The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

Today saw the release of the next instalment in the Elder Scrolls series of games, Skyrim.  The Elder Scrolls series of games are considerably popular but are often considered to be for 'nerdy' types who play World of Warcraft, have no normal friends and spend there free time dressing up as Orcs and Elves.  While a select few do fall into this stereotype, most are not like this and more likely are serious gamers who treat fantasy games as guilty pleasures.  Oblivion managed to persuade many gamers that the Elder Scrolls games were awesome games and put the series on the commercial map, with the anticipation of Skyrim appealing to an even wider audience. This, I believe is because I am confident that every man has a deep childhood love for Dragons and the wish that they could fight them.  It was this and the much improved graphics, gameplay, animation and a host of new features that has lead to Skyrim being a hugely anticipated game.

The opening sequence/tutorial mission where you are a prisoner and escape is a staple of the series.  Morrowind had you on a prison boat, Oblivion had you in the Imperial Prison escaping through the sewers/secret tunnels under the city.  Skyrim has taken this staple and revved it up with more action, more detail and given it a feel very close to cinematic feel.  Having played the openings of all three games, the Skyrim opening beats the other two hands down.  I'm not going to tell you what you have to do because this is really something you need experience and go through yourself.  Once this quest is finished you are left looking out into the pure beauty of the land of Skyrim.

The level of detail and realism in the environments is verging on ridiculous, with everything from grass, trees, mountains, changing weather, rivers and creatures that inhabit the land, nothing has been left out or been given a below par look.  The pure beauty and the feeling that you're in a world that feels alive and real is what makes you lose yourself in this hugely immersive world and to say the world is huge is a massive understatement.  Skyrim has over 350 primary locations which is over twice as many as Fallout 3, and over 200 secondary locations which won't show on the in-game map.  The amount of towns, caves, dungeons and outside places you can explore will keep you exploring the land for months to come, if not years.

Exploration isn't the only thing to do to pass your time in the game, there's cooking, blacksmithing, tanning, smelting, reading books, get married or the usual fighting any creature or person you so happen to come across.  Although some of these new features might not have been considered as needed, they are a very welcome addition to the game.  These features allow for an even greater level of immersion into the world letting you make your own armour or jewellery to keep or sell off, or cooking foods to create food that give a greater benefit to you compared to if the food was raw.  Another new feature has been the changes in the combat system.

I will admit that as exciting as the new dual wielding combat system was, I was unsure if it would be as good as it appeared.  Even with a world as big and detailed as this, a rubbish fighting system is all that's needed to drag a game down from good to terrible.  I can happily tell you that the new system works and brings a greater level of satisfaction when you kill something.  If you want to be a true mage of the realm then you can dual wield the same spell to make it stronger or a fire spell in one hand and a shock spell in the other for example.  If you want to be a crazed warrior then you can dual wield swords, axe's or even a sword and an axe but it comes at the price of being unable to block.  The combat system takes a little getting used to at first but once you get the hang of it you'll find the set up that works best for you and you will be on your way to becoming the most dangerous person in the whole world.

I could spend an age writing about Skyrim and all the new features but I think it's best if you find out about them on your own esteem, because it feels so much better when you discover something for yourself.  I will however say that if you are looking for a truly magical, diverse, immersive videogame experience where you get to fight creatures, people & dragons with swords, arrows or magic then this is the game for you.  Be aware that if you do venture into the land of Skyrim then you can kiss goodbye to many months of your life and more over, your social life.