And for poor gamers who don't just go out and buy new games when they're released, replay value is key.
Because, for some reason, "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" (released Nov. 2011) continues to be relevant, especially for Fallout fans. Bethesda owns both franchises, and owns them well. The similarities between the two are apparent—Skyrim is, loosely, a better-designed Fallout 3, set in medieval times. If Skyrim is this good, imagine what the future will hold. To have improvements on games already this good is unprecedented, and it's an exciting time to be a gamer, and a follower of Bethesda Game Studios.
"Skyrim" is more a world than a series of levels, disconnected game areas, and characters. It's an open world in which you can go anywhere, at any time, emphasizing player freedom and an absence of linearity in a big way. With the sheer size, variety of gameplay options, DLC content available, and myriad quests large and small, Skyrim is, as far as I know, the closest thing to an endless game that exists.
The biggest downsides, to me, are the load times, and the monotony of commerce. The quests can seem monotonous too, with lots of go-fetch versions. But that's really all I can think of for now. The upsides more than outweigh the downsides. And the load times are more a fault of the technology than the game makers—I'll take it to get at that large world on a PS3 console.
My wife and I both have multiple ongoing characters, with different stats, skills and attributes. She hasn't had much time to game lately with Lucy being in school again, but she's onto her 3rd character, which inspired me to start anew as an alchemist and conjurer.
WHY IS HE REVIEWING A FOUR-YEAR-OLD GAME?
"Skyrim" is more a world than a series of levels, disconnected game areas, and characters. It's an open world in which you can go anywhere, at any time, emphasizing player freedom and an absence of linearity in a big way. With the sheer size, variety of gameplay options, DLC content available, and myriad quests large and small, Skyrim is, as far as I know, the closest thing to an endless game that exists.
The biggest downsides, to me, are the load times, and the monotony of commerce. The quests can seem monotonous too, with lots of go-fetch versions. But that's really all I can think of for now. The upsides more than outweigh the downsides. And the load times are more a fault of the technology than the game makers—I'll take it to get at that large world on a PS3 console.
My wife and I both have multiple ongoing characters, with different stats, skills and attributes. She hasn't had much time to game lately with Lucy being in school again, but she's onto her 3rd character, which inspired me to start anew as an alchemist and conjurer.
I haven't played everything, but I do have life-long gaming experience. Just last week, I was in my childhood home, peering into the bottom cabinet of an entertainment center containing the Nintendo Entertainment System, various controllers, and games I played as a kid. It all started when I was less than 10 years old. The point of all this is to say that Skyrim is mind-blowing to me when I compare it to my introduction to gaming. For others, maybe not so much. And that's fine. For me, it really works.
Bethesda puts into a game what you want in a game in this day and age: the ability to customize your character, male or female, marry who you want, male or female, any race, and yet have some game characters make racist and sexist remarks, and to have others talk about it. You have both social progression, and a mirror up to what really exists, emphasizing how hard it is to get over that stuff socially. It's a really smart way to go—having a medieval game with more lax sex laws and social customs than our world today.
Bethesda puts into a game what you want in a game in this day and age: the ability to customize your character, male or female, marry who you want, male or female, any race, and yet have some game characters make racist and sexist remarks, and to have others talk about it. You have both social progression, and a mirror up to what really exists, emphasizing how hard it is to get over that stuff socially. It's a really smart way to go—having a medieval game with more lax sex laws and social customs than our world today.
I don't know what I can say about this game that hasn't been said before. Read this incredibly thorough review by Charles Onyett for IGN.
Coming soon: screenshots and short bios of my four main Skyrim characters. I'm proud of them all, and they all deserve their individual posts. which...is just me... patting myself on the back... Stay tuned!
Stay game!
And someone tell me how I'm going to afford a PS4 by #Nov10!
Coming soon: screenshots and short bios of my four main Skyrim characters. I'm proud of them all, and they all deserve their individual posts. which...is just me... patting myself on the back... Stay tuned!
Stay game!
And someone tell me how I'm going to afford a PS4 by #Nov10!
