The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard Review

[unoleian]

I'll be honest, I was hoping for more. I guess one of the downsides to this DLC is it adds a lot of little things that improves what's there (to some extent) but adds so little that truly feels new. I loved their treatment of some of the environments, but it really was just more of the same, and the one new-new environment was so completely empty, it felt like the world's most sprawling afterthought. Which, is rather sad. So much missed opportunity to play up that bleak, desolate area and make it something interesting that went almost fully unrealized. With what's there, they could have eliminated 80% of that map's real estate to the same essential goal with less empty wandering spent fighting palette-swapped baddies.

Don't get me wrong, it felt substantial in some ways, the main questline that was added was a superb "journey" plotline that really covered a lot of ground and was fun while it lasted, it just really, really felt like familiar ground, more often than not.
I'll look at it this way, and be optimistic that they have a meatier package in the works. If this is Skyrim's Tribunal, let's just bloody hope its Bloodmoon (or Shivering Isles) is coming up around the corner.

I do just want to say, though-- that thing you can do with the sun, pretty cool. Also, it gave me Soul Tear, easily my most favorite Shout now. So, there's that. Finally, one of their games has a few powers that feel like POWERS. Something they've missed the mark on often in the past.

 

[Serfix]

I will say at the very least Bethesda FINALLY put an NPC in the game that didn't feel like a mannequin. Serana I found to be very interesting with some actual depth to her. Plus it helps that she's voiced by Laura Bailey (a.k.a. Catherine, Chun-li, Platinum the Trinity, and a BILLION anime voices) who actually puts some emotion and effort into her lines.

I must agree with you. She has that something on her that makes her bit differend compaired to other npcs. And ofc she can tag along you though then she acts like any other npc, I don't mean npcs that usually follows you. Shes like enemy npcs who goes somewhere checking out if she heard something and one time she even began tanning leather when I was standing still.

 

[remmus]

QUESTION: Are any new monsters introduced? I don't mind about spoilers, I just want to know if there is added variety.

tho I haven´t played the DLC, a wiki spoke of a total of 6 new monsters and one new special named dragon

 

[minimacker]

Heheeheheh. PCs will have an enormous amount of mods to remedy and fix the issues you're having. Such as the Dawnguard guardsmen murdering.

 

[HellenicWarrior]

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/17077

This mod is amazing, I feel it's what Dawnguard should have been. Running through the countryside blisteringly fast, blinking in and out of existence, the inability to trespass, be around holy shrines or sunlight AND feeding as a necessity?

Vampires just got awesome in Skyrim

 

[BroJing]

Yeah, I never really liked Skyrim as much as Oblivion... it's just generally worse than Oblivion in every aspect.

The first part of this is fine, after all everyone gets their opinion. Not sure you can say it's worse then Oblivion in every aspect.

Just picking a few off the top of my head there's the improved combat mechanics, the tighter focus of the skill trees, as you mention better graphics and a much more interesting setting. I'll take pseudo-scandanavia with celtic influences over 20 square miles of english countryside (tm) any day.

 

[BroJing]

I will say at the very least Bethesda FINALLY put an NPC in the game that didn't feel like a mannequin. Serana I found to be very interesting with some actual depth to her. Plus it helps that she's voiced by Laura Bailey (a.k.a. Catherine, Chun-li, Platinum the Trinity, and a BILLION anime voices) who actually puts some emotion and effort into her lines.

God I hate her so much...I'm Dawnguard and all I want to do is murder her, I agree that it's an improvement over the puppets that used to follow you (only ever had the 1 they give you in the main quest and funnily enough she got her throat ripped out by a master vampire a few minutes later).

 

[JasonBurnout16]

QUESTION: Are any new monsters introduced? I don't mind about spoilers, I just want to know if there is added variety.

tho I haven´t played the DLC, a wiki spoke of a total of 6 new monsters and one new special named dragon

See, that has my attention as long as it's not six new bandits with six new hats and a dragon with a slightly bigger forearm.

 

[unoleian]

QUESTION: Are any new monsters introduced? I don't mind about spoilers, I just want to know if there is added variety.

tho I haven´t played the DLC, a wiki spoke of a total of 6 new monsters and one new special named dragon

See, that has my attention as long as it's not six new bandits with six new hats and a dragon with a slightly bigger forearm.

FYI so your expectations are realistic-- three of the six new creatures are essentially particle-enhanced palette-swaps of existing undead creatures. The others are completely new, and the new dragon is...well, it's definitely got more than a slightly bigger forearm going on.

 

[UncagedDuchess]

Huh, I seem to be in the minority when I say that I have pretty much no complaints about it. Yes, there are a few bugs but over all I really enjoyed it.

 

[remmus]

QUESTION: Are any new monsters introduced? I don't mind about spoilers, I just want to know if there is added variety.

tho I haven´t played the DLC, a wiki spoke of a total of 6 new monsters and one new special named dragon

See, that has my attention as long as it's not six new bandits with six new hats and a dragon with a slightly bigger forearm.

FYI so your expectations are realistic-- three of the six new creatures are essentially particle-enhanced palette-swaps of existing undead creatures. The others are completely new, and the new dragon is...well, it's definitely got more than a slightly bigger forearm going on.

I wouldnt say slapping armour on a troll made it new compare to palette-swaping undead X3

 

[Shoggoth2588]

It sounds really good but it also sounds like the biggest problem is still there namely that nobody cares about what you do in Skyrim. Join the Stormcloaks and the Imperials don't care or, attack on sight (even if you enter their camps). Finish the main quest and leave a certain main character un-dealt with and the people who tell you to deal with it don't care. Honestly, I'm kind of hoping one of the next big DLC things they do for Skyrim will be some form of Demon that's been spreading apathy across Skyrim.

 

[Druyn]

I guess I'm in the minority in these comments. I actually really liked Dawnguard. Yeah, it was annoying that the stories weren't different (the game made my decisions for me after everybody in the vampire castle was a dick and I could still become a vampire lord at any time in the dawnguard), I love Skyrim for the sheer sandbox scale. I love the new werewolf perks and just find myself running around on seer werewolf rampages, killing men, trolls, and dragons alike, the vampire powers are cool, the Forgotten vale is beautiful, Serana is easily on of the best characters and followers in the game, and some other unrelated side quests are fun.

Basically, for somebody who plays like I do, which is basically dick around and have a good time doing whatever, its great. The story is fairly high quality too, but the actual quests and such get pretty dull sometimes. And the Soul Cairn is awful. Just awful. So yeah, I get how people don't like it, but it was worth my money to me.

 

[jthm]

Despite the negative comments (some of which I can't help but agree with about the empty feel of skyrim) I sure would like to play it. So why are pc and ps3 gamers getting the shaft? My desire to play this is mitigated by my desire to not give bethesda my money so I don't support this timed exclusivity garbage.

 

[sagitel]

even more exciting, take a trip into an alternate sort of dimension that shows you what happens when people get put into soul gems.

no! we went inside a soulgem in original skyrim. (the Azura's star) it wasn't a true soulgem but its the same.