Sarpedon said:
So.
Talk about Skyrim. Anything you want to talk about. Are you still playing it after two months? Was it everything you'd hoped it would be? More than you'd hoped? Less, even? What could Bethesda have done better? What could they have done away with? What kind of things would you like to see in future Skyrim DLC or even future Elder Scrolls titles?
Personally I burned myself out on Skyrim within the first month, and can't bring myself to touch it again now. There was just something it lacked. I played Morrowind religiously for about three years, and still go back to it occasionally now. Even Oblivion kept me entertained longer.
It really hasn't even been a month for me, since I didn't get the game until my brother got it for me as a Christmas present(for my 360).
It is actually the first ever game made by Bethesda that I had played. At this point, I only have one character, and I'm just over 100 hours in play time in(though have really only completed 7 main story quests). I really like it, though I have been taking a break and it has been kind of nice, getting some achievements in other games on my 360:
Finally getting 100% achievement completion on Halo Reach(screw you extra achievements that come along with DLC map packs). Played some Forza 3, also on my way through the first Saints Row as I just recently got the first two SR games for twenty bucks. Just got Full House Poker off of the XBLA and have playing a bit of that. Got myself one achievement away from 100% on Plants vs. Zombies. Played a bit of Rock of Ages as well, and finally, I have been working on my first try of Insanity difficulty on Mass Effect 2, to get the last two difficulty achievements I haven't got yet, and four others I missed on my Casual play through. I'm also doing it to keep my mind fresh on the story for when I get my collectors edition copy of Mass Effect 3 this March.
Now back to Skyrim:
My mind is nowhere near thinking of DLC, since after my 100 hours, I don't see myself being ready for DLC until I have completed most of the quests in the game, and that will probably take another 150 to 200 or so hours.
Now, even though Skyrim was my first Bethesda game, I still have some perspective to criticize how Bethesda is doing,since not long after I started Skyrim, I went ahead and bought the GOTY Edition of Fallout 3 and the 5th anniversary edition of Oblivion.
I just started playing those two, and I already see the glaring differences between them and Skyrim. Though for me the glaring differences make Skyrim look and feel even more amazing.
Bethesda gets a gold star for adding a sprint function in Skyrim.
It also gets an A++++++++++ for removing item wear. I think I'll be able to tolerate the wear system when I try and play more of Oblivion and Fallout 3, but it was a very big and important step for Bethesda in making gameplay better, because item wear in games should be something put in only as an add-on, and not even a part of the hardest mode, just an add-on to be flicked on and off. The reason for that is that item wear, while it does somewhat added to the realism of a game, for me, it ruins gameplay and immersion, because I'm constantly worrying if my weapon will survive its way through all of the latest dungeon, and since carry weight is an issue, with such a system I have to fill up valuable carry weight with at least two back up weapons and possibly a back up set of armor.
For the most part realism only has it's place in games if it deals with looks, other than that, usually, realism really hoses up gameplay and just makes it a chore.
In that department as well, I like that Bethesda removed the need to carry a torch. People might think that walking into a once sealed dungeon and finding it is filled with lit candles and torches is dumb and detracts from realism, but I find it nice that it is like Oblivion where at times I have to sacrifice carrying a shield because I have to carry a torch in dark places.
That also reminds me that I love that they added a duel wield system in Skyrim. That instead of having magic and my sword both on one hand and having to take a break from using one to use the other, I can now have my healing in one hand and my sword in the other and can heal and attack at the same time. It also is awesome that I can have my awesome glass flame sword in my main hand and have my Lunar Steel War Axe in the other, that way I can practically deal double damage and drain life at night as well.
I have much more to say, but I'll just end this with how I think it is the best idea ever, that they made arrows weightless in Skyrim. I don't have to keep track of how many arrows I am carrying, like I do in Oblivion. In Skyrim, I probably have over 600 arrows of different flavors. It got to that number when I got to Solitude and found the place where I can get the infinite supply of any type of arrow I want. (Here guard, use these 10 Ebony arrows for your target practicing, you keep shooting and don't try to think too hard on how you just shot over 200 for me to pick off of the target circle. Okay, whats that, you have to go to bed because it is night time, okay, you do that, I'll be back tomorrow to see if I can pick up over 200 more arrows again.)
