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| Why Every Elder Scrolls Game is the Best and Worst in the Series Posted: 13 Nov 2011 09:36 PM PST Skyrim! That’s seemingly all anyone in the 1UP offices talks about these days. While I’m excited as anyone about the newest Elder Scrolls game, I have a feeling that when the dust settles, fans will look upon the game the same way they do every other game in the series. Some will proclaim it the greatest game the series has ever seen, and others will see it as the worst. How do I know this will happen? Because that’s what happened to the last four Elder Scrolls games. ArenaWhy it’s the best: It’s 1994, and Bethesda unleashes The Elder Scrolls: Arena on an unsuspecting Doom and Street Fighter obsessed public. With over 400 individual locales to explore, a day/night cycle, and weather that changed with the seasons, the world of Arena felt more alive than any other game world at the time. While other RPGs had used a first-person perspective or boasted a massive game world, no other game combined both in such an impressive way. Why it’s the worst: Arena is a brutally hard game. While part of this is by design, most of the game’s difficulty stems from its abominable control scheme. Do you like playing as a mage? Well you better have the clicks per-minute of a StarCraft champion to survive, otherwise you’re best sticking with a more straightforward warrior class. The game is so difficult that even people working on the current Elder Scrolls game can’t make it very far; according to Ashley Cheng, production director at Bethesda, “Over the years I’ve probably started Arena 20 times. Each time I had to relearn the arcane secrets of DOS memory management. Each time I loved the creaking doors, squeaking rats, and long swims in flooded tunnels. Only one time did I make it out of the first dungeon and wander around chattering with folks. And each time I abandoned the game, satisfied, and moved on to the next Flavor-of-the-Month.” Arena also introduced the series’ tradition of being a buggy mess. While that’s a big problem today, in 1994 it was a catastrophe. Most gamers didn’t have access to the Internet where they could download patches, so most developers didn’t bother patching at all. DaggerfallWhy it’s the best: Arena was a big game, but The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall was huge: the entire game world encompassed 487,000 square kilometers of space. That’s twice the size of Great Britain, bigger than California, and way larger than Skyrim and Oblivion’s 41 square-kilometers. 15,000 towns, dungeons, and locations fill this massive game. The game’s mechanics matched the open world. Players could craft their own spells and enchantments, and customize their character abilities within the game’s guilds and leveling system, which naturally increased the proficiency of players as they used various skills and abilities. Daggerfall has perhaps the most free and open combination of gameplay and game world of any game in the series. Why it’s the worst: Yeah, Arena was buggy, but that’s nothing compared to Daggerfall. Reviewers almost unanimously condemned the game for tech issues that ranged from getting stuck in geometry, to being able to talk to or kill NPCs through walls, or even getting stuck in a dungeon that lacked an exit. While the game was large, not everything in the world merited checking out. Art assets were used over and over again, and very large stretches of the game world existed that simply weren’t worth exploring; there’s a reason Bethesda ditched the massive game world for a smaller, and more crafted experience in future Elder Scrolls titles. As if that weren’t enough, the game provided one more disincentive to explore the world — it was too easy. It didn’t take long to level up to the point that you could take on any enemy in the game with ease; and if you’re already the most badass character in the world, why bother exploring? What are you going to find — a random item that makes you that much more powerful? There’s also a reason that Bethesda instituted scaling difficulty in later games. Posted by: admin in Gaming News Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us. |
| Posted: 13 Nov 2011 09:36 PM PST
A: We have prepared quite a number of new content, as well as solving all the bugs occurred in previous tests. The main aim of Closed Beta 4 will be the new continent, which players can sail to on ships. A: When players arrive at the new continent, they can occupy certain points or areas of it, followed by building their own castles. After that, they (I guess the guilds with castles) can fight amongst themselves. This feature will not be available during the start of Closed Beta 4 but at a later date. There is, however, still a possibility the castle siege system will not be released at all in Closed Beta 4. A: No matter what, there will at least be one update a week. This means the game will be upgraded on a weekly and regular basis throughout the period. This is a promise we made to the players, and one we are not going to disappoint. A: This is something we are still discussing, but we will be monitoring how players progress in the game. Although not confirmed, it should be around level 25. A: Well, taking the ships will be the easiest and fastest way. Players will meet many monsters if they decide to swim over, so it is not advisable. A: We feel that players might get bored floating aimlessly in the middle of the sea, hence added some boss-level monsters to roam the waters. As it is a boss battle, these monsters will drop items as well. A: Hariharan is a human race with a slightly cute design and influenced by the Eastern cultures.
A: We are trying to get into the Open Beta phase as soon as possible. Once the content is ready, we will roll out the Open Beta phase, which we are working very hard on. A: There will be 5000, but we will monitor the game as Closed Beta 4 begins, and we might let in ore people too. A: We are listening to players and taking their opinions to alter the class designs. Furthermore, players can look forward to a better customization feature when creating their characters. I must stress that we will not be going down the “sexy” design way for our characters, we just want to make them more beautiful and accepted by the gamers. A: If the players want it, I might change my mind. However, this is only a thought, there are still various levels of organizational structures to go through (but you are the boss!) before confirming anything. This will need time. A: Actually there is no specific content which players must take note of. We want players to engage in all the features found, not just concentrating on killing mobs and gaining levels. They should make good use of their time to experience the world. A: Yes, we have updated and optimized the user interface and players will get to try it in Closed Beta 4. A: We also pondered on this issue for some time. We are still at odds over whether to limit the number of houses built or increasing the maintenance fee, which will be concluded in the near future. A: This will depend on the results from Closed Beta 4, there might be another Closed Beta test, and it will also be possible ArcheAge will enter Open Beta next. Posted by: admin in Gaming News Thank you for Visiting Gameforumer.com, Hope you enjoyed the stay with us. |
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