One of the very best (and at the same time very worst) games of 2011, the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is getting support for one of the very worst (and at the same time very best) gaming peripherals ever released: Kinect.
After the next update for the Xbox 360 version of the game, you’ll be able to Fus Roh Dah® your way to victory, using your actual voice. It’s not just limited to being a useful addition to make you seem less crazy when you shout at your TV (something I do all the time); the patch will add over 200 voice commands that’ll enable you to do nifty things that are far too much trouble to do with buttons, like quick saving and loading, ally commands and inventory sorting.
Bethesda’s detailed how it all works in a trailer which, truth be told, I’m a little sceptical of. It all seems to work too well, and if my experiences with Mass Effect 3’s voice control are anything to go by, it won’t be anything like this. that said, if Bethesda has managed to get it working wonderfully, this next update might just make the Xbox 360 version of Skyrim much better. If it doesn’t break anything, that is.
No word on whether or not the update will add Nordic dance battles. It’s coming later this month as a free (What?) update.
Personally, I’m still waiting for developers to do awesome things with Kinect to complement traditional games, and voice commands – hardly different to the sort of stuff we’ve seen on the PS2 with Socom and Rainbow Six on the original Xbox – aren’t it.
Last Updated: April 13, 2012