Elder Scrolls Online Back to its Roots

One of the biggest reasons that I purchased an Xbox One  was so I could play ESO. I’ve never really been a very big fan of traditional MMORPGs, but I’ve always been into Bethesda’s games. The Elder Scrolls is one of the best video game franchises in my personal opinion. However, since the beginning ESO has been plagued by a menacing, and quite frankly, malevolent presence; The MMO traditionalists (or more acurately, though not as poetic, World of Warcraft fanboys). There is still hope, but it has a cost, a cost that may prove to be more of a boon than a true deficit.

         At E3 Zenimax Online announced some very serious updates to the Elder Scrolls Online, the most important being the upcoming Update 12, a.k.a. “One Tamriel”. When it launches in October, U12 will remove many alliance restrictions in the PvE game, and adds one on one dueling in to the fray as well. It was originally planned to include player housing but this feature was pushed back to either late this year or early 2017. These things are all big improvements that will make the game more playable, and yes, even more lore friendly. 

      One might ask what I mean by “more lore friendly”, considering that the alliance war is currently waging during the game’s setting. Well, many people argue that you wouldn’t see any Bretons or Dunmer wandering around Auridon during this period, but those people are wrong. If you pay attention to the NPCs that you encounter you may note that there are many people that could be considered out of place. For example, there are Breton NPCs in Vaulkel Guard, Argonians in Grahtwood, Altmer in Glenumbra etc. This means that racial restrictions on travel simply did not exist from a lore standpoint. There may have been regulations or severe security checkpoints, but all we really have to go on are the plain facts that can be seen by anyone. The presence of these NPCs are not exceptional, but instead are the rule that shows the Three Banners War as a political construct rather than the race war that it is usually assumed to be. All of the gripping about Allience Restrictions being lifted, seems to stem from the same change-hating people that have held ESO back from the start.

          When ESO was announced all those years ago, I was excited to get to play an all new Elder Scrolls game. It was disappointing for me to discover that was mostly a WOW clone with a better story, graphics, and a first person option during beta. I gave up on it quickly and didn’t take it back up untill it was released on console. Admittedly, the game was far better the second time around, but still had problems, and after countless hours of browsing the official ESO forums it is obvious that Zenimax is constantly being attacked by people that want to make ESO into WOW!  I understand that WOW is the most influential MMO of all time, but people don’t  by something with the Elder Scrolls label just to get the same tired MMO  that they were playing 15 years ago. My advice to those people has always been; if you want to play World of Warcraft go fork out the subscription fee and play it, and don’t muddy up someone else’s game. You don’t see Rugby fans coming to the US and telling people how to play American  Football, or vice versa.

      One Tamriel is about bringing the freedom associated with the main TES series to ESO. Personally, the class system of ESO is very limiting, and I would have preferred a classless system like skyrim, or at least the old system used by TES I-IV.Even if you were a warrior you could master any school of magic, all that your class determined was the start of game bonuses. However, I am still more or less happy with the choices presented to me. Now that Zenimax is dropping alliance restrictions, I can play with my wife without having to make an alternate, (and if we have a disagreement we can duke it out.) When the update launches I can do Craglorn without out having to wait for my guildmates (who only come on at 3:00 am). 

       Not everyone likes the new freedom, but honestly, those who have a serious problem with this are not fans of The Elder Scrolls, they are just MMO junkies that are squatting on ESO untill the next game comes along. Zenimax  should do more to bring the experience of the main franchise to their MMO, because the only people we will lose are those who don’t have their hearts in the game anyway. Zenimax had the opportunity to make Elder Scrolls Online truly unique, and dropoed the ball, but they are taking that opportunity back, and making up for their mistakes. Slowly we are weeding out the people who have never played any other TES games that once had all the influence in the forums, and they are being replaced by die hard fans of the franchise. I have faith that if we stick with Zenimax we will eventually win out and have the game we were promised from the start.

          

      

What’s Wrong with Fallout 4 : Bethesda Or Hype?

 

A glimpse at Oblivion in the Commonwealth?

When Bethesda first Announced Fallout 4, excitement flooded the gaming community as it became one of the most anticipated games of 2015. Despite the storm of hype the internet, the games release was met with less than favorable reviews, citing sub-par graphics, and complaining about general bugginess. However, when examined the game is very functional, and really is a vast improvement over previous titles in the franchise, which is actually exactly what Bethesda promised for the game, So why are so many people upset? Well, the answer has less  to do with Bethesda or the IP, and more to do with the fans. So let’s examine the nature of the hype that revolved around the announcement of FO4 , along with the fickleness of the gaming community.

The beginning of the Fallout 4 discussion started as far back as Fallout: New Vegas, because ,just like today (with FO4), New Vegas was not well received by Fallout fans. People were dissatisfied with New Vegas to the extent that some people wouldn’t ever consider it as a sequel to FO3, claiming  that it was more of a expansion than a stand alone game. As unfair as that may sound today, it was a very real trend in the Fallout fandom, Although New Vegas was clearly not a very large technological leap, it did have some game play improvements like; the ability to use iron sights aiming, weapon customization, and a more balanced perk upgrade system like FO2. Despite, all this, today the fandom has been hailing NV as the best Fallout game ever made. When Fallout 3 came out the Interplay purists condemned it and held the original two games FO1 &FO2 aloft upon the highest pedestal, preferring the old turned based combat to the New FPS style combat.

Power Armor in FO3

And the obvious improvements….

So, in light of these past trends, one could draw conclusion solely off of this information alone.We will, however, note the tendency of nostalgic longing among the FO fan-base and move on to yet another friend; the hype factory.

I have noticed the hype engine that pops up around game announcements. Not just a FO problem , it tends to extend it merciless grasp into all games. What happens; is that a developer/ studio/ publisher will make an announcement like,’’ We are working on our next game,’’ This is what it’s called,’’ it’ll be the the best game we’ve made yet.’’ From this point forward, unless you see a statement on the company website, everything else you will hear about the game will be, far the most part,conjecture. For most IPS the hype wagon is a short ride that isn’t taken seriously but Bethesda has a fairly good history with making game of the year (GOTY) titles, and fan’s expectations are set on this idea, and subsequently want the next title to reach that status. Yes, this may he unreasonable, and quite possibly short-sighted, but Bethesda fan a are very proud and passionate people, and they always want their favorite publishes on top. Furthermore, Bethesda has a very strong modding community, one that Bethesda fully supports and encourages. In the past the company has shown appreciation for modders, by using the ideas that the modders came up with, so Bethesda has a reputation as a company that listens to it’s fans. What we fans have to realize, though, is that Bethesda is still a small studio and can’t possibly implement all of our ideas. I know that fans are aware of all of this, but it seems that a large portion are still offended that FO4 didn’t their ideas (“ I know they can’t do every games ideas, but my ideas was the best, it was essential,’’

I suppose that what I’m trying to say is that Fallout 4 is an excellent game by every standard. It may not he the best game in the world. Or even the best Bethesda game, but these are relative terms what is true for you may not be true for Todd Howard or Pete Mines, perhaps they like Fallout4 better than their past games, perhaps not.The fact remains that FO4 is one of the funnest, most entertaining games on the nest gen market. Sure graphics could have been better, but if production started after Skyrim, then chances are FO4 started its life being designed before the next gen came out. I can assure that the next Elders Scrolls, or the next Fallout will be 100% next gen in design. As small as they are starting over 1/2 way isn’t an option.

… and now, for something not all that entirely different…..

Weather, you like it it as not, FO4 is great. If you don’t like it perhaps you should examine your  own expectations. Our tendencies, as fans, to expect Flawless production from such a small studio, and the hipster-like nostalgia envy, is really unrealistic. Bethesda is not at fault for making a ‘’ Bad Game’’ they are victims of the pedestal we put them on.