15th November 2011, 7:06 PM
Great Rumbler's 30-Hour Report
Despite the rave reviews for Oblivion, Bethesda has been willing to listen to complaints from its fans and to take a peak at what the mod community is doing and then respond by making changes to the next entry in the series. And I've seen this for myself after having played Skyrim for just over 30 hours. It's pulled me in, it's grabbed onto me, and I see little that will convince me it intends to let go anytime soon. Okay, so, a lot's changed since Oblivion, but what's the most important change?
Bethesda made it FUN to adventure, to explore. The player isn't diving into the same two or three ruins and caves over and over, each dungeons and each ruin and each cave has a unique feel to it and many of them have unique bosses at their deepest depths. But it's not just the dungeons, the world itself feels more natural and more alive. There are wild animals that roam the plains and tundra of Skyrim, always fleeing when you come near. At night, fireflies drift through the air accompanied by the distant howls of wolves. Giant dragons can appear anywhere in the world space, even in towns and forts, forcing you and the townfolk and guards into battle. And the characters actually look more like real people. The writing's sharped, the voice actors are more varied. All these things play a role in pulling the player into the game. It's not a single feature that makes the difference, it's a focus on building a world from top to bottom that the player wants to see every part of, do every quest, talk to every NPC, and find the best items.
So, hats off, Bethesda, you've raised the bar not just for yourselves and Elder Scrolls series, but for the entire industry in delivering a wealth of compelling content in a single, $60 package.
Sometimes you get the scorpion.