I never knew anything about the Elder Scrolls series until I picked up Oblivion. Oblivion was the game that got me hooked on open world games. I had a few minor gripes even then-- how easy it was to break the game (in terms of difficulty-- you could make the full invisibility armor or just not level and the game never got harder), the annoyance of weapons breaking when you didn't pay attention to their condition, the usual nit picks. So when I heard Bethesda was putting out Skyrim I absorbed all the information I could get a hold of and, wow, they really listened to their fans.
If you were a Day One Skrimmer (I'm not coining that phrase and yes, Skrim. It's how my nephews and I shorten it), then you're aware of the huge blowout over the glitches. I got it for PS3 but apparently my fat PS3 is a magical creature that wasn't susceptible to all of the supposed issues it had. Xbox fans didn't escape from their own issues either. If I were writing a Day One review, then I would go on about the massive list of reported problems, but let me tell you-- the problems I experiences were minor freezing and save issues and the most entertaining glitches in memory.
I'll give my glitch experience its own paragraph and let me say that I wish that PS Share was a thing back then because I had the motherlode. My absolute favorite was when I teleported to an alternate entrance of one of the dwarven ruins and I look off to my left and Shadowmere is upside down and bouncing on the tent on his head. I still have Elder Dragons that will fall out of the sky onto my head in the middle of nowhere at that and damn if it doesn't have me laughing every time. It never felt like a disconnect when it happened. I could get right back into my roleplaying fantasy adventure after a good laugh. The most annoying ones were the freeze up when trying to submerge in water and the slowdown in Whiterun, both things that were fixable later.
Let's face it-- Skyrim is a huge, lovingly detailed masterpiece. No matter how frustrated you might have been with your own brand of glitches, you could not deny that serious talent and thought went into the game. Who you chose to be affected how people reacted to you, you could really customize armor and weapons to your own unique style, you could do damn near everything on one file or limit yourself for a challenge. The books you collected could be read and were substantial in their lore, entertainment value, and interesting. I absolutely used the bookshelves in Markarth to alphabetize my collection. I absolutely stop fighting dragons to catch butterflies. Putting heads on shelves like trophies was inevitable.
While I do think the movement could be a bit clunky (and this is partially due to accommodating the character's movement so that you could play in first person. I preferred to see my character's back the whole time), the overall animation didn't suffer. Power kills and executions are always fun to watch. While the enemies you could run into weren't very varied, the selection fit with the theme. I've seen people call the game overhyped, but the only other game I've ever dumped so many hours into was Dragon Age Inquisition (another game I will eventually review) and from where I stand, if you can pour that much time into a game and STILL find new things to do, it earns the hype. That being said, one complaint a lot of gamers have is recycled quests. Fetch quests, kill this monster quests, fishing quests, cooking quests, photography quests, mini game within the game quests. Some people find these tedious. I'm the sort of person that can poke at Solitaire for two hours while waiting in a hospital, so these elements are definitely for gamers like me. I'm not sure why gamers complain about these things when they are almost always optional. The side benefit of doing these inane quests is often building experience, cash flow or gaining otherwise unattainable items so you don't just spend time grinding or power-leveling, whatever you prefer to call it. If you like grinding, great, but I hate it. I'd rather have something that keeps me focused and stands a chance of me running into something because I am actually paying attention.
Skyrim was a pivotal entry into the genre of open-world. If it couldn't do something well, it showed other developers what the future of the genre might be capable of. It might have been a frustrating beta release, but it was an inspirational sample for better things to come. I could go on for hours about specifics, but I'll actually keep this one a bit spoiler free. It was a solid story and it was fun to walk off the beaten path (and possibly get trapped in a mountain-- fast travel is a wonderful thing to fix that). If you want freedom, this game has it in spades.
I'm sure someone might ask me at this point how I felt about ESO. Sorry, but I hated it. It was practically another World of Warcraft. I'm not a fan of games that force you to play on servers or online gaming in general. I'm in the camp where I game to be in total control and escape from the annoying assholes around me. It didn't even do the format better, it just copy-pasted over the Elder Scrolls lore. I won't be reviewing it, simply because I probably couldn't give it the chance it deserves as it's not a format I'm interested in.
I am mostly waxing nostalgic here because unfortunately I haven't been able to play the remaster, but I will absolutely add my impressions of it once I do.
Dun-dun-DUUUUUN! The future?
Am I excited for another console entry? Abso-fucking-lutely. Fans are already speculating on the Valenwood, Elsweyr, which other land in Tamriel might get the spotlight this time. I'm rooting for something greener. I loved the viking theme in Skyrim, but now I'm ready for my warm weather hooker duds. As with most of my current favorite series, I am always anxious that it will continuously be a ten year wait. While I want that top quality game, waiting longer than five years feels cruel. Often it is simply because they are paying attention to other projects or series. What I wouldn't give for these companies to have a dedicated team for each series. Hell, sign me up. I would work on my favorite series for the next 50 years exclusively. It would also eliminate or at least lessen all of the bad direction, production, deadlines and confusion that are causing half-assed games to hit the stores.
It can be done, guys. Somehow Uncharted has been a stellar series, a complete masterpiece in every entry (again, if you like that sort of thing). Naughty Dog is doing other games. One thing I never see is news about how often they are restaffing because their company is disorganized. Right now, I'm looking at SquareEnix and Ubisoft, the most recent offenders in my favorite genres. I hold you accountable because I see what your artists and programmers and technical staff are putting out and you aren't doing them justice! Ambitions are crap without cohesion. I can wait years for that masterpiece if needed. In fact, I have to. I know that holding onto a game without releasing it costs you money everyday you have to pay staff but aren't seeing financial returns while it's in development. These are all things that were supposed to be set in planning. You pull in new project direction midway and they make costly bad judgments, yeah? I know that gaming has become as epic and complicated, if not more so, than making a blockbuster movie. I don't pretend it's as simple as following my suggestions, but your name and reputation of a series is only as good as your most recent game. Longtime fans won't be fooled forever and new customers won't take a second look.
If you read my gripes on FFXV, you know that I absolutely loved all but the story. While I'd like to believe that Square is patching in a fix for the butcher job that it was, I do hope that redeems it. It was an otherwise incredible game that threw away all the work that went into the first 9 chapters.
Not trying to get sidetracked-- the Elder Scroll series hasn't managed to leave a bad taste in my mouth yet, although trying to go back to play Morrowind was a lost cause. If you didn't play it first, it just doesn't jive when you're spoiled by Oblivion and Skyrim. It's like playing Uncharted then trying to go back and play Pitfall. Given, Pitfall is a great game in its own right, if you thought it would be anything like Uncharted you'd be sorely disappointed. I like pixel games still. Old generation 3D games give me a headache now and don't hold up for me. I might have liked Dragon Age Origins too at that, but again, it doesn't hold up after playing Inquisition first. Dragon Age 2 was a massive graphics upgrade. While you can say that Origins might have had a better story, I have to admit that the look just distracted me. The environments caused a huge disconnect for me.
Augh, look at me, running ahead of myself. I have to remember I can hash other series out at a later date. I apologize for running off topic, but I think comparisons are also important things to balance the overall gaming experience on. Nevertheless, I will absolutely try to keep my crossover opinions to a minimum to focus on the game or series under review.
I hope that this review has given someone the push to give Skyrim a try though. The original has been looking dated and a remaster came just in time. Eager to play it myself, but do pick that up and give me your impressions if you're so inclined! I blog to spark discussion so it is welcome.
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