[quote=mdk]
Actively playing it. Lemme tell you what's up.1. Cost: Yes, this game costs money. If that's a problem, don't play it. Currently on steam sale half off; for $30 you can get the game and a month's subscription.2. Subscription fee is paying for massive content updates. Since launch, roughly 50 hours of pure story content has been added, and more is on the way.3. The $20 to unlock horses and races is misleading. The game was launched with an 'Imperial edition' (special edition), which gave you access to the Imperial race (a universal foe of all three alliances, story-wise) and a cheap horse in-game. After launch, some people decided they wanted the horse but didn't want to pay for imperial edition -- so the 'Palomino Horse' was added as a stop-gap for people who wanted that. They've since added an Imperial Edition upgrade option, so the Palomino is irrelevant; in each case, the horses are worthless when compared to in-game mounts. The only advantage is that they're cheap, so you can have a horse for RP purposes when you start. These are the only paid items in the game; as I said, they're outclassed by the other mounts in the game. 4. Everyone says the game is mediocre because the launch was ****bad*****.. Bugs, bots, and bad reviews -- and that's all most people know about the game. Here's what you know:1. The 'PvE' content -- quests, main plotline, team dungeons, monster hunting, exploration -- is some of the best in the industry. Really.2. The writing is phenomenal. ESO's main plot makes Skyrim look like a saturday morning cartoon. But it's not just the main story -- there are 1500 missions, all fully voiced, all thoroughly well-written, all unique. None of that 'go find me 20 bear bungholes and return for XP' bullshit -- you'll be solving murders, conducting diplomacy, MAKING NORD MEAD, getting into prank wars with Khajiit -- good shit. BUT IT DOESN'T EVEN END THERE. In every corner of every map, there's more story and lore packed in than you can possibly imagine. There is so fucking much in this game. Seriously. 3. The PVP content -- fighting against other players -- is like nothing I've ever seen before. People compare it to Guild Wars 2, which I never played, but if you know what that is, apparently it's similar. It's *nuts*. Massive, massive, massive wars. Not perfectly balanced yet, but they're getting there.4. The social aspect was part of the problem all along, it turns out. Everybody who hated the game has left, and ever since then, it's been a dream to play. 5. The future is looking really, really freakin' good. We're going to Black Marsh and Orsinium in Hrothgar (that's Argonians and Orcs). Rumor has it Elsweyr is next. Game-changing new features like open-world PVP/stealing/NPC-murder-sprees is coming soon in the 'Justice System.' Spellcrafting (from way back in Morrowind) is making a return. New animations, more complex zones, a 'Champion System' to let you take advantage of multiple characters and add more customization..... Anyway I like it, if you didn't get that impression. If I get back on my main PC and you're still interested I'll dig out some screenshots.
[/quote]

I wish I had the time and money for this kind of thing.