The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

I suggest Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.  It's superior to Skyrim in virtually every way possible.

Wow. It is a good game(I'm enjoying it), but I don't think it is superior in any way.

 

[Josh Dial]

Originally Posted by Bryan^H /t/306737/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/240#post_3899980
Wow. It is a good game(I'm enjoying it), but I don't think it is superior in any way.

For me, the superiority comes from:

- Combat that's actually fun (dragons are boring to fight, combat with a follower is a chore because they are always in the way, combat with any melee weapon really feels the same in the end, and only stealth combat is interesting)
- Voice acting isn't embarrassingly bad (everyone in Skyrim has this vaguely Icelandic/Canadian accent, and most of the acting is barely acting)
- Leveling system is fun and varied (once again, Bethesda found a way to make leveling in an RPG boring and/or a chore, though it's a marked improvement from Oblivion)
- Graphics are both stylized and interesting (Skyrim is simply more of the same for Bethesda, and only approaches good on PC, with the high res mods)
- The main quest is fun (Skyrim's main quest is bland, and often usurped by the more-interesting side quests--I admit both games have boring endings)
- No crippling bugs
- A world I actually want to explore (while certainly Skyrim's world is larger and more explorable in the strict sense, it's boring and uninspired, so I only really care about the experience at the end of the quest that brought me to a new area; indoor zones [keeps/holds/castles/et cetera] are terrible
- Animation is amazing--each frame looks like an awesome panel from a comic book; Todd McFarlane's hand is seen clearly (I don't see how anyone can defend the animation at all in Skyrim, as it's jerky, unnatural, boring, and bugged for too often, including npcs sliding around--the opening seen at the block has at least one instance of this, for example)

Regarding the combat, Gabe from Penny Arcade puts it best:

"The combat in Skyrim is miserable. If games like Bayonetta and God of War are on one end of a spectrum, games like Skyrim are so far on the other end that they have fallen off the spectrum and actually can not even see the spectrum from where they are. It seems like if you want to play a massive open world RPG you have to give up a fun,energetic combat system. The thrill of discovering a cave full of vampires in Skyrim is diminished by the knowledge that once I get in there, fighting them is just going to be a chore."

Again, those are just my thoughts (and PA's Gabe), but for me, Skyrim, like Oblivion, never lived up to the hype or expectations, whereas Kingdoms of Amalur quietly flew under my radar. Best RPG I've played since Borderlands, really (though FF13-2 is on the shelf, so we'll see which one ultimately wins).

 

[Sam Posten]

Sing me up for Jango:
http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/02/skyrim-workshop-mods/?pid=2427&pageid=42377&viewall=true

 

[Sam Posten]

1.5 go:
http://i.joystiq.com/2012/04/05/skyrim-1-5-live-on-360-hits-ps3-this-afternoon/

 

[Ruz-El]

1.5 STOP!

I played the patch this weekend. Added kill screens were cool. It didn't clear up any of my lingering side quests, no big deal since I got my platinum trophy. Went to try the new swimming animation and it crashed the game. Tried it in three different areas, crashed each time on my PS3.

After all the problems I suffered through on the PS3, this latest patch finally killed playing it dead until the next patch is out. I'm sad. I've emailed Bethesda and posted to their twitter. I've gotten no response. I WAS EVEN POLITE ABOUT IT! I've also seen no reports about this happening. Guess I'm fucked

 

[Don Giro]

I've been keeping "mum" in this thread since the beginning, but I'd finally like to chime in" I've been playing the PC version of Skyrim since I got it as a Christmas gift. I don't have much time to "game" each week, but it's the only game I've played since Christmas. I'm playing as a quite fetching Level 38 female Nord archer who's become all but invisible to enemies (I crouched instead of walking through the game world). Her archery and stealth skills are maxed out. I've used a couple of mods to tailor the game the way *I* want to play it, but nothing that hampers the overall scope of the game. It's also the first Elder Scrolls game I've played from a 3rd-person perspective (What would be the point of futzing with all those sliders to make her "hot" if I wasn't gonna look at her in the game world?).
I think Skyrim may just be my all-time favorite game, despite some flaws and bugs that REALLY hurt. I don't remember the names of the broken quests, but bear with me. There's the quest where the follower gets seemingly stuck on the stairs. I was able to force him to the landing, but moments later, I lost the ability to interact with him at the gate blocking that glowing purple orb. Then there's the quest where she drank the elixir and gets transported to a different plane (and is transformed into a different person). She's supposed to pull some sort of chain at what looks like a raised altar for the quest to continue...except the chain doesn't exist!
Random thoughts about the game:
-I completely avoid using followers unless the quest requires the help. I find they just get in the way.
-Fighting dragons has become a chore. I especially hate fighting them in populated areas; one misplaced arrow slightly grazes a guard and suddenly I'm Satan...
-I use a mod that makes my avatar's armor look "sexy," and I love when guards tell me that I should put on some decent clothes.
-I hate that my "housesitters" (as I call them) have to sleep in quarters better suited to dogs while I'm in
a four-poster bed...
-Has anyone else seen the glowing "headless horseman" in Falkreath (at least I THINK it's Falkreath)? Is that part of a quest I have yet to unearth or some sort of "Easter egg"?
-The city guards' incessant whining about taking arrows to their knees doesn't annoy me at all...
-I'm going to eventually marry either one of my female warrior housesitters or some hottie in one of the cities, and I'm not going to consider it lesbianism.
-I stopped collecting fauna (except Nirnroot...and I don't even have the quest yet), mining ore, and collecting items regarding alchemy, smithing, and cooking. I forgot how to work with soul gems (although I used them a lot in Oblivion)
-I was expecting a bigger variety of monsters. I thought there were going to be minotaurs and all sorts of other beasties. There's a mod available that adds a boatload of new beasts to the game, but I haven't tried it yet.
-I'm SO happy the last patch introduced "kill-cams" for archery kills, seeing how my gal uses only bow and arrow 99% of the time. It's quite a thrill every time I see that animation.
-"Killing" skeletons never gets old, especially when you lure them into those spiked door traps and the bones scatter EVERYWHERE...I can't WAIT to get the Shout that lets me throw my voice...that'll lure even more baddies into their own traps...
-New bug I've encountered since the last patch (again, this is the PC version): Dungeon maps mark "Cleared" when there are still living baddies within...
My biggest problem with the game is my own personal alignment. I just can't play "evil" in games. I can't even bring myself to try. All I keep hearing in my head is "You're the Dragonborn. Act like it..." I can't bring myself to steal anything or kill anyone or anything that isn't undead or out to kill ME. I almost cried when I picked off an Argonian in a fort (from a great distance...then found out the campers were all completely benign. Thank God I keep about 25 saves! I haven't chosen a "side" in the war. I don't want to be a vampire or a werewolf. I don't kill the foxes and bunnies that dot the landscape.I took on the one quest where I'm supposed to threaten and intimidate local townsfolk, and ended up reloading my previous save, because I'm there to serve and protect, not be hated. When that NPC cried that I was evil masquerading as a do-gooder (my words, not hers), I just couldn't continue down that path. In fact, the only NPC I'd like to kill is the old bat with the orphans, and I know that somehow leads to the Dark Brotherhood.
The closest I come to playing "evil" occurs only in my own mind: I often pretend that the necromancer I just shot in the throat is still twitching when I walk up and inform them that I intend to take the staff he probably spent AGES crafting and sell it dirt cheap at the nearest merchant. Then I rip the arrow from his neck and dispatch him/her to Oblivion (killing female bandits is another thing I hate doing).
Imagine my horror when I discovered in the middle of a quest that I was delivering a monk to a group of cannibals; that led to another reload (I thought I was doing "good" until I was informed of a price on my head). Of course, I know that I'm missing out on a number of quests by being "goody-goodie" all the time, but at least the game doesn't REQUIRE me to become a "baddie." If someone is willing to let me know that the outcome of these quests turns out to serve the "greater good," I might change my mind...

 

[Sam Posten]

Elder Scrolls MMO is now official.
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/5/3/2996417/elder-scrolls-online-mmo-details

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten /t/306737/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/240#post_3922438
Elder Scrolls MMO is now official.
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/5/3/2996417/elder-scrolls-online-mmo-details

It's already been nicknamed "Divorce In A Box" I'm not an MMO guy so I'll patiently wait for the PS3 DLC.

I'm still yet to see any word of a patch to fix the problem I now have on the PS3 with the new underwater animations (problem is they don't load and it freezes the console, making me have to hard boot it off the switch in the back). Am I the only one experiencing it?

 

[Ruz-El]

Oh and Don, playing evil, I know exactly what you mean. Even in the Grand Theft Auto games were you play a bad guy, I find myself being noble to me friends and all that. So much for violent video games turning everyone into sociopaths.

 

[Sam Posten]

Sounds like it's going to suck from this announcement. we'll see if it improves as time goes on....
http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/5/4/2998500/the-elder-scrolls-online-detailed-no-dragons-or-romance

 

[Josh Dial]

The game is probably already riddled with bugs--none of which will be fixed for years after the eventual launch.

 

[Sam Posten]

First expansion, 30 day timed exclusive on 360:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/05/skyrim-gets-vampiric-with-dawnguard-expansion-trailer/

 

[Bryan^H]

I'm getting 'Dawnguard' as I type this. Will post my thoughts on it in the next day or so.

 

[Sam Posten]

Wow didn't know it was out already!

 

[Bryan^H]

yeah, for the 360. PS3 will get it in a few weeks.
I didn't have a chance to get that far into it. A friend that I rarely get a chance to game with had a free weekend, and he wanted to play some team deathmatch Call Of Duty Black Ops.....so that is how I spent the weekend. But tommorrow after work I'm digging in.

 

[Bryan^H]

'Dawnguard' is an absolute delight. I thought from the first half hour into the main mission it would be just more of the same Skyrim quests, but it isn't. It is exceptional in every possible way. Level design, new characters, big choices, and just the wonder of what makes the Skyrim so great. I'm just a few hours into it....but I'm really into it. Think I'll pace myself to savor it more.
I have alway been an avid Dungeons, and Dragons player. Dawnguard is on par with some of the best 'Ravenloft' campeign sets. It really captures your imagination in a spooky, Vampire infested world.

 

[Sam Posten]

Cool, will pick it up when it comes to the PC. I'm enjoying Saints Row 3 now that I finished D3 on Normal and don't really feel the need to do hell and inferno....

 

[Don Giro]

'Dawnguard' is an absolute delight. I thought from the first half hour into the main mission it would be just more of the same Skyrim quests, but it isn't. It is exceptional in every possible way. Level design, new characters, big choices, and just the wonder of what makes the Skyrim so great. I'm just a few hours into it....but I'm really into it. Think I'll pace myself to savor it more.
I have alway been an avid Dungeons, and Dragons player. Dawnguard is on par with some of the best 'Ravenloft' campeign sets. It really captures your imagination in a spooky, Vampire infested world.

Can you remain human throughout, or do you have to become a werewolf or vampire?

 

[Bryan^H]

Can you remain human throughout, or do you have to become a werewolf or vampire?

Umm....

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

I was able to remain human for quite a while. But I just got to a point(well into the Dawnguard quest) that I have to travel through a portal. In order to pass through the portal you must be dead(vampire....becoming one) or Sould dead(without a soul a very weakend state of your normal self). I chose the vampire route although I really didn't want to.

.
But like I said this is a very, very sold offering. I plan to finish it this week sometime.

 

[Don Giro]

I'm still playing lots of Skyrim (PC version). I'm nowhere near finishing the game, yet I'm trying out player-created mods, most notably the Sea of Ghosts quest. It looks great, plays great, and has a lot of mystery to it. It's got some pretty top-notch voice acting, too. It's well worth your time.
I've wanted to try out Monster Mod for some time now, but I'm too afraid that it will "break" my game. It looks SO great!
Moonpath to Elsweyr is the most "endorsed" quest mod at the Nexus site, so it'll probably be the next one I check out...
Any other PC players want to share news of any cool third-party quests, mods, and add-ons?