The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Inventory Evaluation

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (PS3 Controls)

The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim utilises a weight based inventory which you can interact with by pressing the circle button whilst on the game screen. The player is given four catagories in which then can:

-Check their skill progress
-Equip magic abilities/shouts/powers and check their active effects
-Check a map to see their current location or set quest markers
-Equip/drop/favourite items

Once the player has chosen a catagory, they can navigate using these controls:

Skills

The skills page is home to all the catagories and abilities that the player can gain experience in utlising. They can navigate through these different catagories by using the left annalouge stick (L3 stick) and then zoom into a specific catagory so that they can view skills that they can unlock.

Map

The player can view their location/quest markers in Skyrim by using the map. The L3 stick allows the player to scroll throughout the map of Skyrim. If the player is inside a building they can view their exact location by pressing the square button but they can use the triangle button to find their current location (if the player is in the building the triangle button will only show them where they are on the map, a map of the building will not be shown). The player can view their quest log and change quest markers by pressing the 'Start' button. You can also zoom in and out of the map by using the L2 button the zoom out and the R2 button to zoom in. If the player feels as though it is nessecary they can place their own destination marker by pressing the cross button. You can also pan the camera using the R3 annalouge stick.


Items

The player can use the L3 stick/D-Pad to navigate through the different catagories on the items window. After selecting a catagory by using the cross button/the right D-Pad button/moving the L3 stick to the right, the player can now see a list of items. He/she can scroll through these items by pressing up or down on the L3 stick/D-Pad and can return to the catagoric list by pressing the left button on the D-Pad/moving the L3 stick left.You can equip an item using R1/L1/cross button. If you are equiping weapons you can use R1 to equip a weapon the your characters right hand and L1 to equip another weapon to your characters left. Pressing the cross button to equip a weapon will automatically assaign it to your character's right hand, which I found unessecary. You can drop items using the square button and you can also favorite items using the triangle button.

The inventory controls a couple of aspects within Skyrim.

Skills

The more the player uses different skills the more his/her sttributes level up. The Skill window records all the expierience the player gains from using these attribuutes. I found this a much easier way of managing my goals and preferences instead of having to choose a limited ammount of skills like in Oblivion. Skills gain their own levels but cannot reach over level 100, I believe this is to help the player explore different types of skills and have more variety in their skill tree.

Items

The player cannot hold an unlimited ammount of items. The player will become over encumbered when he/she reaches the maximum capacity of weight. The amount of weight your character can hold will increase the more you level up your stamina.

The player can access their inventory by pressing the circle button whilst on the game screen and can use the L3/D-Pad to navigate inbetween Skills, Items, Map and Magic.

I like to use the inventory to gather my thoughts during the game. It's a place where I can relax and plan out my next attack on the enemy. But sometimes, It feels abrupt and it cuts me from the game world, perhaps this is because the game becomes so intense that when I press the inventory button, I fall back into reality. However, I think the layout is organized, and I like the option that I can catagorize the items that I use frequently into my 'Favorites' menu.