Games of 2011: Skyrim

By Tom Bramwell Published 29 December, 2011

Wonderful but broken.

Did you know that there's a new Mission: Impossible film out this Christmas? I had no idea until the other day. I assume they must have masses of advertising running for that on TV, in cinemas, online and "outdoors" (I eventually spotted it on a train station poster), but despite spending most of my life hanging off the digital world like a conjoined foetus, somehow its existence had passed me by.

So that's something to say for video games in 2011, because if nothing else they have been very noticeable. Professional footballers spend their Saturday afternoons sprinting across pitches ring-fenced by ubiquitous adverts for FIFA 12, and we stare at them through screens adorned with ball possession statistics brought to us by EA Sports.

Meanwhile, every other ad break during the X Factor - you'd cry if you knew how much they charged for 30 seconds - is a succession of Wii and Kinect adverts, occasionally interspersed by Saints Row: The Third or Modern Warfare. Battlefield 3 was one of Google's fastest-rising search terms of 2011, and every bus shelter on my way to work shouts at me about Uncharted 3's "gripping" gameplay, and has done for the past four weeks.

In the UK at least, games - and a surprising range of them - have become an inescapable backdrop to mainstream life. Meanwhile, I didn't even know there was a new Mission: Impossible film.

Skyrim's 'live action' trailer helped raise its already lofty profile even higher.

I certainly knew about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. And not just because it towered over Los Angeles during E3 or because Bethesda hired out the top of a snow-capped mountain in Utah to show it to the world's press. There was a trailer for it ahead of X-Men First Class when I went to see that at the cinema in June, five months before it came out, and it's on the front or back or pretty much everything I've picked up since.

This is a hardcore role-playing game, but it's one of the most heavily publicised games of 2011 - at times, it's felt as though Bethesda was trying to match Tamriel's epic scale inch for inch, billboard by billboard - and the result is that it's Christmas number one and has sold around a million copies in the UK alone.

"One of the best pieces of advice I can give anyone who receives it for Christmas and is starting out playing it is to avoid using fast-travel."

One of the best pieces of advice I can give anyone who receives it for Christmas and is starting out playing it is to avoid using fast-travel - the ability to transport yourself to a previously visited location unaccosted. Instead, just walk everywhere. Most of my enjoyment has come from exploring and discovering things while I was on the way to do something else.

You'll pick up oblique fragments of past civilisations that lead you on treasure hunts through scattered tombs filled with intrigue, you'll find yourself chasing across the countryside picking up the pieces after the forgotten events of a night out, and you'll encounter the most bizarre incidental details, like a mage chasing a rabbit down a hill throwing fireballs at it.

Before long you'll find yourself overflowing with anecdotes about obscure amulets and epic swords that you've enchanted with bizarre relics, and you'll be able to kill a bear from behind with a single blow, or steal the clothes off people's backs without them noticing.

What you end up doing will probably be different every time you load up the game, and because you can do things in any order and there are so many things to do, it all feels very personal. Then you go online and tweet or post on forums about it and you discover that it is quite the opposite - everyone has done something like what you're doing - but somehow that unexpected inclusiveness enhances the game's personality rather than diminishing it.

One of the reasons that I love Skyrim is that it's easy to forget yourself. When you play a lot of video games - whether you're a critic, a gamer or a developer - you tend to know your way around them too quickly. You start to see the underlying systems that define what you can do now and, often dishearteningly, what you'll be doing for the next 10 hours. Good games get around this by hiding their working to keep things mystical, or by making the systems themselves part of the fun, or by constantly distracting you in entertaining ways. Great games, like Skyrim, do all of the above.

Skyrim's world in motion, courtesy of our patient observers at Digital Foundry.

And yet Skyrim's success - both critically and commercially - is also sort of scandalous.

This is a game where I almost ruined a 30-hour save-game file recently when I returned to the main quest line - the fairway down which all players are eventually driven - and discovered I'd broken the underlying game logic by having previously visited a key location and completed a puzzle. Upon being called into action, the non-player characters involved in the quest did not understand what to do in these altered surroundings, and it was only by reloading from a previous position and following strict guidance from an online wiki entry that I managed to coax them into playing along again.

Also about Skyrim

I haven't updated my Xbox 360 copy to 1.3 yet, but last time I loaded the game there was also a dragon flying backwards in circles near Mistwatch, which was impossible to kill because every time you approached it would jerk around in the sky and zoom off into the distance. It's been doing that for the last 15 hours I've been playing. (Nearby was where I saw my first mammoth, incidentally, which proceeded to levitate steadily 200 feet into the air.)

This is even a game that, for a lot of PlayStation 3 owners, basically doesn't work past a certain point, or at least didn't until recently.

We laugh about some of this. We tut and moan about some of it. But we are the lucky ones, because we generally know what to do. We can wait for a patch, or go on the Elder Scrolls wiki, or if we're playing the PC version we can clip through the scenery or do other stuff using console commands. We save often. We prepare ourselves mentally to roll multiple characters to experience the breadth of the game and offset any problems.

But what about the other people who saw the advert in front of X-Men First Class and don't read NeoGAF or know about GameFAQs or know that - let's be honest - Bethesda Game Studios games are broken out of the box and need months of patching? What about the people who don't have their consoles hooked up to the internet? What are they meant to do?

"I think it's a real shame that a lot of people's first experience of the amazing work that the games industry is doing these days will be that it is broken."

This year's video games marketing blitzkrieg has probably sold Skyrim and a lot of other games to people who have never owned a PlayStation or Xbox before, or whose interest lapsed somewhere between WipEout and This Is Living. I think it's a real shame that a lot of people's first experience of the amazing work that the games industry is doing these days will be that it is broken, and that this is normal even among the very biggest games.

I may not have known that there's a new Mission: Impossible out this year until recently, but I imagine one day I will watch it, because the first one was pretty good and I'm curious to see how it's getting on. And because I'm confident that it won't have a backwards-flying Tom Cruise in it that will be fixed for certain viewers a month after launch and for others by Easter. Anyone's basic expectation of entertainment products should be that they can actually be consumed.

Skyrim is my favourite game of the year, and I'm glad it's popular because it means they'll keep making stuff like this. But I also hope it prompts a few people in high places to have a long, hard think about whether enough is being done to make our games work properly out of the box. It is much easier to lose a consumer than to attract one, and a core games industry threatened by so many cultural, economic and technological competitors surely cannot afford to be so complacent about making a strong first impression.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (180) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • s3y3 #1 5 months ago

    I don't think I have bought a game in long time that didn't require at least 1 patch.
    Edited by s3y3 at 29/12/11 @ 08:36

  • Rack #2 5 months ago

    Should I change my name to Tom as well? You seem to get on well with that.

    Fast travel is the only way I can get anything out of Skyrim, bringing it from a sprawling wasteland to a feature packed adventure. The times it forces you to just go walking for hours are the times I almost give in and there are hundreds of them.

  • murrell96 #3 5 months ago

    i hate the arrow to the knee jokes

  • SkyandSun #4 5 months ago

    If you want Bethesda to stop releasing broken games, perhaps sites like yours shouldn't be so quick to award said games a perfect score? Hit them where it hurts - and for reviewers, that's metacritic.

  • Martin2112 #5 5 months ago

    Wondering when/if we will see a PS3 fix :/

    Got to 75 hours in and it has been totally unplayable (crashes every 10 mins or so) for the last 2 weeks :(

    Nice how it gives you just long enough to get really sucked in before it breaks on you!

  • Azazel #6 5 months ago

    The root of the issue with Skyrim (or probably any other major release that you care to mention) lies in the immaturity of software construction as an engineering discipline. It's a problem that goes way beyond the games industry.

  • Martin2112 #7 5 months ago

    @murrell96 I used to hate those jokes, but then I t... Never mind :p

  • Shagsmith #8 5 months ago

    I recently spent about 3 hours trying to force the game to load the final fight of the Thieves Guild quests, having to clear the cache, load different games and all sorts just to get it to work. It froze on a loading screen last night for the umpteenth time, and I've got a sneaking suspicion some chap I need to speak to down in the Ratway for the main quest might have already snuffed it some hours before thanks to a rogue fireball. I fucking love the game, but really starting to get fed up with not knowing if I'm going to be able to have a seamless playthrough or end up having to reload half the evening.

  • MartinBill #9 5 months ago

    I love this game but I'm playing on PS3 and living in fear that it'll stop working soon. I also only have one game save... Hmmm I might have to change that.

  • beep #10 5 months ago

    Fast traveling...if you're going to include it, ditch the inability to fast travel if you are inside a building. It just means more unnecessary load screens.

  • Scrapper #11 5 months ago

    "Broken" doesn't begin to describe it.

  • GitSomE_UK #12 5 months ago

    This is one of those games where I'm seriously interested in playing it. However, with all these bugs I'm going to wait for the GOTY edition with bugs fixed and DLC built in.

    I just haven't got the time to invest in something like this only to find it's FUBARed half way through that's not fun and gaming is meant to be fun.

  • Whitster #13 5 months ago

    I'm touching the wood of my desk as I say this, but despite being aware of the issues I've managed to do quite well with Bethesda games. I put about 60 hours into NV and got two of the four endings without anything game breaking, I finished about 70 hours of Fallout 3 and various expansions without anything and so far I've only had one slight sub quest problem in Skyrim.

    This being said I am well aware of the issues and feel bad for anyone whos just dropped £40 on a game they can't fully enjoy. The worst I heard about was a friend of mine that completed the main quest, all sub-quests and all five expansions in FO3 only to find that in the last room the NPC who sends you into the reactor wouldn't recognise the fact that he had killed all enemies and didn't show the convo option to finish the game.

  • jonharrispro #14 5 months ago

    Good article and some great points made. I'm only 5 hours in and still getting to grips with it but it has yet to strike me as an awesome game!

  • Zackv4861 #15 5 months ago

    I want this so bad but with all the bugs i just can't bring myself to buy it yet New Vegas annoyed the hell out of me having to restart my PS3 every hour.

  • YobRenoops #16 5 months ago

    I'm sorry but I honestly can't take this seriously. You can enjoy a game for sure but if it's inherently broken to some degree this stops it being a game and makes it a chore and a crapshoot.

    Games are supposed to be where you can forget the real world and enjoy another, bugs shatter this perception.

    I truly have no respect for people that have called Skyrim their Game of the Year, it feels like battered wife syndrome. We saw it with Fallout 3 and New Vegas and it's happening again.

  • TheNonk #17 5 months ago

    As a PS3 owner, I refuse to buy a broken game. Game of the year? More like technological disgrace of the year.

  • TheEarlOfZinger #18 5 months ago

    Rented this, and although I enjoyed it for the week I had it - there's no fucking way I'm parting with any cash until it's fixed for real. Defective product as it stands right now.

  • TheEarlOfZinger #19 5 months ago

    @TheNonk

    Totally agree.

  • Alex_V #20 5 months ago

    I second the tip to avoid fast-travel. With my second character I've yet to fast-travel or even use the horse & cart between towns, and it's a much more enjoyable experience.

  • LittleRiver #21 5 months ago

    This was the exact point I made to people when consoles started getting connected to the Net: we will be treated like PC Gamers (get shafted) and be sold incomplete games from now-on that will get patched later...If the game is successful.

    It is a poor practise that is we all put-up with like mugs.

  • misinformed #22 5 months ago

    Keep in mind you always hear about the people that have been wronged by something. You dont hear about hear about the ones to whom everythings fine.

    Eurogamer makes it sound like 90% of those playing are suffering under game breaking bugs and the world is at an end and Bethesda should throw in the towel because they are after all horrible, horrible people.

    And update your game next time Tom Bramwell, or at least mention it fixes the bug your talking about, thats called "on balance".

  • Raconteur #23 5 months ago

    "This is a hardcore role-playing game,"...naah. Maybe compared to a lot of the junk that's comming out these days. Don't get me wrong, it's good, and I've spent many a happy hour in Skyrim. But Hardcore? Naah.

    Oh, and the Mission Impossible movies? Well, the first one caught atmosphere of the tv series quite well, but subsequent ones were just 'lazy-balletic-action-money-spinning-dross'.
    Edited by Raconteur at 29/12/11 @ 10:00

  • Utopolitan #24 5 months ago

    I'm glad I bought a PC in time for this. Haven't had any problems whatsoever, plus with all the mods and tweaks I put it through the game looks a bazillion times prettier compared to the console versions.

    I feel for the console players though, being an old consoler myself. And the review scores should definitely reflect any technical flaws present, how else are devs going to learn?

  • Martin2112 #25 5 months ago

    @misinformed IGN ran a survey on their site and I think it was around 35-40% of people who had issues and 20-30% of people had game breaking problems.

  • barchetta #26 5 months ago

    Well, just started this last night on 360. Initially worried at the choppy framerate of the intro but it settled down nicely and must admit to be pretty impressed with it so far. Just retrieved the Golden Claw (sidequest) and am getting a feel for stealth archery.

    Only daunting thing is the hours this could take up tbh.

  • joelstinton #27 5 months ago

    I'm a ps3 owner as well. Wish i could play this without the fear of what people have said about it. Saying that i had no issues with Oblivion or FO3. I might just take a punt with it.

    I'm glad i have spoken with my wallet and not brought it (yet), but it seems its been pretty successful so a few of our actions probably mean nothing.

  • EmiliasHorse #28 5 months ago

    I spent over 100 hours before finally putting a halt to side quests and finishing the campaign. I played on 360 and encountered quite a few bugs, mostly game freezing between loading requiring a reboot. The biggest was the broken quest line for the Companions, never mind I shall finish that on second play.

    I would say best game of 2011, however I have not started Dark Souls yet...


    Just out of interest how often does the Eurogamer Xbox Live gamercard feature update? It says I last played 3 weeks ago
    Edited by EmiliasHorse at 29/12/11 @ 10:09

  • silverjon #29 5 months ago

    It must be very frustrating for a number of people to have the carrot of this amazing game dangling before them when their version doesn't work for some reason. Hpope to avoid gloating, but so far not experienced anything more than three freezes in about 100 hours of Skyrimming and it has been a brilliant adventure,and I still sometimes just stop and admirethe scenery.
    For me it's a clear 10/10 game whereas for others its technical hitches make it a 7 or a 4 or whatever.

    As for fast travel, I only use it now at level 40 to cover large distances across well-explored territory and when I need to sell stuff at two or three locations in order to free up my carry weight. oooh, me back !

  • LastAngryMan #30 5 months ago

    @SkyandSun Yes. +100. Tom, your thoughts?

  • Zombie-Hamster #31 5 months ago

    I want to get this (and had it on my Xmas list but Santa let me down!), but I'm another PS3 owner who's been a little put off by all the negative feedback about that version. That said, I did get Batman: AC, LA Noire and Infamous 2, and am still playing AC: Revelations at the mo, so I think that settles this one for me. I wait until Bethesda have done more patching, maybe until the GOTY version comes out.

    Totally agree with those saying that it's not good enough to release games with such major issues though. Surely consumers will only put up with this sort of thing for so long?

  • tassletine #32 5 months ago

    I'm so glad there are boards where this crappy game isn't worshipped. The mental effort that is required to make this game brilliant is just beyond me.

    The fact that you have to ignore the game's faults to enjoy it has been mentioned in a few reviews -- this is unforgivable in my opinion as critics should review the game that is in front of them NOT THE ONE INSIDE THEIR OWN HEADS as this is completely subjective.

    The story is very good and it's fun when you discover these side quests but everything else is average and the bugs push it past that.
    Giving software like this a good review just encourages companies to drop their quality threshold and having played Zelda, Mario 3D and Portal 2 over Christmas the level of polish displayed here is shocking. I was playing games with better graphics 5 years ago. To me this shows just how deep into their own heads people have sunk. This is just Lord of The Rings written by a Ten year old.

  • Widge #33 5 months ago

    Amusing that this mentions "hardcore RPG" on the same day the Dark Souls article is posted.




    I haven't been put off by the PS3 feedback on this as it had always been a PC purchase for me. However this is a PC purchase in its deserving position, as a GOTY edition from a Steam sale.

  • coomber #34 5 months ago

    @joelstinton Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but FO3 and Oblivion were bug-free experiences for me on PS3 and Skyrim most definitely wasn't.

    I traded my copy in after completing the main quest because the frame-rate issue was starting to kick in. Got my cash back and I've just bought the Xbox 360 version second-hand so it's saved me cash and lost Bethesda a sale.

    Anyway, a very good article, but as others have said, why were the bugs overlooked in the review? Not because the huge amount of PR persuasion guaranteed it a 10 by any chance, was it?

  • coastal #35 5 months ago

    working fine on this here PC.. :-)

  • toa_boa #36 5 months ago

    Bethesda either has more ambition than software development/QA skills and processes in place, and thus the bugs vent unnoticed internally.

    Or they took a calculated risk that e.g. the PS3 errors would go unoticed as reviewers wouldn't likely hit the limit where the game becomes unplayble.

    Or they just NDA'ed that reviewers couldn't mention bugs, knowning that 70-80% of sales would be in the box before word of mouth spread anyhow

  • Martin2112 #37 5 months ago

    @toa_boa As I understand it (from reading various sites) they never released the PS3 version for review. If that's the case it's less 'calculated risk' and more 'fucking us in the ass'.

  • ecureuil #38 5 months ago

    PC version is game of the year. Console commands and mods fix all your problems.

    No, we shouldn't have to do this, but frankly I'm enjoying the game too much to care. The shoddiness of the console versions is also irrelevant.

    Bethesda should leave the console in the console versions, but I guess the platform owners won't let them.

  • Beano #39 5 months ago

    Skyrim would have been my GOTY if not for the many bugs and glitches. A great game but frustrating flawed at times.

  • Hellion83 #40 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012

  • Wyrm #41 5 months ago

    It isn't hardcore at all, it's a very simple game at heart, it's just an utterly massive one.

  • mr2ange #42 5 months ago

    If this had been of release quality on ps3, it could have been my GOTY, but I fail to see why it deserves it.

    If it had worked properly from the start then maybe it would be a competant opponent to Dark Souls, - Bethesda next time hire a much larger/better QA division - your game is so big and open that you clearly missed some very large problems.

  • trebellk #43 5 months ago

    I got this for PC and it must have been designed for that as I haven't had any of these problems. It's been brilliant.

    Definitely encourages me to avoid the consoles for these huge sprawling games (though having said that Dark Souls works perfectly well bar the frame rate issues everyone gets with it in Blight Town on my ps3 but it is smaller).

    After their previous efforts i'm a bit surprised folks went for it on ps3 at all. Sadly they don't seem to have mastered that platform in the slightest.
    Edited by trebellk at 29/12/11 @ 11:18

  • You_shlaaaag #44 5 months ago

    "The mental effort that is required to make this game brilliant is just beyond me."

    Couldn't have put it better myself @tassletine. An utter bore riddled with bugs. And yet the plaudits it received tell another story altogether. Bethesda have an appalling record when it comes to being able to actually program their games properly (i.e. they can't) but they somehow get away with it. Are they and Infinity Ward untouchable or something?

  • toa_boa #45 5 months ago

    @Martin2112

    Good point on the PS3 version - the classic "Alone In The Dark anno 2008"-approach :-D

  • Zerobob #46 5 months ago

    I simply cannot imagine anybody having the time to play this game avoiding the fast travelling. For example, I was in a vast major dungeon yesterday and every 15 mins I ended up carrying too much loot and having to head back to whiterun to store it. Doing this on foot would have taken hours.

    I think you'd be playing this game for years without fast travelling, which is fine if you have the time. For the rest of us, I'm sure the option is there for a good reason.

  • Acquiescence #47 5 months ago

    @SkyandSun Nobody said it better than you. Eurogamer acknowledges all the glitches and bugs, and even the unplayable performance of the PS3 version, but they brush it off anyway wtih declarations of "best gaem evar made! lulz :trollface:." This is why Bethesda keep releasing unfinished games: not only can they get away with it, they're praised for it too!

  • Voice_of_Majority #48 5 months ago

    @tassletine I agree that reviews should highlight any bugs, but good games are always inside your head.

  • Nova1977 #49 5 months ago

    Skyrim was a Godsend, in fact 2011, even though I hated the way the games industry was going, was great because for the first time in years we didn't just have Call of Duty out there, it got to a pont that it felt like all publishers pulled their games because they didn't want to compete with CoD 2009/10/11 - the selection of games this year was vast and great.
    Skyrim was a godsend.

  • jogyourmind #50 5 months ago

    Am I the only one who thinks this game is totally over hyped? I won the whole game by running around and pressing one button.... Call me fussy but when you make a game about fighting your way through a huge world, shouldn't you at least make the fighting interesting? I mean, The Witcher 2 or Dark Souls or Arkham City or, pick pretty much any other game that involves fighting stuff and it is better than this game...

    As for the bugs, it is very messy and yet it got a perfect 10 from pretty much everyone so yeah.. good luck getting a better game in the future. You all gave the message back to Bethesda loud and clear, and your message was, "WE WILL PAY FOR YOUR GAMES NO MATTER WHAT YOU DELIVER!"

    The root of the issue with Skyrim (or probably any other major release that you care to mention) lies in the immaturity of software construction as an engineering discipline.
    What a load of bollocks you speak. "Software construction" is nothing more than simple old fashioned programming and project management, it just takes time and it takes talent. If you put both sufficient amounts of those things in, you can get an almost flawless game out, and we do get almost flawless games from time to time... The reason why Skyrim is such a mess is because a game that big, needed a long time to tidy up. An extra few months with the full staff would have made it practically flawless, but paying 100+ professionals wages for that amount of time costs millions. If they HAD to do it, they would have... But they don't have to do it, because they know that they can release it prematurely and MILLIONS of people will still rush out to buy it. Give an inch, take a mile.
    Edited by jogyourmind at 29/12/11 @ 11:57

  • jabberwoky #51 5 months ago

    So, Eurogamer, why didn't your review mention these bugs. A lot of people have been asking this question for some time now, when are we going to get an answer?

  • skuzzbag #52 5 months ago

    Bethesda. I love them I really do but you have to wonder about how much respect they have for those gamers who aren't technically minded.

    They came up with a release date of 11.11.11. Seemingly born out of a desparation for a fancy release date rather than a real expectation that the game would be ready for then.

    The only other game I've played that was this bug-ridden but also forgiven was hidden and dangerous.

  • DanForinton #53 5 months ago

    But I also hope it prompts a few people in high places to have a long, hard think about whether enough is being done to make our games work properly out of the box.
    Clearly, Tom, you have no grasp of the concept of cause and effect.

    Buggy and broken game gets released to high acclaim and big sales numbers, so they should put the time and effort into making their next game working and polished? So it can be released to high acclaim and big sales numbers? This is not how the world works. They did it with Daggerfall, they did it with Morrowind, they did it with Oblivion and now they've done it with Skyrim.

    The ONLY lesson that publishers will take from the Skyrim situation is that a buggy, broken and unpolished turd can be pushed out the door to loadsamoney for all and high review scores under the right circumstances. All we punters can expect as a consequence is more of the same.

    So thanks for that, Tom. Thanks a whole bunch.

    (Good job it's after Christmas, coz I think that just killed any Xmas spirit I had left.)

  • carlosdfn #54 5 months ago

    Fantastic article. This is something that has been bothering me and Tom hits the nail right on the head. Thousands of people will play this, run into these problems and assume there's nothing they can do about it. They'll just get rid of the game and think very hard before they decide to buy another one.
    Hardcore gamers assume that everyone who plays videogames knows about these issues and knows where to find the solution, but there are actually more who don't than those who do.

    I know a person who owns a PS3 and never connected it to the internet. He also owns GT5 and plays the hell out of that game. They had just released the 2.0 update and I asked him if he downloaded it. He was like: "what update? Why should I download it? What does it do?"
    So a year after the game's release he was still playing it just like it was on day 1 while others who paid the same amount of money for it were enjoying a much better experience.
    For a lot of people consoles aren't something that needs to be connected to the net and the thought of browsing internet forums or wikis looking for a fix because the developers screwed up wouldn't cross their minds in a thousand lifetimes. It shouldn't have to.

    The problem is that developers also think like this, not only hardcore gamers. They assume that the people bitching on their forums represent 100% of their user base even when their games sell 10 million copies. This is a huge problem.

  • lucky_jim #55 5 months ago

    The existence of the PS3 version should preclude this game from appearing on any lists like this. I think magazines and websites should retroactively downgrade their scores for the game too (given the PS3 version was deliberately kept from them, it would seem to me to be a reasonable response).

  • carlosdfn #56 5 months ago

    @DanForinton You're right about that. Why should they bother when major sites like eurogamer give it a 10? Good point.

  • Velios #57 5 months ago

    140 hours in and nothing has broken so far for me (I'm on PC)
    I guess I am one of the lucky ones.

  • Garfy #58 5 months ago

    If we waited for QA to perfect games of this magnitude then we would never see them, I mean that quite literally, NEVER see them.

    That such a complete fantasy world for me to wander around in exists at all is a monumental achievement and kept me engrossed for 120 hours with only a few minor bugs (PC version).

    I feel for PS3 players but it didn't stop me having a whale of a time.

  • Chelladox #59 5 months ago

    @s3y3 Hmm, how about Bastion? That never needed a patch to fix anything or so, as far as I'm aware.

  • JeroenZM #60 5 months ago

    I own a Wii and a PS3, so I was looking forward to playing both Skyward Sword and Skyrim this holiday season. All those Skyrim reports about the buggy PS3 version puts me off though. Shame, because the game looks marvelous. Apparently it came at a price.

  • oi #61 5 months ago

    @YobRenoops

    Yep, I agree 100%.

    An example should have been made of Skyrim imo. If Bethesda can effectively get away with releasing broken games there is no incentive for them to up their game and release products that work. Reviewers need to collectively grow some backbone and serve us, the readers by marking down sloppy products even if they are 'good'.

    Let me be absolutely clear here, EG reviewed the 360 version of Skyrim which launched with broken texture streaming but the review did not mention this and the game got a 10/10. Now the reviewer could, I suppose, have played the game from disc but who in their right mind would choose to do that. It simply isn't good enough. I blame reviewers almost as much as Bethesda.

  • Architect_z #62 5 months ago

    Skyrim is great, but Dark Souls was just on another level. I appreciated the scale of Skyrim, it was a huge game.

  • oi #63 5 months ago

    @ecureuil

    The shoddiness of the console version maybe irrelevant to you but it certainly isn't irrelevant to PS3 owners. What an utterly strange thing to say!

    I'm also playing through the PC version and having to use console commands to make the game work is absolutely unacceptable. You should be a reviewer.

    /bitchy

  • Vixremento #64 5 months ago

    An awesome game but I agree - it's broken. When I first started playing (on PC) I just couldn't get enough of it and then the quests started breaking leaving me with a bunch of things I could just not complete or trigger (and referring to their FAQ for those that I could find just said "go back to a previous save"...sure I'll just write off over forty hours because I failed to do the quests in a specific sequence).

    None the less - a really great game but with a crappy UI and rather buggy questing system in some places (my girlfriend had different quests bug out on her and we even had two or three of the same quests that were buggy).

    Too bad I got so annoyed at the side quests that I couldn't complete that I stopped playing altogether now without finishing the main quest line. Ah well...maybe when they start patching the quests I'll go back (I hate not being able to complete things - kinda like without dottıng the ı's and crossing ɩhe ɩ's).

  • Arsecake_Baker #65 5 months ago

    "But what about the other people who saw the advert in front of X-Men First Class and don't read NeoGAF or know about GameFAQs or know that - let's be honest - Bethesda Game Studios games are broken out of the box and need months of patching? What about the people who don't have their consoles hooked up to the internet? What are they meant to do?"

    Absolutely! Been saying this for years.
    Edited by Arsecake_Baker at 29/12/11 @ 12:33

  • YobRenoops #66 5 months ago

    @oi Similar to what Edge did with the 6 given to Fallout New Vegas for technical issues, where they stated that outside of the bugs was a good game but the bugs killed the score.

    It seems that outlets are just scared to possibly incur the wrath of both fanboys and publishers by marking something down for poor programming.

    These games go through formal QA, if bugs such as the PS3 version in particular suffer from get through then yes the reviews should reflect that rather than waxing lyrical about the "possible" beauty and depth of the game.

  • Murton #67 5 months ago

    Good article, very truthful about the state of the game if a little late. The best thing about the article though, It's written by the bloke in charge of Eurogamer and it describes the game as broken and its success, both critically and commercially as scandalous. Well EG, and by extention, Tom Bramwell personally, were part of that scandal, didn't include that bit though did you Tom?

    You (well, your site) gave it a perfect score on the Thurday and then on release day published the 360 texture glitch article. This means that you knew of the glitch during review yet didn't mention it or drop the score for it. You also knew that no PS3 copy was available for review and that no PS3 screenshots or videos had been made available before release, yet this little fact was also omitted. Now I'm not saying that the score should have been dropped for this, but given Bethesda's past on the PS3 this "hiding" of the PS3 version prior to release is something that might have been of interest to your readers no?

    As this year draws to a close and people look back at the best and worst games of 2011 I greatly expect many to list Skyrim as both. Best game of the year because of its scope and deep immersion, but also worst because it simply wasn't fit for release and Bethesda, the platform holders and indeed the critics all allowed the game a free pass despite being broken and leaving games with the shattered pieces of what should, and perhaps one day might actually be, one of the best games of this generation.

  • FusionReaktor #68 5 months ago

    It's disappointing that they didn't invest some time into making quests be self healing. I recall in Baldur's Gate they had a special character called Biff the Understudy who would take over if a critical quest character was dead.

    I'm 35 hours into Skyrim on 360 and I've not noticed any game breaking bugs so far.

  • Dangerous_Dan #69 5 months ago

    I don't play Skyrim on my PS3 but if it's the same as with Fallout 3, well then it's a save file size issue and since both games use a large chunk of the same game engine - I guess it's the same problem.

    So just solve the main quest and you should be fine, just don't do any other exploring - sounds awesome, doesn't it?

    They haven't fixed it with Fallout 3, as far as I know, and my guess is, they are not gonna fix it with Skyrim - I guess they just can't without serious changes in the game engine.
    That would cost serious money and well, they already got your serious money without doing anything about it. -had to tease ;)

  • SpeedyThing #70 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 13:44:52 29-12-2011

  • octo #71 5 months ago

    Skyrim is not just game of the year it is probably THE best game of the last three years on console platforms. The breadth of story telling, the successful blending of action and RPG, the scale of combat, the music and score, the number of things you can do, places you can go and quests you can complete is mind blowing. In the forum you will see posts from people getting annoyed with the game after putting 60+ hours into it. Which should tell you something about how successful the game is.

    I agree with the comments regarding boxed, retail games shipping in a state that is effective broken. It simply should not be allowed to happen. Platform owners should realise that a broken game damages their brand as much as it damages the makers of the game. If it is broken, do not release it unless a fix can be provided over the internet within a certain time frame. There are mitigating circumstances with a world this emergent. Bugs must be a fucking nightmare to record and fix. Patches that introduce further problems do not help.

    The PS3 issues is real and extremely unwelcome. After it came to the attention of the publisher / developer it should have been the number 1 priority fix.

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #72 5 months ago

    Played for sometime now on PC and have two quest bugs....so far.

    One isn't a big deal but the other is a bug where I can't become Thane of Riften. Now that's fucking annoying.

    I'm all for them releasing patches but what's pissing me off is they're not really fixing quest bugs which are the whole point of playing the game! In all honestly I'd happily accept floating Mammoths, backwards flying dragons and even the odd crash to desktop if they fixed the bugs that are stopping me playing/completing parts of the game.


    If I come across a bug like the one Tom mentioned that could stop me finishing the main quest line (after all the hours I've put in) then I'm going fucking POSTAL.

    Poor show Bethesda, poor show.

    FIX THE STUFF THAT STOPS PEOPLE FROM COMPLETING THE GAME AS A PRIORITY.


    I also agree with calls from people for sites like EG to retrospectively adjust their scores. I guarantee this would make Bethesda take more action than they are.
    Edited by SpaceMidget75 at 29/12/11 @ 14:39

  • charming_fox #73 5 months ago

    There is no experience quite like spending a few hours in surround sound Skyrim, curtains drawn and no disturbances. Or at least, not as far as I know anywho, therefore, bugs or no bugs, to me it is unparalleled.

  • arty #74 5 months ago

    "I think it's a real shame that a lot of people's first experience of the amazing work that the games industry is doing these days will be that it is broken"

    Firstly, you could help by not extolling the virtues of broken games for a start! Let them put out something that WORKS before giving it game of the year?!

    Secondly, recommending not to use fast travel sounds fine but then you say you broke the main quest by going in a dungeon discovered on one of your leisurely walkabouts that wasn't a quest!!!!

    I like the game, that's a given, but I just had a quest for the Companion guild where the character I had to speak to had already been killed by a dragon terrorising his home village. Why does the quest let him die? In Oblivion and Fallout key people just went unconscious. Can the quest code not check he's dead first! Surely that's the first check when triggering a mission like this!
    Did the person at Bethesda who triggered the mission not trigger the villager and not talk to each other. Surely their designers should know this by now! It's like swampy cave all over again, EXCEPT THAT WAS FIVE YEARS AGO!!!!!!
    You can give them the benefit of the doubt and say, "oh it's all very complicated" but mistakes like that are easily found by a decent QA dept. AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIXED!!!!!

  • Paulie_P #75 5 months ago

    I'm not too sure how widespread these issues are but I've finished the main quest and several others and played the game for countless hours now. I've came across one glitch and one bug which I was able to get around by reloading a save from a couple of minutes previously.

    Nothing has corrupted an entire game so far and from what I've played I've loved it. I have it for the 360 and I doubt I would've noticed the texture bug if I was not aware about it (I bought it in Gamestop and the guy serving said they were advising people not to install it - wonder if Game would've done the same). I think from what I've heard from the PS3 version, it should probably have been reviewed separately, especially considering Games like Fallout 3 and NV have been terrible on it. I had the PS3 version of Fallout 3 and it was like Russian Roulette where I had do decide whether to pause mid game and save or not in case a freeze was coming up.

    Skyrim is 10/10 for me but I've not experienced the game-breaking bugs of other people, does that mean I'm wrong? - no, its just an opinion based on my experiences, I can't base it on anybody elses - just like all the other reviewers out there (though you think some would've come across some of the bugs).

  • Neil__ #76 5 months ago

    I also want to know why Eurogamer gave Skyrim a 10 when it has so many obvious flaws and faults?
    I guess asking professional reviewers to account for their glaring omissions is too much to expect.

  • spekkeh #77 5 months ago

    My GOTY and quite possibly one of my favorite games this generation. It struck the perfect balance for me in both being absolutely epic, while still feeling manageable. Above all, every quest seemed meaningful in some way and not filler. I normally tire of a game around ten hours in and get extremely aggravated about anything that reeks of getting strung along, but every turn in Skyrim's player-made narrative felt fresh, at least for fifty hours. After which I finished the main story at the 65 mark. I don't think I ever played a game for that long while being constantly entertained.

    I understand it's a case of YMMV here, as I played it on the xbox which seems to have been the lead development console. I hardly encountered any real bugs during my playthrough, and I saved a lot anyway. Overall a much better experience than the previous Bethesda games.

  • ToothlessGibbon #78 5 months ago

    160hrs in on PC and nothing but a few cosmetic bugs - really just the luck of the draw I guess.

  • DrStrangelove #79 5 months ago

    I think the problem is that they committed themselves to the 11.11.11 release date very early. They advertised that date so heavily that there was no way of delaying it. And sometimes it's better to delay a release but deliver a finished product then, like for example Polyphony did with Gran... erm, nevermind.

  • Biker_Bob_1971 #80 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 16:59:10 06-02-2012

  • ballybeg #81 5 months ago

    Seems pretty simple to me, console versions very buggy = not even close to being a contender for GOTY, pc version not so buggy (i have nearly 80 hours done and haven't encountered any CTDs, broken quests >>the red eagle sidequest does keep popping into my quest log everytime i read the book even doe i've completed it multiple times<< or any graphical glitches of note) = GOTY contender.

    I have been using the 4gb memory mod since day 1 though but in my experience of the game it's been rock solid. NOT 1 CTD!!! Which for a Bethesda game is nigh on miraculous!

  • kwolf666 #82 5 months ago

    I think I would love Skyrim, but unfortunately I am a PS3-only owner at the moment. I plan on buying a proper PC next year however. And you know what? THEN I WILL PIRATE SKYRIM SO THAT BETHESDA WON'T GET ANY OF MY MONEY, BECAUSE THEY SHOULD NOT BE ENCOURAGED TO RELEASE MORE SELF-DESTROYING GAMES.
    Edited by kwolf666 at 29/12/11 @ 15:08

  • Nisa #83 5 months ago

    Taking a coffee break after passing the 100 hour mark just now. Playing the 360 version. I've got lots of sympathy with folks up against broken quests and crash issues. I've had a great ride so far - one borked quest which was rectified with an hour old save. The third patch fixed the texture issue and apart from the odd character taking a stroll in mid air etc i've had no problems. When Skyrim works it is majestic. I hope folks with problems give it a real go when Bethesda get things fixed. Okay, that may be getting on for the summer, but it really is worth it.

  • hiscore #84 5 months ago

    "I think it's a real shame that a lot of people's first experience of the amazing work that the games industry is doing these days will be that it is broken, and that this is normal even among the very biggest games"

    NORMAL is where the review community shares responsability for giving credit and kudos to broken products, wether it be on a technical level or gameplay wise. There's too much respect for big companies. Neutral and critical views have become rare in this billion dollar business dominated by number and "flesh" (hype).

  • Nephirion #85 5 months ago

    Bethesda release quality has got worse, there is really no excuse for releasing a game that has game breaking problems when you make a shit load of money from the last game. Skyrim maybe a great game in principle but Bethesda reputation has been undermined by piss poor quality control.

  • metallicorphan #86 5 months ago

    I had about half a dozen quest bugs(mostly miscellaneous)couldn't even start Blood on the Ice quest,freezes and the odd graphical fuck up...but i still managed to put in over 200hrs,and i have not done that on a first playthru for a game..in..well i can't remember ever doing that before,so Skyrim certainly is my GOTY

    I actually still have a few things to do

    360 version if it matters(and old version 360,not slim)

  • whishman #87 5 months ago

    Playing on 360. A few texture issue's at first but deleted install file and no problems. Been playing around 121hours and I count how many times its frozen on one hand without using my thumb. Also, no backwards flying Dragons, only the odd floating NPC or fish and other miscellaneous items. But so few I can't even remember when and where they occurred. Happy days and fingers crossed I don't encounter any game breaking bugs.

  • peppergomez #88 5 months ago

    And yet you (Eurogamer) awarded it a 10. You can't have it both ways, guys.

  • KopparbergDave #89 5 months ago

    Many people are hitting the nail on the head here, irrespective of how some people have had very few or very limited problems, the fact is that many people do, not just a few, but a lot. We're being asked to pay as much as £45 or £50 these days for our games, and FAR more are being sold now than in the past, so the developers are certainly making their money on the big hitting games, but I don't think it's too much to ask that we deserve a certain level of quality, and clearly Skyrim falls very short.

    As others have pointed out the reviews, especially the 10/10 ones really should have stated the bugs and marked the game down accordingly, no matter how great the game can be (and it is) when things are working right. It's horrible to see sites like this give rave reviews and then months later have an article saying the developers should do better to prevent the mess that's occurred with this game. Eurogamer needs to take a look at who exactly it services with it's site. With a bit of thought they'll realise it's the thousands of gamers that log in, not the developers that send them games and pay for wall to wall advertising. After all advertising revenue is only generated from views, if less people trust this site many people will go elsewhere. At all times we come before those paying for ads, so a bit of honesty wouldn't go amiss, and with a bit of a backlash developers might actually listen and release products of a certain quality. Sadly if given great reviews we all go out and buy it, we are the paying Beta testers and they make all their money, why in future will they bother spending more time QA testing?! If maybe they get a fluster of crap reviews, pre-orders get cancelled and sales are less than stellar then for the next release they might make sure they release a quality product. The gaming publications play a crucial role in this industry and right now serve no one but the publishers and the whole industry in the end will suffer from it. Eurogamer, grow a set of balls and be more truthful with us from now on.

  • Xardan #90 5 months ago

    Just another example of this broken and rushed game, the Deflect Arrows perk in the Block tree does not work, also eating Tomato Soup seems to break my stamina bar permanently and my power attacks have no effect.

    I regularly come across something broken in the game. Admittedly most are minor, but when you add them all up it is a very major issue indeed.

  • Stijntsje #91 5 months ago

    Dreadful game. I never even got around to the bugs, got so bored with it that I quit playing after about 7 hours.

  • Demiath #92 5 months ago

    For all the talk about Bethesda games being "broken", I think it's only fair to recognize how un-broken the experience really can be if you're lucky/playing on the least buggy platform etc.

    "Broken" implies just that; i.e. everyone getting screwed at some point or another, and that's simply not the case with the games from this developer (...which there are plenty of other, more gameplay-related and thus ultimately more important reasons for criticizing).

    I played both Fallout: New Vegas and Skyrim on the PC for about 80 hours each and apart from semi-frequent but inconsequential crashes to desktop I had almost no issues whatsoever (not even minor things like getting stuck in the scenery).
    Edited by Demiath at 29/12/11 @ 16:46

  • Squidgywidgywoo #93 5 months ago

    @Rack Walking for hours is awesome.

  • Squidgywidgywoo #94 5 months ago

    I've played Skyrim for 80 hours now and really can't see these bugs everyone seems to be bitching about.

  • vizzini #95 5 months ago

    This article's very existences and sub heading still seem to be rewarding a functionally broken game with undue positive publicity imo.

    And day one patches for the majority of other games this generation are not for the purpose of fixing functionally broken software, and are merely tweaks in most cases(for non critical fixes), so it is very poor form by EG to downplay Bethesda's development failings, by suggest everyone is doing a Skyrim, Fallout, etc.

    Day one patches are mostly an anti piracy measure and online service promotion initiative in other games. Thereby ensuring hacked offline consoles get an inferior experience, and casual consumers get to see an instant benefit to their products by getting their arse in gear and getting it connected to internet.

    And EG's comment about all games needing launch day patches is odd. Of games I own, Metal Gear Solid 4(single player), Valkyria Chronicles and Virtua Fighter 5 are all games that don't have launch day or later fix patch downloads for my UK copies. Which I guess is no surprise that two of the old guard(Sega & Konami's inhouse developers) are still setting the standard for brilliant games that are also correctly QA'd before launch.

  • peppergomez #96 5 months ago

    @eurogamer: we used to be a credible game review site, but then we took an arrow to the knee

    <ducks and runs away>

  • Hindle #97 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 23:04:43 04-04-2012

  • Vallaurian #98 5 months ago

    Did no one feel a sense of wonder when they looked down on the world from the greybeards' mountain? Or walked out into an noctural arctic land lit by the northern lights? Skyrim isn't perfect but it is magic.

  • digitalash #99 5 months ago

    You know, this kind of bs didn't happen (much) when consoles weren't connected to the internet. Now when I try and play Dragon Age (for example) on the PS3, I have to wait twenty minutes for the game to install, patch it, patch it again, update the PS3 firmware, tell the DLC to sod off, then sit through (cumulatively) hours of loading screens.

    We've got to the stage where consoles are now just shit PCs.

  • Squidgywidgywoo #100 5 months ago

    @Vallaurian Couldn't have put it better. :) Definitely my GOTY.

  • spekkeh #101 5 months ago

    @KopparbergDave

    How, exactly, do you see them acknowledging a game is buggy in a review, if they hardly encountered them in their review copy?

  • hybridial #102 5 months ago

    I haven't enjoyed a game more than this one this year. Of course I played it on PC, and it really seems like this game more than any other could have benefited from only being on PC, because whether it's a combination of Bethesda struggling with the consoles or them plain not being able to handle a game as large in scope, the fact is this is one game that really should only be bought on PC and I just wouldn't recommend anyone buy it on consoles.

    But I don't count that against it, really, business necessitates they try to put it on consoles because seemingly that's where all the money is now and I don't blame the devs for that, that's an executive decision. The game they put out on PC works and is excellent.

    And to all you people crapping on the game, I'm sure you like a game I think is shit. Like Xenoblade Chronicles maybe, or to a lesser extent Portal 2.

  • magicianlord #103 5 months ago

    Because of this game's problems I am now completely turned off by Bethesda's adventure games, and will not buy another until I know the issues are fixed. And @109, the PC version is far from fixed, despite the efforts of various amateur mods trying to repair Bethesda's terrible code.
    Edited by magicianlord at 29/12/11 @ 18:03

  • SeesThroughAll #104 5 months ago

    And because I'm confident that it won't have a backwards-flying Tom Cruise
    I guess you didn't watch M:I 2, did you? :D

  • Code_R #105 5 months ago

    I have to say this game being so broken confuses me, I have yet to buy this one but how does that score of 10/10 figure? I would have been anticipating a flawless experience (at least technically outside the realm of personal tastes).

  • MrWonderstuff #106 5 months ago

    For those on the PC and not getting any problems...just wait until you have a save file of around 19Mb and a playtime of 200hrs then come back to this or the main forum thread and then tells us it still plays fine.

  • des #107 5 months ago

    I have finished whole game without any patch(on 360) so Tom=liar

    Total fail from Eurogamer,no wonder that nobody gives a shit about Eurogamer reviews anymore.This game is not broken,it's perfectly playable...200+ hours in,second playthrough

    unless you have PS3 of course,but that is normal these days

    "I have to say this game being so broken confuses me, I have yet to buy this one but how does that score of 10/10 figure?"

    Buy it,you won't be sorry.This game is as buggy as any high profile title released this gen,there is a reason why people praise it so much...
    Edited by des at 29/12/11 @ 18:39

  • th3duckst3r #108 5 months ago

    funnily enough ive had no problems with 100 hours of gameplay.
    no backwards flying dragon,no levitating mammoths what so ever.
    only the occasional lock up.

    xbox version and ive just 3 achievements to get.

    but what a game loving it.

  • cloudskipa #109 5 months ago

    Funnily enough I agree about not using fast travel all the time. Sometimes it's nice to use though if you want to get on with a mission but I'd hate to abuse it and miss out on the fun of exploring everywhere.

    I bought this on release for 360 and I've loved every minute of it so far, though the texture bug meant I couldn't play it for the first two weeks which really sucked but I can forgive it for how good this game is!

    I'm a huge Zelda fan and I wasn't expecting it, but this game is easily my GOTY. Cannot wait for the DLC!!

  • inutaihanyou #110 5 months ago

    How do so many comments miss the entire point of gamer reviews? Your rage is not about the game itself! It is about technical issues. The reviewers look past the bugs and see the game underneath that. How do you expect a site to give a game a five out of ten or something that, when 2 out of the 3 consoles on the market, have none of the same issues as PS3?

  • TheVoice #111 5 months ago

    I do wonder if the gaming market is the only one that is so forgiving towards seemingly broken/faulty products. If BMW released a new model with widespread problems causing the car to judder to a stall for so many owners, I doubt they'd be getting any Car of the Year awards.

    Praise them once they've fixed it, but not before.
    Edited by TheVoice at 29/12/11 @ 20:24

  • klassobanieras #112 5 months ago

    All of our console video games are approved by Sony, including this game, prior to publishing for the Sony Playstation3. The game is fully playable.
    (src)

    So there; everything's fine, nothing to see here.

  • specular #113 5 months ago

    About the bugs: I've put in a lot of hours since the launch day and I think I found one levitating Sabre Cat and a Dragon that was stuck with his head in the ground. That's about it, across 5 different characters mid 30s. Does the mayhem start around level 40?

  • BAM! #114 5 months ago

    Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

    Also pretty much the final nail in the coffin of the integrity of professional games reviews such as the ones found on this site. These days the best course of action is to buy games a few weeks after release, by which time there is forum word-of-mouth to go on, there is time for a patch or two, and the price will have probably dropped by at least 50%. Buying on day one is for idiots.

  • Drifu #115 5 months ago

    It's weird when people say that Skyrim is broken because I haven't had any bugs that would prevent doing quests and stuff.

  • kimchibaka #116 5 months ago

    Given the developer's track record I think it's time the reviewers withhold scores from any of their games from them until ALL versions are out and thoroughly tested.

    The scores the game got here and elsewhere are an utter disgrace as a result - and for me the games media were knowingly complicit, considering the PS3 game wasn't provided for review - red flag much?

    Brilliant but broken? Eurogamer, sort it out.

  • Privid #117 5 months ago

    I never understood the appeal of the Elder Scrolls games. Perhaps it's simply because of taste. I just get lost playing them and then lose the motivation. For all the dozen side quests I may do, they don't matter in the bigger picture. The armours are boring and badly designed, the weapons monotonous. The way the horizon blurs in an ugly speck irritates me immensely, though I guess it's because of my bad machine and the cost of open world approach.

    All that said, it's still an amazing game and I'll definitely keep coming back to it, like I did with Oblivion, but it just feels like a drag every time I try to actually play it.

    I'd say Witcher 2 deserved GOTY more. But this essentially boils down to open world-streamlined preference.

  • ZombieJFK #118 5 months ago

    Every review site in November 2011: 10/10. Amazing.
    Every games journalist end of December 2011: Yeah, actually it was kinda broken and still isn't entirely fixed. There are some really annoying bits in it as well.

  • asho #119 5 months ago

    Iv got internet thank god when buying bethesda games but my brother has not, so he is screwed. Make the fucking game right before release and stop ripping gamers off.

  • BonzoBanana #120 5 months ago

    I've played about 9hrs and so far the game has freezed once on my 360. I had an issue where I was just walking along and came across a arse sticking out of the ground from a horse or deer which was wierd. Clearly the rest of the animal was being rendered under the road. Also at one point my companion dog Meelo or is it Meeko or something like that was running with his legs just below the surface. Some items have disappeared instantly. Killed a large frostbite spider and it instantly disappeared.

    However Skyrim has such huge ambition and delivers 100s of hours of entertainment I find it hard to criticise. I looked up at the sky and there were two moons. One of them strangely looked like Mars and it was breathtaking visually. As are the mountains with the mist etc. I got bored of Obliviion as I didn't find the gameplay experience that great although thought it was visually stunning. Fallout 3 is just about the best game ever made to my mind and Skyrim seems to fuse both FO3 and Oblivion together in some ways. Truly incredible game and just can't believe how much game you get for your money. I paid £22.49 from Game a huge bargain for such a long gaming experience.

  • RandomTerrain #121 5 months ago

    I agree with many of the above posters. How can you give such a broken game a pefect 10? It's absolutely ridiculous.
    A game that doesn't work as it should is clearly by definition - not perfect.

    Come on Eurogamer, don't be wimps, re-review it and teach a lesson that needs to be learnt.

  • Alex_V #122 5 months ago

    Personally I think all games should be designed to break after about 100 hours, for humanity's sake.

    Lots of games have bugs in them, but I think there's a principle at stake here - does the critical community treat them like washing machines to be docked marks for reliability, or artistic endeavours marked on originality, verve, inspiration etc.

    I say the latter - save the (frankly boring) bugs issues for consumer advice sections or user forums.

  • DDevil #123 5 months ago

    Come on everyone, write this down 100 times then maybe you'll remember it:

    There's no such thing as a perfect 10.
    There's no such thing as a perfect 10.
    There's no such thing as a perfect 10.
    There's no such thing as a perfect 10.
    ...

  • rarebit #124 5 months ago

    Very well written.

  • arcam #125 5 months ago

    PS3 version aside, the game isn't broken, if it was I wouldn't be able to play it.

    The truth is the game is still a PC game made to wear console clothing. It became the type of game that can rent a mountain and adorn skyscrapers on the back of previous, equally buggy games that were accepted by a more forgiving audience because the heart and soul of the game is in its absorbing world, not in its scripting errors.

    I feel for PS3 players who were sold a lemon and neither Bethesda, Sony or one single reviewer had the balls to let them know what was being pulled - there's a whole mess of gaming business politics that allowed that to happen - but as a game, Skyrim is the most nailed on 10/10 of the year, and the scope, ambition and sheer hard work that must have gone into making a incredible game like this deserve nothing less. Please stop demanding it be taken away because a side quest broke or you lost 5 hours of game time after having to reload an earlier save.

    Go ahead and demand AAA console polish - you may even get it - but Skyrim will have earned its 'perfect' review scores long before every quest has been ironed smooth and every crash eradicated.
    Edited by arcam at 30/12/11 @ 02:37

  • Sonic_D #126 5 months ago

    Hardcore?! Really?

  • Scrapper #127 5 months ago

    This basically means Eurogamer's reviews cannot be trusted. If they are so blinded by the hype that fundamentally broken games get 10/10 - and then they acknowledge it later - it just reeks of incompetence or deception.

    You clowns lied about this game, just as bethesda did.

    Your reviews are worth less than a pile of dogshit.

  • Harmonica #128 5 months ago

    I agree with the article, but on the other hand, I think the crucial thing is probably that newcomers are less likely to notice or care about a lot of the problems that veteran gamers care about in games like Skyrim. They are just quite happy getting chased by skeletons, robbing NPCs blind, and twatting dragons, all for the first time. And flooding the entire world with irritating memes.

    Whilst it is galling and baffling in the extreme to veteran gamers that multi-million gaming projects ship with huge bugs (forget the rest - the install related texture issue on 360 was a embarrassment), those that are oblivious to the lack of care in this area will just carry on regardless.

    Frankly this grace period of blissful ignorance to gaming's blunders is probably for the best.
    Edited by Harmonica at 30/12/11 @ 03:30

  • nicfaz #129 5 months ago

    Deja vu anyone? Oblivion was a 10/10 game if you played it for 5 hours but a 6/10 game if you played to the end (repetitious dungeons, truly awful levelling system, lots of quest bugs).

    Skyrim is oblivion with lots of new content and a mild makeover of the system removing the worst of the bugs and applying some of te lessons learned from FO3.

    Euro gamers scores should have been:

    Skyrim on PC or 360 - 9/10 (great game marred by too many bugs on release)

    Skyrim on PS3 - 6/10 (great game with major flaws)

    I love skyrim, but all reviewers need to grow a pair and give a mark that reflects the total experience, not the nice bits. If that means delaying the review then do do. Yes that means you Tom.

  • figaro7 #130 5 months ago

    Its staggering how much content is in this game, id like to know how many hours the developers spent on it, its ridiculous. Although when the cracks start to appear you can tell its definately a game through and through.

  • DoKtoR #131 5 months ago

    Ever since the Internet caught on (around about 2004 when broadband became fairly accessible here... Australia) it's been commonplace for broken-out-of-box games to be released - before then it was damn near impossible to fix a broken game after release.

    So it begs the question are we winners or losers for having to patch a game constantly after release?

    My answer is one of the best games I've played in the last couple years was Fallout 3: New Vegas and that was in my opinion one of the buggiest games I've ever seen, so in that respect the ability to patch is a blessing in disguise.

  • DoKtoR #132 5 months ago

    @nicfaz it's difficult to give a completely accurate assessment when the gaming public wants the full review on release... this is why EG does retrospectives - in hindsight it's much easier to give a proper score. Especially in regards to the PS3 high level bug which was only noticed after the game was reviewed.

  • Murton #133 5 months ago

    @inutaihanyou

    EG reviewers didn't look past the bugs in Dead Island to see it as the best new IP of 2011 and a serious GOTY contender. They also didn't look past the bugs in War In The North to see it for the excellent co-op dungeon crawler set in what is inarguably the best fantasy world ever created. Yet they look through the broken state of Skyrim to review the game underneath?

    Balance, that's all that's needed. You don't need to mention in the review that Skyrim is the laziest PS3 port since Fallout 3, you just need to mention the 360 texture streaming bug, you know the one that wasn't mentioned in the review at 1pm Thursday but was featured in the very first article on the Friday less than 12 hours later...

  • marblepuke #134 5 months ago

    I doubt Eurogamer will change their scores, because they fear of losing Bethesda's support (=review copies). Also every major review site play their review copies a far too short time in order to be competent in the releasing of the actual review.

    Remember crying article on this site when EA didn't give EG those review copies early like to every other site?

  • tassletine #135 5 months ago

    To all people defending Skyrim because of it's ambition. That ambition is not met so it's no defence.
    Skyrim is quantity over quality. Anyone can write thousands of stories when you've got a massive team and five years to do so. Only someone talented can weave those stories together to make them work.
    -- I have to say what I'm talking about here aren't the stories per se ( those are rather good, as is the voice acting) -- but the game engine and the way those stories play out:
    Go on an EPIC quest with EPIC music. Spam A to win, leave the dungeon and get to hear the same EPIC music whilst fighting a crab. Return to Whiterun where no one cares that you're a Dragonborn even though they keep banging on about it. etc. etc.

    The fact is a lot of people here are clinging to the good bits of the game like a liferaft whilst completely ignoring the rest. It takes 20 seconds to go through a door for god's sake (at least on xbox).

    Games should be better than this. They ARE better than this. It's not like the individual quests interact in any meaningful way. Once you enter a dungeon it should be equivalent in quality to Uncharted, Zelda, Half life (if this is truely a 10/10) not bloody QUAKE.

    There's no design to any of it. Run in a linear path past brown walls to the boss. How many times have we all seen that and dismissed it outright? The combat has no nuance, just options. Select your best weapon/spell to win -- But don't worry you won't get stressed, you've got all the time in the world in the menu, and if you die you can always reload -- You did save didn't you? I hope you did. We told you to. Because if you didn't you might find it impossible to complete the game.

    It's simply not possible to play this game and not notice the bugs if you are paying attention. If you seriously haven't noticed any then I suggest you see a neurologist as you could be ignoring other parts of your life as well. You might be liable to wander into heavy traffic, and you can't reload so easily after that.

  • gandhimaster #136 5 months ago

    I still don't understand why no reviews mentioned this until after the game was out. Corrupt wankers.

  • gandhimaster #137 5 months ago

    @DDevil A perfect 10? Agreed. A broken, bug ridden, crashing, slow texture pop-in mess 10? Absolutely. Do you see the difference mate? :D That's what people are angry about. These errors are obviously part of the game, and so should have been mentioned in the review. It's shocking that they were not, and seems to show a lack of integrity from ALL the reviewers in the world, pretty much.

  • gandhimaster #138 5 months ago

    @MrWonderstuff Now, after 200 hours i'd understand if a reviewer didn't see those bugs. But there are loads that are present almost straight away that were never mentioned in reviews. The PS3 magazine reviewers should all be put in jail for their blatant arse fucking of their readers. :D

  • gandhimaster #139 5 months ago

    @spekkeh Because they have written many articles since highlighting all those bugs that they didn't mention in said review....

  • DDevil #140 5 months ago

    @gandhimaster And what if they didn't encounter the game breaking bugs in their time with the game? Personally I've now sunk 11 hours in to it and haven't encountered a thing beyond getting stuck in geometry partway up a mountain, which is pretty bloody understandable due to the size of the world.

    I fucking hate RPGs. I hated Oblivion, Fallout 3 was meh, hated New Vegas but yet I'm hopelessly and wonderfully addicted to this.

    A perfect 10? Doesn't exist. A 10 that stands out from it's peers, that has that certain something that makes it clear that we're dealing with something special. Something that hooks you in, that captures your imagination and drives the genre forward. Something that makes you look past any bugs because you're there. Sure why not?

    It's been my view for a long time that there's certain members of our community that are overly obsessed with scores, the minutiae of what exactly they think a 5 or a 9 or a 10 should mean - especially when they don't agree with the score given by the reviewer. People tend to forget reviews scores are subjective. They are coloured and influenced by the reviewers unique experience with a game. They are to indicate what the reviewer thought of a game, not what you as an individual will think.

  • Murton #141 5 months ago

    @gandhimaster

    Fun fact, even PSM were given a 360 copy for review. Every reviewer who wrote a PS3 review had to buy at retail to do so and with that time pressure it's hardly surprising that they didn't report the game as a broken mess, they wouldn't have had enough time for it to break down completely.

    Jail is a bit OTT but there is a special place in hell reserved for Todd Howard, as producer he has to take responsibility for the utter lack of effort put into that port. Pete Hines the lying little shit that he is for spouting all that bull about "we've revamped our QA" "the PS3 version has had a ton of attention" and all that stuff and last but not least, whichever penis at SCE gave it a free pass in cert despite it having an insta-fail EFIGS support problem in the PAL version.

    Shame that of all game sites only IGN had the balls to go after Bethesda on the PS3 issues and, as expected Bethesda ignored them and they gave up afterwards. Shame that nobody else thought to back them up and through sheer weight of numbers try to force the issue. Between IGN, EG, NeoGaf, CVG, Kotaku and others you have a collection of sites that can feasibly represent the majority of core gamers worldwide and a huge target audience, something which if applied correctly couldn't be ignored by the likes of EA or Activision, never mind a comparatively small fish like Bethesda.

  • deded #142 5 months ago

    I got Skyrim for Christmas. It crashed within thirty seconds of the game starting (in the barely playable cart intro FFS). After re-starting it crashed again at the character selection screen (after a wasted half an hour of tweaking my character). I can't think of a more embarrassing introduction to a flawed game than that. Merry bloody Christmas.

    I can perhaps understand the bugs in the game not making it into the review - the pressure to produce reviews on time for launch means that unless it's experienced directly by the reviewer there won't be time for these bugs to appear publicly before the review is complete and out there. However, if it impacts the game as much as it does in Skyrim, shouldn't the reviewing publication go back and re-write/re-score the review? Perhaps that's the format this article should have taken?

    Failing that, maybe along with the GOTY plaudits we should have a Fail of the Year award(s), which might demonstrate that although Skyrim when working is a great game, when not working it's a disgrace. In this way the best AND worst of the game would be recognised and acknowledged.

    I do think it's mostly the games media who can - realistically - do most to change the publisher/developer perception that this kind of behaviour is at all acceptable, (And it is behaviour - it's not an accident, it's a choice, based on financial/time constraints set and controlled by the publisher).

    It's the last time I'll be buying a Bethesda game at launch until they can prove they can build a working game; no matter how impressive the bits are, if you can't put them together properly it's a poor show.

  • erasr #143 5 months ago

    Well it cost my only £25 'ish' so I think it was worth buying!

    I've played a hell of a lot of it on PS3 with no issues at all. I doubt I'll get to 50+ hours unless I dedicate full days to it. I've never understood how a normal person with a partner/job can put in that many hours.

  • hybridial #144 5 months ago

    @tassletine

    You're arguments really lost all validity when you tried to claim this game should be like the terrible Uncharted and Half Life games.

    And really all I have to say is YOU think this game's ambitions weren't met. I think your completely wrong and your opinion doesn't mean jack to me.

    Skyward Sword would be my GOTY though, I am a major Zelda fan, if it wasn't so clearly an amazing 20 hour game trapped in a 40 hour game full of filler.

  • charming_fox #145 5 months ago

    maybe if the ps3 weren't such a daft console to develop for...

  • fluff_the_tiger #146 5 months ago

    i played Skyrim ps3 for 140 hours split between two characters and only had a couple of issues. Still a great game on ps3.

  • fisherpot #147 5 months ago

    I'm 1 of the lucky ones on the xbox who have had very few bugs and im 78 hours in! GOTY for me as nothing has come close yet on a single player game but and it's a big but in that I managed to get a copy of Dark Souls for £13 brand new and have played maybe 10 hours and it is very good but my problem is that I have put to many hours into Rimjob and I love it at the mo but come Jan I have so much time off that I will put my time into Dark Souls as form what I have seen and played its been really really tough and it will need my full attention!
    Remember that they are both great games people and I can see why not as many people will be able to handle DS as it really is a challenge (great big challenge)! Enjoy both

  • jeanrothen #148 5 months ago

    It all started with 'some' OS launching with so many patches on its tail. Since then no one is safe from endless fixes anymore.

    Too bad the consoles are suffering from the same disease that plagued our PC entertainment world. I went into the console dimension trying to escape from the inevitability and I'm not sure I will last longer than another cycle.

    Because of this, I never buy a game on its release. I wait at least 2 months until (all) the patches come out. Fallout gave me so many pleasures and frustrations, and I can hold a few more weeks to get Skyrim.

    Just like an angry girl I've met when she was on 'that days', now I just wait. And this move make things cheaper and calm. Until the version x.0x or the next 'girl cycle'.

  • HeNiCiDe1988 #149 5 months ago

    I got it for xmas and just being playing every day such a brill game, touch wood havnt had any game breaking bugs but only had the odd freeze (after long use) but had very minimal problems. Its such a great game, its more close to what open world should be which is a simulated world that exists without you.

    I got it on my pc, though and it looks pretty immense. Killed like 12 dragons and 8 giants :p

  • BigHal #150 5 months ago

    @gandhimaster Apart from Official Playstation Mag. I think they gave the game a 7 because it was technically flawed.

    So not all game journalists but most didn't have the balls to tell it like it is.

  • WadiumArcadium #151 5 months ago

    Finished my first playthrough on about 100 odd hours a few weeks ago. Definite GOTY for me. As I've said before, it's a shame PS3 owners got the short end of the stick by the sound of it. The only glitch I had on the 360 version was a few companions disappearing.

  • gandhimaster #152 5 months ago

    @DDevil exactly, a game can score a 10 without being perfect. But when a game is as broken as Skyrim (which must have come up during review) as a reviewer should spend more than 11 hours with a game. Ideally, they should complete the game before writing the review. I have read some good views on here, yours included, and its great to hear a PS3 mag told the truth. It's about time industries in general were more honest.

  • gandhimaster #153 5 months ago

    @Murton getting sent 360 code is unforgivable. I can't see how that hasn't seriously blown up in Bethesda's face. Oh, and definitely jail ;-P

  • gandhimaster #154 5 months ago

    @BigHal well done to that mag, seriously. They should have shouted that from the rooftops. Top marks to them and shame on all the others.

  • chrisola #155 5 months ago

    playing on pc - never had any bugs other than a single flying mammoth (just after release) and that was cured by turning the shadows from ultra to High. Never seen these backwards dragons - and crashed to desktop once (about a week ago) before fixing it. 70+ hours in.

    Game of the year : )

    And any of the above would have made MI:4 better - or if it had cut out half way through and dumped me back to the cinema lobby i'd have shrugged and gone home.

  • dbsmoker #156 5 months ago

    I feel that if Bethesda pushed the release date back that most of us would have been upset. And it was a an epic release date for an epic game.

  • fabio_RJ_BR #157 5 months ago

    Skyrim is fantastic. It is undoubtedly the most ambitious game of 2011. This game is pure immersion.

    And this is why people keep playing despite having defects. Like Fallout 3 and Oblivion.

    I'd rather stay with the opinion of people who play or played the game. Most complaints I see are people who even touched the game.

    I started last week and I love.
    Edited by fabio_RJ_BR at 31/12/11 @ 09:38

  • SentientNr6 #158 5 months ago

    Well I did encounter various quest issues with Oblivion which gave me second thoughts on buying Skyrim from day one. But so far so good. 40 hours in and nothing serious. In Oblivion I started encountering quest issues after 10 hours play. So it looks like they are improving. Playing on the PC though. As to the PS3 edition that sucks for PS3 owners they should ask for a refund because I can imagine that those bugs will be very hard to fix given the 'special' PS3 hardware architecture.

  • SeesThroughAll #159 5 months ago

    I got it as a Christmas present on PC, which, according to the UESP wiki, is the least broken version (but still very buggy). Thankfully, the PC version is partially fixed by community mods and one can always resort to the console for workarounds. To this day, still see strange things happening in version 1.3.10. And by "strange things", I mean broken quests.

    For example, the Pale Lady quest is broken, as I found the bandit that is supposed to be attacked by her partners standing outside the dungeon, looking rather bored (and not interested in attacking me, of course).

    I keep finding quest items before their corresponding quest starts, and find myself unable to trigger the quest as a result. It sounds like faulty logic implementation if you ask me. I mean, isn't QA supposed to test for these things?

  • SeesThroughAll #160 5 months ago

    @SentientNr6
    I can imagine that those bugs will be very hard to fix given the 'special' PS3 hardware architecture.
    Nothing 'special' about unoptimized buggy code. Trust me, the PS3 can handle Skyrim. Just not Bethesda's implementation of Skyrim.

  • DDevil #161 5 months ago

    I've just seen that this has been announced as Giant Bomb's game of the year.

  • jogyourmind #162 5 months ago

    Everyone has been paid off.

  • klassobanieras #163 5 months ago

    Business is business and Bethesda is just doing what they can get away with.
    At this point, I'm more p***ed off at a gaming press that seems horribly eager to help them screw their customers. Why *wouldn't* Bethesda sell us stinky lemons when you all give them their 10/10s and GOTYs regardless?

    OPM (which is now in my daily reading rotation) is, of course, honourably excepted from above rant.

  • DreamT #164 5 months ago

    Wow, seems like a lot of hyperbole surrounding the issues. 50 hours into the 360 version and nothing even remotely significant to report. I think broken is pretty far off unless you're talking about the PS3 version. Probably my favourite game this gen.
    Edited by DreamT at 02/01/12 @ 01:36

  • jamesi #165 5 months ago

    don't fast travel? lol if i couldn't i'd go insane!!:|its hard enough finding places with it for me.it's ok if it's flat areas but mountain areas can be real pain in the rectum to find. although i take toms point about exploring, you can still do this. i like to get where i'm supposed to go quickly.i do feel for ps3 players who have put a lot of hours into the game only for it to stop working:eek:

  • Seabeast #166 5 months ago

    Only had a couple of minor issues myself. It really should be better on release, but you have to appreciate the scope of the game.

  • cyber_nicco #167 5 months ago

    No, Tom Cruise is just backward thinking!

  • Murton #168 5 months ago

    @klassobanieras

    PlayStation Magazine has the "Skyrim Scandal" as a cover story this month. As a general rule I don't buy gaming magazines as better writing can be found free online, but I'll be making an exception this month to see what is being said as none of the online press have the balls to actually call Bethesda out on this.

  • phifedawg #169 5 months ago

    I wanted to like this game but I ended up hating it with a passion. It isnt a hardcore RPG at all, its a dumbed down exercise in hand holding full of bugs, bad voice acting and lame writing. It may be the best game of its kind but it isnt for me, its like the Uncharted of RPGs.
    Edited by phifedawg at 03/01/12 @ 10:42

  • peppergomez #170 5 months ago

    @Murton That's awesome. A spotlight should be shined on this.

  • felastica #171 5 months ago

    Comparing a broken game with the latest MI movie is an interesting choice as the film is also in fact quite broken. At least two thirds of the movie are made redundant by plot holes, a major character has his backstory abandoned and rewritten halfway through, and Tom Cruise casually advocates genocide as a way to tie up a whacking great loose end of the story (did I mention Tom Cruise is a member of a lunatic cult that advocates pedophilia?). I paid money to see that mess - and I'm stuck with that experience forever. By contrast, someone buying the broken version of Skyrim that shipped at least has a chance of getting it patched or at possibly traded in for something else. I'm not defending either industry's tendency to rush half-baked crap out the door in time for Christmas, but maybe there's something to be said for the game maker's tendency to continue to support and refine their products even after the money's been counted.

  • Hellion83 #172 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 20:12:17 01-02-2012

  • OliverH #173 5 months ago

    @ecureuil

    "PC version is the game of the year" - So a console game squeezed into PC workability is a game of the year just because hammering the square peg into the round PC hole actually shaved off the game-breaking bugs? The interface is ridiculous and the whole game system panders to console-style gaming.

  • OliverH #174 5 months ago

    @Vallaurian
    So you would have considered a Slideshow GOTY material as well?

  • OliverH #175 5 months ago

    @tassletine
    Amen!

  • Darren #176 5 months ago

    228 hours into the game I'm left with three journal entries that can't be removed, two "Collect bounty" and "Deliver dragon bone/scale to Esbern" ones (known bugs according to UESP Wiki), and random broken Companion quests, having completed the questline, which send me to kill animals that are already dead (the quest marker is over them) or invisible dragons with quest markers floating in mid-air, because I've visited those locations several times and killed whatever's there already. On top of floating mammoths and horses, quest items that weren't removed on completion of quests (e.g. the Bard's College ones) and other glitches I'm just thankful for the PC version's command console. I've been able to fix many of the broken quests using it including the Companion ones. I even managed to buy the house in Windhelm despite the "Blood on Ice" quest being broken (people spoke about the murders but the quest never started).

    I've learnt quite a bit about how the scripting works in the game but it shouldn't have been necessary had the game had better testing. I do feel that Bethesda committed themselves to that long-announced 11/11/11 release date and as such the game was perhaps rushed out when it should have several more months of testing. Certainly on the PS3 where its poor owners have to endure horrendous performance issues. It's still an awesome game, my fave of 2011 actually, but as the EG article points out it is somewhat broken. Whether Bethesda fix all the issues remains to be seen but based on Oblivion I don't think they will. PC Oblivion was lucky enough to have an unofficial patch that fixed countless bugs that Bethesda never bothered to. I'm hoping Skyrim does too.

  • OliverH #177 5 months ago

    @DreamT
    You must consider yourself very important if you believe that just because you experience no significant issue, the complaints by others are hyperbole

  • MichaelDark #178 5 months ago

    The way I see it broken games should not get more than 7/10. If Skyrim is unfinished why did it get a perfect score from allmost every video game site and magazine? Bethesda- and other developers who think like the ones in Bethesda- will never change if we forgive their mistakes. Skyrim is the new Gothic 3. Excellent game if it was playable. It would be fine in an ideal world. Our world is not perfect, bugs do exist, Skyrim is full of them so DON'T bother yourself with it. In a couple of years gamers will say "Skyrim was a major disappointment like Oblivion" and Bethesda will answer "Who cares? We sold 10 million copies in a month. You probably like bugs, more of them coming in TESVI!"

  • jogyourmind #179 5 months ago

    @MichaelDark

    Because they were paid off. There is no law against paying for review scores, so why wouldn't they do it? And considering just how many 10/10 they got, I suspect they saved a really significant part of their budget specifically for this. Why spend £100m on a flawless game when you can make a flakey one for 50m, plus 10m convincing everyone it is GOTY.

    That's just the way the world works. The only thing I find truly sad, is that people actually fall for it and believe the hype.

  • Akira_Tenshi #180 5 months ago

    I stopped playing this game weeks ago. It just amazes me how people are so forgiving towards games that are completely broken.

    You wouldn't put up with a CD if it kept skipping or a film that kept freezing. Why are we expected to put up with broken games? Bethesda are the worst they couldn't make a working game if their lives depended on it. Even when they attempt to patch it they break something else in the process. They are clearly talented creative developers capable of making amazing games but it's all for nothing if those games don't even work.