Escapist Podcast: 021: Skyrim, Zelda & Reviews

[The Escapist Staff]

021: Skyrim, Zelda & Reviews

This week, we discuss The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and behind the scenes on how we choose who reviews what.

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[TheCakeisALie87]

Loving Skyrim, freedom from worrying about classes and races is great. My favorite parts are the easter eggs just strewn in random conversations. For example after a drinking game you are told by a priestess that you were screaming some story about getting married and goats. Later near the mage's college you can hear a guy say that there was a smell like a beast getting turned inside out and then exploding. Galaxy Quest reference FTW bethesda. You got to love these guys.

 

[Slycne]

Loving Skyrim, freedom from worrying about classes and races is great. My favorite parts are the easter eggs just strewn in random conversations. For example after a drinking game you are told by a priestess that you were screaming some story about getting married and goats. Later near the mage's college you can hear a guy say that there was a smell like a beast getting turned inside out and then exploding. Galaxy Quest reference FTW bethesda. You got to love these guys.

Yeah there is a great I found in Riften too. Inside the temple you'll find a note from someone claiming the graveyard might be haunted. They keep hearing griding noises and seeing shadowy figures skulking about.

This is really funny if you've joined the Thieves Guild and make constant use of the secret entrance.

 

[HobbesMkii]

I liked the discussion about game review scores. I think the trouble with game reviews (and movie reviews) w/ scores or stars is that they work on this "1=suck, 2=bad, 3=passable, 4=good, 5=great" scale. I wish reviews were scored closer to the Michelin Guide ratings for restaurants where even 1 star means "hey, that's really great" and 3 stars means "unimpeachable high quality." To some extent I think the 5 star scale handicaps reviews, wherein anything under 3 stars really carries some heavy weight to it.

On the other hand, I'll recognize that perhaps gaming is a little different from other entertainment industries, in that due to the high price point to make a game that can function as a game and look like a AAA title (in comparison to movies, which have a lower price point and accessibility in order to make a functioning film), it may simply be that the would be 1-stars and the 2-stars of the gaming world simply fail to reach fruition as often as the higher ratings.

 

[bdcjacko]

I might be the only person that doesn't listen to this while playing minecraft.

 

[Eagi]

Does Skyrim,have a kinder Levelling system than Oblivion did? I got so frustrated when I realised that you got more stats by working on the right skills between each level... Please tell me that is gone now!

 

[JediMB]

On the subject of Gears of War and Halo, as discussed...

The problem isn't with the games themselves, but rather how they influence the rest of the industry. Because of their popularity, other game series are changed to fit into the same mold, which can lead to game series you're a fan of being ruined for you.

Take BioWare RPG fans as an example, where they tend to be frustrated by BioWare's games being fit into the Gears of War mold and such.

 

[bdcjacko]

I remember babbages, I bought magic cards from them.

 

[ravensshade]

Does Skyrim,have a kinder Levelling system than Oblivion did? I got so frustrated when I realised that you got more stats by working on the right skills between each level... Please tell me that is gone now!

i'm pretty sure that's gone since on level-up you can only choose if you want to get more magicka health or stamina

 

[Formica Archonis]

I might be the only person that doesn't listen to this while playing minecraft.

I usually listen to it in the evening, not doing much else while I listen. Then I let it loop and curl up in bed. I find happy conversation to be relaxing background noise, but I usually feel compelled to listen in case I miss something important. Since I've already heard it, there's nothing to miss. Makes it really easy to drift off, which is something I sometimes have problems with.

And I had to rewrite that post twice because I'm trying to avoid stating "The podcast puts me to sleep."



Gods, between Sessler's last rant that I saw* and these comments on having to slog through games in one's off hours, I want to give game reviewers in general a hug.

(* He said something about dying inside when he writes "pros and cons" and assigns numbers to his reviews so the unwashed masses don't need to read the review that he spent time writing.)

 

[Serfix]

As always brilliant podcast but anyway. I live in Finland and don't know how it is in US, but when I bought Skyrim (normal version) it came with map. I just found it bit wierd when you guys said it comes with collectors edition. And also it was great surprise that it came with the game, I have it on my wall now to show where all the main roads etc are.

 

[NoTroll]

I listen to this podcast while I play League of Legends, or other games that don't require one to be immersed to enjoy the content. I love podcasts for this reason: they are long running, audio-only, and don't slow down the game that I'm running. While I don't always agree with the opinions of everyone on the team, I very much enjoy the discussion, and the fact that you all seem to be having such a good time makes it that much more enjoyable. There is (usually) nothing worse than listening to awkward conversation by people who clearly don't want to be around each other. Keep up the awesome work.

 

[Calcium]

First time I've listened to the podcast but very glad I did. Wish I could be playing games while listening (was finishing coursework instead). Anyway, enjoyed listening and hope to hear next week's too.

Oh, and I may just end up playing Skyrim as "The Spoon Fairy" now...

 

[bliebblob]

46:00

Holy sheets that was my question Until I heard that I thought it was just a coincidence how it was also a topic on this week's podcast. Totally made my day.

 

[Camaranth]

I had to laugh with Susan talking about soil. As I'm listening to this I'm weighing out very small samples of various types of dirt for one of my jobs at school (soil toxicology lab tech). I'll have to go dig around the lab because we probably have a copy of that encyclopedia lying around.
Also Thank You for making this extremely monotonous task more entertaining.

 

[floogles]

GROK!

I registered just to congratulate you Susan on using that in a sentence without even pausing to think.