What do you love most about Bethesda games?

[rEDNESS]

What's the thing you draw the most enjoyment from in a Bethesda game? If it's not listed, don't vote, just post it below. The depth of the story not just in the game itself but even in the little short stories found in books scattered throughout the game. The only thing I've never liked is the animations. But according to recent interviews with Todd it seems they have fixed that with their "secret project that is hopefully and better be TES V.

[Patrician]

Since I was forced to choose I went with the lore. No lore from any other series whether it be, books, movies, or games have never interested me as much as the world Bethesda has created here with Elder Scrolls. Don't even get me started on the fact readable books exist in the games. Not to mention the leveling system! I mean really, why don't most rpg's use it? It makes sense that I should improve my blade skill by using a sword. Not by casting healing spells.

[Federer]

I love the lore and detail. Sadly I could only pick one, I picked lore. I love that TES is fleshed out starting with Arean and more added to each incarnation of the game. I also love the game is open world, doesn't end if you don't like it and at least in the beginning of the game, the game feels different if I play a thief in one game, or a mage or warrior in another game. In Fallout the character seems the same but in TES there is a difference at least in the beginning of the game. Towards the end, they all become the same, no matter what race or class you select.

[Logistical]

Personally, what it comes down to is the level of immersion. Everything from the first person perspective to the open-ended design of the quest structure to the little discoverable vignettes that are scattered throughout the world all of it comes together to make it an experience that I can really believe in. If I can't trust that, on some level, this world I'm interacting in could be real - if I have even the smallest voice in my head reminding me of the flaws, inconsistencies, and other problems - it's impossible for me to get attached. The world either needs to be virtually bug-free, or it needs to be so well-designed and immersive that I don't care about the bugs. For me, Bethesda is one of the very few developers capable of accomplishing the latter.

[Jacinte]

I like the fact that at least in Morrowind and Oblivion, haven't got around to playing the earlier games yet you're not railroaded into following the main quest. Once you're out in the world you can do whatever you like. I finally got around to completing Morrowind's MQ sometime last year, despite buying the game when it was first released. Detail and scope for me, closely followed by lore. I love being able to go off for a wander (usually with a few books in tow) and completely forget I'm supposed to be saving the world I don't think there are many games that are so interesting and involving outside of the main questline.

[Algonkin]

The open ended nature of the games is what keeps me interested, even after years of frequent play. Most of my characters have avoided the MQ, although I've done it more than once. The freedom to go about your own business and for you to be able to "guide the character" instead of merely "follow the plotline" is what sets it far above the routine, linear, scripted "competition". That's just not possible without "quantity", but the quality of all that quantity in the TES games has also been very good, at least in the last two installments in the series. Obviously, DF had far more quantity than any of the others, but things were obviously "procedurally generated" and either blatantly repetitive or too random, and the quality was a lot more marginal in some places than others.

[Gajendra1]

It's hard to single out a part of an Elder Scrolls game and say "This is why I like it" because the game is greater than the sum of it's individual parts. Isolate the basics of the game, and individually, they don't stand up very well, especially the AI and Combat. But when put together in the seamless package, you easily forget that any "7.5" Unreal3 Shooter has much better overall combat and AI, and sort of zen out, I can only point to one thing that could accomplish this, and that's the exploration used as an actual mechanic of the game, rather than a distraction.