Tag: elder scrolls v

GamerSushi Asks: Getting Your Attention?

Skyrim Whiterun

At 10 hours into Skyrim, you’d think that I would be a walking bad ass by now. Townspeople would weep or cry out in joy at my passing. Animals would steer clear of my manly musk. Dragons would swoop down to bow before me in reverent awe. My weapons would sing with the crackle of lightning and the sharp hiss of steel and silver. In short, you would think that I’ve already started bending the world of Skyrim to my digital will.

Actually, I’m picking flowers just outside of Whiterun. You see, I’m trying to learn some new recipes and the properties of various ingredients for alchemy, just so I can sell some potions and make enough money on the side to buy a house. You know the type: a starter home, with a nice view of the Jarl’s place up on the hill. It’s quaint, but it’ll get me by long enough to stow all of my stolen items until I can contact someone in the Thieves’ Guild to purchase them for me. I might get around to that once I’ve searched the nearby brewery or taken a few more Smithing lessons up at the Skyforge. That’s just how I roll.

While none of those things sounds particularly exciting, they’ve somehow gotten me totally snared by Elder Scrolls V’s dark and fantastical clutches. Every preview of the game showed spellcasting, shield bashing, dragon shouting and dragon fighting. Yet all I’m doing is the mundane, the ordinary, the stuff that nobody in their right mind would do.

And I love it.

You see, I’ve got certain triggers when it comes to video games. Certain things that scratch just the right spot or catch me at just the right moment. This happens from time to time, and even though it shouldn’t surprise me, it still totally does. I wrote just a few weeks back about how Batman: Arkham City made me feel like a kid again. Skyrim is sort of similar, but there’s something more to it: it just has my attention.

I can’t really describe what it means when I say that a game has gotten my attention. The only mental image I have is of a small child, with a street performer snapping in front of him to hold his gaze while he does a sleight of hand routine. And I guess that’s what video games do to us. The best ones leave us transfixed, totally beholden to whatever spectacles are playing themselves out on the screen. I won’t declare Skyrim game of the year or say that it’s one of my favorites. But I will say that it’s already put me under its spell.

So my question to you guys is this: what does a game have to do to get your attention? What kinds of things tend to really suck you into a game and keep you from doing anything else? Does it have to have a good intro? A great story? Great mechanics? A combination of those things? What types of games tend to leave you obsessed? Go!

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Roll Call!

Skyrim

Goodbye, cruel world.

I am leaving you for better, greener pastures. Well, sometimes they’re greener. Sometimes they’re frozen tundras swarming with dragons. Other times they’re cavernous holds for bandits. It doesn’t really matter what they look like, all I know is that I’m going to the world of The Elder Scrolls, and I don’t know if I’ll ever return from those fair peaks and dark dungeons.

This could last awhile.

As you know, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is out tomorrow (or in just a few moments on the East Coast), and the world will never be the same. I for one plan on playing this game through the end of the year, forsaking all other suitors that plead for my time. With a ton of great, mostly perfect reviews out for the game, along with the reports that it will have never-ending sidequests, it almost seems like a no-brainer to pick this one up.

So I guess my question to you guys is this: who’s getting Skyrim? Roll call! Go!

“Class-less” Skyrim Details Emerge

I know most of you are still busy trying to finish every last quest in Oblivion, but you might want to pause and take a look at some of the changes VG247 has revealed that will be featured in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, due to be released in November. Some of them will likely ignite a fire on the Internet not seen since…well, it happens all the time, so nevermind.

For starters, you don’t pick a class when the game starts. Also, now you get to pick Perks, just like in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, which should be a nice touch when applied to the fantasy setting. They are cutting the number of skills fro 21 to 18 and you can either specialize in certain skills or be a jack of all trades, which is always my choice.

Combat will be more tactical than “ATTACK, BLOCK, ATTACK” and you can dual-wield certain weapons, which sounds pretty bad-ass. The way NPC’s interact with you will change based on how your character is built, in addition to challenging NPC’s to duels, just like Red Dead Redemption, but without guns, I hope. It sounds like Bethesda is not content to rest on their laurels, nor turn Skyrim into a fantasy Fallout, which is a nice realization. For more details hit the link.

What do you think of the changes announced so far? What would you like to see done differently? Commence comments!

Source: VG247

Poll: Which Unannounced Sequel Do You Want First?

While we generally know the lists of titles available in the coming months, including Spring of 2011, we’re still unsure about what all lies in store for next year. There’s plenty of room for surprise when it comes to gaming release dates, and anybody’s guess is as good as mine.

That being said, I started thinking about a list of sequels that we haven’t really heard any rumblings about in a while, with no idea as to when they’re going to come. This “unannounced sequels list” includes: Half-Life 2: Episode 3, The Elder Scrolls V, Counter-Strike 2, Grand Theft Auto V, Mass Effect 3 and Uncharted 3. Really, looking at them, that’s an incredible line-up, and I wouldn’t be sorry to see all of them drop in the same year, say 2012 or so.

It’s actually hard to decide which one I’d want to tackle first, so I thought I’d let you guys decide. Go.

Which do you want to play first?

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A Wishlist for Elder Scrolls V

Elder Scrolls 4I have recounted my experience with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on many articles and comments on this site, as well as our renowned GamerSushi podcast. It was the first game I played on my XBox 360, and I was blown away with my first foray into the realm of HD gaming. Seeing the wide open world, the detail and the nice RPG mechanics was enough to make a nerd like me sweat, and I was in heaven. I did small bits of the main game, but I mostly spent the 30-40 hours of it I played robbing people’s houses. I’m a bit of a klepto at heart, it seems.

Anyway, Oblivion was much loved by many gamers, so naturally, Elder Scrolls V is high on the list for most anticipated sequels. While the last game was great, there are going to be a few things that people are hoping for in the next entry. That’s why GamesRadar has come up with a wishlist for Elder Scrolls V. I have to say, they make a few good points, including a bigger pool of NPC characters and voice actors, a better encumbrance system and a better scaling system for monsters.

That last one I definitely agree with. I’ve never been a huge fan of RPG’s where the monsters level up with you — it sort of defeats the whole purpose of leveling up, yes? Anyway, if you’re an Oblivion nut, I’d highly recommend checking out the article.

What’s on your wishlist for Elder Scrolls V? What do you think of this list? Go!

Source – GamesRadar