Angry Joe's review of Elder Scrolls Online kept me from buying this game when it came out, but I recently had a case of Skyrim fever that ended out in me buying ESO after all. Gotta say, I don't get what Angry Joe was on about. Either Zenimax did some major patching since his review, or I'm just not seeing it. The game is awesome. Mainly because I get to be a giant viking with a greatsword and the ability to manipulate lightning. **** yes. I'm a damn Sith Lord or something. They even managed to make melee combat not awkward (Skyrim, please take notes).
So far, I've only encountered three issues:
1. Console user interface. Radial menus can kiss my ***. Seriously.
2. Shared loot in dungeons (caves, mines, etc.). I'm killing the boss while Derpface runs past me and loots my chest.
3. Too much stuff - not enough bag space! There is so much crap in this game, but I have no idea what to keep and what to sell. I've got crystals and **** that I supposedly use in crafting, but I can't... 0 value and taking up bag space that could be used to carry a valuable staff or something.
But those are minor things. Right now my main concern is that I want to experience the entire game at once, but like any other Elder Scrolls game, this one requires a lot of patience. Only level 14, and I've sunk maybe 12 hours into the game. Lots of voiced dialogue and connected quests makes me want to hear the story. No cutscenes like in SWTOR, but the game does have scripted events, and I don't need badly animated cutscenes when the game engine is so sexy.
My most memorable encounter with the engine's sexiness was in Stonefalls(?). I was running around on an island with a clear view of Ash Mountain (the volcano). Suddenly one of those Dark Anchors appeared in the sky with the District 9 horn sound and shot chains into the ground. Damn near pissed myself. It's like the Rifts in... Rift... but ten times more badass. Sounds and visuals are 10/10, in my opinion. Was even able to crank the settings up to max and still get shorter load times than SWTOR. Not sure if Zenimax deserves praise for that, or if BioWare deserves a spanking for their ****** optimization.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to finishing up this first (second?) zone tomorrow and taking my guy into the next zone tomorrow. The Skyshards and zone exploration achievements appeal to the completionist in me. So far I'm far too busy testing my various skills on unsuspecting mudcrabs, though. So much lightning!
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Please "talk up" if your comprehension white-shifts. I will use simple-happy language-words to help you understand.