Says it right. People are specific on what game they really want to play. This game is indeed an RPG, just a different type as they all have their own different qualities. Ask your son what he really likes in an RPG and use what some people have said here to decide.

Technically its an RPG I suppose and it certainly says so on the box.
If he doesnt like simplification, hmm I dont know.
There is still a lot of content, just less compared to previous installments of the series.
Id say hed probably enjoy it.

The OP has been very polite and hasn't done anything really Trollish, just seems to be looking for advice.

How likely is it that this guy's teenage son would complain about games being simplified? How likely is it that the OP would think a game was called "Plain Escape". Not saying it's for sure but there is a red dot on my compass.

No.
If your son is in the same group I'm in, he won't like Skyrim. (in the sense of it being an RPG. Can still be enjoyed as a game, but not an RPG)


The simplest way I can put it is...
Fallout New Vegas is built around the conversations. It's focused on the people, the communities, the politics and how the societies interact. There are thousands of points where New Vegas attempts to acknowledge the role you're playing by having the game recognize skills your character is skilled in and others your character lacks, dishing out a shortcut, a bonus reward, or a punishment accordingly. Fallout New Vegas provides you with quests that let you say "now what would my character do in this situation..." and come to a decision with relative ease. EVERYTHING within the world of New Vegas is connected in some way, and without realizing it, your actions in town A might effect the well-being of town F.

Skyrim is built around the exploration. It's focused on the caves, the bosses, the unknown and the discoveries made. There are dozens of locations to explore and new things to do and new sights to be seen. However, the NPCs are repetitive and have the personality-depth of a brick. They serve no intellectual purpose (i.e. a New Vegas NPC may tell you a story that gets you thinking about your own morals, politics or beliefs) but rather only serve practical ones (they give you a quest or buy/sell goods). There's also, to my knowledge, no point in the game where an NPC will acknowledge the uniqueness of your character beyond very brief one-liner remarks uttered by the guards, which have zero impact on how the game plays out. And for those "now what would my character do in this situation..." moments, your choices usually involve either taking the quest or not taking it; how you go about finishing it rarely diverges from a basic "start quest ----> end quest" formula, with very few having variable ways of how to complete them. Even those that do have variable endings often have little to no extra consequences/rewards/content provided for them, so the ending of the quest feels exactly the same no matter the choice made. Finally, there's no consequences for player actions at all. You can safely run around and do EVERY quest the game has to offer without worrying about accidently breaking anything in town F. Some may prefer it this way as they don't have to worry about their own actions, but this could be an example of a game being simplified; in some cases, it's just plain unrealistic that the player's actions have NO consequences or effect on the world, and yet Skyrim does this.

From your description and from my own experiences with New Vegas and Skyrim, I can't help but feel like he would NOT view Skyrim as an RPG. Though as I said, that's not to say the game can't be enjoyed. It's still a fun game overall, it's just that if you're coming from an RPG like New Vegas to Skyrim, you sorta have to cringe at the lackluster storyline and character development, and occassionally I personally just have to put Skyrim down and play New Vegas some more, just because I miss playing a "classic" RPG. Skyrim is more of an action-adventure game with RPG elements, though I'm sorry, I honestly dunno any other good new RPGs I could recommend.

Yes, it is an RPG. It's not as spreadsheety as the earlier games, but still an RPG.

Thank you. I don't know why I'm getting these accusations. I asked a simple question...

I think I will buy this game for him, but more input would be nice before I make the decision because it seems some don't think he would like it.

The problem is that you can make nearly any fantasy-type character you want, but it doesn't make NPCs react any differently towards you and there's not enough factions for every character.

Since he is the father of a gamer, and thus not a gamer himself, that mistake is very easy to make. There are also lots of teenage boys on these forums that say Skyrim is too simplified. And even if it gives you a 'red dot', calling people trolls is rude, especially when someone is asking for help, and against the rules of these forums.

If your son likes choices then buy him The Witcher 2.

No, it's a really bad FPS. 200+ hours in the game and haven't found any guns yet, am I supposed to frag people with my bare hands? Bleh.

The Witcher 2 is a lot more mature though. it's not for kids and probably not the same rating as Skyrim.

Do ratings go higher then "Mature"? I'm not at all familiar with non-Dutch rating systems

Yes, it is an RPG.

Highest is AO [advlts Only] as far as I know.

Thank you


I looked it up, both games are rated M by ESRB.

Witcher II: http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/102721-the-witcher-2s-age-ratings-are-in.html

Skyrim: http://www.gamesas.com/eng/games/games_skyrim.html

There have been many threads on the topic of whether or not Skyrim is an RPG. The conversations get heated and usually the threads get locked because of the oddly (in my view, I suppose) vehement comments.

I loved FONV but didn't care much for the Dragon Age games. Played the first DA all the way through, and the second one only part way. Couldn't get myself to like it.

I loved the first FABLE (and The Lost Chapters), I loved Fallout 3, I loved Oblivion, I loved Fallout New Vegas. And I LOVE SKYRIM!!! Hope that helps! Good luck, teenagers can be finicky.

Witcher 2 has full blown six scenes. Skyrim's M rating comes from its books and decapitations.

Skyrim is about as RPG as the first Super Mario Bros.

that's true, it's quite the weakness of the ESRB ratings system. If the game has red pixels when you hit a guy, it's labled mature. in truth Skrim would probably be PG 13 and Witcher 2 would be R if converted to the system for Movies.

If the OP's son is of the Bauldur's Gate type (as it would appear), he might enjoy Skyrim, but not as an RPG. That's what many are missing here.
If he complained about the lack of dialogue, characterization, and real choices in DA2, then he'd be dissapointed with Skyrim. It has the same issues.
Sure, Skyrim's a good game, but it's RPG-lite with emphasis on exploration rather than storytelling. True, all Elder Scrolls games have had at least some focus on exploration, but the story aspect and its affect on the world around you has been significantly reduced over the course of time.

Ok, since this seems to be legit, here are my two cents:

If your son likes role playing games and think that these games are being dumbed down and he plays FONV and Planescape: Torment, then he WON'T like Skyrim. Games such as New Vegas and Planescape are much more focused on a story and on the way the story develops depending on the choices of the player's character.

Skyrim, just like Oblivion before it, is a "light" RPG with strong elements of action/adventure. It is a very fun game where you can explore a very detailed world full of amazing things, and no other game does this better than Skyrim right now, so if your son likes a bit of adventure and the idea of exploration, he will like the game.

Otherwise, he would probably enjoy more a game like The Witcher 2.

I loved Baldur's Gate, BG2, Planescape, Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Arcanum, Neverwinter Nights, NWN 2, Morrowind, Oblivion, etc., and I also love Skyrim. It means nothing unless he is the type to give long rants about how he thought that the most important aspect of Obllvion is that you can disintegrate people's armor.

I can't imagine the circumstances under which someone could think that Planescape was actually a game called "Plain Escape", but obviously that is just me, mea culpa.

NO, it's not an RPG in the sense of what you have described your son liking. Skyrim is simplified, way too much for my liking.

My opinion is an honest one and it's from someone who has played TES games since Daggerfall.

I feel pitty for the people on this thread that say Skyrim is not an RPG. Maybe you never actually really new what the term meant or means now. It is a very wide and broad term to define a game where you play a character of your choosing throughout a narrative or story. Where you perform the actions and decide how your character develops. Skyrim meets all of the criteria and then some.

The answer is yes Skyrim is indeed an RPG. The question isnt if its and RPG but rathe rif it is a good one. According to many many players and the large majority of gmaing magazines the answer is also YES. It has won many Game of the Year awards already.

You will have to excuse many of the posters on these boards as they are quite offended and hurt that some of their favorite parts of previous TES titles have been removed such as spell crafting and the practice of adding or subtracting attribute points from a character screen. Simply put some people are dismissing this game as an RPG because one or two elements were removed in favor of adding some others.

If your son likes the following this game would be a good choice:
-Picking a race, six and detemining look through UI custimazation of character
-Swords, Axes, MAces, Shields, bows, magic
-Mages, Warriors, Rangers, Assassins and hybrids of these
-Crafting, Enchanting, Alchemy
-Stealing, Sneaking and Pickpocketing
-120+ hours of gameplay
-Dragons, Spiders, Bears, Wolves, Undead
-MOuntians, Snow, Caves, Dungeons
-Buying and decorating houses
-Accumulating treasure and loot
-Doing hundreds of quests
-Exploring and traps
-The list goes on....