I actually agree. Everyone raves about Morrowind's dialogue and quests. 90% of the dialogue in the game was generic waffle that could have been said in 2 lines, and quests were completely linear.

Yes but choices are worthless if they don't have repercussions in the game.

Um, so what? I don't see your point here. We might call it a hybrid if you like but it's certainly an RPG as well.

It's better than no choices at all.

Besides, depending on who you side with, cities change their aligence. Jarl's change, the leaderships change.

More skills, quests, factions, mechanics, and content. I think its funny, when I need the Morrowind buffs, there no were to be found. Skyrin feels like a watered down Oblivion, that would be used to to get someone into "RPGs".

Yes, of course it's an rpg. However, when one looks past its pretty face, it becomes exceedingly clear that it is a shallow one.

Weren't choices supposed to have repercussions on the character? That's what playing a role is for. Repercussions in the game are nice additions as well but in my opinion they are not strictly necessary to qualify a game as an RPG.

Thats a large part of RPGs, but Skyrim dosen't have it. If Skyrim was a beer, it would be a light one.

As you can see, the opinions are all over the place.

However, there are camps, and they are easily recognized:
1) Those who only talk about Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, are young, and almost universally X-box or playstation gamers.....
2) Those who mention Arena, Daggerfall, Battlespire, and Redguard are those who are PC-centric players, and are aware of the bulk of the Elder Scrolls series, which has -not- been on game appliances.

You'll note that those who seem to wax the most poetic and fanboyish about Skyrim rarely if ever mention anything before Morrowind.
You will also notice that the above group tends to to leap all over anyone pointing out flaws and outright bad design choices.
Most of the 'complainers' do in fact like the game; there have been very, very few out and out hate threads. But if you actually read the complaints, you will see a consistency in their compaints. Your character really has no impact on the world whatsoever. The NPCs don't really remember or notice you. Major quest lines are far too short (the main quest is acceptable, but if you do not make an effort to avoid it, you can find yourself finishing it at level 15 or 16. And making no real difference in anything).

If your teen wants a story that has some structure to it, I would suggest getting The Witcher. This is based on a series of novels written in eastern europe; the main character dying in the last book. The game picks up the story 5 years later...with a main character who was dead, but seems to have gotten better. I wouldn't start with Witcher 2, as is kind of assumes you played the original game. If your teen is 15-16, there is nothing in the first game like blatant nudity. Hinted at, oh yes. And the option for Geralt of Rivia to get a tumble is there (rendered a blurry closeup of kissing, with a 'sixy card' of the lady in question; their version of 'and the moon went behind the cloud'). But there is a story, and the first game leads to the second.

If an eyecandy hack and slash that doesn't take any real effort to get into is his thing, Skyrim should be fine. But a lot of the traditional CRPG mechanics have either been removed, buried, or covered over with GUI nonsense that should have been left on the I-phone.

That is just untrue, and this is the same BS spouted over on the Mass Effect forums.

Taking a piss on the side of the road isnt going to radically alter the game, stop expecting it to.

IRL most [censored] you do has little to no reprocussions in the long run.

Almost nothing is released with that rating though. In the US devs censor their games to knock them back down to M, for financial reasons.

Sure it is.
if you think about it, any game that allows you to play out the story of a character can be considered a role playing game.

It depends on how story driven your son needs these games to be all in all. Skyrim gives you plenty of freedom to explore and plenty of quests and skills to work on. But as far as the story content goes it's actually a very small chunck of the game play. The main quest is only about 25 pages in a 600 page game guide if that gives you any sense of the scope of the game.

The old Black Isle games were my favorite.. Nothing has come close to beating Planescape Torment, Baldur's gate or the Icewind Dale series. In my mind the last true rpg videogame I feel I played was Neverwinter Nights. But at the same time I still love Skyrim, Morrwind and lessly Oblivion. They are their own style game and offer a much different feel. If you can take all games as separate entites then your golden, if your constantly comparing games to an old favorite then your most likely just going to be disappointed.

I started playing with Morrowind in 2004, Oblivion in 2007 and now Skyrim. I'm an advlt, and I play on the PC. Generalisations just make you look stupid.

Only if you steal or kill someone and your get a bounty put on you. Let's say you don't give that woman a cure potion for being bit by a Vampire, but when she turned into a Vampire and seen you, try and kill you or question you about your choice?

Most actions in ME have actual in game consequences, so IDK what their complaining about. Unless their complaining that the game has things which makes experiences different one play through to another LOL.

ANYWAY skyrim is a much much much much much much larger game than Mass effect. I got maybe 100 hours out of ME, but that was with like 10 playthroughs

In the context you are using it, player skill is character skill. You are talking about the character and how well he does things. It doesn't matter how much influence the player has on the outcome, because the player's contribution is fully accounted for in the definition of the character. All of the character's abilities, whatever the source, are the character's alone, even if the source is the player.

There was a time when a warrior being able to cast a spell was seen as heresy by the RPG elitists. And no, it was not some year ago when the TES series came out, it was back in 1983 when TSR radically changed the class system, allowing a mage to be sneaky and a thief to be damn good with a sword. Classes are indeed a large part of RPGs but they're not that meaningful anymore. As I stated above RPGs have evolved, we might just accept this simple fact and carry on.

If you steal off someone they send a hit out to you and you get attacked by thugs as a repercussion to what you've done. I'd call that a pretty nice action. You can't cherry pick and ignore things that actually do have repercussions.
And when the people run to you asking for a cure disease potion, they mention that they run to the nearest city and pray at the altar. They cure themselves, you just help them if you want.

I cant quote from my phone, but in response to Pan151, I disagree 100%.

Skyrim's perks offer far more "skill customization" than Morrowind or Oblivion, by allowing different specializations within each skill.

And I totally disagree on stats. Stats are essential to a ROLL playing game, not role playing game. And there is a difference.

I'd like to see what FPS games you say offer this choice I say is what makes qn RPG. Skyrim offers no less choice than Morrowind.

E-Mails in ME2 =/= game reprocussions


also read the ME3 leaked script, every big choise from ME2 gets negated.

Lol, I gave her the potion, but then decided I didn't want to give it to her so I killed her and took it back.

Actions always have consequences, Deux EX HR does. it's not too much to ask, after all, the game is constantly throwing events at you and a no consequence would make the game hollow.

Deus Ex HR's reprocussions were hardly game affecting and the endings all make every choise you make beofre that menaingless.

No one expects urination to have an effect in game that I've seen....

However.
Saving a town from a bloody, meat eating flame throwing dragon should get the player at least a =little= recognition, wouldn't you say?
Choosing which side of a civil war wins should have more consequences than what guard model loads in the cities, ne?
Becoming a top assassin usually earns fear and respect and fear from those in the know.....and the fish eye from the local constabulary.
Being a god touched figure should have every power block in the bloody province trying to acquire you....or remove you if you -don't- join them, true?

And so on.........

Okay, I save the town from the dragon, but then I murder a citizen. How does the game deal with giving me recognition for killing the dragon, yet also scolding me for the murder?
What happens if I join the companions, but also become a member of the dark brotherhood? Should I get kicked out of the companions? But what happens if I want to quit the Dark Brotherhood? We need an option to remove ourselves from guilds. But what if I want to join back again? Would the Imperial Legion really want my help if I'm a known assassin?
I've sided and taken over Skyrim as a Stormcloak. Should the entire Imperial race hate me and try to kill me? Am I going to get constant hit squads? Make many quests impossible?

The point is, there are so many different scenarios possible you can't make a unique and detailed response for each one. If you try, you'll mess it up and you'll have players complaining that the Jarl has erected a statue for them even though they killed the steward. And if they don't do scenarios, then people complain there aren't repercussions for your actions.

You actually can't win with this without limiting content, which isn't what Bethesda do.