Skyrim was released today. It’s been getting tremendous reviews.

I’ve been playing it for a few hours now. I’m going to share my experiences in the hopes that people can learn more about the game and thus make a more informed choice regarding its purchase.



Are you stumped about buying Skyrim? I’ve logged a few hours in-game. Maybe my experiences can tell you if you’re barking up the right tree, or if you should just leaf this game on the shelf.

I am going to have to be brief. I’ve stayed up late enough! But watch the Skyrim tag for I feel I’ll be back with more.

Installation — SteamWorks and GFWL

I bought the Windows version. I typed the code into Steam and then popped in the DVD. No fuss at all, it knew what it was doing, it got the files off the disc as easily as if I’d told it to download the files (except a hell of a lot faster). Then after a brief time downloading updates I was ready to go.

Also, despite (apparently) being a Games for Windows Live game, I have not seen one scrap of the GFWL interface. Which is a good thing, in my mind. Skyrim launches from Steam as easily as most other Steam games do.

Graphics

The frame rate is fine at 1080p on my fairly middling computer. And it looks good. Very good. I don’t know what else to say.

Goodbye to Baby-Faces

If you’re worried that Skyrim’s characters will have the same baby-faces of Oblivion, don’t be. They’re looking much, much better.

There are some nuances, too. Let me tell you how I fared with my first character.

The image on the left is my Oblivion character that I was seeking to replicate. The other two images are of my best effort to replicate that look. (Yes, the similarity to Na’vi is not lost on me either.)

Notice how the Oblivion Dark Elf is basically a blue human with pointy ears? Not so in Skyrim. All the elven races have a more angular, narrow facial features than humans. Their eyes are kind of weird, too. They are distinctly different.

Dark Elves, especially, have that protruding brow (you can see it on the right picture, and remember that is the flattering light of the creation screen — those shadows are much blacker in most of the game’s environments). They also have wrinkles that cannot be removed. But it all makes sense — their current appearance is, after all, meant to be something of a curse.

As mentioned, the other elven races do look non-human, but they don’t have the brow and wrinkle problems of the Dark Elves.

The Argonians and Khajit, in my quick flick through the preset appearances, are very beast-like. Scales and fur seems a lot more realised than in Oblivion. And the colour combinations you can choose seem impressive.


Knife to meet you.

And the Game Play?

I didn’t want to harp on too much about making faces in the character creator, but I spent a while there. I also did actually play the game. It’s early days yet, but here are some impressions:

  • Combat is better.
    It feels more physical. The dual-wielding opens up options. Animations are improved.
    AI is better too. One scary orc chased me up to on top of a rock. He stood patiently right below me, waiting. But when I drew my bow (yes drew — even before firing) he figured out my sinister plan and ran for cover. And waited there for me to come down.
  • Thievery seems too easy.
    I felt like a cat burglar when I broke into my first house and took all the valuables from under the sleeping occupants’ noses. But that feeling rapidly deflated when I bumped into a servant and they didn’t even ask me to leave.
    It seems to be a common theme. In a nobleman’s palace I found I could wander the private rooms at will. The guards and servants didn’t care. (In Oblivion, they would tail you very closely until you left the private rooms.) In fact, half the stuff was marked as unowned, so taking it didn’t constitute a crime even if a guard happened to be looking.
  • Character progression is simple but sensible.
    Name, race and appearance is all you pick at the start. No major/minor skills. No star signs. Use a skill and it increases. Get enough increases and you get a level. All a level does it give you more health/magicka/stamina (your choice), and give you a perk to spend.
    The really is the best of both worlds. It’s simple, yet it doesn’t really limit your options. Also, gone are the days when you could stuff up your character by accidentally leveling up in “the wrong” skill.
  • NPC Interaction is Tightened
    Oblivion was quantity over quality. Any NPC could tell you (or other NPCs) dozens of rumours, but they all seemed like bland clones of one another.
    In Skyrim, the NPCs say a hell of a lot less, but what they do say is much better. Most NPCs are actually individually voiced and have unique things to say both to you and to each other.
  • Randomness on the Road
    In my short travel through the wilderness I saw the following things which I’m pretty sure were random:
    1. A bard, humming with magical energy, strolling up the road and offering to sing to me.
    2. A poacher chasing down an undead skeleton.
    That doesn’t include the many less-bizarre but still random encounters with wolves and bandits. And it doesn’t include the seemingly scripted stuff sprinkled around the world.
    Like Oblivion before it, the emergent properties of all this randomness can be very intriguing.

It is time for bed. I shall endeavor to write more. Remember to keep an eye on the  Skyrim tag for future writings.