Without further ado then, let’s get started.

HALF-LIFE 2

As one of the most iconic PC games of all time, it makes sense to kick things off with Half-Life 2- and though there’s been no shortage of mods for Valve’s masterpiece over the years, one in particular really stands out to this day. That mod is the Cinematic Mod, made by FakeFactory. The improvements in visual quality that it brings about it staggering. From the sharpness of textures to the detail in models for characters and weapons and environments, the Cinematic Mod breathes abundant new life into Half-Life 2.

The Elder Scrolls 6 is a ways off yet, but that hasn’t stopped anyone (least of all us) from speculating on what the game might be about, and what features it may or may not include. We may now have some information on what the plot for The Elder Scrolls 6 might be, and though it isn’t entirely concrete, it definitely qualifies as interesting- Bethesda may have hinted at it way back in Morrowind.

Take a look at the image above (uploaded by Imgure user Stagsdale). At first glance, it looks like nothing more than a throwaway bit of lore-laden dialogue. But there’s a chance that it may be much more than that. The image shows a conversation with Lloros Sarano in Ald’ruhn, in which he talks about the Akivari – a race of serpent like vampires – making preparations to invade the Empire. Sarano fears that it may happen after some crisis, like “the Empire collapsing in civil war”, and that the Dunmer may need a Hortator to lead them in battle in such a scenario.

If you’ve played Skyrim, this may sound familiar. The Empire was facing a veritable civil war in the game, with the Imperials going up against a rebelling group of Nords over the dispute of Talos, while the Emperor himself was also killed by the player character as part of the Dark Brotherhood questline- all of this definitely counts as a crisis, and there’s no doubting that the Empire is weaker than ever right now.

Of course, Skyrim took place over two centuries after Morrowind, so the Akivari have probably been patiently waiting for their opportunity for a long time. But if this were indeed to be the plot to Elder Scrolls 6, it might see the players acting as the Hortator to an army of the Dunmer in conflict against the invading Akivari.

This isn’t the first time that something like this has happened with this series either. In the Tribunal expansion of Morrowind, a character talked about how the gates of Oblivion would open and the Daedra would roam the world freely. In case you haven’t put two and two together, that is the exact plot of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Of course, this isn’t concrete by any means- take this with a generous dash of salt. There are literally thousands of similar lore-related references and dialogues in Morrowind and all other Elder Scrolls games, and there’s nothing to suggest that this specific one in particular has any more meaning than the others. That said, leading a defence against an army of the invading Akivari would certainly be an excellent backdrop for The Elder Scrolls 6.

What are your thoughts on this? Tell us in the comments section below.

Thanks, Gamesradar!

The Elder Scrolls Online will see its next major expansion Morrowind releasing on June 6th worldwide. Bethesda has noted the times that servers will go live so you can prepare yourself in advance. Morrowind will go live at 2 AM PDT/5 AM EDT/10 AM BST/11 AM CEST. Servers will be down prior to launch.

If you bought the digital upgrade or the Collector’s Edition prior to launch and have been playing Morrowind early, then all progress will transfer over on June 6th. Those looking to purchase the expansion from US retailers can do so on June 5th, 9 PM in the United States. If you live in Europe or the UK, then the morning of June 6th will be the time to pick it up.

The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind adds a significant amount of new content like Vvardenfell, the biggest new zone yet; the Warden class; 4v4v4 battlegrounds for PvP with modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag; The Halls of Fabrication Trial; and much more. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

While it sounds like a fanboy’s dream, TES Renewal Project is making good on its promise to recreate the entire experience of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind using the Skyrim engine. Dubbed ‘Skywind’, the team has been working slowly but steadily on the mod. A new developer diary has been released for the same which showcases the progress made on the animations, visuals and talks about the voice acting for the game.

The game looks significantly better than its last showing and it doesn’t seem too far-fetched to believe that a playable version will be out by next year. You can help assist with the project by heading here – with a project of this magnitude, they can use all the help they can get.

Meanwhile, The Elder Scrolls Online is currently available from ZeniMax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks which takes the experience to an MMORPG level. Have you had a chance to take part? Let us know in the comments.

There are plenty of ambitious mods and quest packs for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, even after all this time, but none more ambitious at this time than Skywind. The mod aims to recreate the third Elder Scrolls game, Morrowind, in full detail using the Skyrim engine. A new video for the game has been released today and showcases some of the improvements made to the mod along with some of the combat. Check it out above.

As of now, the public build doesn’t have a lot of these improvements and they’ll be available in the upcoming 0.9.1 update, which currently has no release date. Patience pays in this case – or if you’d like, you can head over the dev team’s website and volunteer your services.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released in 2011 and is arguably the most popular Elder Scrolls game of all time. It has seen three DLC packs, with Bethesda having halted all development on the title after the release of the Dragonborn DLC.

Bethesda’s Todd Howard has admitted that the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion “sacrificed” some of the magic Morrowind in order to create a “refined and welcoming” world.

Howard commented in a recent interview about the alien and unfamiliar nature of Morrowind’s game world. “It should feel alien, kind of ‘stranger in a strange’ land, with familiar looking elements only rooting you early in the game. The whole tone ends up being one of ‘I’m an outsider, I’m uncomfortable'” said Howard.

“With Oblivion, we’re dealing with the capital province, and we wanted to get back to the more classic Arena and Daggerfall feel of a fantasy world that felt more refined and welcoming…a place that you instantly understood. But in that, we sacrificed some of what made Morrowind special; the wonder of discovery,” he admitted.

Howard was positive about the future of the series saying that “with Skyrim, we’re trying to bring some of that back and walk the line between Morrowind and Oblivion. Where it’s at first familiar looking, but has its own unique culture and spin on it.”

Thanks to OXM for the info.

Still Alive

For my money, there is nothing that can instantly alter the mood, warp the setting, and otherwise create a distinct feeling for a game like music. It’s one of those elements that either works or doesn’t, but it never gets in the way. A glitch is noticeable, because it could potentially kill you, and at the very least it’s an irritation that jars you from the experience. Bad voice acting is potentially hilarious, but also ruins immersion and gets in the way (take note, Marvel Ultimate Alliance). Everything from bad level design to poorly placed hit boxes to unbalanced RPG systems are important enough to the core experience of a game that any misstep could turn a great game into a decent, but forgettable one, or a mediocre game into a bad one.

Music has no such issues. You either notice it or you don’t, and even if it’s noticeably bad, it can be turned off, or turned down. But when games get it right, when the music is interspersed with the game in just the right ways, it can turn a game toward true greatness.

The first time I noticed spectacular music was way back in 2002, when Medal of Honor: Allied Assault was one of the few World War II games on the market (remember when they were original?). Not only did it have the now flagrantly overused Normandy Invasion as one of its high points, it also had future Up composer and Academy Award winner Michael Giacchino in charge of the music. Though his soundtrack fairly straightforward, predictably piping in with its sweeping, enervated score when the bullets were thickest, the effect was tremendous. You wanted to charge up the hill when the music kicked in, and the music moved you just as much, if not more, than the level design did. It was at its best in those frenetic moments when you’re wrapped up in a firefight, completely immersed, timing grenade throws and reloads to the music, even if you didn’t realize it. One of the perks of the game was that the music was contained in separate mp3 files, and I still have some tracks kicking around on my hard drive. I give it a listen now and then.

The Elder Scrolls series has been lauded for a number of reasons, but one of the reasons I consistently return to playing Morrowind is partly because of the fantastic music and sound design. The music is a simple repeat of three or four songs intended to be playing constantly in the background, switching from simple, restrained orchestral tracks to the more adrenaline-injected numbers that come on when the player is in combat. It’s a simple enough gimmick, but there’s a charm to it that is further enhanced by the sound effects themselves. I don’t think any Morrowind veteran is going to argue that any of the sound effects are particularly realistic, but there’s a level of uniqueness to it that for some inexplicable reason has me returning again and again to the rural, empire-resistant land of Morrowind. Though I can’t quite place my finger on exactly why, there is just something about the sound and music in Morrowind that make the game stand out and, I would personally argue, stand above the more recent entry into the Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion.

don't be fooled; that maraca is actually a mace

Half-Life 2, similarly, has nothing much to add to the music portion of gaming (unless you count Portal as part of the Half-Life canon, in which case “Still Alive” delivers in spades), but it certainly has something going for it in the sound department. From the very beginning, after you step off the train in City 17, the Civil Protection forces, with their uncanny-valley face masks and voice-altering helmets policing a debris-strewn nearly empty city, create a palpable atmosphere from minute one in the game. It only gets better as when CP units are gunned down after getting some weapons, each one letting out a two-toned flatline sound in the company of bullets, explosions, or superheated railroad ties fired with a distinct, flat thump (and even more satisfying metallic thunk when the weapon hit against a brick wall with a Combine corpse decorating the end) when fired from the crossbow. Valve’s Source engine was also one of the first in the industry to fully utilize a 3D sound system, which made the throaty boom of an explosion echo off canyon walls, and the lamentable death-scream of a tripod walker ripple out in a city street. From a distance, the effects were changed enough to really make you think that there was a full-on city uprising surrounding you in the later levels.Half-Life 2’s sound perfectly illustrates how exceedingly simple techniques can serve to deeply immerse a player into the world.

All Freeman needs now... is more cowbell

Bioshock took a different, and dare I say, even more immersive approach. Throughout the course of the game, the city of Rapture is as much a character as any of the human or post-human people you encounter in the course of playing. With leaky hallways and the distant groan of Big Daddies, to the mumbling of deranged splicers, every new environment bombards the player with sound, tacitly telling the story of Rapture’s fall. Some of the best moments come when the player enters a room with a scratchy, 60s-era record wobbling around on its player, the voices of bygone singers perfectly underscoring the dying city. The music wafts in from around corners or muffled by doors as a way of injecting a juxtaposition of normalcy for the player. While audibly, the music plays as if to suggest a time before Rapture’s freefall, visually, the player is still stuck in a flooding city with murderous lunatics around every corner. The fact that there is little in the way of normal orchestral scoring, or even a soundtrack worthy of the name, is a perfect illustration of how rich and complex the storytelling in a game can be, with every sensory element lending itself to the crafting of a tale.

Understandably, in my zest to jot down a few of my favorite achievements in music and sound, I invariably missed a few of the great ones. Tell me how egregious my omissions are in the comments.