Page 50 of the GI issue contains a screen where a hooded figure pulls in another character, holding him close by his arm, GRABBING him and stabbing him in the stomach with a sword.

How have we gone this long without pointing out this major game play change?

Maybe I haven't followed the forums as closely, but if close combat is possible or if we are able to perform combat moves that involve such restricting and dominating acts as to grasp another character and hold them close to stab them, then I missed something.

If this is simply a screenshot of the aforementioned "finishing moves" then oh well, it still looks cool.

But close combat skills/moves would be cool, none-the-less.

It's almost definitely a finishing move, which isn't so bad. Although...that really does seem like something that's better as a "stealth attack." It's unrealistic for a guy to sneak up on someone with a dagger and then take a major league swing at them. So maybe it's a finishing move, or a perk, or just the way dagger attacks look when you're close enough,

We didn't miss it, but it was definitely under reported. It is most definitely a finishing move.

Yeah that pic made me very happy. It looks like a stealth kill of some kind. This is exactly the direction elder scrolls combat and stealth needs to go. Just swinging a sword, dagger, etc gets old, but a killing move at the end of an encounter makes the fighting so much more memorable. I hope you can do that move as an instant stealth kill. I honestly couldn't be happier.

it was assumed that it was finishing moves

Since it's from the front, I assume it's just a general finishing move rather then a stealth kill.

I've noticed it and talked about it around here, but there hasn't been much talk about it. As other people have said, it's either a finishing move or a stealth kill.

I'm thinking Dagger finishing move, because of the front to front position of the combatants.

Prolly a finishing move. I just hope fighting doesent feel like Oblivion. Just hacking away forever. I want to fear getting hit.

yessssssssss impaling hopefully when you pull he sword out fountains of blood will rush forth

Fixed.

It also brings up the question of when we will be able to actually use finishing moves, I'm curious how low a creature's health needs to be in order to use one.

Why on earth do you guys think that it is a finishing move? Do you see how calm and stable the hooded man looks?

Not to be a really devoted fan, but upon replaying Morrowind, aside from the animations etc, I found the combat more fun. You swing, and you miss, but when you hit, things die. Even with a level 25 bow skill, the arrows do full damage (usually) and I could drop a guy in 2-3 hits. I shot more than that, but I knew they "missed."

Edit: LOLOLOL. The censor changed the noun I used to "really devoted fan." It's accurate, but that's not a word I think really needs to be edited.

Any thoughts on hand to hand improvements? Looks like beth overhauled the combat and now wih dual wielding I wonder what h2h will look like?

I am also curious about the timing of finishing moves. Do we just hack away until the game does it for us (hopefully not)? Or will there be a tip off to us like the enemy bleeding from the mouth or something like that? I definitely want all the control to when I do a finishing move. I want to be able to choose, or choose not to do one.

Strongly agreed. Even if the default game doesn't have it, hopefully it's moddable to suit.

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Combat is being redone on a entirely new engine, so I think it will be a lot more than just hack&slash.

Since Emil(of the Thief games) is again working on this game, I expect stealth kills and even better lock-picking in this game!

Maybe a button above the enemies head like in god of war? When an enemy is weakened enough maybe it will have a square (ps3) above the enemy?

Perhaps.... I have a feeling though that a bright button prompt appearing above the head for a finishing move would seriously take away from the immersion of the world. Look how realistic the world appears in screenshots, then imagine a quick time event button popping up over a nearly defeated enemy. We would immediately feel as if we are playing a video game, and not a part of a living, breathing world which I know Bethesda is creating. I really wish we could get some confirmation on this aspect. If I know Bethesda, and I THINK I do, I believe it's going to come down to some feature appearing on the enemy that prompts us to complete a finishing move, such as the enemy limping or bleeding from some appendage. Thoughts?

On a side note, I am extremely excited about this new aspect of combat in Elder Scrolls. I have wanted finishing moves since Morrowind, and now I can finally be excited about Elder Scrolls combat again. Personally, this is my favorite aspect of the new combat system.

@woods0419 wouldn't bleeding every single time to prompt a finishing move be "immersion breaking" too? So enemies bleed ONLY when its time to finish them? What about the fiercer foes that can withstand a lot of punishment?

Yeah, it's a tough thing to think about. I was only saying "bleeding" as an example (although maybe a bad one) of some bodily feature that happens when it's time to do a finishing move. I have no idea how they could do it without breaking the immersion. There's obviously going to be something during combat that gives away the ability to complete a finishing moves. I guess it's possible that you just keep hitting the enemy, then when the enemy's health is low enough and you press the attack button, the game may just automatically do it. I hope this isn't the case though, because I want to have total control over doing a finishing move.

I wouldn't want it automatic either. It would get old real quick seeing the move after every kill.

I couldn't agree more. I'm hoping for an update on this soon. The Game Informer article today that gives readers Skyrim wallpapers mentions, "Check back in the coming days and you'll find a dedicated article on the combat of Skyrim, including Bethesda's exciting dual-hand approach to battles." I've got my fingers crossed that they give more details on these finishing moves.

agreed, i want to choose when to do it