Pretty much the same, except replace hamsters with mudcrabs, which aren't quite as friendly.

:D

 

I'll get right onto buying it. As soon as I've finished the other games I've bought but haven't had chance to play yet. :C

It kind of is but also not really. It's similar that it's a game in an intriguing fantasy setting which you can explore at your own pace.

But Baldur's Gate was Bioware and Bioware games are extremely narrative-heavy and linear. You kinda choose what order to do some things in, but what you do is pretty much set in stone from the start (with the illusion of 'moral' choice).

The modern version of that is Bioware's Dragon Age. Which is ideal because it's the exact same story as Baldurs Gate (and all Bioware games, actually) so it'll bring back memories! (I'm trying to be objective but I can't stand Bioware games. Bioware want to tell you a story and they want you to have only a bare minimum of interaction so that you can't ruin their story for them. I find them very restrictive and tedious (with the exception of Mass Effect (just the first one) which was alright.)

Bethesda games on the other hand... ahh Bethesda games. They're simulations, really. They simulate a fantasy world and then ... let you do whatever you want. The massively overwhelming proportion of your experience of the game will be emergent. And will also diverge massively from anyone else's experience.

There are very many quests to do, from one off errands to full plotlines. But you choose what you want to do and how you want to do it. You're free to go anywhere in the world right from the start.

I started playing with a friend, chatting about what we were doing and stuff. And within 5 minutes (after the intro) we'd gone in totally different directions and were experiencing totally different things. He ended up at some village and ended up recovering some ancient Daedric artifact and then getting drawn into the affairs of a nearby city (he's now hunted by one of the city's factions and he's not entirely sure why). I stumbled on a farmhouse which turned out to sit on top of a bandit's den with a system of caves underneath and, at the very end, a treasure room. And I spent the subsequent 3 days (3 real-life-days) just exploring the country, visiting each of the cities, trying to get a feel for the politics before I get too involved.

So...



Yes and no. Bioware are still making the same game but others have moved on. Must stop bashing Bioware. I actually won a copy of Dragon Age: Origins and I still felt ripped-off. Ok, I will stop.

All that stuff is in Skyrim (aside from the hamster (and the horrible, trite, overly sententious, stodgy, overwrought, mannered Bioware writing (I just can't stop))). And so much more! If you like being thrown into a simulated world and deciding what you want to do (and then getting massively distracted from that to the point where 3 days later you remember that you intended to do it) then you'll like Skyrim.

Whatever I want? Really?


Can I piss on a dog?

Can I mount a dragon (ns) and go flying?

Can I build a castle with wood obtained by punching trees?

If I push over that big arch that Steve visited, does it create huge waves?

I can push it over, right? Cus I want to.

Can I make a wing suit and jump off a really high mountain, then glide into underground caves, splash through a waterfall and land on the back of a white stag?

Can I persuade everyone on the whole continent to follow me, then walk into a big lake and see who can hold their breath the longest?

Ten minutes is more than long enough to say yes seven times. Why are you ignoring me, bitch!? :@

You seem to be misunderstanding the following things:

1. The English language (and human language in general)
2. What a simulation is

"let you do whatever you want" is contextualised by "They simulate a fantasy world".

For example. If I say: "Here, take these keys, use my house for a week, you can do whatever you like". Do you take that to mean that you can become a tiger? Or destroy the moon with the power of your mind?

No, you don't, unless you're severely mentally ill. You realise that the possibilities are limited by the terms of the premise. You realise that I am saying "you can do anything which physics and other restraints will allow - I am not imbuing you with superhuman power, I am merely indicating a degree of freedom". Similarly when saying someone can do "anything they like" within a simulation, it goes without saying that that is bounded by what is possible with in the simulation.

A simulation where you could do, in the way you're reading it, "anything you like" is inherently impossible (what if 'I would like' to both do X and not do X simultaneously?). Your reading makes 'you can do anything you like' meaningless in all usages. And given that it's a fairly common construction either you or the entire of humanity for most of its existence is wrong. Statistically, your chances of being right here are slim.

That was a rubbish reply.

I'm not playing Skyrim now. :@

When can I pick up the keys?

Will you become a tiger and/or destroy the moon with the power of your mind?

If not, whenever you like (<-- yes, I mean that quite literally. Including the past)

The moon is officially under my protection now. Do not try to destroy it! :@

I wouldn't! :O

Psych!

Excellent use of brackets there, Xenophone. I salute you.

Ah, thanks for outlining the differences.

 

I'd like to say I'd be able to play Skyrim and enjoy it, but I just don't think I've got the time at the moment, possibly 1-2 hours on some evenings and sunday morning are all I've got for gaming.

 

If it's as in depth as people are saying I don't think I'll get much continuity of plot/storyline between my disparate gaming sessions. :C

8-O (cheer)

John: Thank you :D

Aye it's... a hell of a time sink. I'm maybe... 40 or 50 hours in and I've really genuinely not scratched the surface of anything yet. I'm still just finding my way around.

It really does require obsessive play.

Having said that, I don't know that it wouldn't be enjoyable in 2 hour snatches here and there, it may well be.

I was going to say that if it's anything like Morrowind, you can quite happy go on for half an hour and 'potter' - go around selling stuff you don't need, topping up your equipment, doing "small" quests, collecting ingredients...

I couldn't play like that but I know there are people who do, aye. That would be like torture for me :(

That's cause you're a dick.

And that is why you love me (hug)

That's why I would steal all your stuff and stab you.