The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
I didn’t get on with Oblivion. I heard such great things about it that when I got my Xbox 360 that was the first game I chose. After discovering how save files are linked to your tag (So my first offline profile’s save became useless), losing my tag for several months (I was originally Joz the Bat, I am now Joz Labatte) and just getting lost, I ended up starting the game 3 times and not getting very far.
I tried but gave up at the first oblivion gate as those head butting dinosaur things annoyed the fuck out of me.
For that reason I decided that Bethesda games weren’t for me. The weight management system also felt unnecessarily intrusive, making looting the many dungeons difficult.
Then came Fallout 3 a game I waited to drop in price and I was blown away by it. I don’t know what was different, the change from traditional fantasy to sci-fi (I’m more a fan of the latter), the use of guns over melee weapons or maybe just that I didn’t have to restart several times due to my own unfamiliarity with the system.
I was still weary when it came to Skyrim and again waited for a drop in price. After all the game of the year accolades it was getting I had to at least try it and I’m glad I did.
No it’s not Game of the Year for me but it comes close. I’m enjoying it far more than Oblivion and if Fallout 3 gave me faith in Bethesda, Skyrim has confirmed their status as brilliant developers, one whose games I’ll be getting excited over in future.
So where to begin with Skyrim, well lets start with the obvious, this game looks amazing. The detail throughout is fantastic. One thing Oblivion did have was beautiful graphics, but Skyrim makes that look like a PSone game. Every texture is very detailed and beautifully lit.
But for Skyrim where there is greatness there is also weakness. Graphically it looks stunning but I’m 30 hours in and the scenery has barely changed. Outside it is a stunning winter wonderland, switching between forests and mountains but that’s it. Skyrim has its look but rarely deviates from it.
Similarly inside the dungeons look pretty much the same throughout. If it is not the same crypt walls, it’s the same cave walls.
Compare to say Xenoblade Chronicles which obviously can’t stand up power wise, for pure detail Skyrim has it beat. But then the locations on Xenoblade are nicely diverse and unique. From basic plains to marshland that lights up beautifully at night, the hot humid jungle to the cold mountains, the ruins of the fallen arm to the fleshy alien interior of the Bionis.
Moving onto Gameplay, Skyrim has a lovely menu system which allows you to move through your inventory with ease. Favourite weapons and magic can be favourited for quick access through a separate menu activated by the D-pad.
But its strength lies in how it handles combat. The Left trigger controls your left hand, the right trigger your right. You can select any combination of magic, shields and weapons you want. I use magic on my left (usually healing magic) and a small weapon on my right (usually an enchanted mace). But you can sacrifice both hands for more powerful heavy weapons like Axes and Sledgehammers, or for long range combat through bows.
Two handed weapons can block but you can’t use magic without changing your setup, hence why I prefer the one handed weapons despite losing the ability to block. Shields are used not only to block attacks but also to parry. Use you shield as an enemy attacks you and they will stagger leaving them open to counter attack.
You can also dual wield. Two of the same spell will be more effective than one when used at the same time. You can also dual wield one handed weapons for maximum offence but no defence. The point is it is entirely up to you, each system has its advantages and disadvantages and this wealth of choice is always appreciated.
Armour too can vary. You can select normal clothing for minimal protection but maximum speed, heavy armour for maximum protection but minimal speed and light armour in between the two. The weight of your armour dictates the noise you make so successful sneaking requires lighter armour or a spell. How you handle situations is entirely up to you whether you take hits and dish them out, or you sneak around undetected to catch your enemies off guard.
However the annoying weight management system still rears its ugly head. I guess this is just something you have to get used to but I hate it. Every item suddenly become a choice, can I carry this? is it worth anything? oh no I have to drop something because I’m carrying to much.
There is so much to pick up but a lot isn’t relevant at all. Things like money and lockpicks are generally weightless, but the majority of stuff will have weight. Potions are useful but too many will eat up a lot of your weight allocation. Selling armour and weapons you find but don’t need will be your primary source of income but it is hard to tell whether or not you can carry it all.
What you find is that halfway through a dungeon you will need to make a choice, discard loot you intend to sell or leave the dungeon, sell your items and come back. This happens way too frequently and only the assistance of a companion (which this time appears early in the game) is your only way of looting a dungeon without stopping regularly to sell your loot.
Speaking of selling loot everything seems to take forever in Skyrim. Every merchant has limited gold and if they can’t buy something from you, you will have to go to the next merchant. That usually means at least two loading screens, one for leaving the merchant’s building and one for entering the other. They do get more as time passes but if you have a lot to sell you will be going back and forth a lot. You can spend an hour selling stuff that in most games would take 10 minutes tops.
Out of my 30 hours at least 10, maybe 15 have been sent creating items, enchanting items, balancing weight, selling items and organising storage of items.
Not to mention that the powerful dragon enemies tend to attack cities at random. The following scenario has happened more than once and it is really annoying.
To carry more loot to sell I store my armour and most of my weapons in a chest in my house. I fast travel to another town to sell my loot but as soon as I arrive a dragon attacks. I can’t fast travel away, the dragon won’t let me. I then have to fight the dragon with no armour and often just a mace. Since dragons fly I often have to chip away with magic. This is usually a no win situation, one that no player should come across.
Skyrim is like a wild bachelor party that never seems to want to end, with the most beautiful strippers, delicious beer and filled with loads of fun games to keep you occupied through the night, however every so often you have to take your gran to Tesco’s and wait a long time until she’s ready to go back home.
Fantastic game but with a couple of minor annoying features that ruin the whole experience.
9/10
I tried but gave up at the first oblivion gate as those head butting dinosaur things annoyed the fuck out of me.
For that reason I decided that Bethesda games weren’t for me. The weight management system also felt unnecessarily intrusive, making looting the many dungeons difficult.
Then came Fallout 3 a game I waited to drop in price and I was blown away by it. I don’t know what was different, the change from traditional fantasy to sci-fi (I’m more a fan of the latter), the use of guns over melee weapons or maybe just that I didn’t have to restart several times due to my own unfamiliarity with the system.
I was still weary when it came to Skyrim and again waited for a drop in price. After all the game of the year accolades it was getting I had to at least try it and I’m glad I did.
No it’s not Game of the Year for me but it comes close. I’m enjoying it far more than Oblivion and if Fallout 3 gave me faith in Bethesda, Skyrim has confirmed their status as brilliant developers, one whose games I’ll be getting excited over in future.
So where to begin with Skyrim, well lets start with the obvious, this game looks amazing. The detail throughout is fantastic. One thing Oblivion did have was beautiful graphics, but Skyrim makes that look like a PSone game. Every texture is very detailed and beautifully lit.
But for Skyrim where there is greatness there is also weakness. Graphically it looks stunning but I’m 30 hours in and the scenery has barely changed. Outside it is a stunning winter wonderland, switching between forests and mountains but that’s it. Skyrim has its look but rarely deviates from it.
Similarly inside the dungeons look pretty much the same throughout. If it is not the same crypt walls, it’s the same cave walls.
Compare to say Xenoblade Chronicles which obviously can’t stand up power wise, for pure detail Skyrim has it beat. But then the locations on Xenoblade are nicely diverse and unique. From basic plains to marshland that lights up beautifully at night, the hot humid jungle to the cold mountains, the ruins of the fallen arm to the fleshy alien interior of the Bionis.
Moving onto Gameplay, Skyrim has a lovely menu system which allows you to move through your inventory with ease. Favourite weapons and magic can be favourited for quick access through a separate menu activated by the D-pad.
But its strength lies in how it handles combat. The Left trigger controls your left hand, the right trigger your right. You can select any combination of magic, shields and weapons you want. I use magic on my left (usually healing magic) and a small weapon on my right (usually an enchanted mace). But you can sacrifice both hands for more powerful heavy weapons like Axes and Sledgehammers, or for long range combat through bows.
Two handed weapons can block but you can’t use magic without changing your setup, hence why I prefer the one handed weapons despite losing the ability to block. Shields are used not only to block attacks but also to parry. Use you shield as an enemy attacks you and they will stagger leaving them open to counter attack.
You can also dual wield. Two of the same spell will be more effective than one when used at the same time. You can also dual wield one handed weapons for maximum offence but no defence. The point is it is entirely up to you, each system has its advantages and disadvantages and this wealth of choice is always appreciated.
Armour too can vary. You can select normal clothing for minimal protection but maximum speed, heavy armour for maximum protection but minimal speed and light armour in between the two. The weight of your armour dictates the noise you make so successful sneaking requires lighter armour or a spell. How you handle situations is entirely up to you whether you take hits and dish them out, or you sneak around undetected to catch your enemies off guard.
However the annoying weight management system still rears its ugly head. I guess this is just something you have to get used to but I hate it. Every item suddenly become a choice, can I carry this? is it worth anything? oh no I have to drop something because I’m carrying to much.
There is so much to pick up but a lot isn’t relevant at all. Things like money and lockpicks are generally weightless, but the majority of stuff will have weight. Potions are useful but too many will eat up a lot of your weight allocation. Selling armour and weapons you find but don’t need will be your primary source of income but it is hard to tell whether or not you can carry it all.
What you find is that halfway through a dungeon you will need to make a choice, discard loot you intend to sell or leave the dungeon, sell your items and come back. This happens way too frequently and only the assistance of a companion (which this time appears early in the game) is your only way of looting a dungeon without stopping regularly to sell your loot.
Speaking of selling loot everything seems to take forever in Skyrim. Every merchant has limited gold and if they can’t buy something from you, you will have to go to the next merchant. That usually means at least two loading screens, one for leaving the merchant’s building and one for entering the other. They do get more as time passes but if you have a lot to sell you will be going back and forth a lot. You can spend an hour selling stuff that in most games would take 10 minutes tops.
Out of my 30 hours at least 10, maybe 15 have been sent creating items, enchanting items, balancing weight, selling items and organising storage of items.
Not to mention that the powerful dragon enemies tend to attack cities at random. The following scenario has happened more than once and it is really annoying.
To carry more loot to sell I store my armour and most of my weapons in a chest in my house. I fast travel to another town to sell my loot but as soon as I arrive a dragon attacks. I can’t fast travel away, the dragon won’t let me. I then have to fight the dragon with no armour and often just a mace. Since dragons fly I often have to chip away with magic. This is usually a no win situation, one that no player should come across.
Skyrim is like a wild bachelor party that never seems to want to end, with the most beautiful strippers, delicious beer and filled with loads of fun games to keep you occupied through the night, however every so often you have to take your gran to Tesco’s and wait a long time until she’s ready to go back home.
Fantastic game but with a couple of minor annoying features that ruin the whole experience.
9/10
posted by Master hunter at 1:07 pm
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