Elder Scrolls Online - Reviews In Progress

Myrthos

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Here are a few reviews in progress for The Elder Scrolls Online. They are in progress as it apparently takes a bit more time to review an online game and I guess they need to write something every now and then. Anyway, if you need some impressions before deciding to enter, perhaps these will help.

Destructoid

At this time, I can safely recommend The Elder Scrolls Online to people who are both fans of traditional MMOs and Elder Scrolls in general -- everyone else should probably pick it up on a sale or wait and see how the subscription fee system fares. Stay tuned as we cover The Elder Scrolls Online throughout the launch -- next on Friday evening after testing out roughly a week of the live environment and the launch-day festivities (or wait queues).
IGN

This sense of exploration extends to smaller things as well, such as the skyshards scattered throughout the world that grant you an extra skill point if you gather three of them (and thus smartly downplaying the importance of leveling so players don't rush through). Treasure chests dot the world plentifully, and since many of them hold meaningful rewards, making it worth it to stop and see what goodies emerge. It's such a nice change of pace from the frantic rushes you find in other MMOs these days, where people just want to speed through the content with little care about their surroundings.
Just Press Start

So far, The Elder Scrolls Online surpassed my expectations. If you are a fan of The Elder Scrolls series and love everything about it, The Elder Scrolls Online will please you as it has everything that you love in an ES game. It may not be your traditional MMO that you are accustomed to, but what Zenimax did in this game makes it stand out from the rest of the competition. Let’s wait until I hit the end-game for the final verdict but as it stands right now, the game is enjoyable and I can see myself playing this game for a long time coming.
More information.
 
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The amount of false-praise in these reviews…it's like they are compelled by some force to recommend the game…despite knowing the game just isn't very good. Case in point:

"Yes, there are many things going against The Elder Scrolls Online, but based on my time with the live environment, it's still a serviceable game…" -Destructiod

Ok…so "serviceable" now means "safely recommend".

And Just Press Start's drivel, "If you are a fan of The Elder Scrolls series and love everything about it, The Elder Scrolls Online will please you as it has everything that you love in an ES game."

That is both factually wrong and laughably absurd. Let me clear things up: TESO is a cheap (but very costly) imitation of TES that relies on tired MMO tropes.

Games journalism these days…
 
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Let me clear things up: TESO is a cheap (but very costly) imitation of TES that relies on tired MMO tropes.

Thank you for letting know your opinion on ESO. That's OK to do it.

I have my own opinion as well. In my opinion ESO is fine. Well, I spent about 2000 hours in LOTRO. I wonder how many hours I'm going to spend in ESO. If I spend at least 1000 hours that would be a big success. But even 200 hours is enough to make the game more than good in my opinion. So far I've been in game for 25 hours.
 
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I think the game is fantastic. I have been playing since Sunday and have a lvl 20 Dragon Knight. Also, up to lvl 10 in blacksmithing. While people like Brumbek have nothing better to do then complain about a game they don't play I will be having a grand adventure in the Elder Scrolls Universe.

Only reason I am not playing atm is that the servers are down for the official launch. Some of the best money I ever spent getting in the 5 day head start.

Let me clear this up. If you like MMO's and Elder Scrolls I think you can not go wrong with this game. Not perfect but damn am I having a fun time.
 
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Exactly. After more then a few years of Asian themed copycat clone MMO's, ESO is a breath of fresh air. No lock boxes and PTW being shoved down your throat every five minutes in the game. Exploration! I'm enjoying the quests for the first time in a long while. I think the graphics look fine and I haven't enjoyed a MMO like this in a very long time.
 
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While people like Brumbek have nothing better to do then complain about a game they don't play I will be having a grand adventure in the Elder Scrolls Universe.

It is my sworn duty to speak ill of all lame cash-grabs by big publishers. This is my quest, and it is a worthy endeavor indeed.
 
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While people like Brumbek have nothing better to do then complain about a game they don't play I will be having a grand adventure in the Elder Scrolls Universe.
So if an actual reviewer said the game sucked, would you also say they have nothing better to do than complain about a game they don't play? Or is it all different because they got paid to say it?
 
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A reviewer would be obligated to actually know a bit about the game.
 
Fair enough, I have no idea how extensive Brumbek's experience with the game is.
 
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I'll wait a couple months until the hoopla and rose-tinted glass syndrome dies down. Nothing I've seen as of yet makes the game stand out from mediocrity.
 
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I'm having a lot of fun in the game, more so than with any other MMO at launch and I've been playing them since the 1996. When I played the beta a few months ago I was completely turned off by the game due to its different feel but each beta things seemed more polished. If you're tired of playing yet another WoW clone try the game out. Yes some things are like WoW they kinda have to be but there is enough different here to make me excited to play MMO's again.
 
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I am not friend of reviews in progress. It's just incoherent and usually boring to read.
 
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I'm having a lot of fun as well, but yesterday was a bit disappointing. Taking it down for 4+ hours during prime gaming time in Europe is aweful. I hope for their sake that they manage to sort the timing of the maintenance, keeping it either at night or during work hours.

Beyond that, we've encountered a few annoying quest bugs, but for an MMO launch it's very smooth overall. Looking forward to playing more this weekend.
 
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I'll wait a couple months until the hoopla and rose-tinted glass syndrome dies down. Nothing I've seen as of yet makes the game stand out from mediocrity.

This is the best attitude I've seen so far.
Not just because of absence of love/hate extremes, but also no mention of centuries and stuff.

Wasting decades on a game doesn't really guarantee that the game is good. It says only that the player felt safe enough to grow roots and refuses to go out and get lucky play other games for different experience.
Pet Society syndrome.
 
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The beta was really bland, but it could be a lack of polish when I played it. To be honest I also did not play that many hours because it didn't manage to catch my interest. I'll do what Drithius said: wait a couple of months.

Diablo 3 managed to become really fun, so I guess that is possible for ESO as well. :)
 
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Fair enough, I have no idea how extensive Brumbek's experience with the game is.

I played more than enough of the betas to know TESO wasn't very good. Stiff animations, clunky combat, broken collision detection, very poor lighting, overly-large empty landscapes, terrible 1st person interaction, contrived writing...

I've come to realize the MMO-market is quality-starved. MMO players have to accept terrible game design...hence TESO is getting praise because it is slightly less bad than most MMOs. Hence these reviewers "praise" the game when really they are just saying the game isn't "as bad" as XYZ MMO.
 
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