The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

[AnarchistFish]

Just a fortnight ago, I still really wasn't that hyped about it even though I was intending to get it.

But now. Holy shit I can't wait. Been dispatched today.

This is gonna be my fighting dragons song:

 

[Dastardly]

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.

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I'm glad to see someone still holding on to the old definition of "immersion" in RPGs.

Too often, newer RPGs think "immersion" has something to do with the story or the voice acting, or perhaps the believability of the plot. While these impact how we receive someone else's story, RPGs are (were) about how to create our own.

Immersion has nothing to do with how realistic the textures or animations are (otherwise, we could never be immersed in books). Immersion has to do with responsibility -- the degree to which I'm responsible for what goes on in the story. This can be from moment to moment (like in combat), or it can be more long-range (like major story decisions). The more I feel like I'm making decisions, and those decisions are upheld by the game world, the more likely I am to feel a part of the story.

It's not always about filling in all the right details. Sometimes it's about leaving out the wrong ones -- for instance, if the player doesn't get to choose his/her voice, just don't include one. Forcing a particular answer to a question is far worse than leaving it unanswered. You have less risk of the player feeling "corrected" by the game for imagining something wrong.

While visually-stunning games are fantastic to have, I'm glad to hear there is a game that is still going after emotional immersion. It's a force many people claim to miss, but few really understand what made it work to begin with.

 

[Sonicron]

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What's holding me back from purchasing isn't the outdated elements, it's the technical problems.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.

That's my main concern as well. I fear many reviewers will simply gloss over all the technical troubles in favour of more exuberant gushing; it's been years since I last played a good fantasy game, and I do have a hankering for another one at this time, but Bethesda are not getting any of my sweet, sweet cash before I'm reassured about Skyrim's stability... which is why I'm waiting for user reviews.

 

[nin_ninja]

Five stars, eh?

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

Good to know.

Oh boy, thank you for reminding me of that... thing.

As for the facial animation, do Bethsesda use motion-capture? or is it all just animators?

You're kidding right? I wish Bethesda would use motion capture. All of the Elder Scrolls game, including this one, have terrible animations for NPCs. The faces, the lack of expression, the dead eyes, they're all back and more annoying then ever.

This is my biggest, and really only, complaint about the game.

 

[CAPTCHA]

Nothing to report on the radiant story system?

 

[Stoneface]

Was anyone else annoyed watching the review that he was playing it 3rd person? I felt it didn't really show off the graphics and animation to their fullest, seeing as...well you'r not really supposed to play it in 3rd person.

 

[jonyboy13]

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.

Ha! That was a good one.

I'll wait for some detailed reviews and cheaper prices.

 

[Steve Butts]

Was anyone else annoyed watching the review that he was playing it 3rd person? I felt it didn't really show off the graphics and animation to their fullest, seeing as...well you'r not really supposed to play it in 3rd person.

Wait. What? Where did you get the impression that you're not supposed to play it in third-person?

We included footage from both perspectives in the video review but, if it's up to me, I'm in third person unless I'm specifically trying to loot a particular item from a larger pile. I think showing the game in third person not does a better job of showing off the animations and graphics, but also helps you get into the character a bit more.

Oh well, different strokes. I just don't get this "not really supposed to play it in 3rd person" business.

 

[imnot]

Was anyone else annoyed watching the review that he was playing it 3rd person? I felt it didn't really show off the graphics and animation to their fullest, seeing as...well you'r not really supposed to play it in 3rd person.

Wait. What? Where did you get the impression that you're not supposed to play it in third-person?

We included footage from both perspectives in the video review but, if it's up to me, I'm in third person unless I'm specifically trying to loot a particular item from a larger pile. I think showing the game in third person not does a better job of showing off the animations and graphics, but also helps you get into the character a bit more.

Oh well, different strokes. I just don't get this "not really supposed to play it in 3rd person" business.

The only problem is it makes it look a lot like Dragon age!

Im more a 1st person sort guy.

Off topic

Spoiler

What the hell capthca?

 

[HyenaThePirate]

How did it play in the third person? Is there co op or multiplayer of any sort? I'm just curious about whether I should stick to first person or try playing in third person which is a little less jarring, but didn't work very well in Oblivion which was kind of a turnoff.

 

[Stoneface]

Was anyone else annoyed watching the review that he was playing it 3rd person? I felt it didn't really show off the graphics and animation to their fullest, seeing as...well you'r not really supposed to play it in 3rd person.

Wait. What? Where did you get the impression that you're not supposed to play it in third-person?

We included footage from both perspectives in the video review but, if it's up to me, I'm in third person unless I'm specifically trying to loot a particular item from a larger pile. I think showing the game in third person not does a better job of showing off the animations and graphics, but also helps you get into the character a bit more.

Oh well, different strokes. I just don't get this "not really supposed to play it in 3rd person" business.

Hmmm, i get what you're saying. I donno, i've always played the Eldar Scrolls games 1st person, i find it more immersive that way. I only zoom out into 3rd if i want to check out my armour or weapons and go "daaaamn!" (because all Nordic adventurers are secretly fashion conscious). Plus the devs for Oblivion said they were surprised when people tried to play it exclusively in 3rd person and I agree.

Also "annoyed" was a poor choice of words, I meant "puzzled".

 

[Odjin]

Without giving anything away, you really need to kill dragons in this game

This had been the death-blow to this game from the very beginning. Whoever knows TES-lore even a little bit knows how much of a franchise-backstab (TES-lore backstab) this is. In Oblivion at last you could not trigger the main story to ignore all the Oblivion portal crap but here you can't.

*hands crap-medal to this game*. Good job Bethesda on ruining your own franchise even more than you did with Oblivion. What useful is a game with nice graphics and cumbersome controls if the story (one of the important elements of an RPG) is total crap? Not much. Better wait for some of the other games coming up. Money better spent

EDIT: And no, retcon doesn't count... retcon is crap, and this game is the pinnacle of retcon <.=.<

 

[Akexi]

10 hours.... just let me play the damn game, Steam.

 

[Gitty101]

Goodo ^_^ Just did a systemrequirementslab test and I pass all the recommended settings. Looking forward to a long weekend in Skyrim...

 

[Steve Butts]

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

He summoned it. I saw it!!

 

[TheSpiral]

this review actually has shown me that I won't be getting this game. The reason? The NPCs broke immersion for me practically every time I had to interact with one when I played Oblivion, and seeing that they didn't really improve it is a major turn-off for the game for me.

THANK YOU!!! Finally... someone who gets me.

Now, I understand it's a matter of taste, but all of the things that Steve mentioned as flaws, were not merely little things to be looked over, but the major reasons why I HATE Bethesda games. Bioware does all of the things I love... and Bethesda, In my opinion, just doesn't compare. In a Bethesda game... Your character is a lone wolf... with no emotional attachments to anything. I have never felt for my character or any other characters in a Bethesda game because they're just mechanical and impersonal. Whereas in Dragon Age, KOTOR, or Baldur's gate... I wept with my characters, felt their joy and carried a sense of responsibility for those who CHOSE to follow me based on my choices. Feeling, meaning, and character driven story, Bethesda does not offer these things. They only offer choice. And Ragdoll Physics *GRRGRAARGH*!!! Sorry.... I hate Ragdoll physics. If there is a sure fire way to remove any hint of personality or realness to an enemy it's to make them crumple like ragdolls when they die.

Yeah yeah, I get the whole make your OWN story thing. But for me, well.. I'm not as good at telling stories as the pros out there. I want to be lead by the nose through an awesome tale and maybe make a few choices that truly affect the characters around me. I just... To me.. playing a bethesda game is like picking up a Book with only the first page written out and then 200 blank pages after that with a caption saying (use your imagination here). And a Bioware game is a damn good choose your own adventure book, where sure, it's not as open and free as the blank page but it gives me focus, and a sense of feeling.

 

[Zagzag]

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.

I have to agree with you there. I finished it a week or so ago for the first time after dithering for way too long after the bad reviews it got. I shouldn't have listened, as I really enjoyed it, even if it admittedly wasn't anywhere near as good as DA:O

 

[SyphonX]

Got it in my mailbox this morning, turns out my DVD drive is borked and won't read the any discs suddenly :/

Sadface...

You wouldn't be able to play it anyway. PC version uses Steamworks, which means you can't play it until the release-time drops on Steam, which is Midnight tonight (US East). Basically you could install it, like a pre-load, but it won't activate.

 

[fanklok]

The idea of getting lost in the game actually appeals to me. One of the things that I liked about Morrowind.

I remember getting lost in Morrowind too, if only for the direction people gave.

"So I have to go west for about a mile turn right at the rock formation then keep going till I find a tree that looks kind of like your aunt and go south till I find the fork in the road." Then you get hopelessly lost stumble on an ancestral tomb and go looting.

 

[weirdee]

Is it possible to hold two shields?

I can just imagine the adventures of Ironfist Shackleton, the Guardian of Steel...his might is so furious that he needs to constantly protect his loved ones from himself.