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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

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  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    Calabi wrote: »
    Its not about being "utterly awesome man!" its about being a well made polished game. Whilst these games are good, they are a mess, unfinished, ill though out, badly implemented games.

    Can't tell if trolling.
    Think about it logically. Games of this scale cannot possibly hope to achieve the same level of polish as a game where dev's know exactly where the player will be going. You can't think that The Elder Scrolls games can have the same polish and refinement as, say, Uncharted 2.

    Really? A mess? Unfinished? Ill thought out? I think it takes more thinking out than any linear game out there.

    Sure, The Elder Scrolls has always been notorious for it's bugs and glitches. But that means nothing. There are very few single-player RPG's where I've put as many hours into, as the Elder Scrolls. I have put countless hours into Morrowind, and Oblivion. Easily 100+ hours. Whereas as linear game never gets more than 5-8 hours of gameplay before collecting dust.
  • eld
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    eld polycounter lvl 18
    Calabi wrote: »
    Its not about being "utterly awesome man!" its about being a well made polished game. Whilst these games are good, they are a mess, unfinished, ill though out, badly implemented games.

    I take it you never played battlespire ;)
  • Calabi
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    Calabi polycounter lvl 12
    Prophecies wrote: »
    Can't tell if trolling.
    Think about it logically. Games of this scale cannot possibly hope to achieve the same level of polish as a game where dev's know exactly where the player will be going. You can't think that The Elder Scrolls games can have the same polish and refinement as, say, Uncharted 2.

    Really? A mess? Unfinished? Ill thought out? I think it takes more thinking out than any linear game out there.

    Sure, The Elder Scrolls has always been notorious for it's bugs and glitches. But that means nothing. There are very few single-player RPG's where I've put as many hours into, as the Elder Scrolls. I have put countless hours into Morrowind, and Oblivion. Easily 100+ hours. Whereas as linear game never gets more than 5-8 hours of gameplay before collecting dust.

    Its still a linear game though. The only difference is you can do things in different orders(oh you might have a bit of choice in some quests). But it is good in that manner compared to some other games I suppose. Also Just Cause 2 looks pretty polished to me and thats bigger than this game(I'm just talking about graphics here).

    The work required is irrelevant, you can only judge the end product. I dont care how ambitious and challenging the concept, I just care how the end result turns out.

    If they cant make a decent polished game in the time required then they should cut back on things. If a game like this cant have the same level of polish as a game like uncharted then we might as well give up with them, whats the point? Luckily they have the mod makers to polish the game afterwards though.

    And bugs should not be tolerated in any released product. Of course its impossible to get rid of them all, but no company, should get off free from criticism because they made an awesome game.
  • rooster
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    just cause didn't have anywhere near the variety and unique areas though, to be fair. yeah it looked lovely but many bases/towns were the same few buildings dotted around, and the forests were areas you just tried to get out of as quick as possible, nothing to explore. Not to mention all the indoor areas and dungeons which will be in skyrim
  • Two Listen
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    Calabi wrote: »
    And bugs should not be tolerated in any released product. Of course its impossible to get rid of them all, but no company, should get off free from criticism because they made an awesome game.

    Similarly, I don't really think we should call a series "ill thought out" or "a mess", when they are in fact some of the most expansive and immersive games...ever.

    Bugs are a problem when they ruin your experience or break your immersion. The bugs present in the Elder Scrolls games don't normally do that to any significant extent. And some of them are hilarious.
  • eld
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    eld polycounter lvl 18
    Calabi wrote: »
    If they cant make a decent polished game in the time required then they should cut back on things. If a game like this cant have the same level of polish as a game like uncharted then we might as well give up with them, whats the point? Luckily they have the mod makers to polish the game afterwards though..

    You're talking about cutting back on things and trying to fix a series that has won multiple awards and constantly gotten high scores, a series that has been going on since '94.

    You're judging it a lot on just oblivion, an entry that ironically had its flaws around being extremely non-linear, designed so that you could go anywhere without being limited by monster-levels, and even though it was fixed with mods it still remains an extremely well selling game on the consoles, where it is unmoddable, and even then still managed to gather a metacritic at 94.

    Heck, even I see oblivion as the worst in the series, but by such a little degree that it doesn't fall far from the rest of the series, and the impact it made in reaching a way larger playerbase made it very impressive.

    And then we go back at arena and daggerfall, with daggerfall being so extremely non-linear that everything but the main quests were dynamic, and your travels went where you so very well wished, there was no linearity, and the world still remains one of the biggest gaming worlds to date.

    Daggerfall2.pngDaggerfall1.png

    The series also revolutionized interactivity with morrowind, by having a gaming world where every object would stay on the ground should you throw it down, it still to date remains one of the best crpg experiences you can find, and by far the best freeform rpg out there.

    And then comes skyrim, with bethesda having a history of lower quality animations, character art, tech and stuff. Finally they're upping it all, on the same old hardware as oblivion ran on. And not only that, they're taking elements from the whole series,

    The dynamic quests from daggerfall, the world and alien feel of morrowind, and the streamlining of oblivion, while at the same time going over the flaws of all those titles.

    It's not epics samaritan, but it looks damn good when you go back and look at oblivion and compare it. However, saying that the series suffers and that it should be cut back on is just completely wrong and falls back to: It might not be your kind of game.
  • Will Faucher
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    Will Faucher polycounter lvl 12
    Calabi wrote: »
    Its still a linear game though.

    ... what?!
  • jakelear
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    jakelear polycounter lvl 14
    My favorite posts on Polycount are Eld's post about the Elder Scrolls.
  • eld
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    eld polycounter lvl 18
    ...And if anyone has ever visited a randomly generated dungeon in daggerfall, you'll scream and beg for linearity.
  • McGreed
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    McGreed polycounter lvl 15
    eld wrote: »
    ...And if anyone has ever visited a randomly generated dungeon in daggerfall, you'll scream and beg for linearity.
    Especially if you did run into one of the bugs when you fall into the wall and would be walking on top of the dungeon corridors. ;)
  • Ace-Angel
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    Ace-Angel polycounter lvl 12
    Well, last game to try such a thing was Hellgate, and we all know how that went...
  • Calabi
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    Calabi polycounter lvl 12
    eld wrote: »
    You're talking about cutting back on things and trying to fix a series that has won multiple awards and constantly gotten high scores, a series that has been going on since '94.

    You're judging it a lot on just oblivion, an entry that ironically had its flaws around being extremely non-linear, designed so that you could go anywhere without being limited by monster-levels, and even though it was fixed with mods it still remains an extremely well selling game on the consoles, where it is unmoddable, and even then still managed to gather a metacritic at 94.

    Heck, even I see oblivion as the worst in the series, but by such a little degree that it doesn't fall far from the rest of the series, and the impact it made in reaching a way larger playerbase made it very impressive.

    And then we go back at arena and daggerfall, with daggerfall being so extremely non-linear that everything but the main quests were dynamic, and your travels went where you so very well wished, there was no linearity, and the world still remains one of the biggest gaming worlds to date.

    The series also revolutionized interactivity with morrowind, by having a gaming world where every object would stay on the ground should you throw it down, it still to date remains one of the best crpg experiences you can find, and by far the best freeform rpg out there.

    And then comes skyrim, with bethesda having a history of lower quality animations, character art, tech and stuff. Finally they're upping it all, on the same old hardware as oblivion ran on. And not only that, they're taking elements from the whole series,

    The dynamic quests from daggerfall, the world and alien feel of morrowind, and the streamlining of oblivion, while at the same time going over the flaws of all those titles.

    It's not epics samaritan, but it looks damn good when you go back and look at oblivion and compare it. However, saying that the series suffers and that it should be cut back on is just completely wrong and falls back to: It might not be your kind of game.

    You dont even know what I'm saying to cut back on. The size would be a start there is no need to have such huge areas with very little in. Just Cause 2 was way too big as well. I think they have cut down some of the abilities with skyrim. If there reach extends beyond there grasp then they should.

    Its pointless throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. If they are going to make a game they should analyze what works and what doesnt, and build the game accordingly, if would likely save them time and money in the long run.

    The thing with oblivion for me is its a gamey game. I mean its not about being an immersive sim where your let loose in a medievel environment. Its more like a theme park or fairground.

    None of the npcs are interesting, to talk to, you have to game them. The combat is boring takes way too long.

    I dont know I liked Oblivion to start with but the more I played it the more empty it felt(I've played morrowind and that felt empty too). I realised the dungeons were the same everything was the same and I wasnt have fun anymore.

    Its not like the Witcher where it has an agenda, The Witcher 2 is flawed as well, but it feels more developed, it has a purpose, it does a better job of making you believe in its world and the worth of your action in it.

    I'm not saying its a bad game, its a good game for what it does, but I think they could do better.
  • Rick_D
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    Rick_D polycounter lvl 12
    Calabi wrote: »
    You dont even know what I'm saying to cut back on. The size would be a start there is no need to have such huge areas with very little in.

    oh sweet, you have an advance copy! or are you just someone with an attention span shoter than a matchstick that can't stand exploring and enjoying a world? did you even run around in oblivion? i found the most enjoyable side quests and diversions just by running off the path and exploring.
    Just Cause 2 was way too big as well.

    sweet comparison, bro!
    I think they have cut down some of the abilities with skyrim. If there reach extends beyond there grasp then they should.

    their*
    and yes, they have cut away a lot of the shit that peopel didn't use in the previous games, they ditched a lot of things that were cool on paper (we have a hundred thousand numbers you can tweak!) but ultimately weren't used by players, or abused by players; they spent their time apparently making a fantastic game.
    Its pointless throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. If they are going to make a game they should analyze what works and what doesnt, and build the game accordingly, if would likely save them time and money in the long run.

    i would give them a phone call if i were you, they could use some of your expert analysis.
    The thing with oblivion for me is its a gamey game.

    genius.
    I mean its not about being an immersive sim where your let loose in a medievel environment. Its more like a theme park or fairground.

    this is so mind numbing it's hard to know where to start. not only is oblivion an immersive game by just about all it's competitors standards, comparing a game experience to a theme park is hardly an insult. check out the GDC talk where a designer analyzes the disneyland design principles, and how they are so perfectly tuned.
    None of the npcs are interesting, to talk to, you have to game them.

    a valid criticism, that it appears they took on board when making skyrim.
    The combat is boring takes way too long.

    so you want a fully immersive medieval world where you kill people with 1 hit?
    I dont know I liked Oblivion to start with but the more I played it the more empty it felt(I've played morrowind and that felt empty too). I realised the dungeons were the same everything was the same and I wasnt have fun anymore.

    Its not like the Witcher where it has an agenda, The Witcher 2 is flawed as well, but it feels more developed, it has a purpose, it does a better job of making you believe in its world and the worth of your action in it.

    speaking of agendas. witcher is an entirely different game with a shitload of it's own problems, it's hilarious that you compare the two; what's next, dragon age vs skyrim?
    I'm not saying its a bad game, its a good game for what it does, but I think they could do better.

    i don't even know what you are trying to say, you just sound bitter as fuck and miserable that they didn't ask you personaly exactly what you wanted out of a game, and instead made a game based on their decades of experience, and polished and solved all the flaws of their previous titles.
  • Calabi
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    Calabi polycounter lvl 12
    @Rick_D
    I love how comments against a game can then warrant personal attacks.

    I love how I'm not allowed to criticise a game, I've got to be qualified to do that havent I.

    Your the one thats swearing and very angry over a game.

    Yes I'm always getting their and there mixed up. What of it.
    What about all your spelling mistakes and lack of capitals at the beginning of sentences.
    *peopel.

    I though on this forum we could have adult conversations but whatever.
  • Rick_D
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    Rick_D polycounter lvl 12
    sure we can but when you say this:
    Its not about being "utterly awesome man!" its about being a well made polished game. Whilst these games are good, they are a mess, unfinished, ill though out, badly implemented games.

    this is compeltely baseless and unfounded, it seems liek you want to make a personal attack on a game you dislike on principle. is it too popular for you, can't root for the underdog? this is all just speculation, i have no idea if you simply dislike the game because it wasn't what you expected or if you have other reasons, i wonder if you know?

    also i didn't attack you, it was just speculation. i speculated. was i right?

    ps: typing like a moron because you have fat fingers and spam the keyboard (me) and constantly getting 5th grade grammer wrong (you) is different. i though you migh undesand dat.
  • eld
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    eld polycounter lvl 18
    Sort of like a hypothetical:

    "deus ex 2 was a big mess, so the series is broken, and from what I played of deus ex 1, it most likely is the same.
    deus ex human revolution thus needs dire fixing."

    And then you keep saying "these games" when you've played (I'm guessing) 1 and a half of them, and putting most of your points towards oblivion, the most criticized in the series.
  • Calabi
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    Calabi polycounter lvl 12
    Rick_D wrote: »
    sure we can but when you say this:



    this is compeltely baseless and unfounded, it seems liek you want to make a personal attack on a game you dislike on principle. is it too popular for you, can't root for the underdog? this is all just speculation, i have no idea if you simply dislike the game because it wasn't what you expected or if you have other reasons, i wonder if you know?

    also i didn't attack you, it was just speculation. i speculated. was i right?

    ps: typing like a moron because you have fat fingers and spam the keyboard (me) and constantly getting 5th grade grammer wrong (you) is different. i though you migh undesand dat.


    I'm making a personal attacks on a game?

    See, why is it you have to speculate on who I am, what my motivations are. What games I enjoy is irrelevant to the discussion. So I'm not allowed my opinion because it must be bias in some way.

    I say what I mean and I try to qualify my statements as best I can. Whereas you seem to like to use belittling/ridiculing, dismissing tactics.

    So fat fingers and spamming in a rage is excused but Dislexia isnt. So I'm stupider than a fifth grade. Definitely no personal insults here.
  • Andreas
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    Andreas polycounter lvl 11
    Calabi just got seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerved.
  • Sean VanGorder
    Dragons are sweet.
  • Rick_D
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    Rick_D polycounter lvl 12
    Calabi wrote: »
    I'm making a personal attacks on a game?

    See, why is it you have to speculate on who I am, what my motivations are. What games I enjoy is irrelevant to the discussion. So I'm not allowed my opinion because it must be bias in some way.

    I say what I mean and I try to qualify my statements as best I can. Whereas you seem to like to use belittling/ridiculing, dismissing tactics.

    So fat fingers and spamming in a rage is excused but Dislexia isnt. So I'm stupider than a fifth grade. Definitely no personal insults here.


    ok, sorry i focused on something essentially meaningless to the discussion. i apologise, sincerely.

    but your taste in games is actually quite relevant. the witcher is a completely different type of game, so i think it's a bit unfair to compare an elder scrolls game to it.

    but my main problem is that someone could still dislike this game after seeing the quakecon demo :P
  • Geezus
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    Geezus mod
    Hrm... in other news... THERE BE DRAGONS!

    Now... let's all hug. <3
  • equil
  • Calabi
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    Calabi polycounter lvl 12
    Rick_D wrote: »
    ok, sorry i focused on something essentially meaningless to the discussion. i apologise, sincerely.

    but your taste in games is actually quite relevant. the witcher is a completely different type of game, so i think it's a bit unfair to compare an elder scrolls game to it.

    but my main problem is that someone could still dislike this game after seeing the quakecon demo :P

    If you must know, I have no particular taste in games I play all types. fps(i dislike the cod games), j rpgs, strategys, rts.

    The Witcher 2 is in the same grouping, rpgs and its a fantasy setting so they are pretty similar. I'm well aware that The Witcher 2 has lots flaws. I dont particularly like it either.

    I never said anything about disliking skyrim, just oblivion.
  • Rick_D
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    Rick_D polycounter lvl 12
    Geezus wrote: »
    Hrm... in other news... THERE BE DRAGONS!

    Now... let's all hug. <3

    and finally you guys hired some new animators ;D
  • ErichWK
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    ErichWK polycounter lvl 12
    I'm super curious how they are going to be pulling off the looks of the Elves and Argonians. I mean.. those character models/designs I don't think aged very well. The Elf Eyes always creeped me the fuck out. And female Argonians weren't the sexiest things in the world.
  • teaandcigarettes
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    teaandcigarettes polycounter lvl 12
    ErichWK wrote: »
    And female Argonians weren't the sexiest things in the world.


    And they better stay that way! I remember when Better Bodies (Morrowind mod) gave humongous gazongas to all Khajiit females. I'm still horrified.
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 19
    also read something mentioned in an article: Oblivion had 15 voice actors, Skyrim has 70.
  • ErichWK
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    ErichWK polycounter lvl 12
    I really hope the Redguard Voice Actor will come back
  • greevar
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    greevar polycounter lvl 6
    ErichWK wrote: »
    I really hope the Redguard Voice Actor will come back

    I really hope he's not the only male Redguard voice actor. Seriously, having a conversation with one Redguard and then talking to another with the exact same voice really breaks immersion. I'm not saying each character should have a difference voice, but add enough variety that I don't notice is as much would be nice. Also, Orcs and Nords should not have the exact same voice either. At least in Morrowind, the Orcs had a distinctly differing voice than the Nords. The elven races each had different voices instead of all elves using the same sound files.

    I liked that in Fallout 3 there were no race-centric voices. No race had a distinct voice and the monotony wouldn't be harshly broken if a modder used a new voice actor for new content. It would actually make you feel like you've encountered someone new rather than a cookie-cutter copy of another character with new dialog.
  • Shiniku
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    Shiniku polycounter lvl 14
    So has everyone seen this?
    http://bethblog.com/index.php/2011/08/09/the-council-has-spoken-a-dunmer-thief/

    Looks awesome to me! Seems like a return to a more Morrowind-esque look for the Dunmer. I'm so glad to see that the races once again look diverse, as opposed to what we got in Oblivion.
  • ErichWK
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    ErichWK polycounter lvl 12
    Thats all sorts of bad ass!
  • Slum
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    Slum polycounter lvl 18
    Yeah, that looks great! Now that they are using hand-made character heads instead of FaceGen, the races are going to look a lot more awesome.
  • Two Listen
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    I had my suspicions, looks like that might be the dark brotherhood armor that dark elf is wearing.

    dbarmor_elf.jpg
  • Sean VanGorder
    I'm such a sucker for vivid night skies and giant planets. Loved the skies in Oblivion.
  • PogoP
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    PogoP polycounter lvl 10
    That is one fugly looking castle :D
  • uncle
    YOU NWAH!

    But srsly, if Witcher2 didn't make me upgrade my junk, this one will.
  • Geezus
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    Geezus mod
    View of the statue next to the bobble head promo from Fallout 3. I think it's pretty rad.

    012.jpg
  • Habboi
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    Habboi sublime tool
    Man, I hope the Black Hand has more...influence I suppose. I never felt like I was affecting the world in Oblivion and the robes were useless but cool looking. I'd love to have some sort of meeting where you put on your robes at the dead of night and complete a generated quest to kill someone.
  • slipsius
    what system are you all getting this for? I pre-orderd it for xbox, but I just built a new comp last week which is badass, so i think ill switch to pc...

    and HOLY F! that dragon statue looks amaaaazing
  • [HP]
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    [HP] polycounter lvl 17
    You're gonna play a bethesda game on a console? Oh well... :)

    I know I'll get it for PC, more view distance, more resolution and last but not least, mods!!
  • Sean VanGorder
    The only reason I liked playing Oblivion on console is because I like to get away from sitting in front of the computer. And it's more comfortable to put in 300 hours while on a couch :p
  • eld
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    eld polycounter lvl 18
    Get it on both!
  • Sean VanGorder
    Oh I will, eventually. Especially now that I have a machine worth playing games on. But after dropping $150 on the collector's edition, and buying the dozen other games coming out this fall, I think I may have to cut myself off for a bit.
  • Shiniku
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    Shiniku polycounter lvl 14
    I usually get it for both, too. I get it on console first because I just think it's more relaxing to play on console, plus I get to experience the game without getting distracted by mods too quickly.
  • slipsius
    forgive me. the last elder scrolls i played myself, not including just playing briefly at friends houses, was daggerfall.... What mods are you guys talking about?
  • uncle
    ^ teh famous morrowind sw mod, behold

    8668-1-1193343671.jpg

    also, check out the guard intersecting stairs, whoa
  • ErichWK
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    ErichWK polycounter lvl 12
    So Reiner at Game Informer made himself a Khajiit with the character editor.

    http://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_elder_scrolls_v_skyrim/b/ps3/archive/2011/08/12/i-used-skyrim-39-s-character-creator-and-this-is-who-i-made.aspx

    reinerskyrim22.jpg

    Not bad looking.. Kinda wish some of the facial fur was alpha'd and not backed into the mesh, but alas.
  • Geezus
  • Wahlgren
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    Wahlgren polycounter lvl 17
    *fap fap fap fap fap*

    I'ma gonna be a viking!

    Has there been any talk about multiplayer? I think i heard something about co-op in the early days and that shit tickles my balls like nothing else... but I can see them dropping it and it will make me a very sad panda if they do.
  • ErichWK
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    ErichWK polycounter lvl 12
    And Eurogamer's! ss_preview_Character1L_UK.bmp.jpg

    A way to drop in for a co-op experience in Skyrim would be an absolutely mind blowing experience. It would make those long horseback travels through the world so much more interesting
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