So I officially broke down and got this game, just to try it out and see what everyone was talking about.
It's been kind of a 'meh' experience for me so far. Here's what I think.
First off, the graphics are above average (first game in nearly 6 years to make me play at medium quality) and it's completely immersive. So far I've beaten the main story-line (at level 12; now at level 16), have about 20 quest lines started, bought Breezehome and have explored nearly every city in the realm... It just feels like something's missing.
I think WoW changed what I look for in an RPG. I don't see the point of leveling my skills, getting the most advanced armor, enchanting, etc. if the main quest line is beatable immediately and there's nobody, human or AI, that's depending on you to do your best at getting ready for boss fights. I mean, these dragons are killing everyone in sight including every city's guards/best soldiers, but I can kill them without a problem at level 6 with crappy weapons and armor!? At level 10 I'm beating the 'World-Eater' Alduin!? Yes, there are plenty of stories to go through, but without a definite direction I get lost and without a leveling system that makes sense with the areas/bosses you encounter it really gets boring. Maybe I'm just not far enough along in the game to have to really work on my character to get through it.
I hate, hate, hate that there are so many side quests that start while you're in dungeons that have nothing to do with the dungeon. I found a flower in Blackreach (Crimson Nirnroot) and it started a quest line, so I went and completed it thinking it was part of the main quest line, and all it did was get a guy to buy my nirnroot for gold and had nothing to do with progression in the game. What was the point? Put that crap outside the dungeon in hard to reach places, not where it would confuse people like me into thinking it matters.
Don't even get me started on the economics of this game; Finding people to sell my stuff to is seriously driving me up the wall. I made the mistake of assuming when they ask you if you still want to sell your stuff even if the NPC only has x amount of gold that they'd only sell the amount worth that much instead of all of it. Lost ~3k gold because they didn't tell me I'd lose it.
This game makes sense to me as an action game but as an RPG it's not my cup of tea. I wish the main quest line was longer and that you had to do more side quests/level up before you could advance. The puzzles are WAY too easy. So far it's really just been a mindless point and click adventure game with pretty graphics. If I was playing on Xbox360 it would be pretty fun, but as a computer game it's lacking. I really do miss the days of vanilla WoW (and having the time to play it).
Positive notes:
- It has probably the best AI I've experienced in any game I've ever played.
- Great graphics, even on medium. Great engine and no laggy areas that I've encountered so far.
- Completely immersive - there are ants crawling over logs, it's that in-depth.
- Fast travel is great, as are carriage rides. Love that your horse follows you around.
- Thu'ums are a cool concept, reminds me of when I used to play Jedi Academy.
- Good storyline, great online resources, very few bugs for something so immersive.
Negative notes:
- Limited NPCs that will buy your stuff and they run out of gold.
- No buy-back system unless you want to pay ~3-5x what you sold it for seconds earlier.
- Leveling system makes no sense, but it could just be me.
- SHORT MAIN QUEST LINE.
I would definitely recommend the game to those who like doing every little thing in a game. There are hundreds of hours of content to go through. It's just not for me.
I've taken these guys on multiple times, they're no match for the Dragonborn. Either way Skyrim needs to be united and not divided to engage the Thalmor. Ulfric is the kind of leader that could conqueror the rest of Tamriel again and take it to the elves.
