This Week in Skyrim... (#1)

I felt like hanging out on Belethor's counter. Might rot there eventually.

Mjoll the Lioness

A dragon got a hold of me and flung me into the sign post. One in a million shot.

Where's Waldo/Where's Dragonborn?

Alduin v. 100 Imperial Archers. The archers were annihilated.

Skyrim Mods - Week 104 - The Kinkiest Mod Ever?

Skyrim: Dragonborn Review

I've finally finished the Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim. Bethesda released it as the final DLC pack for Skyrim- citing they needed to work on the new Elder Scrolls MMO as to why they were ditching Skyrim. It left me very disappointed because I love the Skyrim world
and the adventures within. After all- Skyrim dethroned "Zelda: Majora's Mask" to be my third best game of all time.

The DLC has you journey to Solstheim- an island off the coast of Skyrim but also off the coast of Morrowind. It's a weird in-between- clearly you can see an erupting volcano, but there are still Nord influences across the island. The very first dragonborn, Miraak is attempting to return to Skyrim through mysterious means. I don't want to divulge his backstory, but he has corrupted the island of Solstheim in his bid to return to Tamriel.

I was a bit... disappointed with the DLC. Not because it was bad, but because it had so many expectations to live up to, and my perceptions of what the DLC was. When I got what the DLC actually was- I enjoyed it, but it didn't.... blow my mind so to speak. Well, the final boss fight did. I guess I can give the game some credit there. The story is solid and will give you around 8 to 9 hours of content. There are some new voice actors- which is a welcome change to the game.

The ruins and dungeons you explore are well done. If you've delved into Skyrim for as long as I have now, they shouldn't take you too long to figure out. There are new weapons and armor to be found, but honestly I didn't use anything new- my legendary crossbow, ebony armor set modified to the legendary status and a legendary ebony axe was all I needed. Solstheim felt a lot like Skyrim, but it felt a lot like Morrowind too- and since I haven't played the third Elder Scrolls game, it was nice to see a bit of differentiation in the landscape. Don't get me wrong I love the land of Skyrim- but it's nice to see a change once in a while after you've gained 300 plus hours of playing this game.

Like its predecessor Dawnguard, there were a few bugs I noticed in this game. There was the occasional clipping issues with some of the terrain, but the big beef came when I could sell items to vendors in Raven Rock but receive no gold. I reset the game and that didn't fix it- so I went to another town and sold the stuff without any problems. There was also an odd forward movement bug that kept me walking forward, and in a separate instance to the right- and I couldn't stop walking. I'm not sure what that was about but a reset of the game fixed the problem. In addition, at once point I had difficulty equipping items. I clicked on them in the inventory menu but they wouldn't equip or unequip. A reset of the game fixed the problem.

The dragon flying mechanic near the end of the game was... lackluster to be polite about it. I thought it was neat, but I never tried using it outside of Solstheim and I wonder if that is even possible. I was looking forward to controlling a dragon in flight- but it's all automatic, and that greatly disappointed me. If I can cheat and walk through midair and change my speed to the flash's speed, they can make a mod where I can properly control a dragon and fly it through Skyrim.

As for the value of this game- you will want to pick it up if you love Skyrim. I picked it up during a Steam sale for $13.19, so that comes out to about $1.65 an hour. For my standards that is disappointing- it should be around $1 an hour- so I figure for the content we got the DLC should have been cheaper. Again- that's my stringent standard when it comes to value in a video game. I've spent around $90 on Skyrim and all of it's DLC, which by the way is now available for $40 in the legendary edition, and got about 330 hours out of the game. That is a value of 27 cents per hour. THAT is fantastic. For that reason alone I recommend buying the legendary edition.

This is solid "B" material. Not a "B-movie", but definitely "B" material. It was good- but had so many high expectations to live up to. I'll give Skyrim Dragonborn a [90/100]. If ths game were unique from Skyrim then it would score pretty high on my list- but since it is a DLC, a remake of something on the list or a compilation it won't be placed. Worth picking up? in the legendary edition definitely. As separate DLC? don't pay more than the $13.19 I paid- unless you realllllllly need this DLC.

Bethesda: WOAH, Woah Calamity Jane: PR Coming on Dawnguard

As expected from a world class video game publisher, Bethesda announced that Dawnguard release information for the PS3 and PC will be released sometime this week. Expect it, at the latest, by August 6th. I was wondering why Skyrim has been updating and syncing lately...

Orlong's Hearth 1.1

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim redefines fun

To understand where I am coming from here, I have over 20 years experience with video games. I had never been heavily involved in hardcore RPGs, lacking the patience and slow progress. That all changed when I walked into a retail store with holiday money burning a hole in my pocket. I decided to give Skyrim a try- I remembered back in November that I wanted to give it a try.

From the get go, my mind was blown. It wasn't just the graphics that enhanced the experience- those seemed to fade secondary or tertiary to the amazing immersion and role playing that were taking place. With the close call at Helgen, I was hooked on this game. My interest was cemented when I left the city and began adventuring in the countryside; seeing the beautiful snow capped mountains and flowing streams.

Skyrim seems to do something... different than most video games. Not only is the game huge, it is jam packed with content and narrative. I mean seriously, the amount of stuff in this game is absurd. For the first time in a video game, I was not concerned about leveling my character. Instead, I was simply playing the game- and how I freakin' wanted to.

You learn the details of the world, and if you look close enough there is plenty of humor.

"Well, you see- the store is named the Drunken Huntsman because my brother and I were out hunting. We had too much mead, and he shot me... well... in the rump, and we decided upon a name for our new store".

Everything is believable. Most things are optional. You have so many choices that you can make, from being the sneaking bad guy to the vagabond 2-handed warrior. The perks system allows for extreme flexibility in bonus stats. There are so many fun spells, imcantations and pieces of gear that it will have anyone foaming at the mouth. Of course- there are the mother ******* dragons. Oh what fun I have slaying badass dragons.

This game has the richest soundtrack I have heard to date. Everything is vivid and has its place- this music sounds epic and magical, but of this world. Gregorian monks, chorus singing, epic battle ballads- this game has everything that I have asked for in a game- and it is extremely hard to knock points off from it.

I am playing the PC version, and I have very minor complaints. The game could have used more voice acting and a little more gore. The voice acting is AMAZING. I am not going to complain about that. I sort of wince at the fact that I have to hear very common voices all around Skyrim. The power blows would be more gratifying if a stringy esophagus was coming off of a chopped persons head. Nasty yes, but it would have been much more gratifying. I guess with the ESRB that Bethesda had its limits. Then again, what the hell about Fallout 3?

It is hard for me to explain this game in one small article. I am 30 hours into the game- a place where many gamers end their adventures in other games. Not this one- oh hell no. I'm not even a QUARTER done with this game. There are literally hundreds of hours in this game- for you to explore and enjoy. Oh- zero of it is padding. This game literally is the life sucker. If Bethesda were to ever make this series into an MMO, and apply the Skyrim formula- they could usurp World of Warcraft in a heartbeat.

I will give Skyrim the honor of a 99/100. It has officially trumped Zelda: Ocarina of Time as my best game ever made. Well done, Bethesda!