Platforms: 

Developer:  Bethesda Game Studios

Publisher:   Bethesda Softworks

Rating:  “M” for Mature

Written by Nick Cohen

Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim is probably the most talked-about game of 2011.  Amidst all of the hype for Call of Duty and Battlefield, Skyrim launched on November 11, 2011 (11-11-11, get it?) to heaps of critical praise and would go on to win numerous game of the year awards.  In my “Top 10 Games of 2011” list, however, the game only came in at #6, having been beaten by other RPGs such as Deus Ex:  Human Revolution (#4) and Dark Souls (#5).  Now that I’ve played much more of Skyrim, here are my thoughts.

The Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim is a massive game.  It’s far and away the most epic game I’ve ever played in terms of size and scope.  Everything you’ve probably heard about this game’s impressive scale is true; there are literally hundreds and hundreds of hours of content in Skyrim.  I’ve put over 100 hours into the game so far, yet I feel as if I’ve barely scratched the surface of what the game has in store for me.

Besides the game’s massive scope, the main reason I believe that Skyrim took home so many game of the year awards is the huge number of “water cooler” moments.  “Water cooler” moments are those moments in a game that get people talking; think of Uncharted 2’s train sequence or Dead Space’s ending as examples of these.  Skyrim has more “water cooler” moments than perhaps any other game in history.  The first time you fight a dragon, that dungeon you stumble upon that plays host to a group of vampires, the first time you manage to barely take down a Giant; all of these moments (and many more) will get you talking/bragging to your friends.

Then again, the game’s amazing moments aren’t its only “water cooler” moments; unfortunately, Skyrim may or may not resemble a car that has seen far too many miles of hard driving.  Glitches abound in my copy of the game; I’ve experienced everything from funny bugs such as mammoths floating in midair to game-crippling things such as numerous crashes and an entire dungeon that was plagued by the worst slowdown I’ve ever experienced in a video game.  I’ve also had an interesting quest become far less interesting due to bugs that caused it to not function properly, causing numerous resets and forcing me to scour message boards for answers.  The strangest thing about all this is that numerous people I’ve talked to have had no problems with the game whatsoever.  The PS3 version is reportedly the worst in terms of bugs, but playing any version is like playing a game of Russian roulette—you don’t know whether the game is going to work properly or whether it’s going to be nearly unplayable.

Skyrim's story revolves around the reemergence of dragons, not that you'll be paying any attention to the story.

When things are working right—as they have for me approximately 80% of the time—Skyrim can be an incredibly immersive experience.  Walking around just taking in the sights is a ton of fun, as are completing quests and fighting monsters.  The game has a solid RPG foundation that is both deep and incredibly accessible—even if you’ve never played an RPG before, I think you could understand the basics of how to play this game.

The thing that still gets me is that I’m not always having fun in Skyrim; the world is huge and there’s a ton of stuff to do, but I’m not fighting for my life every second like I am in Dark Souls or getting into amazing multiplayer matches on a consistent basis like I am in Battlefield 3.  The big question to ask yourself about Skyrim is this:  Would you rather have a ton of fun every single minute you play a game for 10-40 hours (depending on the game), or would you rather have 100 hours of exciting stuff to do counterbalanced by 100 hours of boredom?  If you answered “constant fun,” then Skyrim is still worthy of a look, but probably won’t be your game of the year (as it wasn’t mine).  If you answered “epic amount of good but not great gameplay,” then you should go out and buy Skyrim right now.

I’ve now put over 100 hours into my Xbox 360 copy of The Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim.  Looking back at my “Top 10 Games of 2011” list, would I change Skyrim’s position?  Nope.  It’s a great game, but in a year like 2011 that was absolutely packed with great games, Skyrim is certainly not the best.  Of course, I still have tons to do and see in the game, so maybe things will change.  Keep checking back at GamingMoments.net for my full review sometime in the future.

Kinect

As predicted, Microsoft was in full Kinect mode this year, laying out an amazing selection of games and features to improve the Kinect and make it more relevant to a hardcore audience.  It was actually quite a nice surprise to see so many games and developers coming forward with uses and pledges to make Kinect games. In a not altogether shocking turn of events, Mass Effect 3 will make use of the Kinect in a variety of ways (we were really only shown the voice control) but the star of the Kinect show had to be Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’s Gunsmith Mode, it wowed and amazed everyone who saw it.

While there were games targeted towards a younger audience like Disneyland Adventure or Sesame Street: Once Upon A Monster (Funnily enough they were the worst looking games for the Kinect, actors clearly faking the performance, much like the Star Wars game last year.) Kinect really did shine when it came to the more hardcore element, reaching behind you in Ghost Recon: FS to reload your weapon, or yelling for Liara and Garrus to move up in Mass Effect… this is exactly what the Kinect needed, exploring it to its full potential and making it relevant to hardcore gamers.

Xbox Media

One of the biggest announcements of the conference was that Bing, Youtube, and Xbox TV will be coming to 360 owners in the coming year. Bing will allow users to search for any and all media and content available on the 360 or the media networks its already associated with. An example of Bing’s search on Xbox 360: Just finished playing LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean and want more? Search Pirates and have all of the movies and games  available at your fingertips.

Accompanying these additions will be a dashboard overhaul, giving the 360 a much cleaner and organized look. The new dashboard is broken up into nine tabs, Bing,  Home, Social, Live TV, Video, Games, Music, Apps, and Settings. This new look really does improve the overall feel of the system, I was getting tired of the dashboard anyway so this is a marked improvement.

Of course, all of these components and additions are Kinect compatible, like voice searches for Bing.

Halo

It’s back! Not only are we getting an HD updated version of Halo: Combat Evolved, but Halo 4 is up for release next year. The anniversary edition looks great, but it was completely forgotten the moment the Halo 4 trailer came up on screen. At the very end of the conference, Don Mattrick came back on stage to announce a new trilogy, the lights dimmed, the trailer appeared on the screen, and gamers faces slowly went from casual boredom to utter disbelief and excitement.  Halo 4 will be the first real Halo title not to be made by Bungie, so clearly all eyes are on 343 studios to make something amazing out of this trilogy.

Sony

PSN Outage

As expected, Jack Tretton took the stage and spent a good deal of time apologizing to consumers, partners, and retailers alike for the inconvenience brought on by the PlayStation Network outage. While you may not realize it, Sony’s PSN going down was far more of a problem for the many companies that sell via the PlayStation Store, this outage cost them millions, so I can understand Tretton giving them a serious apology on stage. According to Sony, 80 titles are currently being developed for the Vita and are scheduled for release.

PS Vita

Fans of the PSP rejoice, Sony’s newly unveiled Vita (Previously codenamed the NGP) is truly a thing of beauty. The only real description of the Vita that needs to be made is how well it runs Uncharted: Golden Abyss, this game blew minds. Graphics were just out of this world for a handheld, and the functionality of the front and back touch screens allowed for some seriously cool actions. Possibly the best thing about the Vita? The price. At only $249 for the standard model, and $299 for the model with 3g coverage, this new system is both extremely powerful and perfectly affordable.

Nintendo

All Things Zelda

With its 25th anniversary just around the corner, half of today’s show was Zelda related.  Zelda: Links Awakening is the first title available on the 3DS Virtual Console, and is now ready to download. Ocarina of Time 3D will launch next week, sure to amaze fans like myself.  Zelda: Skyward Sword will launch this holiday for the Wii, and will come with a gold Wii remote to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Zelda: 4 Swords will be available to download for free this September. Not to mention the exciting series of 25th Zelda Anniversary Symphony Concerts that will be going in on around the world.

Wii U

Turns out the rumors were true. Nintendo dazzled the crown with the unveiling of their new console, the Wii U (and its remote). The first console of the Next Gen series, the Wii U boasts some fairly impressive hardware for a Nintendo system, this hardware will allow Nintendo fans to play games like:

• Arkham City
• Darksiders 2
• Tekken
• Assassin’s Creed
• Ninja Gaiden 3
• Dirt
• Ghost Recon Online
• Metro: Last Light
• Aliens Colonial Marines

All of the games above were shown and look amazing, even Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Nintendo released a spec list shortly after the conference, so here you go, drool over the wonder.

Release: 2012

Height of about a width of about 46mm × 172mm × Depth 268.5mm (excluding protrusions)

The new controller is 6.2 inches, 16:9 button controller that combines what is familiar and the touch screen, slide the two pads is attached.

This rechargeable controller power button, HOME button, arrow pad, A / B / X / Y Buttons, L / R buttons, ZL / ZR is attached to the button. In addition, accelerometers, gyroscopes, vibration function, camera, microphone, speakers, sensor unit is equipped with a stylus.

Wii Remote (or Wii Remote +) can simultaneously connect up to 4. Classic Controller and Nunchuk, Classic Controller PRO, and Wii Balance Board, or any input device that corresponds to the Wii controller.

New hardware for high-density optical and 12cm, Wii can play for a 12cm self-loading optical disc (disc type will automatically draw) with a single drive.

1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i compatible. HDMI, Component, D terminal, S-terminal, corresponding to each of the composite cable.

AV Multi-output and output from the HDMI output terminal supports 6CH PCM linear.

In addition to the internal flash memory, SD memory card or external USB can be extended by using the hard drive capacity.

Multicore-based IBM Power ®

4 USB 2.0 has a single pin.

The new hardware backwards compatible Wii games.

Discovery – Antarctic German research station, abandoned from World War II.

Kowloon – Inspired from the single-player campaign based off of Kowloon city in China. It’s a rooftop map.

Stadium – Hockey rink in northeastern United States.

Berlin Wall – Takes place at Checkpoint Charlie. Is a battle between East and West Berlin.

Ascension – New zombie map.

Unfortunately there’s no news on when PS3 or PC will be getting the map pack since Microsoft and Activision signed a deal that will have all COD map packs releasing on Xbox 360 first, in keeping with that deal “First Strike” will be available to Xbox owners on February 1st, 2011 for 1200 Microsoft Points.

The Call of Duty series has gone through a great many changes over the years, and with every new installment we see improvements and alterations that will forever impact future games in the franchise. So lets take a look at a few of these changes and how they’ve affected the games that followed.

The original Call of Duty (2003) was definitely not the first World War II shooter, but its thrilling plot and unique take on realistic combat blew the competition out of the water. The original CoD multiplayer was fairly simple, a few game modes, a nice selection of weapons, and the ever-exciting killcam the kept players coming back for more time after time.

The importance of the original CoD can’t be overstated, it’s true legacy is the influence that it had on future games. Call of Duty became the game to beat (it’s pretty much stayed that way too) and developers started to emulate them by creating more realistic and gritty games.

Call of Duty 2 followed up on the original with more explosive action and an even better story, the real gem however was the multiplayer.  Call of Duty 2′s singleplayer captured the hearts of gamers and the multiplayer (while really just an improved version of the original’s)  kept us glued to our seats for hours on end. I still go back and play CoD 2 from time to time, and I can honestly say it’s one of my favorites in the series.

Call of Duty 3 was the first in the series developed by Treyarch (Big Red One was really more of an expansion), it’s also arguably the worst in the series. Multiplayer on the other hand had it’s upsides. Call of Duty 3 introduced a class system to the multiplayer system that while limiting, was key to the development of the games that followed.

Gamers love choice, the more options a game gives us, the easier it is for players to personalize the experience and play the game the way we want to play it. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare was the bright light at the end of the Call of Duty tunnel. The multiplayer had an extensive class creation system and introduced the perk system which allowed players to customize their gameplay experience and tailor it to exactly the way they wanted to play. The addition of Killstreaks completely altered the way people played, finally players were rewarded for killing sprees in a fashion that actually matters.

Call of Duty: World at War brought us back to WWII but kept the additions and improvements from Modern Warfare, unfortunately the multiplayer was riddled with bugs and glitches that completely offset the flow of gameplay. On more than one occasion I killed a guy only to watch him spawn directly behind me and shoot me in the back on the killcam. The best thing to come out of World at War was undeniably Nazi Zombies, it added a cooperative aspect that Call of Duty had previously been lacking.

Modern Warfare 2 once again pushed the engine to its limits while further improving on already established elements of multiplayer, killstreaks became customizable so new or casual gamers could still achieve them while hardcore gamers could end the game with a 25 killstreak tactical nuke. While not competitive in nature, the spec-ops missions reinforced the continued effort to bring coop into the mix.

Black Ops hasn’t really added all that much to the series in terms of gameplay mechanics, instead the folks over at Treyarch took a more aesthetic approach to the customization factor by giving players the chance to change the way both they and their guns look. While choosing the color of your scope reticle and putting your clan-tag on your weapon may not seem like much in the way of improvements, what they really give the player is more choices, again letting players customize the game and their character to the exact way they want to look and play.

We heard a great deal of speculation regarding a complete character creator for Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops (its just one of those things that players talk about) but in the end neither panned out. With the addition of aesthetic customization seen in Black Ops, perhaps we’ll get a taste of full customization in the next Call of Duty which is already underway.

- Nick Barker

You’ve read about the RROD (Red Ring of Death) for the Xbox360. Now let’s take a look at another color of death – the YLOD, or Yellow Light of Death. This time, it applies to the PlayStation3. I honestly never thought that this day would come. To be honest, I didn’t really think that my PS3 would conk out on me.

But it did.

The other day, I was playing GTAIV in an effort to win more trophies. I am trying to build up my trophy collection on PSN, you see. Suddenly, the game froze. Even more suddenly, the PS3 died. Naturally, I tried to turn it on. Alas, nothing would happen except that it would beep, the green light would flash, then several flashes of yellow was seen, and then the perpetual red light started flashing.

After several tries – with the same result – I had to rush to my PC and check on forums. And indeed, the YLOD was what I found. Apparently, the YLOD happens to some PS3 units, the 60G version to be exact. There are many different explanations but the most common one that I found is that the graphics hardware has melted. This means that it has to be replaced and you know what that means – expensive!

If this happens to you and your PS3 is still under warranty, you’re lucky. You can just send it to Sony and they will either replace the whole unit or replace the damaged part. If you are beyond the warranty period – which is my case – then you are sh&t out of luck. You can still send it in but be prepared to pay $150 or so to have it fixed.