5 Things The Elders Scrolls V Shouldn't Do

[UncannyGarlic]

Stumbled upon this whilst quickly Google Newsing Fallout 3. Always amusing when they start off their review by justifying their fandom, in this case citing the fact that he gave the game a perfect score when it came out and editor's choice.

That said, I recently pulled Oblivion off the shelf for another go. You know, see how it stacks up, three years old. Hindsight's tetchy-tetchy, and lest those of you unfamiliar with my past thoughts on the game assume I'm some kind of RPG-killjoy, know that my original review for Computer Gaming World was a full five-star editor's choice cascade of superlatives.
On to the list:
1. Don't recycle your voice actors.
2. Don't make the world map one-third the total screen size.
3. Don't keep the same first-person combat engine.
4. Abolish quest personas garrisoned at the abyss end of random generic dungeons stocked with level-iterative hell-spawn.
5. Get the camera out of NPC faces.

I cut out his explanations but I just found it amusing that the 5/5 reviewers keep coming back and pointing out things that should be fixed in the next game while they ignored it originally.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/163602/5_things_the_elders_scrolls_v_shouldnt_do.html/

 

[Leon]

3. Don't keep the same first-person combat engine.
Lay Fallout 3's optional pause-based limb-targeting combat on us. Some of us like to plot our battles...

I LOVE plotting how many times I'm gonna shoot some lame asshole in the head in slo-mo with nigh-invulnerability! But to think that we could do it with swords and magic instead of guns? God damn, man, that's too much innovation! Slow down!

 

[rcorporon]

How people can conclude that VATS allows you to "Plan battles" or call it "turn based" is just shockingly stupid.

I agree with the list, however, seeing as how Oblivion and FO3 sold millions of copies, I doubt they'll wander very far from the formula.

 

[maximaz]

2. Don't make the world map one-third the total screen size.

Never had any problems with the map. Plus, the game came with a huge poster of a map.

I agree with everything else except for introducing Dynasty Warriors style combat. It definitely needs to change but not in that direction.

 

[lugaru]

Now I never finished Oblivion for a few reasons... I found it charming and vast but the general system got on my nerves. That game is MADE to be broken:

1) Not every encounter levels with you. I dont want to fight bandits with the best armor and magic weapons because I went up a few levels. What is the point of progressing if the world is two steps ahead of you?

2) Not everything needs a million hitpoints. I found myself putting a dozen arrows into some pretty mundane foes.

3) Improve the A.I. That was the thing they hyped the most yet all it did was make NPCS jump into lava every chance they got.

4) Plan paths: in these games it is too easy to be the champion of every city, every guild and every faction. I dont play that way but everyone I know ends up completing almost every quest with one character. Make things a bit more mutually exclusive.

5) Re-balance magical items, spells and poisons. A little planing could create some insane combinations, which where pretty much required to defeat some of the nearly invincible foes.

 

[UncannyGarlic]

Never had any problems with the map. Plus, the game came with a huge poster of a map.

I think that this complaint is legitimate, though clearly a less important issue.

I agree with everything else except for introducing Dynasty Warriors style combat. It definitely needs to change but not in that direction.

He was talking about radically changing combat like Dynasty Warriors did, not making the combat like Dynasty Warriors' combat, though it's easy to be confused with his later mention of TPP being good for melee combat (something I agree with). The first Dynasty Warriors game was a fighting game and they decided to change it into the type of game that it is now with Dynasty Warriors 2. I'm with him here, Oblivion's combat is quite dull and could use a serious overhaul which would further define whether it's an action game or a RPG, though I doubt they'll do such a needed overhaul.

 

[maximaz]

How did the combat change in Dynasty Warriors? I played a DW game a long time ago and I remember it being a button masher.

I think that this complaint is legitimate, though clearly a less important issue.

That's sort of what I meant. I certainly wouldn't mind a more detailed map but seeing how many problems Oblivion had, listing that in top 5 things that need to change is a bit ridiculous.

 

[UncannyGarlic]

How did the combat change in Dynasty Warriors? I played a DW game a long time ago and I remember it being a button masher.

The original Dynasty Warriors game was a fighting game, whereas DW2 and later are all hack-n-slash action games. There are some 2D Romance of the Three Kingdoms beat 'em up games as well, I've played a few for arcade, but they weren't made by KOEI. That said, KOEI did make the Romance of the Three Kingdoms TBS games.

 

[maximaz]

I played the hack-n-slash game then. In ES, it would make fights too easy unless there are 10 or so enemies attacking at the same time.

I'd prefer a Condemned type combat system that makes it difficult to defeat a single enemy. It should be more complex of course, with actual cuts that are both visible and affect the way enemies fight.