Ok, so I've put about 30 [Edit - Still holds true after twice the hours] hours into Skyrim so far and among the myriad of gameplay and technical improvements, I have 3 major reasons why Skyrim is the best TES game yet. First I should give a little back story (Feel free to skip to the reasons if you'd like!).

Oblivion is my favorite game of all time. I put well over 1,000 hours into that game across numerous characters and I still haven't seen and done everything it has to offer. Now, Oblivion was my first TES game, so I didn't have the pleasure of playing Morrowind in it's heyday (Though I was always interested in it when I saw it on store shelves... I didn't own an Xbox or a good gaming PC at the time). I have played Morrowind on Steam now, but unfortunately I found it rather difficult to go back to after Oblivion. The "dice rolling" combat and abnormally slow walking (and running) speed compared to Oblivion are the main contributors among other things. However, there are many things that I adore about Morrowind including the visual style, narrative, and the ambiguous way in which quests are handled. I know, I'm terrible and should be burned at the stake... but that's just how I feel... or rather felt.

Ok, I think I should just get to the reasons and you'll understand the point I'm getting at...

Reason # 1 - I have not used fast travel once!

That's right... I have not used fast travel a single time in Skyrim thus far. I wasn't going into the game purposely avoiding fast travel... but Skyrim just beckons me not to use it, and I love that fact. I'm taking the world in at a much slower pace and there's always something interesting to discover in the world. I don't know if I've changed or if it's just the nature of Skyrim. But it's made for one hell of an experience so far.

Reason # 2 - I haven't had the urge to restart my character!

In Oblivion, I had the habit of never completely finishing a character. I have only finished the main quest once. I always had the urge to restart my character and I believe that was due to the leveling system. Skyrim has completely done away with that urge. It's nigh impossible to feel like you've messed up your skills and while some may think that it's "simplifying" the game, I think that "streamlining" is a much more appropriate term. Maybe I was alone in this feeling, but there it is.

Reason # 3 - I have not taken advantage of the save system!

In Oblivion I would save before almost every major action. Pickpocket someone? Save first. Breaking into a house? Save first. Killing someone? Save first. I always used it to my advantage. If I messed up, I would just reload and try again. Some think that doing so is "exploiting the system". In my opinion, it has to do with the AI. In Skyrim the AI is so much better it's unbelievable. Enemies will not immediately detect you, guards are more reasonable, etc... there's just generally more grey area that the AI can calculate and that means that saving before every action is no longer such a necessity for me. Not to mention the save system is so much better. Not only will it autosave on entering, resting, and waiting... but you can set it to save whenever you open your "menu" every 10, 15, 30, etc. minutes, so it's in the back of your mind and if you die, forgetting to save is not gonna lose you hours of play.


Well there you have it. Three major reasons why I think Skyrim is the best TES yet. Do you agree? Disagree? Whatever the case may be, give me your reasons as to why you think Skyrim is/is not the best TES yet!

Please avoid spoilers to the best of your abilities!

+1

I absolutely agree.

Morrowind FTW, but Skyrim is still awesome.

one word Roadmaps that is all

My 3 main reasons why Skyrim is the best TES so far:

1) World

2) Story

3) Music

Skyrim has not only surpassed the excellence set by its predecessors, it actually sets a very high benchmark for any RPGs after it.
It has actually moved the RPG genre forward in gaming, and playing it is like watching a glimpse of the future evolution of RPGs.

Pretty much 100% agreed, with no fast moon hopping thanks to the loss of Atheletics and Acrobatics, I have 100% been walking all over the place.

This is better than Morrowind, which is better than Oblivion

I also absolutely love the lack of power gaming mechanics, now I can play the game rather then concentrate on leveling skills properly.

100% my favorite game ever.

Skyrim isn't the best TES. It isn't the worst either. I thought oblivion was better. This one does have a good radiant system and dragons and dragon shouts but if none of those were in it'd be one of the worst.

I agree! And "music" is a great reason! I cannot even fathom how beautiful the music is in this game. Morrowind and Oblivion had amazing soundtracks but Skyrim just takes it to a whole new level!

Agreed! And I thought I would miss those skills but honestly the game is so much better off without them. Mainly because those skills were ridiculous to level and looked ridiculous when they were all the way up. Sprinting is a much better substitute as it is plenty fast, still can't beat a horse (like full speed in Oblivion), and it gives more purpose to stamina!

this one is the best by far.
the awe ispiring scenery... ahh so peaceful.
the music.. awesome, and makes it all the more emotional.
the two hand system works wonders and the "magic" feels alive in your hands.

It's interesting that you say this. I made my current character assuming that it would be a "test character" and that I would start a "real character" later, after I had gotten the hang of the game. But, to my amazement, I'm still playing my "test" character. And at the moment I feel no driving need to start my "real character." This is truly amazing, as I am a notorious re-starter.

I voted "other" because the way I see it, Oblivion (and any other TES game) has stand-alone features which could make it my favorite and best. I love Skyrim, but there's plenty of features and things in Cyrodiil which I love just as much. So far as your list goes....mmm

1. I never fast-travel. In fact, I Never fast-traveled in Oblivion, even when I was new to the game (it's the only other TES I've played so far). It just seems that those who fast-travel alll the time basically miss out on more than half the game and its randomness.

2. I did restart one Oblivion character, after she delivered the Amulet, but after that one character I've never just started over. I do, however, have mutliple characters in Oblivion.

3. I usually save when I open doors, or push levers, or cast spells. I like saving when there's some sort of active effect going on. I usually don't save before pickpocketing or assaulting or what have you. Usually, I'm too caught up in the moment to remember to save!

Cheers :celebration:

What's even more interesting is that this is exactly the same thought process I went through when I started Skyrim. I was fully assuming that my first character was just going to be a temporary "getting a feel for it" character... :laugh:

Couldn't have said it better myself.
The magic casting in this game is so good that saying magic "Feels Alive" is probably the best complement i can give it.
this is how i always envision magic to feel, like living energy flowing with your hands.

Morrowind > Skyrim > Oblivion. Haven't played the others. Skyrim has a lot of what made Oblivion bad, but it also has a lot of what made Morrowind good restored to it.

Skyrim is a buggy mess, with a good bit of potential. Once the bugs are cleared up, then i'll look at the game for what it is. But as it stands right now, the visuals are terrible up close, the PC interface is a nightmare, and the bugs sour my mood constantly. The Dragon fights are pretty epic, and the far off terrain in the distance is just as beautiful as Oblivion when it fist came out. But Morrowind was much better IMO.

Same here. Still playing with my Orc test character.

And hello Pseron Wyrd great to see your enjoying SKYRIM. Cheers Master of letters :foodndrink:

I assumed my first character, a Nord barbarian by the name of Blade 'n' Bone, would be dead by now!

Personally I find the complaints against the "up-close" textures to be so trivial and ridiculous. If you're playing Skyrim for the visuals than I think you're missing the point of the game. There are always going to be some textures that don't look as good as others up close... but in a game as big as Skyrim, a few bad textures is not nearly important enough to hinder the experience at all. All together Skyrim is a beautiful game with a great art style.

I can't comment on the PC interface but it is fantastic on the PS3, and I assume the 360 as well. I also haven't encountered a single bug, but again, I can't comment on the PC version. I'm sorry that your experience hasn't been as smooth as others

Agree with this completely. No game should be called an RPG unless it can somehow be atleast half the game Skyrim is.