Why is Skyrim popular?

[TomLikesGuitar]

Now I have not played this particular game yet

A sub-standard if not retarded script

I disagree and I assure you many people who HAVE played the game disagree.

bugs and glitches in every corner of the game

Nowhere near enough to actually be a problem. You would know this if you had played it though.

a completely broken and lazy PS3 port

So don't get it for PS3

gameplay mechanics that have been outclassed by so many games before it

This may be your opinion, but it is certainly not the popular opinion. Try playing the game and then come back and say that.

tl;dr: Why is Skyrim popular?

tl;dr: Seriously, just play it and you will see why.

 

[spartandude]

Simple. Skyrim is simply a "streamlined RPG" that is basically an FPS with an upgrade tree. Since it has more range on platforms, everyone goes with that.

Skyrim is the COD of the RPG genre. Plain and simple. Sure there are more deserving games out there, but Skyrim is popular just due to its accessibility.

Now I have not played this particular game yet, but from what I've heard about it, I'm not sure I want to. A sub-standard if not retarded script, bugs and glitches in every corner of the game, a completely broken and lazy PS3 port and gameplay mechanics that have been outclassed by so many games before it add up to a game that doesn't deserve the memetic status it holds.

You're borderline trolling here, if you haven't played it then you cannot make these assumptions. The very fact that this community enjoys the game so much should tell you that maybe your assumptions are misunderstood, and you shouldn't spout them as uninformed fact.

As has been said before, Skyrim offers a vast open world RPG. The main plug and draw of the game is ABSOLUTE FREEDOM! You can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone, You don't even have to follow the main questline.
It is a new game in a series that is revered for providing one of the best Western RPG experiences, and has taken many elements of another really popular open world RPG series (Fallout) to improve on the old formula. Now, it gets some things wrong, and you can't please everyone, but it provides a really solid gameplay experience in a dynamic world.

And as for your points: The script isn't "borderline retarded". Who has said that? There is nothing wrong with it. There are two main plotlines in the game, a civil war and the return of dragons. Each are pulled off believably and interestingly. Sure, it may not have the storytelling experience of Bioshock or Portal, but it's not trying to. The plot serves only as a framing device for everything else going on in the world. Every town, race, NPC, has a story, and you can get involved with all of them. You create your own story and experience.
It is true that some people have found game-breaking bugs, but many of those are hardware issues (it's quite an intensive game, many computers can't handle it) or human error while making/adding/removing mods. Personally I have 75+ hours logged, and had one bad bug corrupting a single save, and one time my companion fell through a set of stairs. That has been it for me.
The PS3 port is a bad problem, but they have made a few fixes to it, I don't know if it is still broken or not.
Finally it's gameplay mechanics are perfectly fine. They are a marked improvement on it's previous installments, especially first person weapon combat. Also, exactly what gameplay elements are outclassed by other games? Because I can't think of any, and that is such a vague criticism it doesn't really count for anything.

Hardware cant handle it? Oh please. Crysis is an extensive game, Skyrim is on the same level as fallout 3. It relies on the same tech we used since the beginning of the generation. If you cant handle skyrim, your computer cant handle anything else. Its basically the bottom minimum.

really? because i can handle Crysis and fallout 3 (with graphics mods) absolutely fine but can only run skyrim on low graphics

 

[Balobo]

really? because i can handle Crysis and fallout 3 (with graphics mods) absolutely fine but can only run skyrim on low graphics

That's because Bethesda can't code so Skyrim only uses one core.

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Everyone will like it for different reasons. Same reason some people like the colour pink and some the colour blue. It's not really possible to give an answer that isn't just conjecture or bias.

 

[Fishyash]

tl;dr: Why is Skyrim popular?

I can sum it up pretty easily. I can think of two main reasons, and both of them are pretty big.

1) It's a Wii exclusive. People who are enjoying skyrim have either sold their wii or left it to collect dust somewhere out of sight. It simply doesn't release enough good games, partially because 3rd party developers aren't making games for it (and if they do, they are likely to turn out as inferior ports). I bet if more people actually played on their wii, more older gamers would have played skyward sword.

2) Most people assume it follows the Ocarina of Time formula, like every other 3d zelda game released on consoles. People who have read reviews of skyward sword before deciding to buy it will be greeted by such opinions too. Honestly though, being a Wii exclusive matters much more I think, because if being same-ish and formulaic turned people off games then CoD modern warfare 3 wouldn't have been the a record breaking commercial success that it is.

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

That's because Bethesda can't code so Skyrim only uses one core.

I have to disagree there. I'm almost certain more than one of mine are put to use when I play Skyrim. I'm running an Intel i7 quad at 3.2Ghz, if that helps.

I know I had to mod it (using an .exe editor which I just forgot the name of) to use more than 2GB of ram. But cpu cores I'm certain were all in use.

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

What is broken and lazy about it? Sure the UI of the menus is pretty shit but seriously, it takes like 5 minutes of playing to get use to it, and you only have to get use to it if you are playing on pc

It is actually unplayable for a lot of people on the PS3 due to horrendous porting. I'm not talking about glitches or bugs - the game will crash and erase their saves if they play, and that's on top of the problems every other platform suffers.

The PS3 port is an unadulterated disaster.

Just sayin'.

 

[Jinxzy]

You can do almost anything you want in Skyrim, while the zelda games usually focus on a liner progression. The freedom of choses is powerful.

stop that just there, because thats just untrue.
just just just no.

Would you like to explain why it's untrue?

Both games have a main story line this is true. Skyrim offers more choices then Zelda does, It also doesn't focus on the main story. If you don't want to continue with the main story you don't have to. There's side quests and joining a guild, you can make your own fun without the main story. You also get to make your own character and be who you wanna be. If I wanna be a thief a steal everything in site, even the cloths off there backs, I can. Zelda you can't be good or bad. Your stuck with a main characters story and that's about it.

 

[Jinxzy]

You can do almost anything you want in Skyrim, while the zelda games usually focus on a liner progression. The freedom of choses is powerful.

stop that just there, because thats just untrue.
just just just no.

Would you like to explain why it's untrue?

Both games have a main story line this is true. Skyrim offers more choices then Zelda does, It also doesn't focus on the main story. If you don't want to continue with the main story you don't have to. There's side quests and joining a guild, you can make your own fun without the main story. You also get to make your own character and be who you wanna be. If I wanna be a thief a steal everything in site, even the cloths off there backs, I can. Zelda you can't be good or bad. Your stuck with a main characters story and that's about it.

im talking about the second part, you can do almost anything?
that just wrong.
Can you fly? no
can you drive? also no
can you shoot guns? no
can you customise what your wearing? not properly
can you play with other people? no
can you play without a retarded ui? no
can you control an economy? no
create a city? no
create anything actually? no


the games far from flawless and making preposterous statements like almost anything makes your argument lose all credibility.

I didn't say it was flawless and I did say almost anything. Sure there are things you can't do in skyrim, but you have more options then the zelda games. I think you missed my point completely and went right after the skyrim part.
Also you can drive horses in skyrim. Also all games need some form of UI, saying the ui is retarded is your opinion.

 

[CATB320]

You don't get why people love Skyrim, and I don't get why they like Zelda. Oh, how diverse is this world.

Yeah, same here. Skyrim isn't perfect, but it allows the player so much freedom. I have at least 60 hours in it and I'm not at all bored. (A little tired of dungeon delving, but there's other things to do.)

 

[Plurralbles]

SS was made for one console. Skyrim made it on everything but the console that got Link. So maybe that had something to do with it.

We're not all nintendtards, but having a PS3, xbox, or PC is much more likely and for us, Skyrim was not to be missed.

 

[Ragnarok185]

Skyrim is not that fun when it lags every 5 seconds. this is the last time I buy a TES game. I thought Bethesda had learned already but it looks like they haven't.

TOO MUCH FREEDOM IS NOT A GOOD THING. the story is completely shit and cliche. character interaction is no where near Bioware standards. combat is you flailing Swords around WTH is with THAT?. there are so many other better games out there. save your money

I expected so much more. all you get is a giant world with nothing fun to do in it.

 

[cthulhumythos]

because it's a good game that was well advertised.

and i realize that your opinion is pretty much the opposite, but to me skyward sword was the weakest installment yet.

 

[Jinxzy]

driving horses does not count. At all
and as for the opinion part, sure its my opinion that the ui is retarded (strictly talking pc here, because hey its my platform) but its a very widely held opinion that this is one area of the pc version that is sorely lacking. The sheer amount of mods for this one thing speaks testament to that.

Back on topic don't misinterpret this as an anti-skyrim rant, its an anti blanket statement one, merely pointing out that using such wide reaching terms weakens your argument.

You said "Can you drive?" you didn't say what. It's a fantasy rpg and the theme seems to be medieval. I don't think cars and guns were there back then.

I don't think it's a blanket statement, it's a statement that says Skyrim has more options then Zelda. The freedom of choses is powerful. I don't think I need to go into anymore detail. I don't need to write a paragraph about all the options in Skyrim and freedom of choses.

 

[Balobo]

SS was made for one console. Skyrim made it on everything but the console that got Link. So maybe that had something to do with it.

We're not all nintendtards, but having a PS3, xbox, or PC is much more likely and for us, Skyrim was not to be missed.

"Nintendtards"

Classy.

 

[Netrigan]

I've got about 15 hours logged into Skyrim. From a story point of view, it's not sucking me in like Fallout 3, New Vegas, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect 2 did. While there's tons of content, all of the characters are just too slim.

Such as, in the first village I befriended an elf fighting for the affections of a village lass. I talked to his rival first, who tried to enlist my aid in spoiling the elf's chances (had I spoken with the elf first, the reverse would have happened), so I stabbed the duplicitous bard in the metaphorical back; thus earning my first follower.

But that's it. There's no more to the character than he wants to bone some human girl and can train me in archery. Several hours later, after following me around a good part of the game, I accidentally clubbed him to death during an insanely easy fight, not two minutes from the last auto-save. I couldn't be bothered to reload and save him.

But here's the thing, the bugs, glitches, and exploits make the game tons of fun. Instead of role-playing as a thief or mage or whatever, you role-play as a video game player trying to figure out the various immersion-breaking bugs. Like carrying out an assassination in the privacy of woman's bedroom, only to have her body magically warp into the living room where kids cheer her bloody demise. Or my plan to search for love in the first village, so her good friend, the dead elf, will show up to the marriage in corpse form. Or not being powerful enough (or crafty enough) to defeat a boss through non-exploit means, and firing arrows at him from a nearby corridor because he can't seem to figure out that 20 arrows is not a situation that is going away anytime soon.

That and it has a metric ton of quests. I've got a good 20 active quests at the moment and I'm constantly encountering more without even trying. Sure, the NPC are little more than quest-giving bots; but there's always something to do. Contrast that with both the modern Fallout games where there's a bazillion places to explore, but absolutely zero motivation to do so beyond finding more loot that you no longer need.