Sprite This Down: 10 Reasons to Avoid Skyrim : Crimson Monkey

Sprite This Down: 10 Reasons to Avoid Skyrim

Thursday, December 01 2011 - Sprite This Down - by: born4this

In my 20+ years of gaming, I've basically avoided RPGs (I've tried a few, but only recall completing one, which was Mystic Quest on Super Nintendo.) Honestly, most of the modern RPGs haven't grabbed my attention at all - they seem boring to me, and I've heard the combat in most of them is less than satisfying (if a game is going to include combat, it should be good, right?) I've had several friends recommend Mass Effect 2, which I do plan to try eventually, but outside of that, I've had no interest in RPGs at all. That is, until I heard about Skyrim... "You get to fight dragons in this huge world that actually rewards you for exploration." SOLD.

What have I done?!? I bought Skyrim, and after 60+ hours of playing it, I'm feeling buyer's regret. This game is terrible, just terrible! Here's why:

1. It's addicting.

2. There are dragons. Big, awesome looking dragons that can fly, breathe fire (or sometimes ice), and eat you if you stand in front of them for too long. Dragon scales and bones can be taken from the dead dragons and those can later be used to make dragon armor. Yeah... DRAGON ARMOR.

3. It's addicting.

4. There are dragon shouts. Your character is a "dragon born", which means he can absorb dragon souls and use those souls to power dragon shouts. The words of these shouts are found throughout the world. The "Fus Ro Dah" shout in particular will give you a Jedi-like power that will send enemies rocketing backwards. This is just one of TWENTY unique shouts! The other shouts include the ability to breathe fire, slow down time, run extremely fast, and more.

5. The world is massive! If you think you've seen a huge video game world, you aint seen nothin' yet! As if that wasn't cool enough, the game actually rewards you for exploring. There are literally hundreds of areas to discover, including dragon burial sites, fortresses, camps, holds, caves, farms, and more. I did a Google search to see how long it would take to cross Skyrim's map, and a few people said it would take at least 30 minutes, and that's without stopping for any reason.

6. Have I mentioned that it's addicting? IT'S ADDICTING!

7. The sidequests actually feel important. I've played plenty of open-world games (mainly titles from Rockstar like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption.) Side missions are often more of a chore than a rewarding experience, but that's not the case here. In Skyrim, the majority of the sidequests have left me wanting more, not less. Some of them are unpredictable, too. Sometimes the simplest requests from people in the game lead you down a path of crazy, exciting events.

8. You can become a werewolf. Need I say more?

9. There is a variety of enemies & they're awesome. Lions, dragons, & bears - OH MY! There are also giants, mammoths, trolls, ghosts, undead soldiers, necromancers, orcs, wolves, ancient robots, and more.

10. Last, but not least, the combat is satisfying. This is huge. Time and time again, I've heard people say, "The combat is pretty good, for an RPG..." I hate hearing that. I want a game's combat to actually be good, not just "good" for an RPG. In Skyrim, the combat is actually good for a video game, not just good for an RPG. This is the #1 thing that has kept me avoiding RPGs all these years, so I was happy to hear reviewers say, "The combat is actually fun."

As a person who's always thought that RPGs seemed boring compared to other genres, I can honestly say that Skyrim is far from boring. In fact, I'd say it's too fun. I frequently find myself staying up until 2 or 3 AM playing it, when I should have went to bed at midnight or sooner. Also, I'm 60+ hours in and I've barely completed the main story! Nearly every time I play, I get sidetracked, and I don't work on the things I planned to that night. This game is terrible, just terrible! If you struggle with self discipline, I'd recommend avoiding this title. You've been warned.