» Thu May 31, 2012 3:59 pm What I have not yet done is go out of my way to make sure I highlighted the things I felt they did right, and that create a much better experience than Oblivion offered.
The writing all around. The interactions are more mature, more realistic, the quest lines and stories are far superior and contribute to the suspension of disbelief. There's some humor to be found in "an ogre stole my potatoes!" but when there are 10+ such quests in a game, it's no longer a joke except at the expense of the game makers.
As I've said in other places, there's a difference between psychologically disturbing (Silence of the Lambs for example) and just plain gross (Hannibal Lector - the sequel which svcked).
Bethesda's writers did a great job of nailing the first in this set of stories.
There were three moments during the Dark Brotherhood that just absolutely shocked me, which isn't easy to do. The first was when it started, sneaking into the house were the child is performing the sacrament. Having not read ahead for spoilers or anything, to walk into that house and hear the innocent voice of a child reciting the lines from the prayer, coming around the corner and seeing him kneeling over the components of the ritual... Man, that was eerie. That has to be in my top ten of things that made me go, "Whoa.... That's messed up" in a video game. Very nicely done.
The second time was when we had to hurry back to the original sanctuary after having earned the friendship and loyalty of Festus. He also had about the best commentary for the Brotherhood the entire time, which made me certain he wouldn't be going away. I had liked the old fart from the beginning actually, but the quest just prior to this makes certain that most players feel very positively towards Festus. As soon as he finally acknowledges, in his very grandfatherly way, that you're okay and that all is right with him... You find him nailed to a tree with arrows; his hands shielding his face as he saw it coming.
Creepy.
I really didn't care for the wolf, or Gabriella, and although I really liked Astrid I kind of knew it had to be her (and by the way, I knew I was being set up even without reading spoilers - as I'm sure most folks did) so I had resigned myself to her being gone. Festus however, I was confident was a strong character that they wouldn't do anything to, and that I really liked. I was very surprised at the graphic (which honestly disgusted me a bit in an intellectual way) and shocking way I found dear Festus.
That's seriously messed up. Nicely done.
The third instance was finding Astrid, charred, barely alive, in pain, and I was in a position to let it linger. That's so messed up. I wouldn't have minded having the option to make her suffer more. That'd be totally repugnant. Still, I actually had to stop and take it all in for a moment before I ended that quest, because that was quite the mind-job.
During the escape from Cindah Mine, when the player has to speak to the father in order to appease the King in Rags. That little speech he gives adds a whole new perspective to the Forsworn, which I had known nothing about prior to this quest, and just knew that they almost always attacked me, had good loot, and that I had presumed were universal bad guys. Again, nicely done.
The ending of Blood on the Ice (after the Dark Brotherhood quest pertaining to those characters) is over is pretty messed up too.
All in all, I found it a much better story that was more realistic and harsh - more genuinely tragic - than they were in Oblivion. The writing took a dramatic leap forward in this installment.
The thieves guild is significantly better, despite that I knew Mercer was a tool from the moment I spoke to him and that again, I was forced to play gullible in order to complete the quest line. I really liked Karliah and she was well written, as are Vex and Delvin. Good job on these as well.
I also like the ability to do random odd jobs for the guild, and of different types. I happened to enjoy those a great deal and still do them now and again. It's a good source of income, provides an opportunity for someone that wants to play a "city thief - no combat" if they desire, and they were good loot without worrying about over leveling in the process. I'd like it more if it started the jobs at say 100 septim as your reward, but then each subsequent job that's completed raises that amount by 25 bucks or so. Then I'd feel compelled to continue doing the quests for a long, long time. Eventually though, a character outgrows those quests because the rewards just don't keep pace with the "standard of living" that goes with higher level characters.
Karliah is especially well-written, and I love her voice. She's a bit too quiet to hear sometimes compared to surrounding commentary from others, but I thought that character was very well done.
The thieves guild master chest was also a good idea. Not just to have it there, but to allow it to stockpile all the stuff the master would have earned. I was incredibly annoyed in the last game where I had to check in every week with the Nightmother to get my reward for being the Listener. If I didn't make the trip I didn't get the reward, and I couldn't just stop in when convenient; I had to get there once a week. It seemed a lot like work. The master's chest in the guild is a nice little reward and it was implemented well.
How come I can't get into my own treasury, though?
I like the idea of perks. Pity we can't eventually get them all though. I'm sure that's partially done to ensure sales of DLC, which will undoubtedly contain ways to obtain more perks for your characters.
I really like that in the current system it's possible to pick the set of armor one most likes the look of and make it as good as any other armor in the game. The armor caps, crafting, enchanting and perks make it possible for everyone who plays to have the set of armor and weapons they really want - which is a great idea for a game that is centered on the acquisition of items and gear. Since the players are often equipment dependent, some amount of allowance for preferences should be made - and that was done in this go-around.
Whomever did the caves like Lost Knife cave did an amazing job. They're well lit and easy to see. They're artistically beautiful and fun to be inside of. I stumbled onto Lost Knife Cave while wandering about and went inside. It's my favorite cave in the entire game. As soon as I saw the main chamber I thought, "If my character could take over a cave and make it her own, this would be the one I wanted." Its' very beautiful and with just enough to explore and find to keep me entertained, but not overwhelm the player (the Dwemer caverns can be overwhelming at times). These cave types are all very impressive - but I have a special fondness for Lost Knife.
Thank you to whomever did the unique items in the game. They're now easily identifiable to players like myself who don't have a Ph.D. in TES. In Oblivion I couldn't tell what was and what wasn't a unique item, so sometimes I overlooked them and sometimes I just sold them without knowing it. They're far easier to pick out from "normal loot" this time around however, and I appreciate that a lot.
The rewards for quests actually matter in this game. The Nightengale powers actually do something worthwhile. They can change a "no win situation" into one that can be overcome and they're actually substantial rewards.
I was also very pleased to see the ability to summon a spectral assassin (Lechance). He can actually fight and doesn't totally svck. He stays with you until he dies rather than having a cheesy and small time limit. For people who aren't into magic, making this a power and making it a power that's actually interesting and worthwhile to use is huge. I'd like it if he shut the Hell up or if I could dismiss him, but whatever. It's a good reward, as many of the quest rewards have been.
The music is also terrific. Very soothing and still interesting. This may be about the third time ever that I've had a "favorite song" on a soundtrack for a video game. Very well done.
Re-spawning of items. It's fun, it keeps the world looking alive, and yet is nicely balanced so that it's not "too easy" for the player to get everything that's good in the game without trying. It's a fun and rewarding way to make money early on as a rogue, but doesn't break the game. Eventually the player gets bored and has enough money to go on about their business in other quests and stories and the kleptomania dies off, but it's there and it's worth doing in this version of the game for those that want to do so.
And there's more, but so far... Bugs and glitches aside, this is a substantial improvement in many ways over the previous game. Bethesda has come a long way in understanding mainstream gaming in the past couple of years, and they stepped up their game to meet many of the expectations of modern gamers. I'm really very impressed with these aspects of improvement, and I just wanted you all to hear me say that.
