I'll have to give this a look-see.

However, as I understand it, FONV is open world and has lots of consequences for one's actions.

Thanks. I changed it to gold. Hopefully that is easier to read? Long ago I changed my preferences on this forum so everything appears as black text against a white background on my screen. Hopefully the gold color is easy to read for everyone. If another color is better, just let me know.

I was wondering if anyone would mention Two Worlds. I enjoyed the first Two Worlds quite a bit because it is the only game I have found that delivers a TES type of experience in a fantasy world setting. Two Worlds received a lot of criticism for being too cheesy and for having bad UI. Those are valid criticisms. The issue I had with Two Worlds was that it did not have as much lore as TES, nothing respawned, the PC had a voice acted "voice" (really ruined immersion for me), there was no house you could acquire, there were no books to read, and Two Worlds just did not do the things TES does nearly as well as TES does them. But Two Worlds does make a rare attempt at it and the game held my interest for a couple of months. Someday I am going to play it some more because I only got half way through the game (which is a lot for me -- most of my games go into the "I may play that someday but not anytime soon" pile after a few hours of gameplay).

I just started Two Worlds 2, but so far am not liking that game as much as the first one. The UI is still incomprehensible, combat is a little better but not spectacular, the game is less open world than the first one (less free exploring, more following a linear path set out for you), and IMO Two Worlds 2 is even more cheesy that the first one. The opening scene has a guy named Zauron who looks just like Sauron from the LOTR movie. It also had too many cut scenes for my tastes. I do not enjoy those at all.

I have heard that too, and I am eagar to try FONV. I was in the middle of FO:3 when Skyrim came out, but I want to get back to that game at some point and I will have to try FONV. I'd like to see more consequence in the game world, and I understand how some of that might be hard to do. They already have enough quest glitches in Skyrim. But seems like it would not be that hard to have the NPC's give you alternate dialog options once you achieved certain ranks like archmage. They did that in Oblivion and folks would comment on your status as archmage, your Arena rank, etc.

Fascinating, as Spock would say. I think you just made them a sale. Looks really cool. Funny tho, when I compared what the walkthrough in your link was like, compared to the sales trailer on Steam... lol! The trailer was all massive space fleets hurtling together and blasting each other to bits... but the actual gameplay looks a lot less... star wars-ey. Which is good, in my opinion. If i want a massive choreographed space opera, I'll go watch the movie.

I was also wondering If tw2 would be mentioned I mean it's not a bad game but as someone who usually plays great games I could not get into it I am excited for tw3 however they improved drastically from tw1 to tw2 so I think tw3 will be where they get it right

I'd like to define Skyrim as an action oriented freeform adventure with mystic fantasy theme. Of course, that's just me.

It's kinda moot these days to try and define a game's genre. Ever since the tyranny of Diablo2 has passed(when all these copycats try making similar games), game companies have been trying many different system in their search of more entertaining form of video game.
Many successful video games today have something unique that separate them from each other, catering different groups of players. Skyrim is one of these examples.

I'd like to say though, that I appreciate the level system of Skyrim. That you develop your skills as you use them and grow your character rather than spending "skill points" at each level-up and picking class ability nonsenses. I don't recall seeing that kind of leveling system in other games, except Oblivion.

Considering you play a different role than yourself in every game, wouldn't that mean that all games by definition are role playing games in its own right?

It is a slippery slope, isn't it? Trying to set a hard definition to what a 'role playing game' is. One could roleplay tetris or pong, if you really felt like it and had a weird enough imagination. Like most things without a really hard and fast starting definition, it tends to eventually get stretched out, twisted, diluted, and morphed into whatever any given individual wants to think it is.

then =censored= the term RPG and align more with a TES Game, sure they've varied from full on Dungeon crawler, an Adventure with Episodes and some side game running around in a plane overrun with Daedra (not Oblivion). but for the majority of TES games, they have all followed a formula, a formula who's ingredients are being phased out for Good only during the first Taste concoctions.

The formula seems to consist of a really well made gameworld and dungeon scenery, for which I applaud them... and everything else was pretty much just tossed into the mixing bowl haphazardly without a lot of thought or craftsmanship. Balance wasn't even found anywhere in their spice rack. If only they could have refined the other ingredients to better compliment the scenery, it would have been a formula of the ages. So much potential, so little realization. So much work still needed.

True, but as long as other developers don't jump to compete in this niche, there's not enough pressure on Bethesda to push the boundaries and try to innovate. They were way more daring when the business was smaller.

I agree, they need more competiton in the open world business. Maybe BioWare attempts something with the next Dragon Age, they said appreciative things about Skyrim. Two Worlds is another series that is trying, but its way sub standard to call it competition so far.

HI Father Trosky. How's the Fourth International going?

I agree. Competiion is needed. From what I've seen but not played: KIngdoms of Amalur, despite receiving poor reviews and having terrible art direction, might mature into a strong contender. The WItcher series, which got some phenomenal reviews and has some great art direction, might step up their game with the next instalment and go truly Open World. Finally, surely, SKyrim's success hasn't gone unnoticed. Other major companies will want a piece of that cake. Bethesda, pay due notice.

Fallout New Vegas

Hi teher Smokeyman. It's good to see you.

I have to agree with your overall depiction of SKyrim. Landscaping is Bethesda's strongest skill. However, my main gripe is that nothing is ever truly unique. Take Black Reach. It's hypnotic as hell the first time you enter it, but when you take a hard loook at it, it ammounts to recycled architecture, borrowed from all the other Dwemmer ruins, backed up by somre great fuzzy ambient music. Nothing is ever unique in this game. Dejà Vu is the pervading flavour.

Hi Press Z to debunk, I hope you're having the time of your life.
I understand your criticism about recycled scenery, but I think it makes sense in a world of this size, and due to the fact it all happens in one province, to have dungeons and buildings that look similar since they've been built by the same civilization. They improved the variety compared to Oblivion though, let's give them that.

Know what's a better game than Skyrim as far as roleplaying goes? The forum game.

You can be any class you want. You can attack anyone in game, including other players. You can be a theif and steal whatever you want. The leveling system is awesome and is strictly enforced by the old timers.

It's got everything.

Hi Page. Greetings to you too.

I can understand that. I'm not expecting a gameworld as vast as Skyrim's to be designed without ever rehashing some components. However, certain locations should be unique. One would think Black Reach woulod be a strong contender for a unique location. How I wish they'd applied their superior art direction skills, probably the best in the industry, to fewer yet more distinct dungeons.

@Turija
great opening for your thread and to answer your question I agree, no other studio has offered me such a great open world like Bethesda.

Then why are you posting in this thread? In any event, I would have to disagree. So far we have had a good discussion and have learned about several open world games that some of us had never heard of before and I also learned something new about a game I already own but have never got around to playing (FF12).

Unfortunately, it seems like most of the games available that deliver a Skyrim type of open world roleplaying experience are set in a modern or futuristic setting and are available only on PC. I wish there were more options available for people wanting a Skyrim type of experience, especially for folks who want a more "numbers" oriented RPG experience.