https://twitter.com/TESOnline/status/400685222054068225

Apparently there's a new article about the Aldmeri Dominion starting area with new screenshots in the lates PC Gamer issue.

Did anybody get a hold of it yet?

The screenshots of Elsewyr are stunning, though I'm not allowed to post them I think. I think I can say this though:

It was a positive review, the author enjoyed the game.. I'm not sure I can go into more detail? Let me ask before I put a detailed summary. I think because of http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1451809-links-to-leaks-and-scanned-material/sticky

The screenshots of Elseweyr are astonishingly beautiful.

I think you can say what you did read in PC gamer magazine.

Uh, pretty sure if its published in a magazine and posted on the TESO facebook, its ok to post.

Those screenshots aren't leaked so you can lost them. ZOS gave permission to allow these screebshots so they don't fall under the NDA.

Okay, well; he enjoyed the game; but he thought it tries to be like Skyrim too hard and fails to hit the mark. The few quests he did, were generic, but he felt they were going to change. He believed the aspect of losing your soul to a daedric prince was Akin to Morrowind/Skyrim in becoming a huge hero. The combat he immensely enjoyed; it is tactically based and not hotbar based, and made mention to how much of an Elder Scrolls game with multiplayer he felt it was. "I wouldn't have said this back when I played the game for the first time in march, but the way you navigate the terrain in first person, plan each fight based more on positioning and tactics more than hotbar rotation, and interact with small details in the scenery such as manuscripts and containers, that's where it seems to have settled, and I couldn't be happier."

There were small spoilers I won't mention here to preserve the game, though he felt the storyline and immersion are of a higher tier than other MMO's and feel like an Elder Scrolls Game. In a conversation with Paul Sage, Mr. Sage had mentioned "The entire idea is that you can ignore us entirely, go off on your own, and do whatever you want...it's built to be completely non-linear" (though the context was not complete sandbox)

Soul magic was explained, there are passive and active soul spells: Trap souls in gems quickly and easily, Grant Normal Weapon hits a chance to capture souls, Revive without a soul gem once per hour, Explode on death-showering enemies with fiery vengeance and blood (lol, that's the actual description), cast powerful DoTs.

He was amazed at how original Elseweyr felt: "It was like setting foot in a new country for the first time."

The author played a ranger styled character, and felt that he had to think to kill his enemies, hit them in vital areas with strong or weak shots and create combinations to take out larger groups of them. The character advancement felt like Skyrim; kill things and level up your skill in that particular area and unlock new perks.

The bad parts: The skyrim map is LARGER than Skyrim the game, but says that sometimes entering a new region feels like "stepping into a town and its immediate outskirts rather than a vast, explorable frontier.... ESO Distances itself from being a trademark Elder Scrolls Game by being too dense [in quests], at least in the beginning zones." Quests in beginner zones were also far too easy. " I didn't have to find a way in, fight anyone, or stealth. This cast a few disruptive ripples...it was a stock MMO quest that didn't live up to its own exciting premise."

Big hub towns are also OPEN in a manner such as Morrowind (No load Screens)

Though personally, my favorite part of the article: "For all its visible zippers and seams that give it away as an MMO, ESO feels engrossing and full of promise in ways nothing else the genre has."

sometimes entering a new region feels like "stepping into a town and its immediate outskirts rather than a vast, explorable frontier.... ESO Distances itself from being a trademark Elder Scrolls Game by being too dense [in quests], at least in the beginning zones."

can anyone elaborate on this?

Sounds to me like he stepped near a quest hub and realized he was playing an MMO and not Skyrim 2.0?

I THINK what he means is that at the beginning there are few really, truly, empty landscapes, most are filled to the brim with things, including quests. but that is to be expected as it IS an MMO there HAS to be a lot of quests and stuff going on.

Beta and almost every available gameplay we had ( E3 etc. ) was from lvl 1 in beginner zone, so yes it is overquested because it is beginner zone and it serves only for you to get the hell out of there xD Its something like big tutorial I guess.

oh okay so instead of like leaving a town or village and wandering around in the woods or mountains for a while, you'll just run into another village?

that would make a little sense just for the fact that the developers don't want anyone getting lost in the nooby area xD lol
that'd be so embarrassing