1. The right game can still blow us away on a dusty old console
The Xbox 360 and PS3 may be something like three years behind the latest PCs in terms of visual power, (as is normal for consoles staring into the abyss) but this hasn’t stopped Bethesda from delivering something that is truly visually stunning – even when it’s not on PC. It’s not that Skyrim is the best-looking game around because it’s not, there are better, but it’s all about the context of those incredible visuals. Such realized detail in the vast unshackled fantasy world of the Elder Scrolls series and without the nasty texture pop-ins and all that messiness of before, well, it’s absolutely delightful. So climb a mountain – there are a few of them in Skyrim – and after you’ve struggled you way to the peak reward yourself by surveying all that is below – including that cow you just mutilated, slowly sliding towards the cliff edge. As that bison plops onto the snowy ground leagues below you, rest your legs, push out your chest, then breathe in that view. Unlike the unfortunate bovine you’re now sitting pretty.
2. Fighting ain’t what it used to be in RPGs
In fairness Oblivion wasn’t renowned for its in-depth combat, but it’s still significant how simplistic the combat in Skyrim actually is. It hides behind what is certainly a ton of customization in terms of individual approaches to character, but beneath the customization is Fable-like tap-tap one button combat. Some will appreciate the simplicity, some will want for more. Either way it is now the norm of Western RPGs. For those of us like your humble author who’d like combat to challenge us beyond working out when we should heal, maybe it’s time to mark the date February 7 2012 on the calendar. That’s when Kingdoms of Amalur comes out, and hopefully the brainchild of Morrowind and Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston will meet its promise and build on the one-button trend of W-RPGS to take them in a more challenging, intriguing direction.
3. Bethesda and the PlayStation 3 just don’t get along – ever
Fool me once, shame on me. Actually, Bethesda have never fooled me into purchasing one of their games on a PS3, and maybe that makes me a little unqualified to speak about this. Thing is, when the majority of people I know who bought a PS3 version have either already traded or shelved it because it’s just too broken, I think we’re all on the same page here. Frankly, it’s disgraceful. It was also disgraceful with Fallout 3 and on both consoles with Fallout: New Vegas. And yet the people buying PS3 copies and worse still those trading them in to buy 360 copies must take some of the blame too. Is it that you like playing broken games? If so I can recommend a humdinger by Gearbox…
Of course, Bethesda aren’t the only publisher/developer guilty of flogging a broken product; in fact 2011 started off with an absolute plethora of unfinished games. Still, at this moment of time Skyrim is right at the top of a lopsided tree of broken games, one which is in danger of crashing down with a bang.
4. Experience and RPGs do get along – so don’t mess with it
While I’m more philosophical about the limited combat in Skyrim – as oxymoronic as it sounds there is choice outside of the limitations – I’m less than impressed by the skills system. I think it plain doesn’t work. When I can hold my shield up against an enemy and let him have his merry way with it while I yawn my up the level ladder, that’s silly. When I can mass process iron and leather into an armory of iron daggers and zoom up three levels in three minutes, three levels that actual proper exploring-type play would have only achieved in three hours, that’s just ridiculous. Some will argue I’m playing the game the wrong way, failing to engage with the world by its rules and treating it too much like a game rather than an interactive experience.
I can just as equally argue that those people are wandering around this great big beautiful open world and all the while ignoring the giant pink elephant trotting along next to them. It’s a nice idea to tie levelling to all the various acts you can perform in the world, but that’s as far as it goes for me: a nice idea. Good old XP for killing good old monsters, that’s what actually works.
5. By the sales Skyrim isn’t Elder Scrolls V – it’s Oblivion II
For all my ails with Skyrim I still very much enjoy it, enough to sink a whopping 50 hours into it before the turn of the year. If that’s the average amount then just imagine what the total amount of hours ploughed into Skyrim must already be given the staggering sales data we’ve received so far…
We all knew Skyrim would be a big deal, but it’s still a bit surprising to see it out-perform Oblivion so emphatically. Even though Skyrim is the fifth game in a long-running series, the hype and push around it has given it that feel of a triple B sequel to Oblivion – Bigger, Better, more Bad-ass – and that translates into another B: Bombastic sales in the silly season. Good job, sales and marketing!
So hey, maybe Bethesda can pool all that extra ka-ching into researching how the PS3 works…
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