Elder Scrolls Online Xbox One and PS4: Was Tamriel Unlimited on consoles worth the wait?

BETHESDA Elder Scrolls Online for Xbox One and PS4, was it worth the trip to console?

Colossal in size, Elder Scrolls takes the franchise to a huge, and often completely bonkers, new level.

The game's sprawling map provides almost endless quests, people to meet, things to kill and places to go. To fully master this game takes a serious commitment.

The fact that Skyrim is just a small part of the nine regions that make up Tamriel gives you an idea as to the game's scale.

Moving online has had positive and negative points on the gameplay. You can now gang up with your mates, or any number of the thousands of other players, to take on missions and form alliances - but that in itself does cause problems.

Everywhere you go there are scores of players rampaging around the scenery both on foot or on horseback and most are followed by a variety of vanity pets.

If they are stood still they're standing in groups at various checkpoints listening to instructions to progress to the next part of the quest.

At first it is utterly baffling and you're left wondering who to attack, who to talk to and where to go. But when you get over that problem, there's another issue.

The single player missions lose some of the fun, certainly at the start, as you quickly learn to follow players from one checkpoint to the next without thinking how and why you're going to where you're going.

Playing with your friends is great fun however, and even if you're a newbie and they've been playing for ages you can start the same missions from the same time. You don't need to catch up to go in to battle with them.
RELATED ARTICLES
Elder Scrolls Online PS4, Xbox One, PC: Tamriel Unlimited changes...
Elder Scrolls Online Xbox One patch notes detail HUGE 1.6GB update...

From fending off pirate attacks to creeping around in dingy caves and hunting down long-lost parchments, there are plenty of missions of different types to keep you entertained.

You'll want to dive straight into the missions as quickly as possible in order to level up and move on, but there's tonnes to do pretty much everywhere and it's worth hanging around to take a look.

There is a tutorial in basic combat to kick things off but most of the learning is done on the job as you wander around making food, creating spells and deciding weather or not to keep hold of those frog guts you just found on the floor. And if you're still wondering: Leave them on the ground! .

The sheer amount of time spent on the wide range of tasks is part of the fun of The Elder Scrolls: Tamriel Unlimited. Once you're committed it will be a long, long time before you put the controller down.

On your travels through the varied and numerous towns you quickly see that each one offers different things to do and can be used to your benefit in different ways.

As well as all the little nuances and delicate touches, combat forms a large part of the game. The layout of the controls is cleverly done and being able to change from first to third person at the flick of a button is a great touch.

There's also a raft of different abilities which can be tied to certain buttons and this proves to be a lifesaver time and time again.

BETHESDA Elder Scrolls Online offers battles against giant Snakes


The graphics are pretty impressive and seamlessly fade in and out of focus as you romp around, giving Tamriel a genuinely huge feel.

Once in the game you can be pretty much whoever you want to be and take on the game however you want.

While the multi-player format does provide some problems, over time the other players almost fade into the background. Apart from the occasional blast of music or rambling chat that is.

Just after launch Elder Scrolls: Tamriel Unlimited was plagued with lag and log-on issues as thousands and thousands of gamers rushed to give it a go.

The servers buckled under the pressure but those teething problems have been put well and truly to bed. You may be kicked out from time to time on a weak internet connection, but with a decent wifi service there are very few problems.

If your internet connection is on the poor side the initial file download will leave you banging your head against a wall but it is worth the wait once you get in.

If you throw yourself into Elder Scrolls: Tamriel Unlimited you can lose days, nay weeks, rambling from Morrowind in the east to High Rock out west... and all the way back again.

The depth is really impressive and while the game isn't perfect there's so much to do - and now you can do it with your mates.

Elder Scrolls: Tamriel Unlimited has lost some of the charm of it's predecessor Skyrim but if you love the series then you can't go wrong with the latest version.