Skyrim - Your Reviews and First Impressions

[Arkhon]

Not fair that we have to wait till 11.11 in NY and some ppl have it day or so earlier...

[Avron the S'wit]

Remember guys - topic discussions only. No gripping about how you don't or do have the actual game yet.

Some thoughts I had after a brief play on my PC:

- The menu is a little stubborn and takes some getting used to for myself, but I think I can learn to love it. I like things organized down to a T and easy to go through. On a PC, this current menu is a little troublesome, but I got around it quickly by using the arrow keys.

- I do not like that I cannot adjust any audio settings until I start a game as opposed to on the main menu. I like to adjust things beforehand and then just play.

- The NPC interaction is more lovely, especially since you can now look around and act and not necessarily just stand there frozen in place.

- The introduction is great. I love how it forces you to make decisions right from the get go, without disrupting the game's flow.

And now I must sleep so I can be more coherent on my run through tomorrow. But so far: totally like it. And that's me being an old fuddy duddy who takes forever to adjust from one game menu and functions to the next one's. This one will be a little tougher for me but I'll make it through! Or get burnt to a crisp.

[dubq]

4 hours later.. I'm astounded. This is just such an amazing gaming experience. Not even close to being "a noobed-down version of the elder scrolls games" or "just an improved version of Oblivion" as someone said earlier - man, oh, man. It's so much more.

[Cornerman]

Totally agree. What I really (I mean REALLY) like is the non-levelling in comparison to Oblivion:

Spoiler:

After playing for a few more hours I wanted to explore the area north of Whiterun. I think you're not supposed to come into this area early on in the game. The enemies I encountered there where way to strong, so I had to go back. I have to come back here when I'm stronger later on in the game. That's much better than the system in Oblivion.

Usual bandits don't seem to be levelling (a lot). As stronger I get whilst levelling up, the easier they are to defeat. So you really get the idea your growing from a normal citizen of Skyrim to some kind of hero.

[OblivionDuruza]

A first little nice impression I got actually, was upon character creation: "Another refugee? Gods really have abandoned your people, dark elf." I don't know, it was just a cool little moment that I don't think many others would even mention amongst all the other amazing stuff .

[kaltorak]

Played 2 hours as a mage oriented char:

-gameplay is awesome. Using both hands independetly works great. Love how you can use 2 spells combined, 1 spell doubled, or 2 spells separately for different purpose, like healing with 1 hand while dpsing with the other.

-graphics in pc are much better that what I saw on the videos which where played on consoles. Then again I have a new pc with a graphic card that uses 3 slots

-the world seems to be big and alive. Everywhere you go there is a town, a mill, a castle, a cave, a camp, a herd....

-interface is pretty but lacks good management. In 2 hours I already picked lots of items, i guess later in the game I will have tons. And I only got a list of items with no way to order it. I don't think some inventory filter or ordering buttons would take more than 1 day to programm.

My overall experience was very good. I had lost quite some hype for this game after it was announced that scaling was back, but the game just looks plain awesome.

[yagelazy]

The mountains literally take my breath away. Graphics are great. The deferent ending blows are amazing (I just killed a bandit with dual wielded imperial swords and my redguard impaled the bandit with both swords and lifted him up, then slammed him to the ground.) i haven't really done many quests yet but everything I've encountered so far is just wonderful

[wolfiesmith]

A first little nice impression I got actually, was upon character creation: "Another refugee? Gods really have abandoned your people, dark elf." I don't know, it was just a cool little moment that I don't think many others would even mention amongst all the other amazing stuff .

I had "You're a long way from home Imperial", you're right it's a nice touch.

The game is beautiful. I spent a good few minutes at the top of a waterfall in the mountains just staring around.

[JVElEven]

I was told when I picked up the game that I was the first person in Denmark that ordered it!

They gave me the official game guide for free. Only two other people in the country got that!

That game guide is HUGE 700 pages! Damn!

[Utrechter]

I played it for a stunning 20 minutes or so. I played it on low graphics, because the pc was just the minimum reqs. I started a new game, anxious and excited. slowly the blur vanished, and I thought 'woooooooooooooow!!!'. It,looks great, in every single way. It also feels real. I haven't yet finished the tutorial, because it was 1am when I started playing, and I had school and tests, so some sleep was a good plan. So, I've not yet seen a lot, but what I've seen looks awesooooome!

[The_Noob]

Simply amazing.

Everything has been simplified and redone from every other game in the series, yet it feels so much like playing, say, Morrowind or Oblivion (probably because of those unfortunate glitches), that it seems maddening.

Oh, and it's a decently hard game as well.

My only major gripe is that the items page of the game doesn't have an option of showing the player character equipping, say, armor or a weapon, ala Oblivion's item menu, which was absolutely perfect.

I was told when I picked up the game that I was the first person in Denmark that ordered it!

They gave me the official game guide for free. Only two other people in the country got that!

Lucky [&@%!].

[Akiraka]

Cons:
-Booklet was very underwhelming. No Race or Skill descriptions.
-Very glitchy. Clipping, characters getting stuck in walls, several graphical oddities.
-Terrible jerky transitions to the finishing moves, which can't be turned off.
-Animations seem rather lackadaisical. Instant PC turn-around, no sheathing of left-hand weapon.
-Very unfriendly favorite system.
-Inability to cast magic without assuming a combat stance
-Game is rather standard def. TV unfriendly, IMO. Aspect ratio seems off; squished horizontally.

Pros:
-New voice actors, finally.
-Two-hand feels viable.
-Disregarding graphical oddities (missing water, 'ugly' snow) landscape is as beautiful as one would expect.
-Already impressive bestiary (the foxes are cool, haha)
-VERY much improved method of farming ingredients
-Blacksmithing FTW

[Check-Nate]

I'm so overwhelmed by this game... it's so big, i don't know where to start

[Woolymammoth]

I, for one, have not gotten Skyrim yet, but I'd like to get a good idea how it compares to the other TES games in quality. I liked Morrowind and Oblivion. So far, do you think Skyrim is just as good, worse, or better than those two, and why do you think that?

[MasterRokon]

Played as a Bosmer two-handed warrior
-Graphics: amazing, world is large, good looking. Dungeons are unique, also love how every dungeon isnt stagnant. Although this game could be 8bit but i wouldnt care, graphics dont make the game.
-Gameplay: Tons of opportunity for roleplaying, which tes does better than any other Rpg, combat feels smooth, archery alittle corky for me atleast. Magic is extremely unique and improved. 3rd person, well still not what i want for me to play, but now i can actually play it without saying "wtf whhhhyyyy!!!!". Tbh the game feels, not tes but a all new thing hard for me to explain this. 1 con for me i always get finishers on the first hit, and im a freaken bosmer with a great sword x.x how do i get 1 hit kills that trigger finishers no matter what.
-sounds/music: short but simply amazing, and always the right music when i needed.

[mcjordalini]

Better than Oblivion by FAR, and maybe just as good as Morrowind. Buy it and enjoy it you must.

[Elegost]

Maybe as goood as morrowind!?!?!?

[Jormungand]

What is your definition of quality?

[Sloady]

Better than Oblivion definitely. On par or slightly above Daggerfall. Don't know about Morrowind (don't have it). There's definitely things you won't like about it, but the graphics are excellent, the voice acting is superb, the people are realistic, the story is great, the world is huge and the combat is wonderful.

I was most shocked by the use of children. They're not just there and useless - they're actually quite useful, and contribute to the mood.

It's a definite buy, but only 300 hours will tell you just how the world stands up.

[Fathis]

Cons:

The first word of a long dialoque sentence goes off the left side of my TV, and most of the settings leave something out. Could depend on the TV though, but I think it has to do something with Skyrim because Oblivion works well.

Dual wield was confusing at first, somehow it felt clumsy.

No paper doll in inventory.

Pros:

Magic is GREAT! My Altmer is a living flamethrower and killed enemies faster than my Dunmer who used weapons.

The world: people talk, flirt to you and react to things that happen around them. I played for three and a half hours and already discovered a couple of unique things in the wild. Very nice.

Items: treasures are more valuable, seems that the economy is better than Oblivion. Good enchanted items to be found, especially for mages.

Characters: this was one of the best things. With tattoos and scars, beards and such you can make your character look truly kick-ass. Local females were hot.

Overall it seems to be a good game, totally worth to buy. Have to delve deeper to see how good it really is before I can say more. Happy that the long wait is now over and that I have not been disappointed with the game.

[Sloady]

6 hours in Skyrim

I began the game in the typical way, just like everyone else. I was awed by the opening sequence - this is a tutorial you won't forget. It's a little slow to begin, but once it kicks off, it really kicks offer.

The first thing you'll notice in Skyrim is just how different it feels to any other Elder Scrolls. It feels much more immersive. You really feel like you're running for your life. The next thing you'll notice is the characters - how much more realistic they look, how well they're acted out, how the animations are so much different...

Unfortunately, this was the part where my game was interrupted by a crash. After replaying almost all of the tutorial, it was time to try again. Bug free, I exited into the vast open world of Skyrim and...

Wow. Skyrim looks very different to the rolling green hills of Cyrrodil. It's jagged, it's full of snow, and trees. Bleak Fells Barrow looms in the distance, and you realize this isn't a world that reloads every couple of miles. See that mountain? You can climb that. </cliche Howard statement>

The combat is at first difficult - the controls have a sharp learning curve. However, as you get used to the very unfamiliar controls quickly enough, and you realize just how much better they are. The melee combat feels very visceral and gritty, the ranged combat so much more powerful and the magic... oh gawd the magic. I swear, I felt like screaming "UNLIMITED POWER!" while shooting lightning.

It's clear from other games I've played that there are many other influences on Skyrim. The HUD design and text feel like an old LOTR game I played, the magic feels like Bioshock but much better... this game has heavy hints of Daggerfall about it too - the opening sequence will remind many Daggerfall players of yonder year (though only briefly), and the difficulty spikes in places will keep both new and older players frustrated entertained.

This game feels very little like Oblivion or Fallout - graphically and gameplay wise. It feels so very different from any other Bethesda game, though the influences are clear - it just doesn't feel anything the same.

Something that surprised me were the children - and how well they're played. While I'll admit, the ugly dwarf comparison seems fair with some kids (isn't that always the way?), but both story wise and world wise, they just seem to fit. They're not Fallout 3 kids either - they're are enough to make you know they're always there, without there being too many.

The game is not without flaws, however. The text can be too small, and hidden, the character creation also suffers from zoom problems, companions are as dumb as ever... but the game feels so real, there's nothing that can take away from the one sheer fact everyone wants to hear me say -

It lived up to the hype.

[dkjestrup]

It destroys Oblivion for all the right reasons: better art design, better voice acting, better animations, better world, better characters, better dungeons, better enemies, better combat, better leveling system, less scaling.

Maybe it's better than Morrowind, maybe it's worse. I don't think anyone has played enough yet to really judge which has better stories and worlds etc.

I'm very impressed, but the starting tutorial was beyond terrible.

[Arch-Mage Matt]

There is so much to do in Skyrim! I'm currently tracking a bounty with a hardcore Nord woman I picked up along my journeys.

[perylousdemon]

OMG. Outstanding. Magnificent. Godly. These are just a few of the words I can think of to describe the awesomeness that is Skyrim. Bethesda took (nearly) everything that was wrong with Oblivion and did a complete 180 with it. Most notably, leveling up in Skyrim is actually fun; it isn't a grind like it is in Oblivion. And combat seems to be a lot more fluid in Skyrim, at least to me. Oh, and DRAGONS! Way to go, Bethesda.

[dubq]

IMO, the paper doll in the inventory is no longer necessary. You can easily check out your character outside of the inventory menu and with transparency you can even see him/her when you equipping and unequipping your weapons/armor.