Dovahkiin

Dovahkiin

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

Fus Ro Deh? No no, umm… Fus Ri Bah? Nope that’s not it…. Uh… oh I know! FUS RO DAH!!!!! Oh hi sorry about that! Was just practicing my dragon,… wait what? What do you mean… what do I mean? The Elder Scrolls V: SKyrim was released man, there be dragons that need slaying.

            Bethesda FINALLY released its fifth installment within its Elder Scrolls Series, and wow ladies and gentlemen, just wow. Very few games have left me utterly speechless after having the pleasure of playing them, and Skyrim is no acceptation. It is perhaps one of the most perfectly crafted universes ever created in Gaming. A vast fictional world that is filled with anything from dark excursions into the crypts of Skyrim’s past to hopefully unlock the secrets of the dragons, to huge scale battles between rival factions as the very map around you changes with every battle. Even after more than a hundred hours of playtime, I still stumbled upon quests and items that led to new and exciting experiences. Skyrim isn’t just one of the best games of 2011 (Skyrim actually won Game of the Year at the 2011 VGA’s), but possibly one of the best role-playing experiences ever dawned. 

            The universe of Skyrim is exactly what you would expect from the lore would tell you. A harsh and bitter landscape littered with chains of foreboding mountains, harsh frozen wastelands, and spots of calm and peaceful beauty. And the very inhabitants of this northern territory are to par with their environment. Hefty, hairy, and bulk males and females make up the majority of Skyrim’s population. But it doesn’t stop at just characters; even the towns have their own reflective flavor. Instead of perfectly shaped buildings of the usual society, Skyrim’s cities are made up of mangled and crude wooden and stone structures created for functionality, not comfort. Now this will change as you explore the towns, you will notice some cities are more wealthy then others and how each city has it’s own personality and look. Now at first glance that may seem like the place you’d want to vacation, but please read further into the travel guide. Bethesda did an unbelievable job when it comes to the presentation and look of Skyrim, down to the pixel. Every area in the game feels how it should feel. Dark and scary catacombs deep underground the landscape of Skyrim; have an ominous presence to them, with their dark lighting and degrading stone walls. And high atop a mountain brutalized by Skyrim’s winter winds and endless snow, I felt almost a chill run up my spine, was I actually getting cold? These are the visuals that you take yourself aside from all the fighting and simply just enjoy the world around you. Taking the time to adventure to every area and uncover every aspect of every region. There were numerous times where in the northern most parts of Skyrim, the inhabitable frozen wastlelands, which I merely just stood there and looked. Taking in the scenery and acknowledging the fact that its companies like Bethesda that don’t just make a video game, but a world.

            But enough about the artsy stuff, when do I get to kill someone, what can you do in this game? Well that’s just it, you can do anything. The Elder Scrolls are built on the foundations of “do whatever you want to do” and it is because of the persistence of this foundation that the game has done so well. You may be walking along a road and run into a stranger heading home to his village. What do you do? Kill him? Loot his body and sell his stuff to the local broker? Ask for his assistance as that nearby dragon that’s been circling you for the last thirty seconds just landed? Or do you just walk on by? It’s the fact that you made a decision and there was a consequence that makes this game so great, there’s a certain cause and effect to it. Equal and opposite reaction – physics lesson! You could have discovered that by killing him, that that stranger was with a group of assassins on their way to assassinate a local jarl, and with this news you play the hero and save the day, and eventually you become Thane of that city and are given a wonderful young lass to do with  as you wish. Err sorry, getting ahead of myself.

            So who are you? Who’s the main character? Aside from a few presets due to storyline, you are once again, who or whatever you want.  You follow the conquest of the newly awakened Dovahkiin. Basically, you have this magical mojo in your blood that is directly connected to the dragons of this world (Tamrial). Not sure if it’s a mixed parent thing, like daddy was a dragon and mommy was a human, but anyways! You are the ultimate dragon slayer, one who increases in strength with every death of a dragon. How so you may ask? You absorb their souls! Duh! Every dragon you kill, the player receives a soul, and then you can spend these souls on thu’ums or better known as dragon shouts. These unstable shouts range from all sorts of uses, some make you run faster, some make you breathe fire, and some make dragons appear from the sky and reign death upon your enemies. Fun stuff! However it is up to you, the player, to decide how you want to use your power. Shall it be for good or evil? Will you actually help the world you reside in, or watch it be torn apart by a civil war?

            Now Skyrim isn’t completely shy of technical issues, they do exist. However they are nothing in comparison to the game as a whole. Problems occur in a range of fields, including the over use of A.I. phrases that can ruin immersion where two guards standing next to each other say the same response, general movement glitches where being stuck led me to reload a previous saved game, and minor graphical glitches in things such as armor and weapons. But one cannot judge a game on such minor issues when the game itself is gigantic. To root out these problems wouldn’t be like finding a needle in a hay stack, but rather finding a needle in fifty hay stacks.

            Bethesda has wowed the Gaming community once again with its award winning release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Skyrim is a prime example of the sheer possibilities that video games can bring to the world. Not only can companies take the gamer into a new and innovative world, but also make it interactive and fun. Skyrim will become an incredibly influential medium for companies attempting to delve into the RPG field Bethesda has taken such a grasp over. Not so much as a competition, but more so as a company to take example of, and mimic. Bethesda can now sit back and watch as their creation flourishes into a phenomenon over the gaming public; Skyrim will become a title to remember and cherish. But not too far back! I still want to see what Elder Scrolls VI will be like!

Picture Copyright

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Dog Tags

Dog Tags

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Review

            It’s that time of year again, one that’s filled with packages, traffic, parties, and bloodshed. Huh? No not Christmas dummy, the new Call of Duty was released. Activision released it’s highly anticipated third game in the Modern Warfare series, Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 3. The game has already broken a number of records including its incredible feat of generating $775 million in the first five days of sales. And they said the economy was in a recession, ha!

            So whether you have been living under a rock or just haven’t had the time to run to your local video game dealership I suggest you hurry up and get the game. Why? Well I’ll tell you.

            Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 starts right after the previous game’s ending, like right after. Almost like the reason why there was any break between the story was because someone had to change the film in the camera. We find our group of seasoned soldiers rushing in with Mr. Soap MacTavish ruining the newly steamed carpets with his fresh knife wound. Honestly dude, I hate having to clean my carpets, those cleaner have the worst commercials. Anyhow Soaps is on his last wind, thanks to the little run in with Commander Shepard and it’s up to Price and a handful of most likely unlicensed doctors to patch him up. But wait, this is too easy, lets add some more gun fire… there we go, now it’s Call of Duty.

            Now I’m sure those of you who have played the previous Call of Duty’s are aware of the special task force group known as nothing else than Task Force 141 – represent! Well it seems that with Commander Shepard dead, the one who originally started the program, the force has begun to degrade. The U.S. government has labeled the “one-four-one” disavowed, cutting them off from all their resources, and not to mention the amount of soldiers left in Task Force 141 couldn’t fill an airplane bathroom and that can be a bit of a problem when your job is to take down one of the most powerful terrorist minds in history. Yes, you know who I’m talking about, Makarov. This master killer is still at large and continues to cause disaster to the world and it’s up to you to stop him. Again with the cheesy one liners… I need to invest in advertisement.

            So does this game have multiplayer? Is it worth the hours of playtime? Duh! It’s Call of Duty! I attempted to get in touch with Mr. and Mrs. Multiplayer but it seems they are a little well… preoccupied. They seemed unable to restrain themselves from their excitement and all they muttered to me was something about a care package, so I guess it’s up to me to explain it to you. Okay, here we go *inhale…  It’s awesome! While the campaign is quite fun in Call of Duty, it’s really the multiplayer that drives us to buy the game. Its hands-on, it’s simple, and it’s addicting. Activision are genius when it comes to baiting you on to “just one more level” because either that level you are attempting to reach unlocks a sweet new gun or I get an upgrade that allows me to have unnecessary amounts of bullets. And bloodshed is always better with friends, just like the previous installments, inviting friends to a game is a simple set of key presses and makes it a great engine for quick on-the-fly parties.

            Also Call of Duty has created an interesting new subscription based membership for true Call of Duty lovers. Call of Duty Elite allows players to subscribe for a set amount of time and while maintaining a subscription, players are given the ability to download any map packs released during the time and take place in hosted tournaments, quite the bargain for anyone planning on spending a fair amount of time playing this game.

            Now here here ladies and gentlemen, while Call of Duty’s multiplayer is fun, it’s the last thing from innovative or creative. Don’t get mad Activision! My only grime with the multiplayer would have to be the lack of changes, upgrades, and just plain old new stuff. After shoving my MW3 disk in my system and heading to multiplayer I was a little disappointed, “did I really just spend another $60 on the same game I’ve been playing for the last several years?” Aside from a few tweaks and new guns (I mean honestly how many guns do you need? They all look the same and do the same thing. “But this gun has .0056% more fire rate” Shut up! Give me a laser gun and then we will talk) the game has made no advancements. MW3 feels the same as any other Call of Duty game and this drawn on effect is becoming apparent. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Call of Duty, it’s just that with everything Call of Duty has to offer, a little bit of innovation and creativeness would go far and only help the game.

            If only the game had a bit of customization angled towards appearance, then it would be a true titan of the multiplayer world. I personally am a sucker for appearances, armor, and physical modifications when it comes to multiplayer titles. I mean come on, who doesn’t want to look badass while they fire down upon their enemies. It is here where Call of Duty’s Multiplayer fails, I always felt then when running around the battlefield, I was merely just a gun: being the only actual thing you could personally modify in game. There was no individual touch to Call of Duty, and it was always disappointing to see you character change again and again after every death.

 Now this is purely for the hearts of people that share my love of customization, some people have no want of such an engine and ignore it even in games that are driven heavily on such customization. It all comes down to your taste.

For the technical side of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, there isn’t much to say. After a collection of installments, the franchise has really diminished technical issues such as lag and bugs to almost nothing. Sure you may get a few dropped games but that’s only because the servers are always crammed with countless gamers. Oh yeah and also because theres always that one guy whose ping is always red and is probably playing off a Starbucks wifi server… noobs.

So get out your pro sunglasses (inside of course) and put on your try pants because we have some prestige-ing to do. If you’re a purebred hardcore gamer that loves the adrenaline that comes with serious multiplayer then this new installment of Call of Duty is for you. But if you’re looking for a game that outreaches the norm and offers a creative touch to the world of gaming, then hold on to your wallet for a bit and give this game a thought. Call of Duty is one of the forefathers of First-Person Shooter multiplayer and it will continue to become a superpower in the gaming world.

Picture Copyright 

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Creationism

I’ve heard whispers and now I’ve heard shouts. Bethesda has put a date on their release of the strongly desired Creation Kit. They announced that it will be up for grabs January, 2012. For those of you who don’t know what this is, the Creation Kit is the engine Bethesda used to create The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Which means when it’s released, the modding community will explode once more, just as it did for Oblivion: the previous game in the Elder Scrolls series.

Personally I can’t wait to see what the community can create this time around. The mods of Oblivion were unbelievable in number and innovation. Not to down talk Bethesda at all, but some of these mods really improved the game in infinite ways and others were just plain old fun.

No matter what you want with mods, whether it be a brand new suit of armor to gloat to your non responsive, AI friends, a new sword to slice and dice your way through some dungeons, or an overhaul to make all the trees look prettier; you can be sure that the community will have it covered as soon as the Creation Kit is released.

Lastly, if you’re an owner of a PC version of Skyrim and are interested in mods I highly recommend the Nexus Website for Skyrim. I will provide a link below. The Nexus sites are a collection of free online databases for Modders. Each is dedicated to a certain game (i.e. Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Dragon Age, and Skyrim) and makes it easy to browse, rate, and download thousands of mods created by the community. If you don’t have a login then I advise you to do so. It takes a few seconds and only requires a few fields, username, password, email, etc. After that you’ll be all set to start modding. The site offers a nice “How To” guide for newcomers and has also released a beta version of a download manager which I can see becoming incredibly useful later on when the number of mods can be a bit overwhelming. 

Happy Modding! 

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/ 

Some Scratch Records, Others Break Them

Once again our providers of care packages and predator missiles, Call of Duty, have shattered another record in today’s gaming market.  Activision announced on November 17, 2011 that, five days after the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the company generated 775 million— let me say that again, 775 million— in sales.

                This new number in sales has shattered any other previous record made by Call of Duty or any other gaming company. The guys at Call of Duty have always been fortunate when it comes to records: with the 500 million achieved with the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 followed by the 650 million that came with Call of Duty: Black Ops.

 

                Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, had this to say after getting news of his incredible success with COD: MW3, “With $ 775 million of sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in its first five days, Call of Duty has become the first entertainment property in history to set five-day launch records for three consecutive years across all forms of entertainment.”

                In the first day of sales including the midnight release—a release I too took part in— the game sold over 6.5 million copies in North America and the United Kingdom, estimated at a gross of $400 million for Activision. The company is already approaching the numbers of popular entertainment titans such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings.

                But it is not just in the realm of money that Call of Duty is finding such success. Microsoft released that more the 3.3 million separate gamers logged over 7 million hours on multiplayer by the end of November 8, the release date. At certain times, there were minimum 3.3 million players online: a monumental feat for games.

Dragons, Magic, and… Babies?

            During February this year Bethesda released a rather interesting yet abstract competition for their fans to attempt. They were willing to provide the winner of the competition with a lifetime supply of Bethesda/ZeniMax games; a supply that would continue for any game released in the future as well. So what was the competition you ask? To, on the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 11/11/11, conceive a child and give it the protagonist’s name within the game, Dovahkiin.

            Now Skyrim was only released a few days ago and my Dragon is a little rusty, but I believe Dovahkiin means “Dragon born”. Yes? Obviously and who wouldn’t want a sick name like that, right?

            And while this competition was intended more so for the laughs and fun, one family took up the challenge and strove to achieve. Megan and Eric Kellermeyer was this very family, and after hearing about this challenge, they gave a quick phone call to their local Stork and ordered a baby to be delivered on 11/11/11.

            Thanks to nature and a bit of good timing, the Kellermeyer family grew by one on this very date, giving birth to Dovahkiin Tom Kellermeyer at 6:08pm. After some quick snapshots of their newborn and some needed paperwork; the family was victorious. And like promised, Bethesda presented the family with the prize.

            Congrats Megan and Eric on your new child, we wish you and your new Dragon born the best. We now know who to call when we need help with dragons, and we’re sure you’re eager to hear his first words – shouts.

-Joystick Revolution

           

A Modern Renaissance

A cool article we found from USA Today (link below). Art has always been a source of culture and innovation, and who could say that Video Games are any different? Go get em Gamers!

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/story/2011-11-13/video-game-art-artistry/51186704/1

Artists in high demand for video game industry

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY

Are video games works of art? The debate goes on, but there's no question that art is integral to video games.

Bethesda Softworks

A team of 40 artists worked on 'The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim' video game to create a believable fantasy world.

• To compete in the $60 billion global video game marketplace, top studios have assembled NFL-roster-size teams of increasingly specialized artists to create blockbuster titles. And the growing demand for high-profile talent has led colleges and art schools to increase the course and degree options for prospective video game artists.
• "As gaming continues to rise in popularity, cross gender and social boundaries, and expand in what defines a gaming experience, artists of all types will be in high demand to provide all the visual elements we as game consumers expect and at the quality we demand," says Nick Heitzman, a game developer and member of the faculty at the Guildhall graduate game development program at Southern Methodist University.

• REVIEW: 'Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim' a magnificent odyssey
• PHOTOS: Video game art
• REVIEW: New 'Zelda' an enormous, engrossing adventure

The wide variety of art directions that video games are taking will be exhibited in several new releases:
 

• Take Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Revelations. Artists traveled to Istanbul to see the ancient Hagia Sophia to help them re-create their ornate rendition of the one-time Catholic church and Muslim mosque in the 16th-century-based game that comes out Tuesday. ($60 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PCs; ages 17 and up.)

• Another Ubisoft game out Tuesday, Rayman Origins ($60 for PS3, Xbox 360; $50 for Wii; ages 10 and up), brings Disney-like hand-drawn animation.

• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ($50 for Wii; ages 10 and up) has been described as having an impressionistic art style. It comes out Sunday.

• A team of 40 artists helped create 16 square miles of ice-capped vistas and intricate dungeons in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which came out Friday. ($60 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PCs; ages 17 and up.)

• Video game artists face unique challenges because their work is not admired passively. "It's interactive. It's different than if you are making a sculpture or a painting," says Matt Carofano, art director on Skyrim for Bethesda Softworks. "You know that people are going to play this art and not just see it from one specific angle. They are going to walk around it and make up their own story as they look at the work you've made."

• Artists have always been a part of video games and, arguably, it was even tougher for them when game characters and settings were more abstract. "There were great artists working on video games even if it was very low-res," says Assassin's Creed Revelations Art Director Raphael Lacoste. "They had to deal with very low budgets and still do something interesting."

• Despite being pixellated, early video games will be part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Art of Video Games exhibition, which opens March 16, 2012, in Washington, D.C. 

• As games have gained high-definition graphics, the work of artists has become more high-profile. "When people see video games like Uncharted or Assassin's Creed, even if they are working on visual effects for movies, they want to join us now," says Lacoste, himself a former matte painter and concept artist for films including Terminator Salvation and Journey to the Center of the Earth. "You can be more creative in video games, I think."

• Games have caught the attention of prospective students, too. Colleges and art schools have doubled the video game art majors in the last two years, according to The Princeton Review's survey of schools offering video game coursework and degrees.

• "Gaming courses and the number of schools that offer them have only grown" since The Princeton Review and GamePro magazine released a first-ever ranking of undergraduate and graduate programs in February 2010, says David Soto, director of content development at The Princeton Review. "Visual design and art creation, in particular, are two skills that high-ranking schools continue to emphasize."

• In addition to the creative element, video game artists and animators are well-paid. They make, on average, $71,354, according to Game Developer magazine's 2010 annual industry salary survey, though not as much as game programmers, at $85,733 on average.

• For current blockbuster games, budgeted at $40 million to $60 million, artists are needed to conceptualize environments and characters, create visual effects, add lighting and mesh the art with the game programming.

• "We obsess over all the small details," says Bethesda Softworks' Todd Howard, Skyrim game director. "Our art team created all the stuff and placed it all by hand, every tree and every rock."

• With rising interest for games, studios will need a constant flow of artists, says Michel Ancel, creator of the Rayman game franchise. "Video games are just at the start of their history, when you compare them to other styles of art," he says. "Thousands of worlds have yet to be designed, and artists are essential to bring these worlds to life. The story is just beginning."

Staying Connected

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