The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Review

Published By: Bethesda Softworks, Developed By: Bethesda Game Studios, Genre: Role-Playing, Release Date: November 11, Rating: M, Systems: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Price: $59.99

SPOILERS THROUGHOUT

Presentation: You can’t review The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim fairly without talking about its perfomance issues, bugs and glitches. I did play Skyrim on my Playstation 3 for this particular Gamer Blog review article. To say Skyrim is an ambitious game is an understatement. The game is visually stunning and its scale is equally as impressive. Skyrim is an open world game with day and nightime cycles. Animals of Skyrim such as deer, mammoths, elks, trolls and walruses inhabitant the northern mountain land of Tamriel. With Skyrim’s ambitious beautiful huge world came many glitches, bugs, freezes and sometimes hilarious physic effects.

During my playthrough i encountered bandits that float in midair and walk without moving. Anoter glitch happened when i called and captured the dragon Odahviing in Dragonsreach. The trap magically pops up and Odahviing starts dancing (looks like he was dancing). Anyways, i talked to the guard to let the dragon go and in which time the dragon attacks and kills everybody in Dragonsreach. The second time i played the scene Odahviing ends up taking me to Skuldafn on his back. Another glitch happened when i attacked a giant and he hit me so hard i almost flew into orbit.

The latter glitch was actually pretty funny and omg worthy. The game breaking glitches come in the form of freezes and one in particular really really upset me. The final battle with Alduin in Sovngarde. As i took the last of Alduin’s life the game frooze. Keep in mind this was my first time fighting him so i was very upset. How can a game lock-up as you defeat the final boss? It was a coincidence i know but very bad timing on Skyrim’s part.

Apart from the performance issues Skyrim pretty much nails all aspects of presentation. The atmosphere is organic and brimming with detail. The orchestra score is amazing and the visuals are topnotch and were very impressive for an open world game with so much going on. The menus had a nice navigation system for quick access to magics, weapons and anything else for that matter. For the amount of content and detail of each object in Skyrim. For a game that is so layered with options and content i never felt overwhelmed or confused the entire playthrough. Skyrim is ergonomically built for gamers.

Story: The story of Skyrim puts you in the shoes of the Dragonborn who is the one true soul who can defeat the eldest and most powerful dragon in existence “World Eater” known as Alduin. In the beginning of the game Dragonborn was awaiting execution till Alduin showed up which sets off a chain of events all over Skyrim. Alduin immediately started resurrecting dragons to fight along side him. To defeat Alduin Dragonborn has to learn the way of the Voice which is called Shouts. In Skyrim dragons speak through powerful thu’ums which can have all types of  powerful effects. With the help of the Greybeards and Paarthurnax (dragon) on High Hrothgar the Dragonborn learns the way of the voice and Alduin’s source of power and why he’s in Skyrim.

The reason Alduin is in Skyrim was due to him being cast while in the past with an Elder Scroll. Many years ago Skyrim’s greatest heroes Haken One-Eye, Felldir the Great and Germliaith Golden-Hilt battled Alduin. The problem is the three of them couldn’t actually kill Alduin so Felldir the Great banished Alduin to the future which is Dragonborn’s time in Skyrim. You actually do get to fight Alduin in Dragonborn’s time once before going back into time to fight him alongside the three great heroes in Sovngarde. With the help of the Dragonborn’s Dragenrend shout the four of them were  finally able to kill Alduin. When i look back on Skyrim’s story i think its average. You could tell very early what the plot of the game might be about.

The details of Skyrim’s story are drip-fed through moments with NPCs such as Septimus, Paarthurnax and Esbern. Asides from the main story of killing a powerful dragon you have a raging war going on between Ufrec Stprmcloak (Stormcloaks) and General Talius (Legion). Before being able to use Dragansreach to trap Odahviing you must get a treaty done with the two warring factions on High Hrothgar with the Graybeards. My personal opinion is that the best stories i experienced came in the form of random NPC encounters and just playing the game. There are so many natural and memorable moments to be had in Skyrim’s world.

Visuals: Skyrim features a gorgeous world littered with sweeping mountains, forests, caves, waterfalls and even antarctic like settings. Its a vast and very detailed world. Even the thousands of objects you find each have detail you’d never expect. The NPCs are nicely detailed. The wildlife in Skyrim such as Frost Spiders, Ice Trolls and Mammoths all featured nice texture work and imaginative design. The design of some enmies such as the Mechanical Guardians showed off the diversity in Skyrims graphics engine. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a great looking open world game.

Skyrim isn’t perfect however nothing is. I can nitpick how the ground textures look blurry at times but why? The overall game is gorgeous and organic.  The lighting and fog effects while in dungeons and caves created a thick atmosphere as you fight Draugrs, bears or trolls. The special effects from shock, flame magics and dragon shouts were always fun to look at. I also enjoyed the brutal melee finishers. Even the third person viewpoint finally looks good in a Elder Scrolls game. I would switch to third person many times on foot when exploring Skyrim. I also enjoyed riding my horse around and looking at the gorgeous mountain vistas from time to time.

Sound: The Nordic themed orchestra music reminded me of Conan when i was a kid. Its really amazing stuff. When dragons attack the music oftentimes shifts from its calm tranquil melody into a more thunderous beats that got my heart pumping. The music while in castles and villages was atmospheric as well. The sound effects of the dragons were impressive. Many of the voice actors did a fabulous job. I really enjoyed listening to Paarthurnax speak.

Gameplay: Skyrim at its essence is a Role-Playing game. Sure you earn XP for doing practically everything in Skyrim from lockpicking to enchanting your weapon. There are so many areas and stations to hone and level up your abilities. You can use alchemy labs to create potions. Use workbenches for weapon smithing that will improve your weapons and armor. Use cooking pots to create new foods that improve your stamina and health even further. Reading books can open new quests and level up skills. In Skyrim you level up accordingly. What i mean by that is take by Redguard class build for example. For much of the game i used a enchanted melee weapon in my right hand and destruction magic in my left.

My one-hand melee and destruction magic skills ended up being the most advanced skills in the game. For the most part whenever i used a new skill albeit restoration magic, bows or conjuration magic they would level up automatically over time. You do of-course have the ability to choose perks and special skills as your entire class build levels up in Skyrim. You can pick one attribute for Health, Stamina and Magika. You then pick one perk point to unlock a special ability whether its for combat, armor, magic etc. The latter takes place on a nice looking constellation screen that was easily navigate and shows you exactly what skill you unlock does.

You can assign all food,  magics, shouts, potions and scrolls to a quick access menu for use in-battle. Skyrim has a great amount of flexibilty regarding its combat. I duel wielded magics and weapons. I used a sheild in left hand and melee weapon in right. I used a bow. You can upgrade your skills to make duel wielding magics and weapons much more powerful. The problem was never with the diversity and content of Skyrim’s combat.

The problem is with the combat itself. Its just not visceral or engaging and for the most part its not challenging. The only challenge if you can call it that was the boss fight with Nahkriin. The highlight of Skyrim’s combat should of been dragon battles. They weren’t because they weren’t challenging. Dragons just flew around in circles depending if you have Draganrend you could knock them down and just beat them to a pulp. The attack patterns of each dragon was virtually identical and predictable.

Replayability: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim took me 49 hours to complete. For the most part that was with a few side quests completed but mostly the 18 main quests. As far as replay value take your pick. You can play the game with different race build or continue playing in Skyrim’s sandbox after you killed Alduin. The goreous world of Skyrim is charming enough to keep you playing long after you completed the main story.

Final Verdict: Skyrim is a great Role-Playing game make no mistake. Its big, ambitious and filled an unbelievable amount of content. But like with many ambitious games there are problems. those being bugs, freezes and glitches.

8.5/10