The Elder Scrolls Travels

The Elder Scrolls Travels are a series of portable games in The Elder Scrolls series of video games published by Bethesda Softworks for Java-enabled cell phones and Nokia's N-Gage gaming phone. The titles are Stormhold (2003), Dawnstar (2004), Shadowkey (2004) and Oblivion (2006, Cancelled for the PSP).

Stormhold

The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold (2003) is a role-playing video game developed exclusively for Java-enabled cell phones in the style and scope of its fellow The Elder Scrolls games. It is one of four mobile The Elder Scrolls games and is published by Bethesda Softworks. According to GameFAQs, it was originally released August 1, 2003. Misfortune lands the player in a prison in the Black Marsh named Stormhold. The player must defeat the evil warden of the prison to regain their freedom.

Dawnstar

The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar (2004) is a role-playing video game developed exclusively for Java-enabled cell phones in the style and scope of its fellow The Elder Scrolls games. It is one of four mobile The Elder Scrolls games published by Bethesda Softworks. You play as a soldier who must stop invading tribes by gathering four champions. There are multiple versions of this game, as it was designed for multiple different mobile phones. Each version has a different number of dungeons and character classes.

Shadowkey

The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey (2004) is a role-playing game developed exclusively for the now defunct N-Gage, in the style and scope of its fellow The Elder Scrolls games. It is one of four mobile The Elder Scrolls games and is co-published and produced by TKO Software and Vir2L Studios, the sister company of Bethesda Softworks,^[1] and released on November 11, 2004.^[2]

Notable locations within the game

Dragonstar - The northern most major city within Hammerfell that was formed by an organization known as the Merchant Captains and led by the Violet family of traders. In 397 half of Dragonstar is also under the control of Skyrim forces (who are unaware that they are taking orders from Tharn). Most of the end game events of Shadowkey takes place in and around this city.

Lakvan's Stronghold - Named after the rogue military general of the same name. This military post is located in the mountains on the Skyrim side of the Hammerfell/Skyrim border near the town of Snowline. It is the staging area for the military elements involved in trying to destabilize the northern regions of Hammerfell as well as a base of operations for Tharn's representative in the region, Asuul. Though they work together, Lakvan and Tharn do not like each other.

Snowline - A small town located dangerously close to the Hammerfell/Skyrim border on the Hammerfell side of it. While there are no military elements located in this town, representatives of both sides of the current conflict reside here trying to sway the population to join one of the two warring groups. Snowline becomes a hub for much of the mid game quests.

Fearfrost - An underground town of peaceful Goblins who (during the course of the game) are starting to notice that their leader is beginning to break their peace treaty between the Redguards and themselves. Important events to the main story take place here.

Azra's Crossing - The starting village for the player, this village is located in a small valley near the High Rock/Hammerfell border on the Hammerfell side. At the start of the game, this town will be under attack by an (at the time) unknown force of bandits and their army of giant Rats.

Gameplay

Gameplay is handled with the numeric touchpad on the right side of the N-Gage as well as the normal game action keys. Additionally, this game allowed (via Bluetooth) 1-4 player co-operative gameplay. The player or players could create or use characters from the Argonian, Breton, Dark Elf, High Elf, Khajiit, Imperial, Nord, Redguard, and Wood Elf races in game (These are the names used in the game manual itself). The classes available are Assassin, Barbarian, Battlemage, Knight, Nightblade, Rogue, Spellsword, Sorcerer, and Thief.

Reception

The reviews it received were mostly mediocre. Notable concerns from reviewers included a weak draw distance, constant pop up due to the draw distance, overall graphical quality, and clumsy combat. Still, reviewers generally praised the game for its large world, great sound and the large amount of content.

Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion is an Elder Scrolls Travels game available on Java-enabled cell phones. It follows the storyline established in the console and PC versions of Oblivion, but a player does not require any previous experience with these versions to enjoy the game. Oblivion Mobile includes ten main levels and four optional quests. Eight classes are available to choose from, and each has access to different armor, weapons, and spells, as well as a number of items available to them all.

After the mysterious and untimely death of the Emperor, the throne of Tamriel lies empty. With the Empire ready to crumble, the gates of Oblivion open and demons march upon the land - laying waste to everything in their path. To turn the tide of darkness, you must find the lost heir to the throne and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.

Oblivion (PSP)

A different game than the mobile version titled Oblivion for the PSP was never completed. It was unrelated to the other Elder Scrolls Travels games in that it was being created for the PSP (instead of phone) and featured improved graphics and gameplay similar to the console/PC version. However, it was planned to lack the free-roaming game play usually associated with the Elder Scrolls series. According to executive producer Todd Howard, the game would have featured 10 large levels that look much like areas in the console versions, but more concentrated. Eighteen out of the twenty one skills from Oblivion were present. There has never been any official reason given for its cancellation or even official confirmation that it was cancelled.

References

External links

• Interview with Shadowkey designer Greg Gorden