So, now that the honeymoon period is over... (Skyrim thread)

[Yuno Gasai]

None of the characters or factions seemed interesting and I just couldn't bring myself to give a shit about anyone or anything.

This was one of my BIGGEST issues with the game. There wasn't a single character I gave a shit about.

I have to agree with this, although despite my issues with the lack of emotional attachment to NPCs, I was still able to derive enjoyment from Skyrim. I think that was primarily because it was one of the first games I've played where I see something off in the distance in-game, and know that I can go there, regardless of how long it'll take to travel there.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

None of the characters or factions seemed interesting and I just couldn't bring myself to give a shit about anyone or anything.

The opening part of the game alone was incredibly boring and the combat was stale to the point where every time I encountered an enemy I just sighed and mashed the attack button. Not to mention how often you get attacked by wolves and saber cats and every time the loud, obnoxious music starts playing made Skyrim the first game where I turned off the music.

This was one of my BIGGEST issues with the game. There wasn't a single character I gave a shit about. They all just felt like cardboard cutouts waiting for the protagonist to show up so they could say their line of dialogue, give their fetch quest, or shout their ambient sounds into the air. In New Vegas, I cared if someone died. Because I had become attached to them. Especially my companions. If Veronica died, I would reload the game because I CARED about whether or not I saw the end of her personal story. Even at the cost of hours of gameplay. In Skyrim, if Lydia died? Fuck if I care. I'll just find another random NPC to carry the shit I plan on selling at the next town.

I cared when people died in Skyrim. I became attached to them. You know how? I didn't rely on the game's developers and writers to make them valuable to me, I used this thing called imagination to feign sentimental value. This led to real sentimental value.
I cared about characters dying in freaking Cannon Fodder in the SNES because I allowed my imagination to make them sentimentally valuable to me. Even though they were 8-bit soldiers who I knew only by their name and their rank, I found myself having a mental breakdown every time one was K.I.A.

Unfortunately, with a world that's so sterile and lifeless, I can't even feign interest. If the world doesn't care what I'm doing, then I don't care about the world.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

That's something else that bugged me, no one seemed to care what you were doing. Whether you were becoming the head of every guild in Skyrim or literally saving the world, the most you got was a small line of ambient dialogue shouted at you when you entered town. Just never felt like I was actually making a difference.

It was rather strange that you were literally saving the world and the only thing guards noticed was what kind of skills you were high in or occasionally which factions you were in. Even if they didn't know that you were saving the world, the fact you were the goddamn Dragonborn should've made more waves than it did.

You really FELT like what you did made a difference in Fallout 3. Clear out the settlement of Slavers? The merchants made their rounds more often. Joined them? They hiked up their prices. What happens if I become the leader of the Companions and the new Listener of the Brotherhood? I get a couple lines of random dialogue.

 

[ExileNZ]

I have to admit I get a lot less into the role (at least as far as people are concerned) compared to other, more atmospheric games (like Gothic).

That said, I'm over 100 hours in and I spend a lot of my time just wandering around, exploring the map, clearing out ruins and looting stuff. I'm having great fun, though I'm doing so by largely ignoring the story - as soon as I got revealed as the Dragonborn (Shouts are fun!) I stopped advancing it completely.

I mostly just do my own thing, and often spend hours trying to do a certain part 'just right'. Less so, now that I've finished leveling up Sneak, but I have spent an enormous amount of time trying to assassinate groups one at a time.

Reminds me, I have to find some other blessing stone now...

 

[VaudevillianVeteran]

You really FELT like what you did made a difference in Fallout 3. Clear out the settlement of Slavers? The merchants made their rounds more often. Joined them? They hiked up their prices. What happens if I become the leader of the Companions and the new Listener of the Brotherhood? I get a couple lines of random dialogue.

That's exactly what I was thinking of.
Oh and a couple lines of dialogue and two new merchants. That you will never use or go past.

 

[TorqueConverter]

Haven't played it but it looks good to me from what I have seen. I adore fallout 3. I'm waiting for that engine to receive some firearms and loose the Nordic fantasy elves and wizards horseshit. When that happens, I'll throw fistfuls of money at my screen until the game appears. I don't care if they call fallout 4 or something entirely different.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

You really FELT like what you did made a difference in Fallout 3. Clear out the settlement of Slavers? The merchants made their rounds more often. Joined them? They hiked up their prices. What happens if I become the leader of the Companions and the new Listener of the Brotherhood? I get a couple lines of random dialogue.

That's exactly what I was thinking of.
Oh and a couple lines of dialogue and two new merchants. That you will never use or go past.

The game just feels so impersonal... There's just no motivation to care about anyone or anything in the world because nothing you do changes anything in it.

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

Skyrim: Awful game, incredible world

That's how I feel anyway

 

[VaudevillianVeteran]

The game just feels so impersonal... There's just no motivation to care about anyone or anything in the world because nothing you do changes anything in it.

The story itself is good, really good. But it's not necessarily your story. Even during the Civil War quests, which I was slightly worried would change things so I did last... nothing. Nothing was different.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

The game just feels so impersonal... There's just no motivation to care about anyone or anything in the world because nothing you do changes anything in it.

The story itself is good, really good. But it's not necessarily your story. Even during the Civil War quests, which I was slightly worried would change things so I did last... nothing. Nothing was different.

I REALLY don't like time-travel plots...

 

[Verzin]

I poured 50-60 hours of my life into Skyrim, and in my opinion, it was a mediocre game with a Huuuuuge budget and the ability to absorb almost any sort of gamer into it for a time.
now before you rage all over me, read why I think this:

It's a Souless World. Nothing happens in Skyrim. Screw the Dragons, Screw the Undead that are EVERYWHERE, Screw the rebels and the empire. NOTHING HAPPENS. EVER. unless you are the one doing it yourself. Not to mention that the characters are hollow (which has always been an issue with Elder Scrolls games), but also that...well....it gets boring. the same old stories which are ALWAYS bent in your favor. I finished the archmage quest and became the archmage when I had like...25 in my destruction skill. My first character was a pure mage. by the end of the game...he was fucking useless. had to fucking KITE EVERYTHING because I couldn't cast more than three or four high level spells at a time, and this was WITH every damn magika fortification and regeneration item I could damn well get my hands on. The I made a warrior. Big ax to the face kills everything. it was absurd how powerful I was compared to my pure mage. even with a weak character like my pure mage, after a point in Skyrim, you realize that you are invincible, and Daedric gods, dwarven contraptions, dragons, entire armies even, are incapable of killing you. This would be great if the world was more dynamic, but it's not. It's a very flawed game. A fun one, but a very flawed game.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

I poured 50-60 hours of my life into Skyrim, and in my opinion, it was a mediocre game with a Huuuuuge budget and the ability to absorb almost any sort of gamer into it for a time.
now before you rage all over me, read why I think this:

It's a Souless World. Nothing happens in Skyrim. Screw the Dragons, Screw the Undead that are EVERYWHERE, Screw the rebels and the empire. NOTHING HAPPENS. EVER. unless you are the one doing it yourself. Not to mention that the characters are hollow (which has always been an issue with Elder Scrolls games), but also that...well....it gets boring. the same old stories which are ALWAYS bent in your favor. I finished the archmage quest and became the archmage when I had like...25 in my destruction skill. My first character was a pure mage. by the end of the game...he was fucking useless. had to fucking KITE EVERYTHING because I couldn't cast more than three or four high level spells at a time, and this was WITH every damn magika fortification and regeneration item I could damn well get my hands on. The I made a warrior. Big ax to the face kills everything. it was absurd how powerful I was compared to my pure mage. even with a weak character like my pure mage, after a point in Skyrim, you realize that you are invincible, and Daedric gods, dwarven contraptions, dragons, entire armies even, are incapable of killing you. This would be great if the world was more dynamic, but it's not. It's a very flawed game. A fun one, but a very flawed game.

I pretty much agree with you entirely. The world just seems to not care what you're doing or what you've done.

 

[doomspore98]

For the pass few months I've been playing Deus Ex HR. Skyrim is an amazing game, but I think deus ex is better at story telling. I also think the AI in deus ex is so much more better, unlike in skyrim where if you are good enough at stealth you can basically stand in front of people without them noticing you. Skyrim is still an amazing game but I think deus ex HR is better

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

For the pass few months I've been playing Deus Ex HR. Skyrim is an amazing game, but I think deus ex is better at story telling. I also think the AI in deus ex is so much more better, unlike in skyrim where if you are good enough at stealth you can basically stand in front of people without them noticing you. Skyrim is still an amazing game but I think deus ex HR is better

Not really a far comparison all things considered. They're very different genres of games.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

Skyrim: Awful game, incredible world

That's how I feel anyway

I don't know if I'd say "awful". It just had me snoring through the plot and the exploration REALLY needs something of an in-flight movie. The radio in Fallout was great. You not only heard the impact of your actions, but you also got hints on things you haven't found yet. Not to mention the music really adds to the atmosphere of the world.

 

[SweetLiquidSnake]

I haven't touched Skyrim since ME3 came out and i probably wont pick it up again til im done my 3 playthroughs, but I would like to get back and explore some ruins with Aela again. Bethesda games are always great in that you can just pick up from wherever you left off and get right back into it.
Really hoping for a DLC announcement soon!!

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

I haven't touched Skyrim since ME3 came out and i probably wont pick it up again til im done my 3 playthroughs, but I would like to get back and explore some ruins with Aela again. Bethesda games are always great in that you can just pick up from wherever you left off and get right back into it.
Really hoping for a DLC announcement soon!!

I went back to Fallout 3 after how underwhelmed I was with the game. The world and characters in the Fallout games are just some much richer.

 

[Thatrocketeer]

I don't know if I'd say "awful". It just had me snoring through the plot and the exploration REALLY needs something of an in-flight movie. The radio in Fallout was great. You not only heard the impact of your actions, but you also got hints on things you haven't found yet. Not to mention the music really adds to the atmosphere of the world.

I think that's the only thing that made you feel like you made a difference in fallout 3, they had a radio commenting about what latest quest you've done, as well as the music and the option to add more music while exploring the capital is what makes trudging through the enormous amounts of subways less painful. Without Three-Dog in there the same comments from Skyrim would've been present in fallout. In Skyrim no such feature is available since technology is pretty much nonexistent in their world.

 

[Veldt Falsetto]

Skyrim: Awful game, incredible world

That's how I feel anyway

I don't know if I'd say "awful". It just had me snoring through the plot and the exploration REALLY needs something of an in-flight movie. The radio in Fallout was great. You not only heard the impact of your actions, but you also got hints on things you haven't found yet. Not to mention the music really adds to the atmosphere of the world.

The game barely works, I mean what does work is good and fun but there's too little that does work to make it a good game but not one other game I've played has excited me more than Skyrim when it comes to the world, yeah the exploration gets pretty dull but mostly because of how repetitive it gets, the world itself, everything in it, from the smallest butterflies to the biggest city...I dunno, the whole world of Skyrim excites me just at how deep and big it is. The rest of the game, not so much...that's been my impression all along though really.

 

[Jitters Caffeine]

I don't know if I'd say "awful". It just had me snoring through the plot and the exploration REALLY needs something of an in-flight movie. The radio in Fallout was great. You not only heard the impact of your actions, but you also got hints on things you haven't found yet. Not to mention the music really adds to the atmosphere of the world.

I think that's the only thing that made you feel like you made a difference in fallout 3, they had a radio commenting about what latest quest you've done, as well as the music and the option to add more music while exploring the capital is what makes trudging through the enormous amounts of subways less painful. Without Three-Dog in there the same comments from Skyrim would've been present in fallout. In Skyrim no such feature is available since technology is pretty much nonexistent in their world.

Except for things like the Temple of the Union moving to the Lincoln Memorial after you kick out the Slavers from the area. That's a direct impact on the world. Those people, former and escaped slaves, moved to the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. Or if you clear out the Slavers out of Paradise Falls, merchants will start visiting the surrounding areas more. Nothing like this happens in Skyrim. Just one more bland, emotionless line of ambient dialogue that gets shouted at you from static, uninteresting NPCs.