I just killed my first Skyrim dragon... and am astoundingly underwhelmed. I am amazingly unfulfilled about the whole experience. It sucked. It wasn't and epic battle, it wasn't a momentous occasion to sing of down the ages. It wasn't anything worth mention. For a culture where the continued existence of dragons was in question, no one seemed that worried or excited or... well, the NPC's didn't seem like they felt anything. I didn't feel anything! It was a mundane fetch quest style mission! WHAT THE HELL?
Skyrim has made Dragon slaying boring. how in the hell do you make DRAGON SLAYING boring?! SPOILERS AHEAD! not like it matters jack shit in skyrim of course.
Let me describe the experience. After completing the first dungeon in the game at the behest of the Whiterun king, reclaiming some truly unimportant and inconsequential item and returning to town, a dragon randomly shows up. Completely out of the blue. No lead up. No suspense. Just... go slay that dragon. And where do I go to slay this dragon? Atop a high mountain peak? A deep labyrinthian cave? Must I venture far and wide to reach the temple this dragon has occupied or the great castle it has laid siege to?
Nope. I must walk 2 minutes out of town. Into the middle of a field. The same field I walked through earlier to go to the dungeon. I can see the town and cottages. I get to the field, and just wait. Eventually, the dragon makes its entrance by basically just landing and walking around. The battle that followed went like this:
I chose to play as an elf caster. Having flame throwers for hands was so alluring. The astounding fight scene where I slay a dragon? All I had to do was stand slightly to the big guys left blasting him with double freeze spell hands while he sat patiently, roasting an NPC archer. Thank heaven he didn't remember he had wings and a good 2 tons on me or claws or teeth or the instinct to dodge or a sense of self preservation. I would drift slowly further left of him to avoid him turning far enough to flame me, downing mana and health potions where need be. And then he died. Just collapsed. No finishing move, no bloody struggle battle of wills. Just me holding the triggers belching frost. Then I apparently absorbed his soul and learned how to yell dragon words, or so a "startled" npc told me. Then everyone else waltz off like it was no big deal, leaving me standing in a field with my thumb up my ass and a dragon skeleton looking at me. They even bothered to name the dragon btw. I don't remember it though because why should I have?
That was the lamest, most mundane, inconsequential and above all UNCHALLENGING fight possible. I had a tougher time slaying the city guards! Why the hell couldn't they have handled Smokey the Wimpy dragon if the king can blink to firmly in my direction and cut my life in half? How could a staple element of fantasy like dragon slaying have been made a chore rather than a high-romance adventure?
I have played a bit further and I'm just... I'm just so bored. Killed another two dragons along the way. Whatever. I am unmoved. No emotional investment whatsoever. I don't have any reason to give two shits about ANYTHING.
Here's my problem with Skyrim: It focused on populating a massive world where you can truly do almost anything. The problem? there is no reason to do anything. Dragon slaying is just as mundane as killing a wolf pack, and just as difficult, which is to say not very. When making the game, the developer smeared a wafer thin layer of story over the sprawling landscape and sent it off for the players. I wanted to have to WORK for that accomplishment of slaying a dragon, pretend I was a legend ing the making, pretend my character was that exceptional... and they made it piss easy and banal and made most accomplishments meaningless because there is no story related context for anything you do to matter.
Edit: In summary- what a shallow experience this game has been. Not bad, certainly not, just shallow
2nd Edit: I was play on expert difficulty, btw. But it wasn't the difficultly that bothered me, per say... higher difficult would just mean I would have to spend a longer time grinding away at him using the same boring formula of "blast with magic, side set, blast with magic, neck a health/magic potion, blast with magic, side step, dragon dies." I though the dragon would at least move around a bit more at least, even if I was freezing him.
Skyrim has made Dragon slaying boring. how in the hell do you make DRAGON SLAYING boring?! SPOILERS AHEAD! not like it matters jack shit in skyrim of course.
Let me describe the experience. After completing the first dungeon in the game at the behest of the Whiterun king, reclaiming some truly unimportant and inconsequential item and returning to town, a dragon randomly shows up. Completely out of the blue. No lead up. No suspense. Just... go slay that dragon. And where do I go to slay this dragon? Atop a high mountain peak? A deep labyrinthian cave? Must I venture far and wide to reach the temple this dragon has occupied or the great castle it has laid siege to?
Nope. I must walk 2 minutes out of town. Into the middle of a field. The same field I walked through earlier to go to the dungeon. I can see the town and cottages. I get to the field, and just wait. Eventually, the dragon makes its entrance by basically just landing and walking around. The battle that followed went like this:
I chose to play as an elf caster. Having flame throwers for hands was so alluring. The astounding fight scene where I slay a dragon? All I had to do was stand slightly to the big guys left blasting him with double freeze spell hands while he sat patiently, roasting an NPC archer. Thank heaven he didn't remember he had wings and a good 2 tons on me or claws or teeth or the instinct to dodge or a sense of self preservation. I would drift slowly further left of him to avoid him turning far enough to flame me, downing mana and health potions where need be. And then he died. Just collapsed. No finishing move, no bloody struggle battle of wills. Just me holding the triggers belching frost. Then I apparently absorbed his soul and learned how to yell dragon words, or so a "startled" npc told me. Then everyone else waltz off like it was no big deal, leaving me standing in a field with my thumb up my ass and a dragon skeleton looking at me. They even bothered to name the dragon btw. I don't remember it though because why should I have?
That was the lamest, most mundane, inconsequential and above all UNCHALLENGING fight possible. I had a tougher time slaying the city guards! Why the hell couldn't they have handled Smokey the Wimpy dragon if the king can blink to firmly in my direction and cut my life in half? How could a staple element of fantasy like dragon slaying have been made a chore rather than a high-romance adventure?
I have played a bit further and I'm just... I'm just so bored. Killed another two dragons along the way. Whatever. I am unmoved. No emotional investment whatsoever. I don't have any reason to give two shits about ANYTHING.
Here's my problem with Skyrim: It focused on populating a massive world where you can truly do almost anything. The problem? there is no reason to do anything. Dragon slaying is just as mundane as killing a wolf pack, and just as difficult, which is to say not very. When making the game, the developer smeared a wafer thin layer of story over the sprawling landscape and sent it off for the players. I wanted to have to WORK for that accomplishment of slaying a dragon, pretend I was a legend ing the making, pretend my character was that exceptional... and they made it piss easy and banal and made most accomplishments meaningless because there is no story related context for anything you do to matter.
Edit: In summary- what a shallow experience this game has been. Not bad, certainly not, just shallow
2nd Edit: I was play on expert difficulty, btw. But it wasn't the difficultly that bothered me, per say... higher difficult would just mean I would have to spend a longer time grinding away at him using the same boring formula of "blast with magic, side set, blast with magic, neck a health/magic potion, blast with magic, side step, dragon dies." I though the dragon would at least move around a bit more at least, even if I was freezing him.