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[WeeRLegion]

Weelll. I've now had the game for some.... 2 weeks or something... Played through the main storyline once, and tried plenty different characters. Or rather, different variations of melee fighters + a few archers. xP


I can't really say what I think of the game; in a way, that is why I'm writing this, to list things for myself so I can figure it out.


So the story, and such... It seems rather, generic. While i can't quite pinpoing anything with precisely just an all-out demonic invasion of the world taking place, it feels a little unsurprising.
Like frankenstein, as a whole it's something never seen before, but looking sharp, you can figure they've borrowed something.
Couldn't really blame them, not really. Everything has been done before somewhere, sometime, but we all know frankenstein monsters move a little stiff-like.
It doesn't really bother so much on a first time through, especially if you just rush fast after all the main story Qs.
But if you don't. If you run about after far-fetched-fetch-and-carry quests, and enjoy the open ended gameplay, well, the timeline kinda breaks.

'Oh, hi! I've been killing goblins, zombies, gladiators, and the nine know what for the past three years! Then I rememberd; Oh, right! Oblivion gates!'

Aside that, the quests, story related and not, inside the non-linear space, are very linear. And the, one-sided dialog system makes them seem all the more so; it all comes down to chasing quest markers and following clear-as-day directives.
There are a few extremes to it from a design pov; too unclearly stated objectives, and objectives explained to the village idiot.
Ahh, yes, then the dialog system. I'm sure it's simplicity will be appreciated by some, but on the other hand, it does sacrifice some of the feeling.
Also the pimp-yo-opinions minigame seems like too much of a chore after the first few times; there really is no risk in it, no one will outright seek to feed you your butt on a platter based on any results, even less if they are a quest-related person; it's pretty much a boring game of win-win.
Bring me something more dangerous fellas!
I mean, it'd be a lot more interesting if a low-personality person should think twice before starting any sort of small-talk.
They're obviously trying to reduce the reliance on raw stats, and get the palyer more involved, but it feels a bit ill developed as it is, it's a chore; which brings me to my next point of grievance.
Lockpicking & Character development.
Character development is actually one of the strong points of the game, there's plenty of options to engineer the PC to your tastes.
Problem is, of course, that you maybe should avoid doing so.
Let's say, I make an pretty much all-out melee fighter type.
Nord with Sign of the Thief (For the best stat boost and balance) and
Blade
Block
Heavy Armor
Restoration
Athletics
Lock pick
Speech/Merch

He's got all the combat skills he'll be using, as well as a few secondaries picked mainly for starting boosts.
He'll start out good, beating everything in sight. But since the enemies are adjusted to be challenging to any level, he'll eventually find that the challenge is actually rising.
Why? Because leveling with non combat skills only boosts his level, not his combat ability (but as far as i know, the enemies are adjusted to level, so with a little time, he'll lose the edge he had at the beginning).
So, a character class must be designed with the game system in mind; of course! it doesnt sound so bad, but taking on entirely unused abilities, in the style of the pre-made classes, really seems futile, pointless and backwards.
Really, the character generation is great, it's the creep-scaling that craps it.
And yes, it's fun just trying things out.

Now, this has all been rather negative... Mmm, yeah, my first impression of the game was really great, but figuring it out further myself, my opinions kinda sank. Err.
Now don't get me wrong, there's some really awesome stuff in the game, the scenery, for one. I mean, the outdoors scenery, too much of the indoors scenery seems CnPd.
And yes, sometimes it's a lot of fun, just exploring, trudging through every smelly dungeon you come across.
Heck, sneaking in a zombie filled ruin with an easily killed archer type at RL times past midnight can really be rather interesting.
And sneak-shot archery is loads of fun. The only problem being that eventually you'll find a creep that you can't kill with a shot or two, in a place where the fighting will quickly turn into a boring backwards-running shoot-fest.

Now, the scenery, now that is just great. Playing this game with any machine that cannot draw it as far as the scroll bar goes, is raping it, I'm sure.
And the level design is generally good too, the traps, the everything. It just works.
On the graphics side, there really isn't too much to complain. Only that they didn't bother making more base models, and that the females, esp. those dressed in anything but chainmail, look a lot like men with boobs by their physique.
They need better tailors in tamriel.

Oh yes. and the black soot i can paint my face with? IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE BEARD?! Gahhh. WoW has it right. Properly modelled hippy-beards available for everyone interested.
And that ALL the characters are just different heads mounted on cloned bodies, it's just lame. Bring on the weirdos and fatties a'la The Witcher!

And when I'm alone with a non-hostile npc in a crypt, be it then in the middle of the city, I should be able to murder without getting the guards on my tail. Seriously, as hard working as they are, it seems impossible for anything like the Dark Hood (of merry murderers), or the Thieve's guild to flourish.

Oh yes, what really is awesome about this game is how the npcs converse with eachother about... anything, getting quests by overhearing stuff, way cool. And how they sometimes go OMG! HERO OF KVATCHARENACHAMPION! I*LL LICK YOUR BOOTS!, really fancy. ^^
And... Oh yes, circling back in my thoughts, the problem of excessive go-do-return linearity mostly plagues guild quests.... Yeah. Some quests actually are rather interesting, like spying on the townspeople for... Glarthir.
Of course, then there's the really stupid ones too, like... searching for the stolen painting in castle Chorrol. Gyahh!

So, I'm thinking... I'll have to give the game a 7. It's got some really amazing stuff, some downers, and loads of repetitive tasks.


So what do you guys think of the game? ^^