Returning to Skyrim

There have been very few game series that have brought me more enjoyment than the Elder Scrolls series. Oblivion was the first game I got for my Xbox 360 and probably the one I played the most until Skyrim. So when I found out Bethesda was making a remastered edition for the current console generation I was extremely excited.

The idea of being able to travel across Skyrim again spoke to the nostalgic side of me. Listening to atmospheric orchestra pieces while admiring the world of has always been great but with updated graphics it would be even better. The remastered edition definitely has noticeable graphic quality improvements. Firstly, the water effects are much better and looks more natural instead of some weird mirror you can fall in an out of. It even appears to flow better along rivers and rapids. Textures on all environmental features are tremendously improved adding to the realism. Lighting effects looks more realistic and so do the shadows it produces. More foliage is placed in game, adding to the immersive qualities of the world and sight distance is increased to add even more realism.

I have not noticed any of the famous glitches that Elder Scrolls games are known for like Mammoths suddenly blasting off into the air or NPCs randomly dying. The only bothersome thing I have ran into is not even a glitch. It has to do with DLC.

The remastered edition comes complete with all three original DLC packs, Hearthfire, Dragonborn and Dawnguard. The problem I had was when I emerged from the Thieves Guild secret exit in the graveyard in Riften. All of a sudden I was attacked by a pack of hungry vampires with doom hounds that were a much higher level than me. I had to keep resorting to loading my auto save until I could run away and wait for the guards to help me take care of them. I never had the DLC for the original so I do not know if this was an issue there as well but it can be annoying. Hopefully there will be a patch to even out the levels so I do not continue to get wrecked by a large group of angry vamps.


Skyrim is so improved to me that I do not feel like I am replaying an old game, instead I feel as if I am starting a whole new story from the beginning. Because of this Skyrim continues to have replay value for me and I assume many other Elder Scrolls fans. There is something about carving out your own story in the game that truly add to the experience. 

If you did not give Skyrim a chance on last gen consoles I highly recommend you do now. The game looks new and is improved to the finest details that you do not feel like you are playing an old game. Skyrim continues to be one of my favorite games of all time and playing it over again has been exhilarating. I feel like I can never get sick of playing it and I recommend picking it up for the holidays. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pokemon GO Out and Play!

The explosive success of Pokémon GO is more than a bright spot for the future of mobile gaming, it is also helping to create a more social gaming community that has started to cross generational barriers. Even though the initial release server crashes have hindered my quest to catch ‘em all, it has not stopped me from finding new Pokémon to catch and PokeStops to raid for items. The town I live in has a lot of PokeStops and I have created a “farming” system to hit them all in one walk. Before Pokémon GO I used the path for walking/jogging, it takes me along a river and through a small park. The river has moderate pedestrian traffic but the park is usually always vacant. I was shocked when I entered the park and found upwards of 30 people looking down at their phone. Some were walking together in groups, some were riding bikes, others were talking and some were by themselves. But what they all had in common was Pokémon GO . Now I can’t say for certain that every singl...
Read mor5e »

The End of Consoles

Before the release of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, I was considering purchasing a gaming PC. It made sense, a larger selection of games, upgradable hardware and free online competitive multiplayer. But old habits die hard so I caved and purchased a PS4. I would have been happy with this decision if the current generation of consoles adhered to the old rules of the previous generation by remaining current for close to a decade. But both Sony and Microsoft have decided that in order to remain competitive they needed to release upgrades nearly at the beginning of the current console lifecycle. Essentially anyone who purchased an early generation PS4 and Xbox One have wasted their money. The Xbox One Scorpio and the PS4 Neo promise to bring upgraded hardware to improve the overall experience. The PS4 Neo will support 4k televisions, have better graphics, better processing power and cost more . While a new system is nice, there are multiple problems that arise from this. Firstly, wh...
Read mor5e »

Never Graduate: Bully and Nostalgia

I have a problem with playing games and never finishing them. For me the conclusion of a game brings all of the fun and excitement I had while playing crashing down. It stops the story, the character development and all of the great experiences you had within the game. Simply it just ends. The game that defines this experience perfectly for me is Bully . For those that don’t know Bully is a game developed by Rockstar (The creators of Grand Theft Auto ). The game takes place at a school for delinquent children called Bullworth Academy. You play the role of bad boy Jimmy Hopkins who takes on missions for the various groups in the school (nerds, jocks, preps, etc.). The story plays out very much like Grand Theft Auto and you can customize Jimmy in a similar fashion to characters in GTA. The weird thing is Bully is one of my favorite games of all time and yet I have never beat it. It is hard for me to believe I haven’t beaten the game and I have been playing it since it was fir...
Read mor5e »