» Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:53 am 
So here we go.
General:
First a few general things.
I have played a nord and an altmer up to level 50.
The nord was a melee fighter with a sword and heavy armor.
The altmer was a mage, skilled in destruction and sneaking
I play on default difficulty.
This review is full of major and minor spoilers.
At the end, I propose several mods. I'm very interested in feedback on that.
Spoiler
Steam
I do not like the decision that this game can only be played with Steam. But this has been debated to death, and this topic should not be the place to do so again. Steam can be discussed here:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1286613-unofficial-steamdrm-discussion/
Graphics
Graphics in this game are fine. Sure, there is a glitch every now and then, but it looks good, and all textures blends together well into the environment.
I do, however, prefer the light green grasses of Cyrodill, but this is just personal taste.
(Glitch: texture not updating when getting closer)
Animations
I think that Skyrim really has a greatly improved animation wise. The new possible moves are great. I like the final move animations and cut-throat animation.
Sure, they are a bit buggy sometimes, but I can look past that.
Dragon fire, spells and spells also look great.
(Bugs: Hovering above a dragon when killing it, cut-throat on eye height)
Interface
The compass works well, and the magic menu is a lot better now that it is divided into separate schools. The lists of items and spells however, are terrible. I would like to see the power, weight and type without having to select the item or spell. This is much easier for comparing different items and spells, and is much better for seeing all active spell effects.
The separation of items is also very convenient. But the ‘all’ list, is useless, since it also lists all keys without any option of sorting.
The map is decent. Great view, but the markers can be a problem when they block the icon beneath them.
The skills are very well sorted, and it is clear to see what level they are, how far they are, and what perks you have. Navigating through perk-trees is a bit buggy though.
The option to view an item in 3D. I don’t know what to think about this. Has this been implemented so we could examine the dragon claw, or has the dragon claw been implemented to justify this feature?
Steam
I do not like the decision that this game can only be played with Steam. But this has been debated to death, and this topic should not be the place to do so again. Steam can be discussed here:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1286613-unofficial-steamdrm-discussion/
Graphics
Graphics in this game are fine. Sure, there is a glitch every now and then, but it looks good, and all textures blends together well into the environment.
I do, however, prefer the light green grasses of Cyrodill, but this is just personal taste.
(Glitch: texture not updating when getting closer)
Animations
I think that Skyrim really has a greatly improved animation wise. The new possible moves are great. I like the final move animations and cut-throat animation.
Sure, they are a bit buggy sometimes, but I can look past that.
Dragon fire, spells and spells also look great.
(Bugs: Hovering above a dragon when killing it, cut-throat on eye height)
Interface
The compass works well, and the magic menu is a lot better now that it is divided into separate schools. The lists of items and spells however, are terrible. I would like to see the power, weight and type without having to select the item or spell. This is much easier for comparing different items and spells, and is much better for seeing all active spell effects.
The separation of items is also very convenient. But the ‘all’ list, is useless, since it also lists all keys without any option of sorting.
The map is decent. Great view, but the markers can be a problem when they block the icon beneath them.
The skills are very well sorted, and it is clear to see what level they are, how far they are, and what perks you have. Navigating through perk-trees is a bit buggy though.
The option to view an item in 3D. I don’t know what to think about this. Has this been implemented so we could examine the dragon claw, or has the dragon claw been implemented to justify this feature?
Quests:
First, it should be noted that the inability to cancel quests is annoying. This was not a problem in previous games, since quests would not start as fast as they do here. Simply hearing about a quest is enough to start it.
The first thing to be noted here is the ability to do quests differently than the quest line suggests. Bring a priest to a bunch of cannibals so they can eat him? How about the priest and I kill all the cannibals?
Spoiler
Main
I do not really know what so say about the main quest, and that is because I’m not quite sure what the main quest is, or if there even is a main quest. I have played through the Alduin story-line two times now. I find that this story-line is quite short. Not much happens during the attack of Alduin, and most things seem rather insignificant. Alduin doesn’t seem to make any attempt to stop you. Alduin doesn’t seem to do anything for that matter.
But I haven’t started any of the civil war quests yet. Maybe these should also be regarded as part of the main story-line.
I also want to note that I find it ridiculous that I had to join the College and the Thieves guild to progress. I can live with being a novice in the College, but since I joined had to Thieves guild all bounties are reduced and stolen items are kept. Why not get rid of the bounty system as a whole, and let everyone do whatever they want anyway?
Guilds
I have played through the Companions, The Collage and the Dark Brotherhood. Still working on the Thieves Guild.
These story-lines feel a lot shorter than their Oblivion counterparts. But they don’t feel as such a drag either. The stories are pretty interesting, and the Dark Brotherhood is great if you played Oblivion. I did not get the thing about the axe and the Companions though.
So far, the Thieves guild has been interesting to.
Side
There really is a massive amount of side quests in this game. But many of them are simple and short errand or conversation quests. Examples: Get a book, bring someone an item, fetch items from another city, talk to person X, kill giant/bandit at location Y.
These quests are too simple and small to be interesting or rewarding, and only litter my Journal.
The larger ones, like the Foresworn in Markarth or the Daedric shrines are much better. The Daedric quests now actually feel evil, or make you regret the actions they made you do if you are a good guy. It should be noted I have not done all the Daedric quests yet.
Main
I do not really know what so say about the main quest, and that is because I’m not quite sure what the main quest is, or if there even is a main quest. I have played through the Alduin story-line two times now. I find that this story-line is quite short. Not much happens during the attack of Alduin, and most things seem rather insignificant. Alduin doesn’t seem to make any attempt to stop you. Alduin doesn’t seem to do anything for that matter.
But I haven’t started any of the civil war quests yet. Maybe these should also be regarded as part of the main story-line.
I also want to note that I find it ridiculous that I had to join the College and the Thieves guild to progress. I can live with being a novice in the College, but since I joined had to Thieves guild all bounties are reduced and stolen items are kept. Why not get rid of the bounty system as a whole, and let everyone do whatever they want anyway?
Guilds
I have played through the Companions, The Collage and the Dark Brotherhood. Still working on the Thieves Guild.
These story-lines feel a lot shorter than their Oblivion counterparts. But they don’t feel as such a drag either. The stories are pretty interesting, and the Dark Brotherhood is great if you played Oblivion. I did not get the thing about the axe and the Companions though.
So far, the Thieves guild has been interesting to.
Side
There really is a massive amount of side quests in this game. But many of them are simple and short errand or conversation quests. Examples: Get a book, bring someone an item, fetch items from another city, talk to person X, kill giant/bandit at location Y.
These quests are too simple and small to be interesting or rewarding, and only litter my Journal.
The larger ones, like the Foresworn in Markarth or the Daedric shrines are much better. The Daedric quests now actually feel evil, or make you regret the actions they made you do if you are a good guy. It should be noted I have not done all the Daedric quests yet.
Enemies:
Spoiler
It is great we now have draughr, instead of zombies. We now have skeevers, instead of rats. We now have saber tooth tigers instead of lions. Wisps actually look and sound creepy too.
Less great is that we still have bears and wolves. These creatures still feel too mundane.
Dragons are a great enemy to see. Sometimes you only hear them, or see a shadow swooping over the ground. They are less great in a fight though, since they are not that fearsome. More on this in Combat.
I am glad they removed the leveling system they had in Oblivion, this gives us a chance to finally become powerful at higher levels. Unfortunately, this is already the case at level 40, and you reach level 40 very fast.
Also, does anyone else seem to notice that enemies are strong or weak, independent of their outfit?
Mages seem to have an abnormal amount of magika, and bandits wearing steel armor seem to be protected as if they have a secret daedric lair underneath it.
It is great we now have draughr, instead of zombies. We now have skeevers, instead of rats. We now have saber tooth tigers instead of lions. Wisps actually look and sound creepy too.
Less great is that we still have bears and wolves. These creatures still feel too mundane.
Dragons are a great enemy to see. Sometimes you only hear them, or see a shadow swooping over the ground. They are less great in a fight though, since they are not that fearsome. More on this in Combat.
I am glad they removed the leveling system they had in Oblivion, this gives us a chance to finally become powerful at higher levels. Unfortunately, this is already the case at level 40, and you reach level 40 very fast.
Also, does anyone else seem to notice that enemies are strong or weak, independent of their outfit?
Mages seem to have an abnormal amount of magika, and bandits wearing steel armor seem to be protected as if they have a secret daedric lair underneath it.
Skills:
Spoiler
First, the number of skills: 27 in Morrowind, 21 Oblivion and 18 Skyrim. It is really a shame the number is decreasing. I feel like some vital mechanics are being removed from the series. Why can I not learn how to jump higher, fight with my hands, or run faster? These were all nice things to have and even nicer to enchant with or enhance with spells.
Second, the introduction of perks. At first, this seems like a really good idea. Forcing a player to spend an x amount of points to specialize the character. You can even separate some of the perk-trees into different skills. Sneak can be split up in a side that does extra damage, and a side that improves sneaking. Speech can be split up in a side that improves bartering, and a side that improves conversation.
However, I feel like I am being extremely limited as to what I can do. A skill-tree without any perk-points put into it is mostly useless. A master level in destruction can do little more than a novice level destruction, if there are no points invested into the destruction tree.
Lets say the max level is around 50. This is when leveling is supposed to become harder. We will have 50 perk-points.
Lets take a look how many points each tree can have:
For example: I only needed 9 points in block to make it useful. I only used 8 points in One-handed. 12 for destruction.
This means we can invest into 5 skills. Only 5 skills will be useful to you per character. So my warrior has been trained in heavy armor, one handed, block, enchanting and smiting. I would have loved to do some more archery, or perhaps two handed fighting.
I am aware you can train far beyond level 50, and gain many more perks. But after level 50, you are likely to be so strong that no opponent poses a problem anymore. If you choose to spread your skills so widely, you only reach the master perks only when you are beyond level 50, you become outclasses by your enemies rather quickly. I really need my level 90 destruction or level 100 heavy armor against draught deadlords.
Furthermore, the fact that you can only use 5 skills during the game also limits the amount of possible characters. It feels like the game was made for the 3 arch-types, and very small variants on those types. How am I supposed to create a decent spellsword? I would like to wear light armor. But spells drain to much magica if I do not equip a robe that reduces spell cost. I could pick the enchanting skill, but I already have light armor, one handed, destruction, restoration and sneak. Waiting to find a decent enchanted armor takes too long. My non-magic skills will be much higher than my magic skills, and I will be unable to use any of my magic, since the enemies by now outclass my magic influence.
The positive side of the ‘a skill is nothing without perks’ problem, is that a single perk can mean a lot to you. It is great to finally reach that perk that enables you to create the next armor set, or that extra strong enchantment you needed.
As a last point, I’d like to address a few skills. Enchanting, Smithing, Pickpocket and Lockpick. Enchanting is a great skill, and I am glad it is brought back to the game. It makes sense that you’d need knowledge to create a powerful item, and not only the tools. However it is still a sad thing that enchanting also suffers from the ‘a skill is nothing without perks’ problem, and it also suffers from a lack of usefulness. My warrior wears mostly unenchanted armor and weapons. He has an amulet that increases health and stamina, a ring that regenerates stamina faster, and a mask that protects from the elements 30 points. The rest is unenchanted, and I see no reason to enchant it. Ever since I reached level 40, there has not been a single situation that posed a problem.
This brings us to smithing. It is fun to create my own armor, and it gives a certain sense of accomplishment when you finally create the next level armor. But forging high level armor is too easy. The shops sell all I need for ebony, and there is no shortage of dragon bones and scales.
Next is pickpocketing. Ok. What is the use of this skill? Is it only used for the Thieves guild quest line and to steal your gold back from trainers?
Last is lockpicking. Again, I see little use in this skill. Having over a 50 picks allows you to pick any lock without trouble. The perks are only convenient.
First, the number of skills: 27 in Morrowind, 21 Oblivion and 18 Skyrim. It is really a shame the number is decreasing. I feel like some vital mechanics are being removed from the series. Why can I not learn how to jump higher, fight with my hands, or run faster? These were all nice things to have and even nicer to enchant with or enhance with spells.
Second, the introduction of perks. At first, this seems like a really good idea. Forcing a player to spend an x amount of points to specialize the character. You can even separate some of the perk-trees into different skills. Sneak can be split up in a side that does extra damage, and a side that improves sneaking. Speech can be split up in a side that improves bartering, and a side that improves conversation.
However, I feel like I am being extremely limited as to what I can do. A skill-tree without any perk-points put into it is mostly useless. A master level in destruction can do little more than a novice level destruction, if there are no points invested into the destruction tree.
Lets say the max level is around 50. This is when leveling is supposed to become harder. We will have 50 perk-points.
Lets take a look how many points each tree can have:
- Alteration: 14
- Conjuration: 16
- Destruction: 17
- Enchanting: 13
- Illusion: 13
- Restoration: 13
- Archery: 16
- Block: 13
- Heavy armor: 12
- One handed: 21
- Smithing: 10
- Two handed: 19
- Alchemy: 15
- Light armor: 10
- Lock-picking: 11
- Pickpocket: 12
- Sneak: 13
- Speech: 13
For example: I only needed 9 points in block to make it useful. I only used 8 points in One-handed. 12 for destruction.
This means we can invest into 5 skills. Only 5 skills will be useful to you per character. So my warrior has been trained in heavy armor, one handed, block, enchanting and smiting. I would have loved to do some more archery, or perhaps two handed fighting.
I am aware you can train far beyond level 50, and gain many more perks. But after level 50, you are likely to be so strong that no opponent poses a problem anymore. If you choose to spread your skills so widely, you only reach the master perks only when you are beyond level 50, you become outclasses by your enemies rather quickly. I really need my level 90 destruction or level 100 heavy armor against draught deadlords.
Furthermore, the fact that you can only use 5 skills during the game also limits the amount of possible characters. It feels like the game was made for the 3 arch-types, and very small variants on those types. How am I supposed to create a decent spellsword? I would like to wear light armor. But spells drain to much magica if I do not equip a robe that reduces spell cost. I could pick the enchanting skill, but I already have light armor, one handed, destruction, restoration and sneak. Waiting to find a decent enchanted armor takes too long. My non-magic skills will be much higher than my magic skills, and I will be unable to use any of my magic, since the enemies by now outclass my magic influence.
The positive side of the ‘a skill is nothing without perks’ problem, is that a single perk can mean a lot to you. It is great to finally reach that perk that enables you to create the next armor set, or that extra strong enchantment you needed.
As a last point, I’d like to address a few skills. Enchanting, Smithing, Pickpocket and Lockpick. Enchanting is a great skill, and I am glad it is brought back to the game. It makes sense that you’d need knowledge to create a powerful item, and not only the tools. However it is still a sad thing that enchanting also suffers from the ‘a skill is nothing without perks’ problem, and it also suffers from a lack of usefulness. My warrior wears mostly unenchanted armor and weapons. He has an amulet that increases health and stamina, a ring that regenerates stamina faster, and a mask that protects from the elements 30 points. The rest is unenchanted, and I see no reason to enchant it. Ever since I reached level 40, there has not been a single situation that posed a problem.
This brings us to smithing. It is fun to create my own armor, and it gives a certain sense of accomplishment when you finally create the next level armor. But forging high level armor is too easy. The shops sell all I need for ebony, and there is no shortage of dragon bones and scales.
Next is pickpocketing. Ok. What is the use of this skill? Is it only used for the Thieves guild quest line and to steal your gold back from trainers?
Last is lockpicking. Again, I see little use in this skill. Having over a 50 picks allows you to pick any lock without trouble. The perks are only convenient.
Combat:
Spoiler
First of all, I am very glad we have the ability to stop arrows or spells that have already been charged.
Second, it seems that combat is a joke when you pick the right perks, and utilize the right powers, but it’s a pain when you don’t.
Melee
I think that the animations of melee combat look good, and the ability of archers to shoot past your shield is also great. Perks allowing you to resist magic and bash with a shield are a good new addition. The inability of blocking with a one handed weapon while wielding something else is the other hand also seems quite logical and asks for better character planning. How will I defend myself without a shield?
It does seem to be a little bit unbalanced. My level 50 warrior can hardly be damaged by anything, but his own damage output is not that great either. A saber tooth cat may die in one or two blows, but a draughr deadlord takes hardly any damage from a normal attack. So we end up chopping away at each other, while I damage him faster than he damages me. Maybe an enchantment would greatly help my damage output here.
Magic
Magic has been nerved and boxed infinitely. It saddens me that I can no longer experiment with spells, and see what kind of funny effects I can come up with.
It is also very annoying that I am now limited to the damage and range my spells provide. Why can I not make a spell that incinerates a target for 100 fire damage, but is on touch only?
Besides the removal of spell making, which was really a great aspect of Oblivion and Morrowind, the mage itself is also nerved to a shade of its former self. My mage cannot fight if he does not wear Fortify Destruction enchantments. Completely naked, I can cast about two expert level spells. It seems that spell cost has skyrocketed just to prevent Fortify from being overpowered. A mage is too dependent of his gear, while a warrior can fight in pretty much any armor.
The actual combat is quite dull for a mage. Dual casting destruction spells and staggering an enemy until it is dead is not exactly fun. Since I’m not skilled in any armor type, and I don’t use armor spells, I die in one or two hits from higher level enemies. I’d expected to be able to enchant some gear with protective powers, but this seems to be limited to magic resistance. Magic resistance is one of the few things I do not have to worry about because of my wards and my 3 points in the Magic Resistance perk. Why can I not enchant with shield powers?
I should also mention the more positive side on the new magic system of course.
The animations, once again, look great. I can now see that I actually do a strong fire spell. I always hated the fact that in Oblivion, a fireball spell for 5 points and 100 points looked the same.
Having different schools move and act in different ways is also a great improvement. It makes you think about what kind of spell to use best. You might know a lightning spell works best, but only a fireball can cross the distance.
Last, what TES lacked so far, spells that you can sustain while they drain magika. I finally have that magic shield to protect me, as long as I can keep it up.
Sneak
This aspect of the game is awesome. Sneak damage is worth something, sneaking is possible, but not too easy and I have yet to find a spell or enchantment to make me invisible. Since I wielded a dagger, I could kill anything, but when I was discovered, I had to run for my life since I could not deal damage without sneaking.
The AI isn’t always as bright as they should be, but this makes sneaking more fun. If I shoot an arrow from a hidden location, I do not want every soul in the camp rushing at my location. I want some people to search and give up after a while.
I suppose it’s stupid that enemies don’t run indoors of their fort as soon as one man is sniped down, but then again, it would be no fun if you could only stealth-kill one enemy per location.
Stagger
This bothers me. In Oblivion, you would be staggered by every ogre, troll or lion you see. In Skyrim, you stagger everything you see. My character hardly ever gets staggered.
There are a few annoying bugs with staggering. You cannot stagger if the enemy is performing a certain animation. Nor can you hit an enemy with magic if he is staggered. I had my lightning bolt go through a staggered humanoid more than once.
Ranged
Ranged combat is quite fun. The ability to string traps or damage a giant somewhere beneath you, while you stand on an unreachable rock.
But ranged combat has certain issues. The NPC archers are the worst archers in the land. Unless they use a bow in close combat, NPC’s usually just aim for the rock 20 yards to the left or right from you.
Luckily for the NPC’s, when you aim in 3rd person, there is no way of hitting your target either.
Running sideways while casting icy spear makes the spear fly to the left or right. But this could be seen as normal, as it is hard to aim in while moving.
Shouts
The big new thing in TES. Shouts. Magic for everyone. Powers with a time.
Shouts have nice special effects, and can come in really handy every now and then. My lower level warrior would be dead if he could not Fus Ro Da his enemy of the mountain.
My sneaky mage would fail the Dark Brotherhood if he could not use Aura Whisper to see his enemy and his guards.
This is however where the usefulness ends. The shouts are fun, but they don’t add a lot to the game. Breathing fire or ice is awesome, but it does so little damage I don’t even bother.
I can slow time, but I see no reason to.
I can sprint really fast, except for the occasional trap placed just for this shout, this is used only to travel faster across a city.
On the other hand, I can’t wait to see what modders can do with these effects.
Dragons
As said before, they are great to view and they have good looking skills and attacks. But I do feel like they miss something.
Dragons are not fearsome. I do not shiver when I see a dragon. I do not start running when I see one.
I think ‘I wonder if I can carry any more bones and scales’.
When you are level 50, you could be a dragon hunter. You slaughtered the god-like dragon Alduin, so why not hunt a few dragons afterwards? But at lower levels these creatures should make the player scared. Combat with a dragon is something to fear for a warrior in steel armor and his guard friends. I should be running to the closest town, not his shadow.
Dragons suffer from the same problem as draughr deadlords. They don’t damage me, and I only slightly damage them.
Removal of aquatic combat & jumping attacks
This is just a short thing I missed in the game. Why can I no longer attack whilst in air or water?
Do I not deserve a chance to defeat slaughter fish? Am I not allowed to jump from a roof, surprising my enemy with an arrow or magic projectile?
First of all, I am very glad we have the ability to stop arrows or spells that have already been charged.
Second, it seems that combat is a joke when you pick the right perks, and utilize the right powers, but it’s a pain when you don’t.
Melee
I think that the animations of melee combat look good, and the ability of archers to shoot past your shield is also great. Perks allowing you to resist magic and bash with a shield are a good new addition. The inability of blocking with a one handed weapon while wielding something else is the other hand also seems quite logical and asks for better character planning. How will I defend myself without a shield?
It does seem to be a little bit unbalanced. My level 50 warrior can hardly be damaged by anything, but his own damage output is not that great either. A saber tooth cat may die in one or two blows, but a draughr deadlord takes hardly any damage from a normal attack. So we end up chopping away at each other, while I damage him faster than he damages me. Maybe an enchantment would greatly help my damage output here.
Magic
Magic has been nerved and boxed infinitely. It saddens me that I can no longer experiment with spells, and see what kind of funny effects I can come up with.
It is also very annoying that I am now limited to the damage and range my spells provide. Why can I not make a spell that incinerates a target for 100 fire damage, but is on touch only?
Besides the removal of spell making, which was really a great aspect of Oblivion and Morrowind, the mage itself is also nerved to a shade of its former self. My mage cannot fight if he does not wear Fortify Destruction enchantments. Completely naked, I can cast about two expert level spells. It seems that spell cost has skyrocketed just to prevent Fortify
The actual combat is quite dull for a mage. Dual casting destruction spells and staggering an enemy until it is dead is not exactly fun. Since I’m not skilled in any armor type, and I don’t use armor spells, I die in one or two hits from higher level enemies. I’d expected to be able to enchant some gear with protective powers, but this seems to be limited to magic resistance. Magic resistance is one of the few things I do not have to worry about because of my wards and my 3 points in the Magic Resistance perk. Why can I not enchant with shield powers?
I should also mention the more positive side on the new magic system of course.
The animations, once again, look great. I can now see that I actually do a strong fire spell. I always hated the fact that in Oblivion, a fireball spell for 5 points and 100 points looked the same.
Having different schools move and act in different ways is also a great improvement. It makes you think about what kind of spell to use best. You might know a lightning spell works best, but only a fireball can cross the distance.
Last, what TES lacked so far, spells that you can sustain while they drain magika. I finally have that magic shield to protect me, as long as I can keep it up.
Sneak
This aspect of the game is awesome. Sneak damage is worth something, sneaking is possible, but not too easy and I have yet to find a spell or enchantment to make me invisible. Since I wielded a dagger, I could kill anything, but when I was discovered, I had to run for my life since I could not deal damage without sneaking.
The AI isn’t always as bright as they should be, but this makes sneaking more fun. If I shoot an arrow from a hidden location, I do not want every soul in the camp rushing at my location. I want some people to search and give up after a while.
I suppose it’s stupid that enemies don’t run indoors of their fort as soon as one man is sniped down, but then again, it would be no fun if you could only stealth-kill one enemy per location.
Stagger
This bothers me. In Oblivion, you would be staggered by every ogre, troll or lion you see. In Skyrim, you stagger everything you see. My character hardly ever gets staggered.
There are a few annoying bugs with staggering. You cannot stagger if the enemy is performing a certain animation. Nor can you hit an enemy with magic if he is staggered. I had my lightning bolt go through a staggered humanoid more than once.
Ranged
Ranged combat is quite fun. The ability to string traps or damage a giant somewhere beneath you, while you stand on an unreachable rock.
But ranged combat has certain issues. The NPC archers are the worst archers in the land. Unless they use a bow in close combat, NPC’s usually just aim for the rock 20 yards to the left or right from you.
Luckily for the NPC’s, when you aim in 3rd person, there is no way of hitting your target either.
Running sideways while casting icy spear makes the spear fly to the left or right. But this could be seen as normal, as it is hard to aim in while moving.
Shouts
The big new thing in TES. Shouts. Magic for everyone. Powers with a time.
Shouts have nice special effects, and can come in really handy every now and then. My lower level warrior would be dead if he could not Fus Ro Da his enemy of the mountain.
My sneaky mage would fail the Dark Brotherhood if he could not use Aura Whisper to see his enemy and his guards.
This is however where the usefulness ends. The shouts are fun, but they don’t add a lot to the game. Breathing fire or ice is awesome, but it does so little damage I don’t even bother.
I can slow time, but I see no reason to.
I can sprint really fast, except for the occasional trap placed just for this shout, this is used only to travel faster across a city.
On the other hand, I can’t wait to see what modders can do with these effects.
Dragons
As said before, they are great to view and they have good looking skills and attacks. But I do feel like they miss something.
Dragons are not fearsome. I do not shiver when I see a dragon. I do not start running when I see one.
I think ‘I wonder if I can carry any more bones and scales’.
When you are level 50, you could be a dragon hunter. You slaughtered the god-like dragon Alduin, so why not hunt a few dragons afterwards? But at lower levels these creatures should make the player scared. Combat with a dragon is something to fear for a warrior in steel armor and his guard friends. I should be running to the closest town, not his shadow.
Dragons suffer from the same problem as draughr deadlords. They don’t damage me, and I only slightly damage them.
Removal of aquatic combat & jumping attacks
This is just a short thing I missed in the game. Why can I no longer attack whilst in air or water?
Do I not deserve a chance to defeat slaughter fish? Am I not allowed to jump from a roof, surprising my enemy with an arrow or magic projectile?
NPC:
Spoiler
I like how the NPC’s have been done in Skyrim. They actually live lives, and do stuff instead of wondering around aimlessly. They look diverse, and the voices are a lot better.
I do feel like the conversations have been nerved a lot. I would have liked the option to talk to every single person, even if they could only tell me that rumor I heard a thousand times before. I would have liked to increase or decrease dispositions. Taunt people into attacking me.
This is just a minor annoyance.
What bothers me most is the pre-set reactions for the PC. I do not want to say “I think you owe me one! (Persuade)”, I would rather see “Remind of favor (Persuade)”.
I do not want to say “Let her stay, Tullius doesn’t actually want her here either”, I would rather see “Let her stay”
Let my imagination come up with the text, let the game handle the reaction.
Behaviour of NPC’s has also improved somewhat. They no longer run directly to the place an arrow was shot from and I’ve seen giants take shelter from arrows or fire breath if they can’t reach the source.
I like how the NPC’s have been done in Skyrim. They actually live lives, and do stuff instead of wondering around aimlessly. They look diverse, and the voices are a lot better.
I do feel like the conversations have been nerved a lot. I would have liked the option to talk to every single person, even if they could only tell me that rumor I heard a thousand times before. I would have liked to increase or decrease dispositions. Taunt people into attacking me.
This is just a minor annoyance.
What bothers me most is the pre-set reactions for the PC. I do not want to say “I think you owe me one! (Persuade)”, I would rather see “Remind of favor (Persuade)”.
I do not want to say “Let her stay, Tullius doesn’t actually want her here either”, I would rather see “Let her stay”
Let my imagination come up with the text, let the game handle the reaction.
Behaviour of NPC’s has also improved somewhat. They no longer run directly to the place an arrow was shot from and I’ve seen giants take shelter from arrows or fire breath if they can’t reach the source.
Misc:
A few points I could not fit into any other sections.
Spoiler
Adventuring
This is a big problem. I do not feel the need to adventure. Why should I? I already forged armor so great I do not need replacement. I already enchanted a robe so great I do not need replacement.
But even if I did need a replacement, the loot I find is useless. I have yet to find a weapon that sparks my interest. Best I’ve found is an enchanted glass sword. The rest is just enchanted steel, or unenchanted ebony.
Money is not an issue either. All the quests you do, and loot you bring from doing those, is more than enough to buy me everything my hard desires. When I want to train my enchanting skill, I just buy every single filled soul gem in the universe.
Armor
I am really disappointed that the cuirass and greaves have been merged. Armor as it is looks great, but there is really no option to mix and match anymore. I would have liked to make a barbarian with dragon greaves, and no cuirass or just pauldrons.
Armor was really designed to be worn all at the same time. Wearing a glass cuirass together with dark brotherhood gloves makes your arms look like spaghetti. The glass armor is so buffed compared to the dark brotherhood gloves. I sure hope this is easier to fix than it was for Oblivion. I doubt it though.
A third point on armor is the massive amount of useless armors. Why do we have 2 alternative fur armors? Why do scaled, hide and fur and studded armor look alike? Much armor you come by is useless since your current armor is better anyway. I never compared my loot to my current outfit. But this was also partially because I had to scroll up and down a list just to compare 2 items.
In Oblivion and Morrowind I occasionally traded in an armor piece for a piece with worse protection, but with a better enchantment or just better looks. Smithing has taken this away option away, since armor that is worth wearing is always a one forge away.
Theft and Murder
I am glad the crime system has been redone, and the guards are no longer psychic. Murder is now fun and possible to commit. I was amazed that the Dark Brotherhood actually let me kill someone in the midst of a city, and had me escape while all guards went nuts on me. Only to have me flee to another city, where no one cared, and I could be safe.
It is a pity that murder is the only thing that has improved. Theft is useless. There is nothing to steal, nothing to gain. It suffers from the same problem as adventuring. You will gather so much gold while questing, you will not need to steal. Not that anyone has anything interesting to steal. No armor above iron tier, no enchanted items worth my while, no big piles of gold.
Dungeons
Dungeons feel more like levels now. You play through a level and at the end you leave. No reason to go back the way you came, since most dungeons offer a way out at the end.
This is not necessarily a bad thing.
What is a bad thing, is that all dungeons still look somewhat alike. I’m having a hard time separating the different halls at an intersection. Where did I come from, where do I go? They all look alike.
The local map also isn’t very helpful here.
Adventuring
This is a big problem. I do not feel the need to adventure. Why should I? I already forged armor so great I do not need replacement. I already enchanted a robe so great I do not need replacement.
But even if I did need a replacement, the loot I find is useless. I have yet to find a weapon that sparks my interest. Best I’ve found is an enchanted glass sword. The rest is just enchanted steel, or unenchanted ebony.
Money is not an issue either. All the quests you do, and loot you bring from doing those, is more than enough to buy me everything my hard desires. When I want to train my enchanting skill, I just buy every single filled soul gem in the universe.
Armor
I am really disappointed that the cuirass and greaves have been merged. Armor as it is looks great, but there is really no option to mix and match anymore. I would have liked to make a barbarian with dragon greaves, and no cuirass or just pauldrons.
Armor was really designed to be worn all at the same time. Wearing a glass cuirass together with dark brotherhood gloves makes your arms look like spaghetti. The glass armor is so buffed compared to the dark brotherhood gloves. I sure hope this is easier to fix than it was for Oblivion. I doubt it though.
A third point on armor is the massive amount of useless armors. Why do we have 2 alternative fur armors? Why do scaled, hide and fur and studded armor look alike? Much armor you come by is useless since your current armor is better anyway. I never compared my loot to my current outfit. But this was also partially because I had to scroll up and down a list just to compare 2 items.
In Oblivion and Morrowind I occasionally traded in an armor piece for a piece with worse protection, but with a better enchantment or just better looks. Smithing has taken this away option away, since armor that is worth wearing is always a one forge away.
Theft and Murder
I am glad the crime system has been redone, and the guards are no longer psychic. Murder is now fun and possible to commit. I was amazed that the Dark Brotherhood actually let me kill someone in the midst of a city, and had me escape while all guards went nuts on me. Only to have me flee to another city, where no one cared, and I could be safe.
It is a pity that murder is the only thing that has improved. Theft is useless. There is nothing to steal, nothing to gain. It suffers from the same problem as adventuring. You will gather so much gold while questing, you will not need to steal. Not that anyone has anything interesting to steal. No armor above iron tier, no enchanted items worth my while, no big piles of gold.
Dungeons
Dungeons feel more like levels now. You play through a level and at the end you leave. No reason to go back the way you came, since most dungeons offer a way out at the end.
This is not necessarily a bad thing.
What is a bad thing, is that all dungeons still look somewhat alike. I’m having a hard time separating the different halls at an intersection. Where did I come from, where do I go? They all look alike.
The local map also isn’t very helpful here.
Conclusion:
Skyrim is certainly a great game, and many hours can be put into it before you are done.
But it does not have that endless gameplay Morrowind and Oblivion had. When you finished the main quest, or reached level 50, the character is as good as done.
I cannot help but feel that vital features of TES have been removed to make way for flashy animations and simpler gameplay to appeal to a broader audience.
So, was it worth my money?
-Most certainly. It might not have been the new endless TES game I expected, but it did give me hours of fun.
Mod Ideas:
To improve some of the problems addresses in the essay(
) above, I thought about some mods. I would like some feedback on the ideas. Note that these are not requests. I'd simply like to know if anyone agrees or disagrees, and why.
Spoiler
Perks
Because skills are useless without perks, I think we should get some more perk points. I was thinking about something along the lines of Oblivion's style of perks.
You gain a perk at a certain level. So lets say, when you reach destruction level 100, you automatically get the Master perk.
Or you get a perk point in a certain tree for every 10 levels you gain at that skill.
Stats
I think that the stats stay way to low. I'd like to see my health increase as I level up.
So a mod that increases all stats by a certain amount would be useful. About 3 points in every stat per level maybe.
Smithing
I think smithing has to be nerved. Prevent us from making any item easily.
Maybe even removing the option to create anything beyond Ebony and scaled, only leaving the perks to improve them.
With this we might achieve the same effect from Morrowind. Only 2 sets of daedric armor in the game. It would be really hard to get high lever armor.
Conversation
This is just a minor mod. But I think it would be great if all your responses would be edited to something neutral.
More along the lines of Morrowind. You simply select the subject, and NPC's respond.
Shops
I think shops should be nerved in their inventory.
No more ebony ingots for sale, no more filled grand soul gems.
Let me worry about my smithing supplies, and actually have to adventure.
(This mod might nerve to much if smithing is also nerved)
Thieves Guild
As said, practically every character get's the Thieves guild bounty reduction bonus.
This should be changed so that only higher ranking guild members receive that bounty, or you don't have to become a member of the guild yet.
Fearsome Dragons
Make dragons fearsome. Let them actually output some damage and maybe resist some magick.
On one hand, my fighter receives no damage from a dragon, and only slowly chops away a dragons health.
While my mage outputs a lot more damage, but can be eaten while health is full.
Perks
Because skills are useless without perks, I think we should get some more perk points. I was thinking about something along the lines of Oblivion's style of perks.
You gain a perk at a certain level. So lets say, when you reach destruction level 100, you automatically get the Master perk.
Or you get a perk point in a certain tree for every 10 levels you gain at that skill.
Stats
I think that the stats stay way to low. I'd like to see my health increase as I level up.
So a mod that increases all stats by a certain amount would be useful. About 3 points in every stat per level maybe.
Smithing
I think smithing has to be nerved. Prevent us from making any item easily.
Maybe even removing the option to create anything beyond Ebony and scaled, only leaving the perks to improve them.
With this we might achieve the same effect from Morrowind. Only 2 sets of daedric armor in the game. It would be really hard to get high lever armor.
Conversation
This is just a minor mod. But I think it would be great if all your responses would be edited to something neutral.
More along the lines of Morrowind. You simply select the subject, and NPC's respond.
Shops
I think shops should be nerved in their inventory.
No more ebony ingots for sale, no more filled grand soul gems.
Let me worry about my smithing supplies, and actually have to adventure.
(This mod might nerve to much if smithing is also nerved)
Thieves Guild
As said, practically every character get's the Thieves guild bounty reduction bonus.
This should be changed so that only higher ranking guild members receive that bounty, or you don't have to become a member of the guild yet.
Fearsome Dragons
Make dragons fearsome. Let them actually output some damage and maybe resist some magick.
On one hand, my fighter receives no damage from a dragon, and only slowly chops away a dragons health.
While my mage outputs a lot more damage, but can be eaten while health is full.
Thank you for your time
