PC Gamer gives ESO 68/100

Review here ...and I agree 100%.

The gist of it.....

"Every modern Elder Scrolls game has had a moment near the beginning where you step out into a new landscape and think I've never been somewhere like this before. In Morrowind it hit as you left Seyda Neen and realised that the road ahead went in two directions, and that you could follow either of them, and that each direction would take you on an entirely different journey through the world. In Oblivion it occurred when you escaped out onto the edge of Lake Rumare and saw the hills rise ahead of you along the road to Bruma. In Skyrim you emerged onto a mountainside with the Throat of the World on one side, the valley of Falkreath on the other, and a dragon in the skies above.

I have spent thirty hours playing The Elder Scrolls Online and I'm still waiting for that moment. I'm waiting for anything like that moment."

@vfibsux:

Well to each his own I guess.

What it really comes down to is expectations based off of the Elder Scrolls name. Every bad review has been about how it's not enough like the past Elder Scrolls games. I don't necessarily think that's fair because this is an MMO and not the next Elder Scrolls game.

Personally I think that score is absolutely ridiculous. The graphics, sound, atmosphere, quest and crafting are all fantastic. And I think the combat is just awesome now that I'm getting a higher level. I did not always feel this way about the game and it's not perfect but in my opinion it's easily one of the best MMOs on the market. Needs some polish and bug fixes and don't get me started on the loot system in dungeons but I love the game.

And to be honest it's different..it's not a WoW clone in any way. The added 1st person is really enjoyable and the crafting system is better than any other MMO I have played. And you really can make any kind of character you want....there are no limits really.

IMO the ip is both good and bad for this game. Elder Scrolls is a massive ip to try to tackle.

Just seems every single complaint is a comparison to a past TES games...

Should this game be reviewed based on what it is or what the past single player Elder Scrolls games were? I think the love or hate of the game comes from the answer to that question.

sounds about right

If you are going to bear the Elder Scrolls name, lore, atmosphere, mechanics, art style, etc....you should expect comparisons to it. Basically you are showing me a screenshot of Skyrim and calling it ESO, but then when I play ESO and say "hey this isn't Skyrim" you tell me it is not fair to compare? You gave me the bad of Skyrim like crap inventory management but took away what makes Skyrim great like a vast open world that feels alive, rather than linear, then ask me not to compare.

Well I have no idea why you feel the world is not alive...I find it just the opposite.

I'm not telling you that you are wrong for comparing it to the past games, I'm saying that seems to be the deciding factor. I never expected anything like the single player experience so I never had that handicap per se.

Not a terrible score given how mediocre the game really looks. I've heard some good things but overall it seems very average to medicore and it's not really comparable to the series of which its named.

Not a bad score based on how it looks?

And from everything I heard about the beta tests and whatnot from experienced MMO gamers. Nothing to get really excited about.

ok, I usually try a game myself while not in beta before I decide if a score is legit. But I understand...kinda.

Not to have to speak for him but it sounds like all he was saying is the score is consistent with popular opinion.

Yeah, I guess that makes sense.

Basically this.

Seems its meeting the expectations I had for it.

I also dont bother trying every game to form an opinion. That costs too much. I'm not going to spend $60 on a game that could be crap. I take other people's opinions seriously. I measure a game based upon the opinion's of people and my own personal interest. If I don't care about a game much yet a lot of people speak highly of it, the game may peak my interest. If I have a lot of interest in a game yet people are really hating on it, I may decide against buying it. Of course I have interest in the game and the reviews and opinions of the game are mixed, I'll probably still play it.

If this game had not been an Elder Scrolls game it would have gotten a much higher score in general...I believe that 100%. It just has too much good going for it.

It's a disappointment only because it's got the Elder Scrolls name for most people who dislike it. High expectations almost always leave you with disappointment. Some people just don't like it...I get that too.

I get that but to say "Not a terrible score given how mediocre the game really looks" sounds like you're agreeing with a score of a game you never played. Your opinion of a game score means little to nothing in that situation...but I get what you're saying now.

Good, now if Bethesda could leave that MMO fantasy of theirs behind and move on to ES6, I would be SOOOOOOO happy.

As a MMORPG, this game has what I want in regards to a theme-park MMORPG. But I am willing to admit that this isn't the future of the genre considering games like Everquest Next and even other titles like Star Citizen. Like I said before, the one thing that is against ESO is the Elder Scrolls games that came before it. People aren't comparing it to other successful MMORPGs.

With that said I am glad that everyone wants The Elder Scrolls VI. When I was playing Daggerfall I had no idea how big this franchise would be.

ESO is a really good MMORPG, but it is not the same experience you have in a game like Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls Online was in development for 6 to 7 years. I think technology in 2014 is suitable for what we want out of a 3rd generation MMORPG, let alone an actual online verison of TES. But think about how technology was 7 years ago when the development of ESO began. From the beginning the odds were already against ZoS.

I think MMOs are going to start leaning towards more sandbox so yes ESO might not be the future. That said it's as good as any MMO out there in my opinion...minus some polish and bugs. I think it has a ton of potential and as long as the endgame is decent I think it will have a long life.

I played the Beta and ended up buying it... I am not renewing the subscription after the first month is over.

The only reason I got the game is because I thought it was unfair to judge it off of the beta but turns out its the same game as the beta that or my experience with it is the same.

Personally this game would have no legs to stand on if it wasn't called Elder Scrolls.

How can I take a reviewer seriously when he compares a SP Game to an MMO...?

I disagree. It deserves a 60% based on the game alone. I've played it through 4 betas. The world isn't interesting, the game mechanics are bad, and inventory management is terrible. Plus it plays like an MMO not a 3rd person RPG. It's just an average game at best. There is the occasional fun quest and the occasional cool location. The voices are well done and the soundtrack is great but it isn't enough to push it into the realm of good.

@ferrari2001:

And I disagree with you. The quest are very well done and there are few "kill 10 rats"quest. I personally love the combat. Graphics and sound are both well done and character customization is really open to do what ever you want. But again the elder scrolls name means little to me.

Honestly, if it was just "good not great" I wouldn't terribly mind. The main shitter is the supremely arrogant price point. The exclusive bullshit and the supposed miceotransaction shop on top of that. "**** off" seems like the appropriate response.

Saying that, World Of Warcraft is also guilty of this bullshit. Seems if I want value I go to Lord Of The Rings Online (not great) or Guild Wars 2.

I want the experience that Skyrim gave me when I play an Elder Scrolls game. That experience, unfortunately. doesn't translate well in an MMORPG.

Well the less people who buy it is better for me... f2p faster lol.

One thing did look interesting, and that was the open world pvp. I saw a stream and one person was just going full tdm get 30+ kills lol.

The more that I hear about that it isn't anything like Skyrim makes me want to play it a bit. Skyrim didn't have any depth to the gameplay(no parrying, no skill chains, slow paced), 8 hour storyline, etc. TESO's combat looks like it has more depth, not that that means much if you are comparing it to Skyrim.

Making it go F2P might make it worse, cause then you get all the kiddies and idiots that don't want to pay in the game.

Yeah f2p community is horrible, but I don't want to dish $60 for a game I might not play too much and the $15 monthly fee.

if this game did not have the elderscrolls name attached, it would have been a F2P garbage game that was forgotten before it even launched.

the game is bad. that score is pretty generous for how bad it is. face it BSC14.... the negatives that are being spoken about the game are justified. it is just not special in any way.

bethesda didnt make ESO.... soooo....

You're over the top reaction and hate completely voids your opinion of the game. I get it though...it's how I felt about GW2 which got high scores and is no where close to being as good as ESO imo.

I don't need to face anything, I know it's flaws and I know it's not a perfect game but I like it and think the pros outweigh the cons. I know the negatives, I play it. I'm ok with people talking about the negatives...every game has some.

But again if people didn't expect it to take gaming to the next level just because it says Elder Scrolls in the title then they might see it's a good game. But they just can't get past the fact that it's not "the next elder scrolls"....it's an MMO.

The quote above (airshocker) is a perfect example of the problem with this game:

"I want the experience that Skyrim gave me when I play an Elder Scrolls game. That experience, unfortunately. doesn't translate well in an MMORPG."

It is not the next elderscrolls.....if that's what you expected, you're going to be disappointed.And this is the problem with the very large majority of the bad reviews...they wanted the next elder scrolls. Even the review in progress on this website says: "Perhaps it's unfair to expect The Elder Scrolls Online to deliver the freedom of an offline adventure, but given its title, there's no escaping such comparisons. Certain elements of Elder Scrolls design simply don't translate to a massively multiplayer theme park, though I greatly respect Zenimax Online's dedication to immersing you as much as possible in this relatively traditional MMOG"

I'm not telling you to not hate the game, I don't care one way or the other but if you and others can bash I can post the positives as well. This board is not a one-way street owned by the haters, it's a two way street.

So far it is about a 7.5/10 for me. PvP is good, but is definatly is far from perfect.

because the people who make games spew about as much nonnsense as those who review them. people like cliff blezszcszinsky, peter molyneux and cevat yerli, to name a few.

@BSC14 i don't see how you can fault people for judging the game without experiencing it fully (not playing the finished game) while you can judge the review without... experiencing it fully. you haven't read the entire pc gamer review so how can you criticize the one paragraph and assume that's the only reason it got a 68/100? i mean, maybe you have read the review but you haven't addressed any other complaints he might have so i'm assuming you haven't.

honestly, i really wanted to like ESO and i went in with an open mind (i'm not even a huge fan of elder scrolls and i only played skyrim properly and that was spent mostly modding. did love what i played though) and i couldn't like the game. i've said this before on these forums and i'll say it again; i hate bad UIs and i'll tolerate them in games that don't depend on them, but MMOs and strategy games do depend on them heavily. that's obviously something that's easily fixable but it's one of the things that turned me off. the game didn't feel bad to me, but it had many things that don't appeal to me and it didn't do them in a way to make them attractive to me.

i won't go so far as to say what they did was wrong, because they might just have been aiming at gamers who aren't like me, but as someone who was really hoping to like ESO and wasn't expecting an elder scrolls game, i will say that there's nothing in the beginning to grab you and to compel you to keep playing just a little bit more.

Well first off what I criticized was not that he judged a game "without experiencing it fully" but that he agreed with a particular score when he never played the game. Or that is what I thought he was saying at the time. How would it be possible to score a game when you never played it? Do you normally give games a score based off of others opinions or do you try it yourself in most cases?

As far as this review goes I did scan through it enough to get an idea what he liked and did not like and I agree with some of it too. But here is the deal, I have played this game enough to know it has enough good qualities that it's at a minimum an 8 out of 10. Just based off of the combat, graphics, sound, crafting, character creation freedom and for the most part very good voice acting.

Example, I hated GW2....it just was not for me. To me it was being way over hyped as the "next evolution in mmos" but to me it was not even as good as some of the older mmos on the market. That said I do see that it is a quality product in a lot of areas and that it just was not what I was looking for. The game looked nice, had decent sound, great environments, amazing amount of detail in the world and a lot of people liked the "dynamic events". Based on that I would give the game an 8 at minimum because even though I did not care for parts of it, I can see it is a quality product in some areas.

But hey that's just how I see it, imo it deserves a minimum of 8 based off of the things I listed there but again, to each his own I guess.

@BSC14 i guess we're just different players, then. i loved gw2, i've sunk around 600 hours into it and i'll continue to sink more when i need to scratch the MMO itch (no monthly fees!).

what it comes down to, i guess, is that review scores are useless for the hardcore crowd. i can see why many people would love ESO, the visuals/sound/environments/world/character customization are all great, but i don't see it as something better than what the current MMOs offer. as far as i can tell, it just did something different. i'd never give a 9/10 to the game i played in beta, based on the gameplay (i hated the combat, and that's not something that has a quick fix), though i'm sure the devs will continue to improve it.

i played around 5 hours of the beta so my word doesn't mean much, either.

Well let me say this about the beta. Out of the last 5 or 6 weekend events I missed one and I only missed it because I had no interest due to disappointment in the game. In the previous weekend betas I just kept going back to see if it had gotten better.

Then the second to last weekend beta I decided to try it out and see if there was anything there that grabbed me enough to change my mind. A lot of the bugs had been fixed, animations were a bit better and the combat had been polished a lot and after a few hours of play I had changed my mind.

Now I have sank a ton of time into it and keep recreating different characters to try different builds...trying to decide what I will settle on.

Point is I didn't like ESO at one time and even bashed the game on a couple different forums. The animations just drove me up the wall and while they are better now, they could still use some love.

As far as GW2 what pissed me off was the praise it got for the dynamic events. To me they felt incredibly artificial and the devs touted them as if it were something new when both WAR and Rift had done it before, they just didn't base all of leveling on them like GW2 did.

Anyway, I might go back and try GW2 again at some point...

Think of it like a book you really loved and when you went to see the movie half of it did not follow the book. By itself the movie may be great, but when it sways too far from the book it ends up tarnishing the movie. Best analogy I can give you here.

Come on dude you are being intellectually dishonest here. Play fair.

I get that, I really do.

That's why I said I'm not saying comparing it is wrong per se...I don't think the hardcore fans can help but compare it.

1. F2p in six months.

2. Servers shut down a year from now.

3. Oh well.

because it claims to bring the ES experience into a huge open world spanning the entire ES planet at once and fails to deliver on matching the experience and the lore. Go make an MO based on, say...Warhammer 40k, then throw out all the lore and make a drab, grey, flat world, and that's what ESO did with the ES name.

That's just so stupid.

My apologies.... must be that time of month for me :P

Well there is some logic there to be honest.

It would make more sense and be more fair if it were compared to other mmos vs single player games considering design differences.

It was never said that this was supposed to be a single player game so is grading it against single player fair? Personally I don't think so...but you know...I'm just a fanboy I guess. :)

That was my initial point. I agree with parts of the review but he keeps comparing it to Oblivion and Skyrim, which although has the same series name, is a completely different beast.

No MMO can bring across the freedom and related things a SP game can, while vice-versa a SP game can't bring across a lot of things an MMO can.

Imagine if for some reason this Elder Scrolls was an RTS, or a turn based card game in the Elder Scrolls Universe, would it still be fair to compare it to Skyrim and Oblivion?

The reviewer admitted he only played less than 30 hour. He didn't even beat the main pre-vr quest or got to the end game zones.

At that like reviewing vanilla wow at lvl 40 instead of 60 and experiencing zero end game content.

Just another MMO

The game is a bit rough around the edges, but at its core, its still pretty fun. I expect some of the edges to be smoothed out with updates. Also the forums for the game are TERRIBLE. What was zenimax thinking?

It is a pretty polarizing mmo, with some reviewers stating it is terrible, with some saying it is excellent. But I think the best way to describe it would be mediocre, or average. It isn't the best game out there, but it isnt the worst out there either, one might play it, get bored after an hour or 2, then come back later on, and in the end forget the whole experience with the game.

Giving it the Elder Scrolls name though was a serious mistake, in more ways than one.

Pretty much it in a nutshell bro, we truly can't lol. When you spend hundreds of hours in a game and then are given another bearing the name and the much of the same the comparison is natural.

If you need to play a game for more than 30 hours to get to the part you like something is wrong.