Skyrim

[sniper]

First of all.... wow.... Second of all... you guys need to get this game! I wasn't sure if I was too excited about it when I pre-ordered it because I wasn't a huge fan of oblivion (don't get me wrong, it was a sweet game, but I thought it was almost too big of a world and that not much happened). When I finally picked it up and played it, I discovered that this is quite possibly one of the best games I've ever played (I've only played for about 7 hours, but so far I've loved every minute). The combat is excellent and not as choppy as Oblivion. The graphics, while similar (but more advanced) in style and quality to oblivion, still manage to be breathtaking. The additions to the game (such as new skills, dragons, new crafts, etc) bring a lot to the game. Another great thing about it is that even though you select a character that is "better" at some skills, you aren't limited to that skillset. For example, I could pick a dark elf (geared towards magic and stealth) and use him as a melee fighter. This was something that I didn't feel I could do in Oblivion (I felt like you picked a route and had to stick with it.) Though the world is huge (and I mean massive... probably 1.5-2X as big as Oblivion's map), it doesn't get boring to travel (so far). Are there problems? yup (such as how annoying it is to switch spells and weapons in the midst of a battle while dual wielding), but they are pretty minor. Betheseda set out to sort of 'perfect oblivion,' and I feel this is exactly what they've done. Anybody else played Skyrim yet and have a similar or different opinion?

[Furygun81]

From what Charlie Brooker says, it's a mad game.

A few of the videos he posted on his Twitter feed were extremely funny. Have a quick watch, and for the last one although it is 50 min video, the link itself should start in the right place.

http://tinyurl.com/89fchy2

http://tinyurl.com/c6zlb8k

http://tinyurl.com/d2md734

[Nope.]

Skyrim is really a badass game, and I'm not really complaining, but I still can't forgive Bethesda for some half-assed decisions they took. They could fix/balance in a few minutes the stuff they removed ( hell, 1/2 kbytes Mods can do that ), especially thanks to the new mechanics in Skyrim.

I'm still metaphorically crying over the loss of skills like Acrobatics, Athletics, the Attributes and weapons/armors degradation, which, the last two, were badly handled in Oblivion ( people always compare Skyrim to Oblivion, forgetting about Arena, Daggerfall and Morrowind ).

The style is more similar to Morrowind's actually, with darker colors, atmosphere, and no Disneyland-like textures, and the map is at the same size, but the mountains make it harder to explore ( Skyrim is actually a bit smaller than Cyrodiil ). Kinda like in Morrowind, which had a really small worldmap, but was so chock-full of hills, rocks and other obstacles that it took you days to reach the other side of the island without enchantements, scrolls or spells.

Are you playing the PC or the console version?

[Fire Yoshi]

I'm definitely getting this game, since I was such a huge of Oblivion. I'm really liking how diverse each race looks from one-another, and how detailed customization is.

Btw, did Bethesda keep the strength morphing? As in, does your character still get more muscular as your strength stat increases?

[TheRedFox8]

I'm still not sure if my computer will choke and die at the sight of it.

However, I am just saying screw it and I'm getting it anyway. ^^

[sniper]

I'm still metaphorically crying over the loss of skills like Acrobatics, Athletics, the Attributes and weapons/armors degradation...

( Skyrim is actually a bit smaller than Cyrodiil )....

Are you playing the PC or the console version?

Interesting about the acrobatics, etc because I was glad that they didn't have them in Skyrim. Degredation, on the other hand, I was sad to see wasn't in the game.

I guess Skyrim just feels bigger haha. I haven't played Oblivion all the way through by any means so I guess I can't really compare the sizes haha my bad.

Unfortunately I'm playing the console version. I wasn't thinking when I pre-ordered it and immediately regretted it when I brought it home and thought "oh dammit... why didn't I get that on PC?"

[Drasiana]

This game...THIS GAME

Everything missing from Oblivion was deserved and everything added to it is glorious. No complaints here.

[Nope.]

Interesting about the acrobatics, etc because I was glad that they didn't have them in Skyrim. Degredation, on the other hand, I was sad to see wasn't in the game.

Mmh. I see why you are glad that Acrobatics and Athletics are not in the game, but it still doesn't make sense, especially in a game like this. My point is that they could have been easily 'fixed' and 'adapted' to Skyrim's mechanics. They would have made the game a lot more dynamic (which already is).

Attributes, well, no one ever complained about them until Oblivion came around.

You see, a lot of people complained about the Attributes in Oblivion. The funny part is that I only saw a few of these gamers actually realizing what was wrong with them. Badly made level scaling (80% of the game levels up as you level up) and less 'mathematical' effectiveness of the Attributes (with 100 blade and 100 strength, you just do a bit more damage than with 50 blade and 50 strength) are the reasons.

About Degradation, well... in Oblivion, you get over 9000 repair hammers in every dungeon, and fixing equipment is easy as hell, which also makes Armorer a really easy skill to train. I'm not kidding when I say that my character in Oblivion has 80 in Armorer... as a minor skill. While this does help when you can't leave a dungeon just to go back into the city and repair your gear, It made blacksmiths almost pointless (only good for buying new weapons... which you can find in any dungeons anyway thanks to the 'leveled lists'). On the other hand, I always have an hard time fixing shit in Morrowind since I only have a few hammers (of different quality) and really low Armorer skills.

As much as I love this game, I'm still banging my head against a wall about these things.

Hah... or maybe it's just me and my stupid obsession of 'hardcore-durrr' RPGs elements.

[CrypticQuery]

Definitely going to purchase it when I pick up my preorder of Saints Row The Third. It looks quite interesting, and though I'm not the one to usually play RPGs I think Skryim is a good starting point. Even one of my teachers was obsessing over it for nearly a week before its release. That, and WEREWOLVES = AWESOME

[psy_commando]

Great game. I like shouting at people

The user interface on pc is annoying and limited though.

[Rusheo]

Skyrim is just well it blew my mind i didnt think it would pass oblivion but it did, so i have to say it kicks ass

[Dublinthefox]

Once I get a PS3, this is definately one of the games I'm gonna get for it.

[Vy'drach]

It's a good game and quite fun, but it's still ridiculously over-hyped. It's not worth the multiple orgasms most people seem to have at the mere mention of its name.

And I do miss the old skills and attributes and had no problem with the older leveling system. Also needs a better weapon selection as all you have are bows, daggers, and your choice of 1 or 2 hand swords, maces, or axes. I wouldn't mind keeping it within that system as long as you offer more choices, broadswords, katanas, dai-katanas, claymores, zweihanders, flamberges, morning stars, clubs, etc. etc.

Also I am still angered at the fact that I was told spears were in it, and they are not.

[El Zorro de la Estrella]

I NEED this game!

...But adult costs suck (rent, classes, etc.) and I JUST bought Arkham City (Which I don't regret AT ALL, amazing game!)

Imma definitley pick it up over X-Mas Break though, when I have time to play the BEJEEZUS out of it!

Everything I hear about it makes it the ULTIMATE RPG of this generation (SNES was the pinnacle of RPGs and remains so!).

[Drasiana]

This game is incredible, for a manner of reasons not just restricted to improvements over Oblivion (of which there were many).

World

It is incredibly easy just to get lost in the expanse of rich detail that is Skyrim. I'm from a region almost identical to Skyrim, and honestly, running through the woods in the game could just as easily be any number of hikes I actually have taken in my life. There is so much detail put into the sculpting of the mountains and behaviour of the forests that it borders on the photorealistic, not just because of the gorgeous graphics (I'm only running it at medium on PC, even) but because of the way the world is laid out for us.

The definitive moment that pretty much sold this game as a case for games as an art form for me was when I, on some random quest trying to get to the marker, was running through the woods at night. I reached the treeline and suddenly came out onto the edge of a massive cliff, where I was smacked in the face with a breathtaking view of an arctic ocean and the aurora borealis above it. Snow was being blown off the edge of the cliff. There was the groan of cracking and falling ice in the distance. I don't want to get too corny but honestly, in that second it was hard to remember that this was only a simulation of nature and not nature itself.

Ruins, dungeons, caves, and the like are all unique, have history behind them, and have any number of traps and additions to enforce that. None of this "bleak grey cavern #798" bullshit Oblivion had going.

NPC's are drastically more intelligent than in Oblivion, and look far less like nightmare fuel. A couple times they start saying the same line at once (particularily after coming across dragon skeletons), and sometimes won't shut up if you keep getting close to them, but there's a far more expansive number of topics for them to discuss. The multiple voice actors help; every NPC feels like an individual that exists in this world.

Story

I was really just expecting it to be a general swords and sorcery fantasy tale, on-par with Oblivion and really, the rest of the genre. And to some extent it is. However, it's presented in an interesting and engaging way. The stories--not just the main quest, but other even minor quests--actually adhere to a coherent act structure, instead of just being overglorified fetch quests. The dialogue doesn't suck, the characters are actually interesting, and it's familiar without being overtly cliche. There are certainly some predictable plot points, but they're predictable in not the eye-rolling sense, but in that you want them to happen. I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'll leave it at that.

I will say that the Daedric quests this time around are awesome and often hilarious. Do them. They actually have a point and, again, aren't just fetch quests.

Music

Listening to the theme song makes me grow chest hair every time I swear to god. I'm impressed not only by Jeremy Soule's compositions, which always give me the tingles, but by the fact that the theme song, Sons of Skyrim (which is one of the most epic themes I have ever heard) is sung entirely in a made-up language yet still sounds legit is impressive. None of this KEO KRAZOA bullshit. Watching a dragon climb out of the ground, declare his desire to murder the hell out of you, taking off into the air as you ready your own weapon, while a big manly choir sings about you in a dragon language is one of the most badass moments I've had in a game.

Gameplay

Oh right this is a video game. Indeed it is, and it is a fun one. It's quite a bit harder than Oblivion (I'm playing on Adept with a touchpad, mind you) but not in an annoying way. I like actually having to think about combat instead of just PRESS X TO WIN and the addition of the dragon shouts and dual-wielding really offer another dimension to fights. Magic also feels like a real accomplishment this time around, and is a lot more intuitive than what was happening in Oblivion. Rune traps are awesome.

The crafting, cooking, enchanting and alchemy parts are awesome. Separating cooking and alchemy was a good idea; no longer does adding a slice of cheese to a wheel of cheese give you a potion of resist fire, and the alchemy ingredients (bird feathers, bugs, eggs, pearls) makes it feel like you're actually creating a nice and creepy potion. Crafting is fun, and inevitable, being that I wished you could do so in Oblivion already with animal skins. And the enchanting is great in theory, but I seem to encounter a nasty glitch that screws up the process if I try to rename the item (can't have a Bethesda game without a stupid glitch). Cooking is fun if only because I have never seen such lovingly-rendered food in a video game in my life and if anything can convince me to eat healthier it's a game where I spend half my time cooking fondue and rabbit legs.

Playing in third-person is no longer a pain in the ass and jumping no longer makes you look retarded. Character creation is "simplified" yet your characters no longer look like inbred abominations. Also, werewolves, holy shit werewolves.

I love this game, in case you couldn't tell. Perfect score for me.

[DarthDelgado]

I need more gold...... I killed the horse keeper and his family in Whiterun by accident........ I'm addicted...... I need help.

Anywho, yeah. Skyrim's a pretty fun game. I think I'm gonna become a werewolf!

[CrypticQuery]

I think I'm gonna become a werewolf!

See the Companions in Whiterun; you'll do a few quests for them and eventually get your chance. Their second quest, Trouble in Skyrim (where you must clear Shimmermist Cave) can be incredibly challenging if you're a lower level though; I made the mistake of entering that quest when I was level 4, XD. By the time I left the cave, however, I was level 7!

You may need this video once you get to the end of the cave, I certainly did!;

[DarthDelgado]

See the Companions in Whiterun; you'll do a few quests for them and eventually get your chance. Their second quest, Trouble in Skyrim (where you must clear Shimmermist Cave) can be incredibly challenging if you're a lower level though; I made the mistake of entering that quest when I was level 4, XD. By the time I left the cave, however, I was level 7!

You may need this video once you get to the end of the cave, I certainly did!;

Where can I find them in Whiterun i.e. where in the city do they hang out?

[Vy'drach]

Jorrvaskr.

Should of seen them fighting a giant at the farm outside of it on the way there. Least I did.

[DarthDelgado]

Jorrvaskr.

Should of seen them fighting a giant at the farm outside of it on the way there. Least I did.

good to know, good to know

[CrypticQuery]

good to know, good to know

[For further clarification] It's the large building that sorta resembles an overturned boat; head through the large arch near the general store and potion store and then turn to your right; you can't miss it! :P

[iTzSparty]

Skyrim, most of my friends are going crazy about. I don't blame them it looks like a really good and huge step from Oblivion. I hope to get it soon because I'm getting tired of playing Oblivion and feeling left out. Ohai, I'm back.

[CrypticQuery]

Skyrim, most of my friends are going crazy about. I don't blame them it looks like a really good and huge step from Oblivion. I hope to get it soon because I'm getting tired of playing Oblivion and feeling left out. Ohai, I'm back.

First off, welcome back, and secondly, from what I've seen of Oblivion, Skyrim seems to be a huge leap in the right direction; it's absolutely addicting! :P

[Fureox]

Loving the game, although the instability and frequent crashes are quite frustrating.

Yes, all my drivers are up-to-date.

I don't know what the problem is.

[Vy'drach]

Skyrim was a step up from Oblivion, which for me was a big step down from Morrowind, and is fun.

Just dreaming for a Morrowind remake with the newer Elder Scrolls features, like improved customization. And horses.