Skyrim - Articles @ RPS, GamesRadar

Here are two more Skyrim articles. First, Rock, Paper, Shotgun has a "Chat-o-Think" roundtable conversation:

Alec: oh! I fought a giant spider. That was pretty horrible. I mostly roasted it to death, but it charging towards me was genuinely unsettling. That was in a dungeon though. Outside, I saw another poacher – the one whose horse I nicked – but didn’t happen to bump into anyone else, bar bandits, but the poachers were chasing animals, and there were some wolves hunting something too I think. Y’know, being all wolfy. I don’t think I saw enough though, got too bogged down in crafting and stealthing. Three hours sounds like a long time, but it really wasn’t enough to entirely get Skyrim’s measure. It did feel a *lot* like Oblivion, but with more incidental stuff and polish – so it wasn’t like the jump (for good and ill) from Morrowind to Oblivion, but more a direct evolution from the last game.

Jim: hmm! So. Is it more like Morrowind, really?
Alec: Well, it definitely doesn’t feel as fantasy-generic as Oblivion didn’t, but it is building on what Oblivion did rather than what Morrowind did. It’s clawed some of the strangeness and randomness of Morrowind back in, and sorted out some of Oblivion’s presentation issues. I think it’s going to be more satisfying and, I think, better, than Oblivion, but maybe not as memorable as Morrowind.

...and GamesRadar has a bullet-point list of 63 items from their three hours. This snip has a spoiler for the start of a side-quest (but not the resolution of the quest), so be warned:

• We witnessed a murder in a town square, where a lady called Margret was viciously stabbed to death before our very eyes.
• We killed the assailant, and then went into a shop where people were talking about the noise outside. It was a scripted event (and that start of a side-quest), but happened in a brilliantly organic way.
• We killed an Elk with massive antlers (obviously head of the small group he was with). When he was dead we were able to keep the antlers, which we would no doubt have displayed in our house as soon as we'd bought one in one of the cities.
• We were able to look at characters' facial expressions without cringing at the old engine. They’re much improved, and suspicious looks from a town leader's bodyguards work brilliantly with the dialogue to set a mood that we should mind our Ps and Qs.
• We dual-wielded magic. It's possible to have two of the same spell or even different spells mapped to the triggers.
• We went swimming in a river and almost fell down a big waterfall, and let out an audible gasp when we climbed to safety.
• We caught Riverbetty fish and Salmon while swimming with our bare hands.
• We waited in the middle of a field just to see the day/night transition unfold before your very eyes. It was much like Shenmue II.
• We went to the nearest city and took a carriage to a city that was further away. It could take us to any of the game’s cities – even the ones we hadn’t been to.  
• We heard people shout for help in the wilderness in a fashion not dissimilar to Red Dead Redemption, except instead of needing to be defended from outlaws, they’re running from dire wolves or Orcs. Or dragons.
• We stared in awe at the mist around mountains. It looks phenomenal.