That Shouting Is Making People Nervous
Written by Cherry   

This article contains language that may be considered offensive. 



Skyrim: there's a near-endless amount of things that the game can be praised for, and one would have to do some serious digging to find flaws. However, one factor immediately stuck out to me in the beginning of the game, and that was the characters. Skyrim's people seemed immediately flat, dull, and unmemorable. After spending nearly 30 more hours of gameplay in hopes that these folk would redeem themselves, I found myself disappointed.

 

If Skyrim's characters had as much shape as the landscape...
If only Skyrim's characters had as much shape as the landscape.... 

 

While the landscape of Skyrim is breathtaking, the combat thrilling, and the magic, werewolf transformations and dragons are enough to keep one pleasantly occupied, it is the characters that make any game come alive. This is where Skyrim fails. There is no human connection, no particular character that strikes me as having an interesting personality. The main quest of the game revolves around destroying the dragons and saving countless lives – but why? Why, if I feel no personal investment in the characters, should I want to save them?

In fact, I’ll take this to an extreme: Skyrim’s people are so unremarkable and expressionless, that I had no problem trotting over to Riverwood and murdering the entire village. Where are the interesting, personality-filled characters – the ones that make you genuinely feel pity for them, the ones that you later regret murdering, the ones that make you want to kill them? Did I pass up that village?





Furthermore, the game lacks even an adequate amount of dialogue options for one’s own character, and when the chance to speak does arise, the selections are terse and bland. The winning element of any RPG is the ability to develop a unique personality that is distinct for your character, something that sets them apart from everyone else’s. Once again, Skyrim fails. Perhaps this is my biased opinion, as I have been spoiled by Bioware’s KotOR, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age games, which offer vastly superior dialogue opportunities. A chance meeting with an inconsequential NPC in Mass Effect produces more charisma than any Skyrim encounter. While the writing in this game was by no means poor, perhaps Bethesda rushed it a bit.

 

Skyrim is the most massive game I have ever played, and it is filled with surprises and goodies that have me vomiting rainbows on a regular basis. So don’t get me wrong: I adore this game. Heck, I may even name my firstborn son Dovahkiin. Still, does the good outweigh the bad? Perhaps. Do Skyrim’s strengths excuse its weaknesses? In my opinion, no. Not at all. While most other elements of the game satisfy my hunger, the characters and dialogue leave me with a dry mouth and unquenchable thirst.


Let's hear your opinions! What are some other faults you have found? Or do you think the game is flawless? We would love to hear your feedback!

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Comments  

 
0 #2 yup! — Iva 2 Die 4 2012-01-30 17:43
Lol Cherry. You're such an excellent writer! I love your reviews because they're real and not sugar-coated.
I completely agree with the lack luster characters...perhaps that's why I never got into Skyrim.
 
 
0 #1 Glad it's your opinion...but it's wrong — evetSliL 2012-01-30 17:26
Here are things to take into account with the dialogue, which was quite obviously your only issue with the game. It's SUPPOSED to suck. The entire land has just been devastated by war, the only way they could get out of that war was by DENOUNCING THEIR GOD, and now the land's being plagued by DRAGONS, a CIVIL WAR, and soem crazy asshole with a loud mouth screaming ancient words?!?! OF COURSE the characters are going to be bland and dull. Their lives are insignificant. Dialogue opens up more and more based on your speech, and even more so when you wear an Amulet of Mara and try to get wifed up (or husband'd up)...But lets be real. You're talking about an entire nation shattered by a multiplicity of events and you want them to be cheerful and brighten up the game with 'dialogue'? They dont want to talk. They want to pick up a two-handed sword and go put it in an Ancient Dragon's 2 hole! Are the dialogue options lacking? Absolutely. But if there were 15 dialogue options and a quest for every NPC in the game, the game would take well over 400 hours PER CHARACTER to master. And to even begin to fathom that the dialogue in Dragon Age was better is an out there thought. Origins had repetitive NPCs, and there were only like what, 10 locations? for those NPCs to be at? We're talking HUNDREDS of locations in Skyrim, probably 100 NPCs per city...you do the math. All I'm saying is, I understand where you're coming from, but you're asking for a game that would've taken 4 discs to cover. There are plenty of quests with enthralling dialogue to cover 40 hours of gameplay like in other RPGs, you just have to find them. The other 120 hours of gameplay per character you're just gonna have to deal with it being a little daft. Love you ;)
 
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