Elder Scrolls Online

The Elder Scrolls Online was officially released earlier this year in April, after an extensive period of Open Beta. Designed by Bethesda and currently managed and maintained by Zenimax Online Studios. Currently it is only available to PC users, however it will be coming to XBOX and PS3 users at an undisclosed date, as the launch for those models has been pushed back due to in game issues. At the moment there is a subscription fee for the game.

Game Outline

Tamriel needs you to be a hero again. This particular game is set in the past, before the Oblivion Crisis and before Skyrim was plagued by dragons. The Daedric Prince, Molag Bal, has come to Nirn, wreaking havoc on its inhabitants and inflaming an already hostile world where races are pitted against each other. Your job is to stop the Daedric threat and free Tamriel from the clutches of evil - sound easy right?

Along the way you will find yourself making difficult decisions about NPC's you become close with, and find yourself in increasingly dangerous situations. To top it off, you must aid the regular joes of the world by helping them with bandits, monsters or just general silly things - a true hero to the people.

Classes and Race

When you first create your character, you are given the choice of which race you would like to play as. Each race is aligned with a certain group, they consist of - the Ebonheart Pact (Nord, Dark Elf and Argonian), the Aldmeri Dominion (High Elf, Wood Elf and Khajiit) or the Daggerfall Covenant (Bretons, Redguard and Orc).

You can change your alliance later on, as part of the (almost) endgame, once you reach that point, you will reach Veteran Rank and be able to travel anywhere in the world completing missions for any alliance. So don't fret over who to pick.

There are four separate classes you can be, however you can only pick one - Dragon Knight, Templar, Sorcerer and Nightblade. Be sure to read the descriptions for each class, as dependant on the race you pick, or your style of play, one might be better for you than the other.

As you go through the world, you will be given skill points that you can use towards getting special attacks for your class, so make sure you build an excellent class that can be used in any situation!

Personal Opinion

I have been playing this game since Open Beta and I have to say, it is excellent. The story is engaging and it keeps you guessing, although the side quests can get very repetitive, there is always something new to do along the way. Currently the game has a few glitches and bugs, but they are being worked out by the excellent maintenance times that Zenimax has put in place (two days every week). There has already been an expansion released, Craglorn (which is designed for 12 players).

I have just reached Veteran Rank 1 myself, and I am still enjoying the game. The graphics are amazing, however you will have to limit them if you do not have a computer set up mainly for gaming. They are still having sound glitches, but they are working on them. PVP is currently experiencing some issues, but I suggest playing the main game before entering PVP area anyway - it gets insane there.

Although the community is mixed with its thoughts on this game, I can tell you that it is worth the money, if you are willing to have a little bit of patience. It will make you laugh, cry and throw your keyboard across the room in frustration when you get taken out by a level 15 boss when you are level 18, but hey, that's online gaming for you.