Skyrim Personal Review

It’s almost dark now as the night draws in, the cold open tundra behind me has taken the best part of the day to traverse and I’m feeling the battle damage more then ever. The bitter winds have forced me to wait and rest so I can regain my health after several tough battles with Giants herding their Mammoth and a rouge Sabre wandering the open space. In the next moment the wind picks up again and distorts the sounds of the incoming enemy, my Nord Warrior Klic turns on the spot looking through the haze of ice and snow trying to pick out the shadows waiting in the distance. My Northern eyes detect the movement and I ready my Sword and Shield; this is the last thing I need I say under my breath as I charge through the shifting darkness. I see the figure slowly walking round to my left, so I swing a heavy blow with my sword and the beast falls. That was lucky I thought as I approached the carcass - tonight I will be eating venison it appears.

The main point I noticed when delving into Skyrim was its magical undertone; it forces players to react in different ways under each circumstance. Sometimes you will be caught off guard by an angry bear while others you will be completely prepared for the worst; the whole experience is richly rewarding and the world is exceptionally immersive. The little touches make the whole experience feel alive; NPCs go about their daily tasks, holding interesting conversations with one another or interacting with the world around them. I won't spoil the activities for you but it is suffice to say that its all a massive improvement over Oblivion.

Skyrim is the Northern province of Tamriel, bordering both Cyrodiil and Morrowind but with a different environment from previous Elder Scrolls. This time the player will wander the icy world venturing to the tallest snowy peaks and the deepest darkest forests. The environment changes as the player travels between towns with forts, caves and shrines scattered across the countryside. The variety of areas, enemies and locations give the whole game a much more varied feel to the sometimes blank Oblivion.

To say the world is varied would be an understatement as you are bound to come across things no-one else has seen. I for example stumbled across a headless body hanging from a tree while friends have seen Dark Elves moving prisoners through the world as well as court jesters in overturned carriages. This all adds to the hugely rewarding experience by offering each player a unique direction using the acclaimed Radiant story engine.

The story kicks off with a bang as you are being taken to you execution, it is in this moment that the game explains its man plot devices and gives you a glimpse of what to expect. It is suffice to say that you have an epic escape but to give away anymore will spoil things for you. You are then pretty much free to explore the whole world but beware wandering too far off the beaten track does mean you'll eventually bite off more then you can chew.

The world around you is already levelled so the further you adventure the harder the enemies become or the more frequently you are attacked. It gives the game a great sense of progression that is usually missing from games of this scope. Bethesda have built a great framework for this game which really makes you feel powerful when you take down an enemy that previously smashed you all over Riften.

The levelling up system is greatly improved too as you can now improve your stats on the go and boost you character in a much more diverse manner. The character creation is affected by the choice of race still but apart from that you can push you character in any direction you like. The actually models are far less ugly too and fit in with the other NPC’s of the world much better then previous instalments. I chose a Nord Warrior (my usual first runner) who in this case wears light armour and feebly attempts to be more agile then your average Viking. I have actually found myself getting attached to his new wife too and her flourishing Blacksmiths. I’m always thinking about coming home for visits and to drop off some of my more important pieces of loot. You can now decorate your hoses too with weapons, apparel and more which adds a nice dimension to an otherwise pretty useless expense.

Speaking of loot the caves and dungeons are much more diverse and filled with almost random equipment, potions and magic. The fact that each area feels individual makes exploration even more exciting and encourages you to come back for more. The systems are deep and the areas are almost labyrinths under the surface of the world making journeys feel dangerous and questing preparations more important then ever.

Of course one of the biggest advertising points for this openworld epic was the inclusion of Dragons. These monstrous combat sequences force you to use your whole arsenal of weapons to bring the beasts down. They hug the skyline and require both ranged and close combat weaponry to bring them to their knees. Of course with every big accomplishment comes big prizes and in this case it is the ability to absorb Dragon Souls. Each soul gives the user the chance to learn one of the new powerful spells useable only by you as the last ‘dragonborn'. These shouts range from freezing enemies to causing weather changes and add a nice new depth to the proceedings. This has actually been one of my favourite new inclusions to the game and increases the usefulness of combat based characters my granting them a more diverse move pool.

Any game of this grand scope is sure to release with some minor glitches and Skyrim is no exception. So far there haven’t been any game-breakers but you could occasionally see texture drop-out and flying enemies. So far I haven’t experienced anything that has even stopped me from playing but some people have expressed their issues on forums where a lot of them resolve once you reloaded a previous save. All in all these are so rare that it doesn’t really affect the quality of the game but should be noted in case you see any weird goings-on.

Overall it is difficult to speak in much more detail without spoiling something for you. I would recommend this adventure to anyone but stress that if you dislike Oblivion or other fantasy games then this might not change your mind - though it'll give it a good go. This is definitely a contender for Game of the Year and anyone who says otherwise is not talking honestly. I would even go as far as to say this is the best Fantasy RPG ever and possibly the best game of this generation. Go and get this game now and hope that it doesn't control your life like it has mine.