving little more than talking to a few NPCs, having a few low level fights. Most last no longer than ten minutes.

The world itself feels small and lifeless. One of the things I love about The Elder Scrolls (and its step-sibling Fallout) is the way everything can be picked up, collected, used in some way. That dynamic world-building, where every last potato and scrap of paper can be moved around, is largely responsible for the series' notorious bugginess and the prospect of keeping tabs on thousands of objects, shuffled around by hundreds of players, is clearly off the table in an MMO. It's still startling just how little there is to do though. Crates contain a few grains or apples at the most. Bookshelves are just for show. Cabinets that would once have prompted a looting spree can be safely ignored.

Even with this drastic reduction in The Elder Scrolls world, it still manages to look annoyingly scrappy. Character models are closer to Oblivion than Skyrim, while scenery items are flat and generic. Enemy AI is woeful, and animations often go hilariously wrong. The frame rate is shaky, lag is common, objects pop into existence, and loading times can be ponderous. This impacts not just new locations, but basic things like textures. Other players are frequently just ink-black mannequins, scurrying around waiting for their armour and faces to appear.

Levelling up seems to be fast and easy, certainly in the early going. I was able to hit level 10 with two characters in just over a day's play.

That's when the game is working at all. Putting aside the well documented launch day connection wobbles (which are still ongoing, albeit sporadically) the game is still very buggy. I've had several mission critical NPCs fail to appear, or to respond to prompts, forcing a quit-and-restart to resolve the problem. The climactic mission of a main quest line glitched and had to be abandoned and completely replayed from the start. Even for an Elder Scrolls title, that's a lot of big bugs for a relatively short span of playtime.

What's most frustrating is that from reading up on the PC version, there are positives here that simply aren't apparent during these turgid opening hours. The robust crafting and enchanting options aren't introduced, and even the option to ride a mount is buried in the menus and never explained. More damaging, whole swathes of the game's multiplayer features are locked off, with the four-player co-op dungeons and the inter-faction war mode alluded to only in random loading screen text, and unavailable until you've trudged through enough of the lumpen story quests.

PC players familiar with the MMO genre will have known to look out for this stuff. Will console players even know it's there, or will they drift away after dozens of hours spent hammering through shallow quests alongside other players, sharing a world but each on their own separate adventure?

For all its faults, I still want to like Tamriel Unlimited. It makes a poor first impression, but hopefully its deeper features and multiplayer content can win me over by the time I write up the full review next week.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com