Share Your Opinions on TESV Here. (No Spoilers)

[TheImperialDragon]

The game has been out for over a month, and I have not been able to play it as much as I would have liked, but from what I've seen it is absolutely amazing. The whole backdrop of a civil war is very well-done, I have a tough time deciding which side to join (if any ). The main quest had a number of very unique, memorable challenges. And then there are all the side-quests and distractions you can find while traveling. It's easy for hours to go by while playing this game.

I have not as of yet had a chance to complete any factions. What do people recommend?

[jucklesjenk]

I really like the College of Winterhold so far, but I haven't completed it yet. I've completed the legion and the DB, and I enjoyed both of them. I think that the DB has a very strong storyline, but I personally prefer the Oblivion DB to this one.

I also think that the Thieves Guild is a huge improvement as well, but I'm still only halfway through it. I've been really distracted by sidequests.

[Proditus]

The game is built better than anything else that Bethesda has created thus far. The way that it works puts Morrowind to shame, I would say. Environments feel so much more vivid, authentic, and unique, and the people of Skyrim have a greater amount of personality than they did in Oblivion. It feels like a true work of art, and I think it takes a lot to inspire as many gamers as it did.

However, I can't help but realize just how little content there is even compared to Oblivion. I didn't think it was even possible that the quest lines could become shorter, given how much shorter Oblivion's quests were than Morrowind's. I can understand the reasons why this may have been, but it seems tragic that it had to be this way. Because of it, I can only hope that the DLC is as substantial as they say, and I would like to see at least one more project as ambitious as the Shivering Isles (considering how praised it was).

But now that the new engine is finished and the next generation doesn't seem likely to be limited by disc size, I can't wait to see what Bethesda sends out their doors next.

[jucklesjenk]

I totally agree about the shorter questlines - IMO the Companions were a massive letdown. The FG in Oblivion had a much much longer questline. It's the same with the DB and TG as well. (I haven't got far enough in the College to comment yet)

Whilst I do think that in terms of the gameplay and graphics, TES is better than ever with Skyrim, I just think that it is still inferior in content to Morrowind. Skyrim has loads more miscellaneous sidequests than OB or MW, but the factions feel dead and the Nord culture feels like it needs more filling out (it's loads better than TESIV for that, but compared to the Dunmer lore and culture in MW, it's seriously inferior).

In MW the factions had really long questlines and had multiple questgivers, and in the FG for example, you could get a quest from 3 people at the same time, all of which progress you further in the questline, but in the Companions there is only one quest at a time, and about 5 quests (plus generated radiant quests).

The cities are very well made though IMO. The OB cities were really empty and lifeless, but in Skyrim they are full of people doing stuff and not standing around aimlessly in the street.

[Proditus]

I think there was plenty of Nord culture in Skyrim that was fleshed out. I think the main reason that Morrowind was praised for having so much culture was because it was so much more different than anything we're familiar with. When it comes to the Nords, the theme was vikings, vikings, and more vikings. We've already seen it before, so it doesn't feel special.

I will honestly say that the development was probably rushed. We have Todd Howard saying that the inclusion of werewolves was doubtful only a few months before release, and then we get the Companions that are centered entirely around werewolves. I can't help but think that the Companions and several of the other guilds were created in a very small window of time so they could meet the 11/11 release schedule.

I also agree with your thoughts on the cities. The big ones actually feel unique and full of activity. I just wish there were more of them. After going to Whiterun and Solitude early in the game, I was a bit disappointed when I made it to Dawnstar and Falkreath, to see that they were barely bigger than tiny little Riverwood. The main cities in Oblivion were pretty terrible, but there were eight of them as opposed to Skyrim's five. And while Solitude was a nice city, it didn't really have the majesty of what I'd consider a capital city, and it was more dead than any of the others. I guess it's still a reasonable tradeoff, but it'd be nice to get the best of both worlds.

[jucklesjenk]

I do think that there was a lot o Nord culture, but I can't help but feel like it's lacking something - I dunno, maybe that's just my opinion

I totally agree about the smaller cities like Falkreath. If they'd have made them like the five main ones, it would have improved the game massively. I'm sure that there's gonna be someone modding that though.

[Proditus]

Of course. If no one does them by February I'll do it myself.

[Herman]

Of course, the game is completely awesome. One thing that does annoy me is the way that absolutely everyone is racist. I mean, I know it's trying to be realistic in terms of the situation of Skyrim at that point, but I would have thought at least SOME people would be able to resist the urge to spew out racial slurs when one walks past

[Proditus]

I blame the Morrowind fans. They wanted a return of the Outlander hatred because it added to the atmosphere. Hope they're happy.

In lore-terms, the racism makes sense because you need to analyze the very pro-human tendencies of the Nords throughout each game. They killed the Falmer, they fought the Dwemer, and they've been in a long conflict with the Dunmer over Solstheim. Now the Empire surrendered to the elven Thalmor, and they made worship of Talos (a very human god) illegal. The Nords of Skyrim have every reason to be mad at the outlanders who are actually threatening their very way of life, and the Stormcloaks are justified in rebelling against the Empire that refuses to do anything about it.

[dietbob196045]

So far I like it, the game play is similar to Morrowind, the controls are pretty much the same, the story so far is good, I thought the intro was too long, I don't like the load time but I think thats just "Steam" which is also something I was not expecting.

Weapons toggling seems a bit difficult but I am sure I will get the hang of it

Lots of reading to do !!!

I just finished my first quest in Riverwood Not bad for a level 1 Quest !



Enjoy

Bob