http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT6mR_JYk28

You could mention its the Shoddycast one which saves the people who have already seen it (quite a lot of us including me) from bothering with the link.

Punishes exploration. Stopped there, I cant hear anymore.

And in the comments people actually agree...

I... don't know what to say... exploration felt more rewarding than questing due to gathering / exp and loot and even other quests (other videos, once again).

I wish I could input more specifics, but suffice to say, the game rewards exploration almost on the same level as questing, also depends on luck of what you find since other players think the same way you do. But the game in NO WAY punishes exploration..... not a single bit.

EDIT: I listened 1 minute more, complaining about a STARTER area being restrictive. his opinion I suppose, but the way I look at it its a way to introduce you to ESO exploration, how the world functions, what resources look like, how questing works, etc

What would had happened if there was no such starting area? People running amok everywhere with no clue how to craft, no clue what materials look like, no clue how the questing works and say that quests dont offer rewards at all, and among other things. I would be FINE with a OPEN from level 1 world since I know I could adapt fast (even if I hadn't tried the beta)

But classic MMO players and new players to the ES series would feel so overwhelmed with no clue of what to do, so there has to be this compromise, which the dev's did very well, once you try the starting area's you will notice it introduces you to everything indirectly, it won't say "THIS IS AN IRON ORE, THIS IS A TREASURE CHEST, THIS IS A QUEST", it will be intuitive with exploration.

I'm sad that reviewers are so closed minded by WoWesque mmo's and complain at the SLIGHTEST restriction, thanks to new mmo's where they completely remove it without assessing the risks nor help further, that they feel the game svcks.

The game is awesome so far, the marketing team is amazing at being a money vacuum, which is the only thing I hate about zenimax money decision, but the game itself has nothing to do with that, the game is awesome. It OBVIOUSLY has it's flaws, but what most people complain about are compromises that NEEDED to be made, but instead of just throwing in there, the dev's took the time to shine it off with some elder scrolls magic dust, which other MMO's dont bother with at all.

Same here! Once I hear that I was like.....yea this guy can't be taken for much.

Yes, couldn't agree more with you. I felt compelled to explore every inch of the map. Actually, "exploration" was my choice in the survey because it rewardly in several ways.

The dude try to sound serious but is talking nonsenses.

I have a lot of respect for Shoddycast but l do disagree with a lot of what was said in this review. I too have played every ES game and was also in the beta. Obviously l can't say directly how l feel about many of the things they discuss but my experience was a lot more positive.

I do love how Shoodycast has gone from "ESO will be the most amazing game ever made in the history of games and will forever be the best game ever made in the future of games!" to "awwww, it didn't live up to our astoundingly high expectations...".

i unsubscribed from Shoddy due to their poor press work.

Well what did you expect from a couple of basemant teenagers? Personally I unsubbed when they started making lore-butchery videos. Honestly all they've really done is repeat what we can read on the official website or on more trustworthy sites such as TF and then give the casual-MMOer opinion, which I doubt many of us are interested in at all.

I do like how they've defended roleplayers on more than one occasion though, they have my respect for that.

well what they say thay are not alone about the bad stuffs

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=elder+scrolls+online+beta+review&filters=week&lclk=week

by ovius reason i cant talk by my one experiens but what have comne out is clear both good and bad things.

you unsub just for that they told the true

You guys dont agree with the punishing exploration comment?

I guess you like invisible walls, no swimming underwater, and maps where a good 20 to 25% is UN-explorable due to strategically placed rock and mountain formations. The only reason to explore is because of skyshards which are SWTOR datacron rip offs..

lol I'm glad I saw that link. I'll remember to ignore any future links to "shoddycast". What a moron.

I shouldn't finish a post without trying to say something positive...

erm...

...he does fit his name rather well.

No swimming underwater to be honest I don't miss at ALL.

In regards to limited exploration, invisible barriers etc.. have you considered the possibility he was playing a LIMITED test, which restricted his movement?

This is why NDAs are in place. Content is restricted during testing. And that reviewer was too much of a dumb ass to realize it lol.

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/821/feature/8219/ESO-Its-The-Little-Things.html

You must have missed that one. Exploration is plenty rewarding according to them.

no thay have played it alot and knowe werry well what he talks about.

ye rewarding copare to a wowclone but not for a ES game!

You can either rely completely on other people to form a decision for you, or you can come up with one on your own.The decision to play is solely your choice.

"Goes out of it's way to punish you for exploration."

This is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have heard anyone say about this game. I am all for freedom of speech and criticism, but this is blatant lie. Anyone willing to make a generalized comment like that based on the starting zones in an MMO is a fool.

Well if you believe ESO is a WoW clone then its no wonder you put such credence to a preview that is clearly full of misinformation and ignorance.

Read the review before posting..

This alone is enough to close the topic on exploration, THIS ALONE IS ENOUGH, yet you dismiss it as its nothing... if you do then there is nothing that can be talked to you to make you be unbiased towards hating the game.

I hate all the marketing team did to the CE content as well, but I read and listened to both sides before forming my own opinion and stick to it, you just read what some guys who played for 4 hours say and form your opinion from there, and REFUSE to see beyond that...

I have to disagree. I get the impression hes entirely clueless. But then I get the impression there's a small handful of people who "claim" to have no interest in the game but spend all day trolling about it. Go figure. Why do you think that might be.

In the meantime the vast majority can't wait.

His entire channel is focused on this one game.. I'm sure his opinion has more weight than most here. Its sad to see the amount of people in denial on these forums. If anyone wants to really see the general consensus for this game all you need to do is leave this forum just for a moment. Read Reddit or other similar forums, heck read the YouTube comments for this game on any video related to ESO. You'll see that most gamers in the community are shrugging the game off and calling it mediocre at best. Sorry to burst any bubbles but the truth hurts. By the way I'm actually excited to play this game, but I'm not going to ignore the obvious..

Yea. Funny that. I found myself being rewarded for exploration with quests, runes, sky-shards, chests, craft nodes, locations and enemies I'd not encountered before. Maybe I accidentally downloaded another game. Yea that must be it.

Those are limitations found in almost every MMO. The key word being 'limitations'. Which is different from 'punishment'. I suppose you could at a stretch call eventually drowning when swimming too long a 'punishment' I guess. But every MMO or solo RPG game I have ever played has no-go areas.

I enjoy the underwater aspects of GW2 but I don't feel 'punished' by the lack of undersea exploration in TESO. Unlike GW2 there are no aquatic races in the mythos.

But if at some point Zen added underwater Daedric cities in lakes or whatever I'd think 'cool' not 'about bloody time'.

His entire channel might be focused on this game. He has played the beta ... so have others. I don't see why his opinion should carry more weight than that of the others. I for once would say that "punishing exploration" is a gross misrepresentation of what this game is and does. He raises some good points, but this is - from my perspective - just plain wrong.