Written by: Jim777 on November 19, 2011.

I have been waiting for this game for a long time. Ever since i completed Oblivion, and ever since they announced it i knew the next Elder Scrolls game would be amazing. It has taken Bethesda five long years to forge, but the resulting game, Skyrim, is a masterpiece. One of the best games of this console generation, and easily the best game of 2011.

Story

Skyrim takes place 200 years after the events of Oblivion, in the Nord’s homeland of Skyrim. You are the first Dovahkiin (dragon born) to be revealed in a very long time. Skyrim has recently witnessed the return of the most ancient and powerful beings, the Dovah (dragons). Lead by the ancient dragon Alduin, who is known as the World Eater, the dragons pose a threat to not only Skyrim but the very existence of man. Skyrim’s story is rich with lore and truly epic. Not the overused version of the word epic, but the literal meaning of the word. This story overflows with passion, the dragons are powerful and commanding, the language primal and brutal, and throughout your adventure you will be forced to make choices that will have huge impacts on the world. However the Dragons are not the only thing commanding your attention, the Nords are at war with the Empire, and you as the powerful hero are free to join one side, or the other, or neither. There are also 4 Guilds in Skyrim, The companions, College of Winterhold, Thieves Guild, and The Dark Brotherhood. All of these guilds have members to meet and get to know, and a story line that is by no mean brief or lacking in value. Just like its older brother some of Skyrims best moments are had in the Guild quests. Of course your tale is not just about what you do in the main quests, there also hundreds of side quests, and infinite radiant quests to be done. Skyrim is a game that will last you hundreds of hours, and hundreds more should you play again as a new race, build, etc. My gameplay time as of this review is 75 hours. This is a story that you will pen. It is deep, it is engaging, and filled with absolute jaw dropping moments.

Gameplay

If you played Oblivion then you will feel right at home with Skyrim, combat has had some great tweaks. You can now select what to hold in each hand, two swords, a sword and spell, or two spells. Its up to you how you want to play. I played mainly as a mage, with archery and one handed for backup should my magic fail. Slow motion finishing moves ala Fallout, simplified leveling, and a compression of skills has made Skyrim far more open to new players. Rather then the level formula of Oblivion you gain levels in skills as you use them, and once you gain enough your overall level goes up. You then add 10 points to magic health or stamina, and chose a perk. Perks result in you being able to do gain new powers and abilities, such as a new spell set for mages, or quicker more powerful attacks for warriors, there are tons of perks and you wont be able to see them all in one character. Now in Oblivion magic felt kind of like a helper but never a main combat weapon, you could not really fight with just magic. The main reasons for this was that your spells where never as potent as a sword and if they where they demanded to much magic. Skyrim as refined this and made magic a real option, and if you pursue the mages guild you will be showered with gear that will last you the whole game and will allow you to feel like a true and powerful wizard. There still remain some quirks to the combat, if you are using fireballs against enemies you will still tend to singe the hairs of your friends who are up close, but overall combat is many times easier then in Oblivion when traveling with a friend.

A Living Breathing World

Skyrim is a world. Pure and simple. There are people who live in it, who work, sell goods, eat dinner, and more. Every person does something and they are actively doing at all times. NPCs have real conversations with one another, about recent events, the goings on in town, and more. You walk into homes decorated with all kinds of things, things you can admire or steal and sell. Every book on a shelf has things written in it, some tell stories, other are humorous. Some are even in languages you dont understand. The world is also huge, there 9 main cities each with their own Jarl or King, 6 smaller towns, and of course hundreds of dungeons, caves, camps etc to discover. Every citizen has a name, and when they die they do not come back. People dont just stop what they are doing to talk to you, they will flat out ignore you or continue to do what they where doing, all while chatting. Items do not respawn, take a the sword from that desk and its not going to reappear later on. Also should you steal from someone and they find out they will send thugs after you so watch your back.

DRAGONS

The Dovah are a big part of Skyrim, they are your main enemy and also tied deeply into the games lore and history. Throughout your travels a dragon may fly overhead, he may just roar and continue on his way. Or he may land and fight you. These are not scripted. These are not planned. Dragons are organic enemies just like the bunnies on the side of the road. This means a few things, one you can be attacked anytime anyplace. In a city? Your still fair game. Should that happen NPCs will rush to the defense of their homes, and may in fact die. Every dragon fight is unique. The fight themselves are epic, the thundering theme song will begin to play, the dragon will breath fire as it flies, land and snap with its jaws, swat you with its tail, pick enemies up and drop them from great heights, and more. Dragons also come in different shapes and sizes, some breath fire other ice. Some breath both, and some are not even made of skin and flesh. Each time you kill a Dragon you will take its soul, which you will use to unlock Thu’um or shouts in the dragon language. These shouts have great power to them, and will be very useful throughout your adventure.

Presentation

Skyrim is beautiful, 70 hours in and my jaw still dropped when i entered new areas, the ending area alone had me mopping drool from my floor. Also do yourself a favor and look up. The sky in this game is amazing, and at night you will see the stars and you will notice that as you level up some stars glow brighter. As you put points into skill trees you make those constellations appear in the night sky. Its awesome. Races all look very distinct in Skryim as well, rather then the re texturing of humans that took place in Oblivion. Each race has a very distinct look, and everyone looks a lot better then people did in Oblivion. Women look attractive and not just like men with long hair, and Orcs look like they could break your spine without breaking a sweat.

However….and this hurts me to do. Presentation is not perfect. I played Skyrim on my PlayStation 3, and as you may or may not know the game has some issues on PS3. The main problem is a memory issue, if you play for a long time then the frame rate may start to dip (what many call lag.) The simple answer is to quit the game and restart it. Now i did not mind doing this a few time… but it happend enough to get annoying. Whats more is that in a game as immersive as Skyrim, being pulled out of the world and reminded your not really there makes every little bug all the more annoying. I don’t know if this issue exists on Xbox, im sure it doesnt on PC. That said Bethesda has a patch hitting the game the week after Thanksgiving, and has pledged they will have the fps bug fixed ASAP. Another issue that may be minor to some but major to people like me is that when you place items in your home, if you leave and come back they will bug out and fall to the ground. This makes decorating your house near impossible save for the new weapon racks and bookshelves wich are scripted to help you out.

Lasting Choices

Choices redefine the world of Skyrim, the most dramatic case is the war. Should you chose to side with the rebellion or the Empire. You will quickly find that there is no easy answer, and you can ask many NPCs about their stance and they will give you wildly different stories and answers, and once you chose a side there is no going back. You will sack cities and capture forts, and slay dozens of the enemy. Of course there are far more many mico choices, should you tell the elf girl the bard fancies her or lie and have her hate him forever? Should you take this strangers dare to a drinking contest? (should you ever find that stranger DO IT) Should you listen to that damn preacher one more time or just kill him in his sleep? Its all for you to chose!

This Is my Game of the Year

This game is the reason i play games, this is the reason i own console, this is the reason i tolerate the rest of the crap out out, this is what keeps me sane in a world where Call of Duty exists. Skyrim is without peer or question the single best game of this year, it is one of the best games of this console generation, and it is on track to be my favorite game of all time. I could go on and on and on, and as it is i havent even touched on, or even seen for myself half of the content in this game, there are daedric artifacts to collect, skills to level, spells to learn, and i swear to god i promised a lady i would help find her kid within the first hour of the game and i have never done it! Its been months since she last saw her child! So back in i go, to slay more dragons, learn more shouts, kill more baddies, and possibly rob a shop or two.

Skyrim (PS3)
Gameplay
Fun epic open combat, fluid easily leveling, and more

Presentation
Jaw dropping visuals, fluid animation, and amazing vitas

Length
Massive, and near endless

Bugs
I die a little inside to do this, but until they are fixed the game is not quite perfect. However when you take into consideration the scale of the game, and that its the most bug free of any of their games so far, Bethesda has earned some praise.