PC Review: "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim"

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Release Date: November 11, 2011 (USA)

Premise:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an Open-World Action-Adventure game. Skyrim is similar to Oblivion in that it uses the same engine although it's been heavily modified and improved. You start out as an unknown character who is about to be executed for a crime. Before you can be beheaded, a huge Dragon attacks the town you're in and you escape to a nearby city. After composing yourself, you head out into the world of Skyrim to find out about the Dragons.

Gameplay: 

Like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, gameplay conists of First & Third-Person perspective viewing. Most of the game involves exploring the icy continent of Skyrim in search of Quests, Dungeons, Towns and much more. As with all Bethesda games, there is an extensive loot system in place that lets you pick up (or steal) almost any object in the game world. There are hundreds of weapons to choose from, such as bows and swords as well as magical staffs and shooting magic from your hands or conjuring spells.

Through exploration you can find hundreds of Side Quests and miscellaneous tasks to do through interacting with the environment, talking with people or just simply running around. There are a few new features in the game now in addition to the overhauled inventory and HUD. You can Dual Wield weapons such as two swords, use magic attacks in one hand and a sword in the other and there is also a Sprint feature that lets you run faster for a period of time until your stamina runs out.

The main theme of the game is Dragons. As you explore the world you will come across random encounters with Dragons and other people. Dragons can be defeated to earn Dragon Bones & Scales which can be used to craft Dragon Armor as well as Souls which can be used to unlock Thu'um's that you find around the world; these Thu'um's are powerful blasts of energy known as "Shouts" that deal destruction to your foes.

Graphics:
The Graphics have been drastically improved in Skyrim. The terrain is very complex and real-looking, the buildings have great structural detail and the character models are amazing; all of the textures in the game are pretty top-notch and make the entire atmosphere engulf you into it.

The downside to the typical Bethesda Open-World game is the re-use of textures and interiors. Every single Hotel/Inn that you enter is exactly the same look and setup with no differences at all. A lot of caves and buildings you enter will be modeled very similarly and sometimes identical, giving you the feeling of Deja Vu as you play. While this is disappointing, it is understandable given the scope of the game and in no way does it break your game experience.


Sound:
There is a lot of music in the game and the theme of the game fits very well in the world space. Casting the different spells will create different noises and the sound of swords and melee weapons hitting enemies makes you feel like you're really doing it yourself. The general ambience of the environment is very well done.


Length:
Having an Open-World the size of Skyrim, and knowing that it's a Bethesda game, means that it's going to be very long. I have racked up over 160 hours of gameplay so far and have not finished everything. It would be a safe bet to say that if you wanted to complete the game and collect all of the unique items and do all of the Quests that you could plausibly spend over 200 hours in the game world.


Value:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a huge game with great detail put into the creation of it. As is customary with Bethesda games it seems, there were literally several hundred bugs in the game at launch since Bethesda chose to not do any Beta Testing of the game prior to release. It took several months before the majority of the bugs were fixed, including a few Game-Breaking ones. Given the scope of the game, I would say that it is worth the full retail price.