OT: Skyrim

[Vadered]

Anyone get it or play it yet? Sounds like a helluva game.

 

[Slimpikins]

Next time I have a month and a half free, I will pick it up. Those games are too involved for me.

But I have checked it out and it looks pretty damn good.

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

I've never been into elder scrolls but I only hear good things. I might buy it once my job situation settles and I have free time.

 

[mattola]

Oblivion played out for over 3 months for me on a pretty regular basis. I expect the same for this one.

 

[li0lsh]

yes. it's amazing.

that is all

 

[Comeds]

I have Oblivion but never really got into it. I did/do see the potential so I havent traded it in or gotten rid of it.

 

[Vadered]

Quick Skyrim breakdown for those of you who haven't read any reviews (I haven't played the game myself, so this is all secondhand).

Graphics: It looks nice. Not fantastic, especially on consoles, but nice. There are some texture issues, but honestly, the world looks so cool that you really shouldn't be spending time looking at individual rocks and counting polygons. Magic effects are brilliant.

Sound: The soundtrack is amazing. The Oblivion "we only hired 8 voice actors for non-important NPC dialog so now beggars talk like guards half the time" issue is less prevalent, but still exists. The sound effects are also improved.

Story: The main quest in Oblivion was not very engrossing. The opposite is true in Skyrim. The main quest is intriguing, and even with all the other stuff to do in the world, the reviewers all said they looked forward to figuring out plot stuff.

Gameplay: You can dual wield magic, which is probably at least two thirds as awesome as it sounds. The melee combat is improved somewhat, and the weapons have more of a feel to them. The combat also introduces a new system of "shouts," which are magic-like effects that your character can use to defeat enemies. The menus are pretty good for the consoles and kind of crappy for the PC (but mods will change that I am certain). Depending on how you build your character, your experience changes, of course, but it sounds like it's pretty easy to tailor a character however you like and use that character effectively in the game. Speaking of which...

Leveling: The system is much more accessible than Oblivion, with a combination of perks and skills dictating how your character performs. Skills you raise in a straightforward manner - do whatever you want to get better at. Perks are more interesting. For every so and so number of points in a skill, you unlock perks related to that skill, so new combat moves for blades, the ability to slow down time when you block with a shield, double casting for magic. You don't gain these perks, however, until you place a point in them. Points are gained by leveling up, which happens once you've gained a certain amount of points across all skills. Speaking of leveling up, apparently they modified the system from Oblivion so that while enemies can still gain some strength, you no longer end up in situations where bandits wearing ridiculously expensive armor hold you up for 100g.There's no more major skills or favored attributes or any of that from Oblivion. You just pick one of ten bonuses at the start of the game and away you go.

World: Oh boy, here's the good one. Much like the previous games, Skyrim has tons of quests, tons of NPCs, etc. It's not afraid to put important story details in optional areas, either, so those who explore will get far more out of the game. The reviewers I read all mentioned that it was incredibly easy to start a session with a checklist of things to do and end up with nothing completed because they kept getting sidetracked and finding cool things. Also, there be dragons.

Technical: It's a Bethesda game, so there are some bugs. Occasionally with so many moving parts the game fucks up. One reviewer mentioned a 12 foot mammoth spawning 100 feet in the air and falling to its death. One mentioned NPCs failing to spawn. All of them praised the multi-autosave system which increases your odds of being able to recover, but keep in mind, this is a big game with lots of stuff able to go wrong. Don't be terribly surprised if a few things happen. Save often. As for load times, the consoles have some long ones. A solid PC has nearly none. This is probably because XBoxes and Playstations are several year old tech. Installing the game helps, but has caused some odd texture issues in the Xbox version.

Basically it sounds like a good to super awesome game on a PC, and a mediocre to super awesome game on consoles depending on bug frequency/magnitude.

 

[potzer25]

If you are downloading it now, please stop. Mine is taking forever...

 

[Jimmy_the_Tongue]

Quick Skyrim breakdown for those of you who haven't read any reviews (I haven't played the game myself, so this is all secondhand).

Graphics: It looks nice. Not fantastic, especially on consoles, but nice. There are some texture issues, but honestly, the world looks so cool that you really shouldn't be spending time looking at individual rocks and counting polygons. Magic effects are brilliant.

Sound: The soundtrack is amazing. The Oblivion "we only hired 8 voice actors for non-important NPC dialog so now beggars talk like guards half the time" issue is less prevalent, but still exists. The sound effects are also improved.

Story: The main quest in Oblivion was not very engrossing. The opposite is true in Skyrim. The main quest is intriguing, and even with all the other stuff to do in the world, the reviewers all said they looked forward to figuring out plot stuff.

Gameplay: You can dual wield magic, which is probably at least two thirds as awesome as it sounds. The melee combat is improved somewhat, and the weapons have more of a feel to them. The combat also introduces a new system of "shouts," which are magic-like effects that your character can use to defeat enemies. The menus are pretty good for the consoles and kind of crappy for the PC (but mods will change that I am certain). Depending on how you build your character, your experience changes, of course, but it sounds like it's pretty easy to tailor a character however you like and use that character effectively in the game. Speaking of which...

Leveling: The system is much more accessible than Oblivion, with a combination of perks and skills dictating how your character performs. Skills you raise in a straightforward manner - do whatever you want to get better at. Perks are more interesting. For every so and so number of points in a skill, you unlock perks related to that skill, so new combat moves for blades, the ability to slow down time when you block with a shield, double casting for magic. You don't gain these perks, however, until you place a point in them. Points are gained by leveling up, which happens once you've gained a certain amount of points across all skills. Speaking of leveling up, apparently they modified the system from Oblivion so that while enemies can still gain some strength, you no longer end up in situations where bandits wearing ridiculously expensive armor hold you up for 100g.There's no more major skills or favored attributes or any of that from Oblivion. You just pick one of ten bonuses at the start of the game and away you go.

World: Oh boy, here's the good one. Much like the previous games, Skyrim has tons of quests, tons of NPCs, etc. It's not afraid to put important story details in optional areas, either, so those who explore will get far more out of the game. The reviewers I read all mentioned that it was incredibly easy to start a session with a checklist of things to do and end up with nothing completed because they kept getting sidetracked and finding cool things. Also, there be dragons.

Technical: It's a Bethesda game, so there are some bugs. Occasionally with so many moving parts the game fucks up. One reviewer mentioned a 12 foot mammoth spawning 100 feet in the air and falling to its death. One mentioned NPCs failing to spawn. All of them praised the multi-autosave system which increases your odds of being able to recover, but keep in mind, this is a big game with lots of stuff able to go wrong. Don't be terribly surprised if a few things happen. Save often. As for load times, the consoles have some long ones. A solid PC has nearly none. This is probably because XBoxes and Playstations are several year old tech. Installing the game helps, but has caused some odd texture issues in the Xbox version.

Basically it sounds like a good to super awesome game on a PC, and a mediocre to super awesome game on consoles depending on bug frequency/magnitude.

Wow....you're like those dudes from Grandma's Boy....

 

[li0lsh]

Wow....you're like those dudes from Grandma's Boy....

a gamer?

 

[Jimmy_the_Tongue]

a gamer?

Yeah....they tested video games for a living....and smoked a lot of reefer...

 

[li0lsh]

Yeah....they tested video games for a living....and smoked a lot of reefer...

so because he has an interest in video games means it's all he does and smokes weed?

 

[Jimmy_the_Tongue]

so because he has an interest in video games means it's all he does and smokes weed?

Nope...I'm guessing you have not seen the movie...you should check it out...very entertaining film...

 

[KillerVee]

Nerds.

The other day my friend said her dad lives in a very small town called Liberty City. I laughed and made a GTA joke and everyone looked at me like I was speaking another language.

 

[PhillyPhaithful48]

Nerds.

The other day my friend said her dad lives in a very small town called Liberty City. I laughed and made a GTA joke and everyone looked at me like I was speaking another language.

Nerd

 

[Jimmy_the_Tongue]

Nerds.

The other day my friend said her dad lives in a very small town called Liberty City. I laughed and made a GTA joke and everyone looked at me like I was speaking another language.

People are clueless....good thing I wasn't there....I prolly would have spit beer out of my nose...

 

[Vadered]

It's pretty neat for me so far. I'm not that far in, so I haven't seen any bugs yet (or realized what they are if I have gotten them). The combat is somewhat improved.

My cat threw up all over the carpet while I was playing though. Guess she didn't like the texture scaling? I dunno.

 

[potzer25]

hoarding gone virtual...

 

[TheRobotDevil]

Final Fantasy is my favorite rpg franchise but I'm definately gonna give skyrim a look

 

[Indian Chief]

Haven't played it yet, but I did pick it up from Amazon the other day. I was getting Uncharted 3 and they had games buy one get on half off, so I got Skyrim for $30. I have seen it described as Fallout 3 with dragons and magic. And imo, FO3 was a great game. So I am definitely looking forward to it.