The Elder Scrolls Online Xbox One Beta

So I was fortunate enough to be invited by Bethesda to try out The Elder Scrolls Online, which as you can probably guess, is The Elder Scrolls but Online (shocking, right?). Since there's no NDA in place, and they actually encourage talking, I thought I'd share my opinions on the game, and maybe a video.

So first off, the game looks great, not shocking since this is The Elder Scrolls (TES), and next gen, but what surprised me was how smooth it ran, IN BETA, with superb graphics (no freezing, no bugs, no hiccups), this is tough for most games, including TES games in general (or Fallout games, from Bethesda as well). On the rare occasion, textures on people take a moment to load, but they do so very quickly when it does happen.

Load times are pretty good too, some areas load almost instantly (this is generally areas that connect to the main world like houses or camps that bring you to another area). Going from one large area to another takes a few seconds to load, still very impressive.

All script is voiced, so if a character says something, it's actually spoken another amazing achievement for a large game with lots of speaking. The VO's are also well done, with a little more variety (this seems to be Bethesda's kryptonite, they always use too few actors and It's apparent here more than ever).

Character design is amazing from what I've seen. I only made a Khajiit, but there are many skins for them, you can be a tiger, lion, leopard, jaguar, panther, and many other design types. A friend made a Redguard and they said there are many options for skin tone (to some degree, since Redguards are only African American), hairstyles and other vanity options.

Oh, you can make a character with a butt now too!!!! No more flat backsides.

You need to come in to the game with an Elder Scroll train of thought, most MMORPGs throw weapons and armor at you, this plays like TES, as you level, you'll find steel, dwarven, glass, dremora, and Dragon gear, like the solo games do.

Also, it may be because this is the beta, but don't expect to run into hundreds of people in the field, think of it as a multiplayer TES game, not an MMO TES game.

While I've only scratched the surface, this is proving to be a very fun game so far. I'm sure I've missed some things (such as dungeons), so fellow beta testers, feel free to comment and add your thoughts.