Skyrim

[Rodster]

Played for a few hours today, and can definitely see the appeal. It's truly a epic RPG. However, I couldn't help but feel I was walking around aimlessly half the time wasting my time. I'm sure it's a tremendous game, but I simply don't have the want or desire to put in all the hours it'll take to appreciate it.

That's the beauty of this series it's so open world. I just love walking around in Oblivion and visiting towns. One other thing I like is that you actually walk and are not hot-jumped and dropped into a town like in other RPG's.

[sportdan30]

I do feel as though I would probably enjoy the game quite a bit more on the PC. The wonky controls on the PS3 were driving me a little nuts. Trying to target something was more than a bit frustrating. Also, maybe it's my old age, but I had a heck of a time spotting things during dusk and night fall. I turned the brightness settings almost to max, and it helped just a little. I'm taking my PS3 copy back and if they have a 360 copy, perhaps I'll check that out. Maybe the controls will feel tighter.

[FifaInspected]

Sport - Thanks. I've been reading the performance on the PS3 is not a smooth as the 360.. Your feedback helped lead me to the 360 version.

[dbdynsty25]

Given the choice I am not sure why anyone would buy a game on the ps3 compared to the 360. It's been proven time and time again that the 360 versions are superior. I can't even remember the last time someone recommended the ps3 version of anything really. I guess the controller might be a reason but technically not so much.

That said after three hours with Skyrim...I'm bored. Lol. Not my style I guess. World is awesome but the combat is so cumbersome and clunky I just can't get into it.

[MizzouRah]

Given the choice I am not sure why anyone would buy a game on the ps3 compared to the 360. It's been proven time and time again that the 360 versions are superior. I can't even remember the last time someone recommended the ps3 version of anything really. I guess the controller might be a reason but technically not so much.

That said after three hours with Skyrim...I'm bored. Lol. Not my style I guess. World is awesome but the combat is so cumbersome and clunky I just can't get into it.

Me either, that's why I only buy games like Uncharted for the ps3 - everything and I mean EVERYTHING else I buy for the x360. I even think the controller feels better to me.

I'm still waiting on Skyrim, had to purchase from Best Buy since I had some rewards zone certificates, too bad they never offer release day shipping for $0.99.

[Jimmydeicide]

Given the choice I am not sure why anyone would buy a game on the ps3 compared to the 360. It's been proven time and time again that the 360 versions are superior. I can't even remember the last time someone recommended the ps3 version of anything really. I guess the controller might be a reason but technically not so much.

That said after three hours with Skyrim...I'm bored. Lol. Not my style I guess. World is awesome but the combat is so cumbersome and clunky I just can't get into it.

Me either, that's why I only buy games like Uncharted for the ps3 - everything and I mean EVERYTHING else I buy for the x360. I even think the controller feels better to me.

I'm still waiting on Skyrim, had to purchase from Best Buy since I had some rewards zone certificates, too bad they never offer release day shipping for $0.99.

Leave the house once, the sun ( bright thing in the sky)isnt as strong this time of year. Im sure there is a bestbuy withing 2 miles.

[MizzouRah]

Leave the house once, the sun ( bright thing in the sky)isnt as strong this time of year. Im sure there is a bestbuy withing 2 miles.

Yeah, I could of ran by there this weekend, but the closest Best Buy is about 25 miles away.

[Jimmydeicide]

they are like Starbucks around me.

[TCrouch]

I've been in a Skyrim coma for 3 days and haven't really come up for air since. Thankfully, I have to work today so I can post a bit

I had 2 copies preordered (the wife really wanted to play it too) and was there for the midnight release on Thursday night. I've never seen a crowd like that in my Gamestop....ever. The line was 3 wide and went around the edge of the store, out the door, and into the parking lot. It was the most bizarre scene I've ever seen there. And some of the guys were pretty "off"--one dude had a brown Jedi robe on with one of those plastic lightsabers running around fake-force pushing people. I mean, it was pretty creepy. Then somebody found out he hadn't even preordered it. He was just there hanging out

Once I got it home, I played for about 2 1/2 hours the first night and went to bed at 3AM on Friday morning. Got up at 5:30 and played it most of the day on Veteran's Day (thank God I had that day off!). By Friday night we had 5 copies running in the house, because everybody in the house wanted to play it. By Saturday night we had 6. I've never seen people in my house get so engrossed in a game. Hell, my mother only plays the Wii and she's trying to learn a 360 controller just to play it (she went and bought a copy for herself and another as a present for my daughter). By last night, I had a Steam copy on PC that I mainly played on, my son had it running on a 2nd PC, my daughter was on a 360 in that room, my wife was on the front room TV on that 360, and my mom was on yet another TV and 360. When my daughter's boyfriend came over on Saturday, he brought his TV and set it up on the table, and it was like some Skyrim nerd heaven or something.

What really got me was that everybody was experiencing something completely different. My wife is a dragon slayer at this point. Think she's nearing 10 killed dragons. Me, I've played about 20 different character builds. My highest was a sword-and-board on the PC that was level 15, yet not really following much of the main quest. I was a smithing freak, able to make scaled and plate armor, elven armor, reforge magical weapons, dwarven armor, etc. I spent so much time smithing and mining ore from random caves that I ended up kitted out in "Flawless" gear on almost every slot, yet no great skills to use them

Still, I found the melee combat has a definite flow to it that makes it feel far from floaty for me. Between shield bash staggers and parries and power attacks, I can really get into a groove and slaughter some guys. If you pull the block button just as the enemy starts to swing, you get a 'free' stagger block, instead of a stamina-draining shield bash to accomplish the same goal, so a lot of my fighting is spent strafing the enemy and counter-attacking. I keep my stamina bar high and don't take a lot of damage, but I don't finish guys off in 1 or 2 hits very often.

Speaking of which, how about those critical strike cut scenes? Some of them are pretty vicious. An axe to the mouth of a beast, or a crazy ass uppercut straight up the abdomen--some of them look pretty crazy.

All in all, when I look at everybody in my house playing it, it's crazy to think we're even playing the same game. My wife immediately set off and started slaying dragons and following the main quest. I was mining. My son was nothing but a monster slayer and hunter/gatherer, randomly running around the woods and killing anything that moved and taking the pelts. My daughter saved up just enough to buy a horse, and now she's pretty much just riding across the landscape checking things out.

My mom has never played her 360. Doesn't know the controller. Doesn't understand how to look around. But even she is coming around to figuring out "right stick is your head, mom...left stick is your feet". She actually made it to her first dragon encounter and died, but that was a pretty massive achievement since she was stuck in the Barrow to start and couldn't kill the guys to get out.

I think the biggest thing it boils down to is that it's really whatever you want it to be. I found a very satisfying melee combat engine in there and love getting up close and personal with everything I face. My wife dual-wields spells and runs around looking sorta like a vampire, but she's much better at range than me. My son is an archery stud (he loves shooter games, so it makes sense he'd be a shooter class, I guess), and my daughter is just an explorer. In terms of actual progression in the story, I've barely done anything despite playing an entire day on my PC version with one guy, another day on a 2nd guy, and then most of yesterday evening on a 360 toon. I've thrown my latest character into the middle of the civil war and haven't even seen a dragon yet, and he's just about level 10 (all in 1-hand, block, and 1 point in smithing).

I feel like I'm so scattered in posting about it because there is so much there. I'm sure I'll think of a zillion more things during the day, so I apologize in advance.

[tjung0831]

Given the choice I am not sure why anyone would buy a game on the ps3 compared to the 360. It's been proven time and time again that the 360 versions are superior. I can't even remember the last time someone recommended the ps3 version of anything really. I guess the controller might be a reason but technically not so much.

That said after three hours with Skyrim...I'm bored. Lol. Not my style I guess. World is awesome but the combat is so cumbersome and clunky I just can't get into it.

Me either, that's why I only buy games like Uncharted for the ps3 - everything and I mean EVERYTHING else I buy for the x360. I even think the controller feels better to me.

I'm still waiting on Skyrim, had to purchase from Best Buy since I had some rewards zone certificates, too bad they never offer release day shipping for $0.99.

Leave the house once, the sun ( bright thing in the sky)isnt as strong this time of year. Im sure there is a bestbuy withing 2 miles.

You've obviously never been to Troy Missouri!

[TCrouch]

Something that really blew me away about the game is the amount of "crap you'll likely never see unless it's by accident or you're really exploring". I'll try to be spoiler free, but this is the kind of stuff that just blows me away.

I come across a little town in my travels. We're talking like 3 or 4 buildings and an Inn. I start trudging around the town just checking stuff out, and find an inconspicuous door in a small barrow. I go through that and find a little layer of traps and a ghost, but it ends up turning into a much deeper chain of events. It leads me back to talk to the Innkeeper, and before I know it, I'm digging deeper into that little barrow.

It turns out to be a winding, spawling, HUGE underground labyrinth under the tiny little village. I would say that the location is probably like 10% above ground (the little village), and 90% underground. I also discovered a dragon shout word down there, guarded by some pretty nasty draugr. And I probably never would have even known it was there had I not checked out that little door. It probably took me a good hour or so to clear the whole thing. In a lot of games I've played, that's 5 or 10% of the game length there. And it was just completely random.

The sheer scope of Skyrim blows me away the more I'm not actually playing it, but just sitting around thinking about it.

[TheTruth]

I just got accepted into the "Companions" last night and in order to prove my worth had to complete a mission that involved an underground labyrinth like Terry described above. It took me a little over and hour to complete. It was awesome! The whole ceremony to welcome me into the Companions was cool as well.

This is my first Elders Scrolls game and I am loving it! I played Oblivion way back for a little while but never could get into it...don't know why. But Skyrim has me engrossed...the story, the world, everything so far. I am around level 13 Nord like combat, magic, and archery - so kind of switch between every other fight. Or start out sneaking up with a bow and then finishing off with magic. I just know if I roll 2 or 3 people each specializing in one thing I will never finish this game.

Anyone have any pointers on storing things. I am constantly battling my weight limit and having to drop stuff. I try to sell or make things when I can but missing have a "Bag" in my inventory to put things in. I did find out you can give items to your travel mates and have them carry stuff for you, but if they die you are screwed I guess. I am trying to find out how to buy the house in WinterRun - I think you can store things in there as well.

[TheTruth]

double post

[Danimal]

The only thing missing from this game is co-op play.

I'm trying to save money for a house myself. I bought a horse and 10 minutes after I had it a Troll f***in ate it. So now I just steal horses, of course it was cool as hell to get attacked and find a note that I had a bounty on my head because I stole from a family and they witnessed it.

[Teal]

The only thing missing from this game is co-op play.

.

That would change my approach and opinion of this game immensely. The lone wolf stuff with a game this friggin' big and so much to do just doesn't appeal to me. Like the Op: Flashpoint game on the original Xbox, I could overlook some graphical oddities (janky animations and such) if a buddy or two were fighting alongside. This kind of game practically screams for co-op.

[TCrouch]

Yes, you can store stuff in a house. Cost me 5,000 gold for the house, and another 2,000 or so to furnish it. It comes with a chest, but you can throw in a kitchen, alchemy workshop, living room and bedroom furnishings, etc. By the time you have your horse, a house, and all the furnishings, you've dumped around 10 grand into it.

[TheTruth]

I'm trying to save money for a house myself. I bought a horse and 10 minutes after I had it a Troll f***in ate it. So now I just steal horses, of course it was cool as hell to get attacked and find a note that I had a bounty on my head because I stole from a family and they witnessed it.

Ha..funny about the horse getting eaten. And I had an assassin appear out of nowhere attacking me last night as well. I can't remember what the note said though, but I know it wasn't for stealing. I have been a pretty clean cut good guy so far.

One question..does anyone know if dragon bones and scales are important to keep? Or should I sell them?

[peabody]

I'm trying to save money for a house myself. I bought a horse and 10 minutes after I had it a Troll f***in ate it. So now I just steal horses, of course it was cool as hell to get attacked and find a note that I had a bounty on my head because I stole from a family and they witnessed it.

Ha..funny about the horse getting eaten. And I had an assassin appear out of nowhere attacking me last night as well. I can't remember what the note said though, but I know it wasn't for stealing. I have been a pretty clean cut good guy so far.

One question..does anyone know if dragon bones and scales are important to keep? Or should I sell them?

You can make dragon armor with it, I believe, after you get your smithing skill way up there.

[EZSnappin]

I had a drug-dealing lady orc come up to me along the road in the middle of freakin' nowhere; she was all, "I got what you need right here man! Whatever you want I got it - skooma, nimroot..." I declined and she ran off down the road.

Shortly thereafter an orc all jacked up on something came up and tried to punch me to death.

Weirdest random thing so far.

[MizzouRah]

they are like Starbucks around me.

haha.. mine just arrived!

[MizzouRah]

You've obviously never been to Troy Missouri!

Exactly.. we have a walmart and I hate that place.

[Danimal]

Weirdest thing I have seen so far. Wandering the roads at night and I see a ghostly figure in the distance coming my way. So I duck off the road and the spirit of a dead rider goes passing by and of course it is headless.

I have to tell you watching that ghostly horse and rider just going on their merry way down the road was a real WTF moment.

[XXXIV]

I just got accepted into the "Companions" last night and in order to prove my worth had to complete a mission that involved an underground labyrinth like Terry described above. It took me a little over and hour to complete. It was awesome! The whole ceremony to welcome me into the Companions was cool as well.

.

The Companions tear this game up my brother.

[Teal]

I was playing around with it this afternoon, and accidentally found my way into the town where the Companions are located. Everyone told me I had to talk to the leader dude in order to join their group...


...where the hell is the leader dude?!?!?

Got to admit, that brief little playthrough was far less boring than the initial playthrough. Killed one HELLUVA elk-had a rack that rivaled Dolly Parton. Maybe there's something here after all...I'll see tonight.

[TCrouch]

Go into Jorrvaskr (if you look up at Dragonsreach, the main hall at the top of the hill, it's the big mead hall to the right). From the front door, there's a staircase down on your right.

Through that door, hang a right and run straight to the end of the room. There are 2 guys sitting there shooting the breeze. His name is Kodlak Grey-Mane (I think), and he's the older looking one of the two.