Description
The Elder Scrolls: Arena is a first-person action role-playing game in which the protagonist must rescue the Emperor Uriel Septim VII from his dimensional prison by recovering the eight pieces of the Staff of Chaos. The emperor's position has been usurped by impersonator Jagar Tharn, whose slain apprentice rallies the protagonist in his dreams to find the eight pieces of the staff and return the status quo.
It is the first chapter in the
Elder Scrolls series and the first game that is set in the fictional world of Tamriel. The game features 3D environments, with sprites representing non-playable characters and enemies. In the beginning of the game the player chooses the race for the protagonist, based on his or her home province. Each race has its benefits: for example, Redguards from the province Hammerfell have physical attack bonuses. There is no skill system; leveling up occurs after a sufficient amount of experience points has been accumulated. The player is free to raise any of the protagonist's main attributes by allocating the points gained with the level.
Unlike later games in the series the player can travel through almost all of Tamriel, instead of being restricted to certain provinces. There are over 400 cities, towns and villages to explore, as well as many magical items and spells to create. The player can walk endlessly in any direction as more and more land will be procedurally generated. Walking manually however never allows the player to reach other cities; the fast travel feature must be used for this. The player is free to go where he or she wants. The story itself is resolved in a linear fashion, although the locations of items is randomly determined at the start of the game.
Melee combat is performed through mouse gestures and spells are cast using a menu interface. The player controls only a single character, which happens in real-time. In the wild and in dungeons the player can expect opposition from enemies which need to be defeated and who drop loot. In the cities NPCs can be found, some will barter or provide other services to the player.
The CD-ROM release features speech in cutscenes and additional rendered sequences that the floppy version does not include.
Alternate Titles
- "The Elder Scrolls Chapter One: Arena" -- Full Name (fan)
- "Arena" -- Informal name
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
The Press Says
| Freegame.cz |
Aug 25, 2004 |
99 out of 100 |
99 |
| PC Gamer |
May, 1994 |
88 out of 100 |
88 |
| PC Player (Germany) |
Apr, 1994 |
82 out of 100 |
82 |
| RPGFan |
Apr 15, 2006 |
80 out of 100 |
80 |
| High Score |
Jun, 1994 |
4 out of 5 |
80 |
| Abandonia Reloaded |
Apr 04, 2005 |
3.8 out of 5 |
76 |
| Power Play |
Mar, 1994 |
70 out of 100 |
70 |
| PC Zone |
May, 1994 |
62 out of 100 |
62 |
| Secret Service / New S Service |
Jul, 1994 |
60 out of 100 |
60 |
| JeuxVideoPC.com |
Mar 27, 2006 |
10 out of 20 |
50 |
Forums
Trivia
Development
Arena was at first, not going to be a RPG, but instead a gladiator style game. Someone came up with the RPG idea, and it caught.
Freeware release
To coincide with the 10th anniversary of the
Elder Scrolls series in 2004, Bethesda Softworks released the first game, Arena, as freeware. It can be downloaded from the
Elder Scrolls website
Inspiration
The Elder Scrolls: Arena was primarily inspired by a collection of pen and paper RPGs, the
Ultima Underworld series, and the first-person RPG
Legends of Valour.
Awards
- Computer Gaming World
- May 1995 (Issue #130) – Role-Playing Game of the Year
Information also contributed by
Agent 5 and
IsakThis entry to the MobyGames database was contributed by
faceless (395) on Jan 27, 2000.
