Reach for the Skyrim?
Those of you who are gamers... have any of you played Skyrim? What's it like? Does it have a meaningful and immersive plot and a sense of purpose? Is the gameplay satisfying? Or is it one of those games where you effectively run around all day doing seemingly pointless, disconnected errands and challenges amid a load of fantasy wantasy bollox?
I got a copy of Assassins Creed Revelations for xmas and it has reopened a little Xboxy fire in my soul. (Not that I get any time to game these days, but never mind... I'm putting in a bit of evening time when I can)
I'm in a vague dither about whether I would enjoy Skyrim. Is it roleplay? I've never been a roleplay girl, but I think I might have turned a corner since Fallout 3, which I LOVED. In truth I don't think anybody really makes my sort of games any more (Y'know... action adventure - Tomb Raiderish stuff, big on exploration and treasure finding with a fairly linear plot, decent puzzling and a healthy dose of shooting). These days I tend to devote my rare gaming hours to things like Ass Creed and the better end of FPS.
I'm having trouble putting into words what it is about the open-world games that keeps failing to grip me. I think it must just be me, cos everyone else seems to love them. Fallout 3 somehow got it right by being primarily an exploration/action game with a big sense of purpose and billions of complex, well-written side missions which didn't feel like pointless, repetitive filler. Conversely... I keep returning to Rockstar games with a sense of hope and ending up disappointed. I really wanted to love Red Dead Redemption, but somehow it just filled me with the same old GTA-ish ennui, once I found myself running around doing repetitive errands for people to earn pin money. (FFS, I might as well go to work!)
I like single player games where there is a meaningful (vaguely linear) sense of purpose. Things change - the stuff you do causes the game to move on... you get to explore and the scenery changes, you find secret things, you solve problems, you play with cool weapons, you don't have to wade through 18 hours of poorly written dialogue in between every action scene. I like fast and fluid gameplay. All the better if you get to have fun with a sniper rifle and lots of exploding cans. Anything that forces me to use stealth or makes me do timed missions or repeat things until they pass some tiresome success criteria just has me throwing my controller across the room in a tantrum.
So... what do you reckon? Will I enjoy Skyrim?
(Given that hardly anyone I know is a gamer, I suspect I shall sit and watch tumbleweed blow past on this one. I might have to crosspost to some other communities...)
I got a copy of Assassins Creed Revelations for xmas and it has reopened a little Xboxy fire in my soul. (Not that I get any time to game these days, but never mind... I'm putting in a bit of evening time when I can)
I'm in a vague dither about whether I would enjoy Skyrim. Is it roleplay? I've never been a roleplay girl, but I think I might have turned a corner since Fallout 3, which I LOVED. In truth I don't think anybody really makes my sort of games any more (Y'know... action adventure - Tomb Raiderish stuff, big on exploration and treasure finding with a fairly linear plot, decent puzzling and a healthy dose of shooting). These days I tend to devote my rare gaming hours to things like Ass Creed and the better end of FPS.
I'm having trouble putting into words what it is about the open-world games that keeps failing to grip me. I think it must just be me, cos everyone else seems to love them. Fallout 3 somehow got it right by being primarily an exploration/action game with a big sense of purpose and billions of complex, well-written side missions which didn't feel like pointless, repetitive filler. Conversely... I keep returning to Rockstar games with a sense of hope and ending up disappointed. I really wanted to love Red Dead Redemption, but somehow it just filled me with the same old GTA-ish ennui, once I found myself running around doing repetitive errands for people to earn pin money. (FFS, I might as well go to work!)
I like single player games where there is a meaningful (vaguely linear) sense of purpose. Things change - the stuff you do causes the game to move on... you get to explore and the scenery changes, you find secret things, you solve problems, you play with cool weapons, you don't have to wade through 18 hours of poorly written dialogue in between every action scene. I like fast and fluid gameplay. All the better if you get to have fun with a sniper rifle and lots of exploding cans. Anything that forces me to use stealth or makes me do timed missions or repeat things until they pass some tiresome success criteria just has me throwing my controller across the room in a tantrum.
So... what do you reckon? Will I enjoy Skyrim?
(Given that hardly anyone I know is a gamer, I suspect I shall sit and watch tumbleweed blow past on this one. I might have to crosspost to some other communities...)