I am really on the fence right now about buying Skyrim. Before it came out, and up until a day or two ago, I had no intention of getting this at all. However, because of the HUGE amount of positive reviews, I'm having second thoughts.

I'm pretty hardcoe when it comes to my RPGs. I loved Morrowind and Daggerfall, and really didn't care for Oblivion as much. My problem with TES 4 was the fact that I felt the game became less of a detailed, stats-driven, difficult, virtual world, and more a of a twitch-based first-person shooter. Oblivion felt pretty stale, lifeless and boring to me. Morrowind was a huge, extremely deep, world with lots of detail and mystery. In Morrowind I could spend 20 hours at the first town discovering it's secrets, in Oblivion I could easily spend 20 hours and see the entire world. I grew up on Might and Magic, Wizardry, and other old-school RPGs. I like my RPGs deep and immersive. I don't care much for First-Person Shooters passing themselves off as RPGs.

I'd like to know, firsthand, from someone who loved Morrowind and Daggerfall, if they can recommend this game to me. I've heard so many people say this game rocks, but from what I've seen, it simply looks like a really nice Oblivion mod - with upgraded graphics, questing and dragons. That's not enough for me, I want a game I can spend hours upon hours simply exploring a single town and all of it's secrets and a game that doesn't hold me by the hand and offers a real challenge.

So from an old-school gamer, to an old-school gamer, can you recommend Skyrim?

Based on what you liked about Morrowind, you will love Skyrim.

There's enough forum posts and videos around to be able to judge for yourself. Many of us have been loyal fans from the start so i guess if you enjoyed the others you will enjoy Skyrim.

I think Skyrim goes back on some of the things that made Morrowind so great while adding some modern twist to it. I would certainly give it a try if I where you.

Simply put, BUY IT.

It's worth it. I'm as old-school rpg as you get, and a long time TES fan, and Skyrim is the best of the series. There will be things you love and things you hate (lore wise) but that is one of the things that makes it great. They've refined and expanded nearly everything. I told my wife we were moving to Skyrim and she understands (okay, actually she just smiled and nodded and patted my head...but you get the point)

You'll love Skyrim.

I would only recommend it if you are able to allow yourself to like it rather than compare it to older games for what it is not. Face it, games have changed and become more streamline, whether this is due to gamers these days having a shorter attention span or not I don't know. But, developers have to pander to a broader audience in order to stay alive and relevant.

Old school gamer to Old school gamer, I love this game and don't see how anyone cannot, bugs and glitches aside.

skyrim is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too easy for oldschool gamers

A couple things that concern me about Skyrim.

1. Is it true that health regeneration is too fast? I mean, I've heard that people are popping potions like it's Diablo 1 all over again, and that sounds a little cheap Do you actually need to rest to level or re-gain health, or is it simply cosmetic now?
2. I've heard that there is very little "clutter", or random stuff to pick-up in buildings and such. In Morrowind, there were tons and tons of knick-knacks that could be shop-lifted from stores and peoples' houses. Is there more or less clutter to find around? I would miss that if this aspect was nerfed.
3. Can "important" NPCs be killed permanently? The developers talked about the fact that if you killed someone important, their relative or friend would re-take their place.
4. How good is the reactive AI? I heard that if you dropped a sword in public, a by-standard would come by and take it. Is that true, or just hype?
5. Can you disable the quest markers to make quest finding more difficult?

I don't know about 20 hours, but each fort city definitely feels more dynamic than any city in Oblivion. You also feel like your stepping into whole new perspectives when you cross into new areas since everyone is governed by different laws.

Skyrim has all of this and then some.

^ This

haha no. skyrim makes oblivion seem like poop once youre in it.



without a doubt, im having one of the best gaming experiences of my life right now. its morrowind with 2011 design. just bigger.



also this.

People are governed by different laws? Interesting, can you elaborate on how that works? Are you saying, for example, that walking around naked in one city will get some laughs, and in another city, get me arrested?

How does crime work? If you commit a crime, do all the guards in Skyrim instantly know you've done something telepathically like Oblivion?

It is a new school game, with arrows leading you to quest completions instead of anything much in the journal. It reminds me constantly of Bethesda's version of Fallout much more than Arena, Daggerfall, or Morrowind and it's the first RPG (or Action RPG) I've played without the usual strength, wisdom, dexterity, etc stats.

It's another Bethesda world to explore, but they've done a lot to let you do so quickly.

A cool thing is that if you drop a weapon in one city, a guard will warn you not to do it again.

I liked Daggerfall the most, and various old RPGs, but I think Skyrim is my favorite now. I think you won't be disappointed.

From what I can tell, and I could be wrong. The crime has to be witnessed in order to get a bounty out on you. I was messing around in one town and killed a random npc just for the hell of it. There was no one else around so when he died it said something about "Bounty being removed" being the only witness was the npc I ended up killing.

That always bugged me in Oblivion, you would steal something and before you knew it guards stormed into a house telling me I was under arrest!

oh and don't let people catch you hurting their chickens....

1. False, health regen is not too fast and potions are like oblivion.
2. There is a ton of clutter, even more in the dungeons now than in morrowind.
3. I find lots of npc's that just wont die but they continue to fight you after they get back up, very annoying. No way to tell if they won't die before u fight them too.
4. Hype, I've dropped so much [censored] and nothing has come back. Thank god to, talk about annoying.
5. Yes but most quests you will need it. Directions are even less descriptive than in oblivion.

rent it first.

Number 4 IS NOT hype. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. I think it's great, too. Adds a nice feel to the game, in my opinion.

1. Yes it's fast, but only out of combat so it's a non issue. No need to rest to level, I like that, others may not.
2. I would say "clutter" is on par with other TES games.
3. Not sure...
4. Reactive AI is real good. I dropped some boots in a lady's house to show him how th physics work, she got out of her chair grabbed my boots and said, "I believe you misplaced these"
5. Yes.

Cool.

Another question, how much does this game accommodate non-combat professions? I mean, is it possible to make a living as a blacksmith, or alchemist, getting married and "settling down"? Is the alchemy system as deep as Morrowind? Is there enchanting, combining multiple spell combos to items?

Can monsters and dragons raid villages all on their own?

Do guards respawn like in Oblivion? I hated the fact that you could kill everyone in Oblivion, except the guards would just keep coming back alive.

Alright, I'm a bit gamey around the edges as well; so I'm hijacking this thread and pumping for more info since I'm on the fence as well :gun:

I see atmospheric AI addressed; how is the combat AI?

I like what was mentioned about the idea of towns working by "different laws" - each has a different feel. Does this run so deep as to throw the player off balance?

How much brain bending is there? Are there any good plot twists, puzzles that require brain power instead of timing a guard's routine or pushing some lever in a different room, etc?

Thanks, and I hope the black choppers aren't coming

Rumbly

Combat AI is improved greatly over Oblivion, but it's still Bethesda... The "different laws" thing hasn't really affected my game at all. Not sure what you mean. Most of the puzzles are simple, with a smaller number of tough ones thrown in as well.