The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

[bliebblob]

I'm curious, how did you decide who got to testplay the review copy? Office lottery? quake tournament? cagefights?

 

[Ruwrak]

So, I've gone from being 'meh' about all the Skyrim hype until these last two days where I've been... well, this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGtyqz4gY

I just wonder, with all the dragons in the game, will a sneaky archer still be viable, or will it be gimped in such fights?

I dont think Stealth is an option when it comes to killing a dragon....

Maybe you can poison it's tea?

Thats just stupid and silly......i mean, how are you supposed to know whats poisonous to a dragon?

Probably it's own blood. So ask him if he can donate some blood for the bloodless dragons fund. Then poison his complimentairy tea with his own blood.

Gah why don't people get this!

How can it's own blood be poisonous to itself? So it will die from it's own blood entering it's own bloodstream? In that case, we are all walking dead.

If dragons blood chews through things, and you would feed him his own blood. If you would drink your own blood you'd be sick too
(Just go along with it :V )

 

[thethingthatlurks]

I guess that's down to the cast... some amazing actors are in the game.

But, as was also mentioned, the NPCs still seem stiff (Beth can't seem to get that straight sadly) so good voice acting will actually emphasise the notable lack of emotion in the characters.

I read somewhere that a good imagination is a boon for swallowing the dialogue, lucky for me. Yet it's easily overlooked with everything else on display, and at least there is more variety then in Oblivion (70~ voice actors lend their talents to skyrim).

Holy crap, that's 70 times the number of voice actors Oblivion had (excluding Sir Patrick, of course)! Awesome!

I found the miniscule number of voice actors in Oblivion far more detrimental to immersion than the stiff NPCs, or having conversations with them. I can overlook ugly polio sufferers, but I'm grabbing flamethrower if they, obviously a horde of clones possessed by alien parasites bent on world domination, all sound the same.

 

[Zagzag]

I love how there was an add for Skyrim before I could watch the video itself.

 

[Avatar Roku]

Where did you get that really, really cool glowing, purple flame sword?

It's the Bound Sword, a Conjuration spell. It has the benefit of not taking up space in your inventory and some massively powerful perks once you get your Conjuration skill up to a high enough level.

Oh, that's really cool. I may actually use Bound Weapons this time around.

One other question: I gather that you didn't sneak too much, but did it seem like a viable option to you, or are there too many huge fights? Stealth is always sorta my thing (though it's good to know I won't be stuck on that path once I set off down it)

 

[Ruwrak]

It's a nice upgrade from the generic daedric weapon conjurations =/
It actually -feels- ethereal.

 

[DanielBrown]

Great review!
Once the game arrives in my mail box I'll disappear from the world, it seems.

 

[Anjel]

I'm curious, how did you decide who got to testplay the review copy? Office lottery? quake tournament? cagefights?

Funny. I can just imagine them playing rock, paper, scissors...

"Okay, 1, 2, 3 - I win"
"What the hell is that? Was that rock?"
"Chuck Norris. I win!"

 

[silasbufu]

By the way, if you find yourself in the reviewer's situation, and just can't get out of the room because of the companion, sprint into them. Yeah..it seems trivial but it took me a while to figure out :]

 

[crhoades]

I think it is supposed to be a bound or summoned sword.

 

[Chechosaurus]

Anyone else notice the 'remixed' Morrowind Music? Me Gusta.

 

[Zhukov]

Five stars, eh?

So... about as good as Dragon Age 2 then?

Good to know.

I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Sorry, but that shit-stirring opportunity was too good to miss.

Ah, well seeing as DA2 was a brilliant game I should expect this to as well be amazing.

Chill. I actually quite liked DA2 as well. Just couldn't resist the a chance for a snide remark.

 

[Steve Butts]

I'm curious, how did you decide who got to testplay the review copy? Office lottery? quake tournament? cagefights?

Scheduling reviews is a tricky process, particularly during the "all hands on deck" period we go through each holiday season. The key considerations are 1) how familiar the reviewer is with the genre/franchise and its competition, and 2) whether or not they have the time and attention to meet the deadlines.

In the end, let's just say it's good to be the editor-in-chief.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

Where did you get that really, really cool glowing, purple flame sword?

It's the Bound Sword, a Conjuration spell. It has the benefit of not taking up space in your inventory and some massively powerful perks once you get your Conjuration skill up to a high enough level.

I am totally having that spell. I was going to go pure mage anyway so it's nice to know I can do that and still get decent melee abilities.

Also this;

I decided to take advantage of the situation by letting them weaken each other before creeping in and finishing them both off. Unfortunately, I moved in too soon and found myself in a three way fight between a handful of enemy wizards and one seriously pissed off dragon.

Quite possibly quote of the week.

 

[RA92]

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

Bethesda's latest is a true RPG epic that asks you what you want and then gives it to you.

Read Full Article

Oh man, the Scrolls game is finally out? Awesome!

Wait a minute... Where are the cards? I'm confused!

 

[Wolfram23]

Cool review. Pretty much what I expected then. Still not sure if I'll get it tomorrow though - probably not. I still want to kick some ass in BF3, finish Dark Souls, and start training my puppy lol.

 

[Phlakes]

GGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHFFFFFFFFFFFFF- FUCKING SKYRIM HOLY SHIT AAAAAAAAAAHHH

...*Ahem. Already have it preloaded from Steam.

Tonight. The world goes silent.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I've only read the Guardian review (prominent UK paper, 5 stars) and the main reason I'm looking into the reviews so much is not to know whether the game is good or not, I think everything can assume it is, but how annoying the bugs are.

From what I've heard so far, they're not New Vegas bad.

Yea. I know what the game is going to be like and I'm sure that on paper it's amazing.
What's holding me back from purchasing isn't the outdated elements, it's the technical problems. And mostly I'm worried for the ps3 port which is sure to be the worst. What I'd like to hear more about in these reviews for Skyrim are how many times the reviewers' games crashed on them.
I hope that we never again see a game with as many problems as New Vegas. That was a disaster. But this is the same publisher so you know they'll give anything the green light to go to the shelves.

 

[ViciousTide]

So no simulated economies with almost real life NPC's... I guess Fable was just ahead of it's time. I was hoping bethseda would learn a thing or two about Economies, Titles, Lands, Taxes, Laws, and POWER!

 

[ViciousTide]

Fuck work, I shall devote my life to the adventures of my retired Nordic hunter as he's once again dragged into a life of adventure!

HELL YEAH! SAME HERE! and i have to work a 6:30am to 6:10pm shift tomorrow while my game is being delivered and sitting in my mailbox...and my mind starts to wither away...Will I have enough energy to even play the best game in the world?