The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review

While The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion wasn't without its share of issues and complaints, that entry was still able to capture my imagination with its immense scope and complexity. And while Oblivion ate up dozens and dozens of hours of my life, it left me with the impending excitement for its successor and what all Bethesda was going to be able to pull off. Enter Skyrim.

Graphics
Given that we're now five years removed from Oblivion, I figured the graphics would show drastic improvement. They do. The landscapes in Oblivion were already gorgeous, it was the people themselves that left something to be desired. If you can agree the landscapes were already stellar in Obivion, you can probably guess what I'm going to say about the landscapes in Skyrim: breathtaking. There have actually been moments as I scan my field of vision where I simply stop and look around at all the beauty the world of Skyrim has to offer.

Not only has the look of the world upgraded considerably, but the effects within it. Skyrim's general snowy climate makes for many areas --especially high altitude ones -- that require wind and snow effects. Bethesda pulled this off beautifully. Snow drifts blow across plains and snowstorms approach blizzard (i.e whiteout) conditions. Unlike Oblivion, the weather does slightly hinder you; whether you're simply trying to transverse an area or God-forbid trying to fight in it. A subtle addition, but one those of us that love the realism of these games can truly enjoy.

The inhabitants of Skyrim look ten-fold better --the non-human races especially. Orcs and Khajits look rugged and detailed as opposed to "cartoonish" and non-threatening. The human races (Imperials, Bretons, Redguards, Nords) sport the same "rugged" look to them. The shadowing and general weariness illustrated in the character designs matches the ambiance of the world of Skyrim. The character movement, while not perfect, has improved considerably also.

Gameplay
While this would seem like it should always be the most important aspect of a game, Oblivion's core gameplay was actually lacking in a few areas. Many of these shortcomings were easily overlooked because of how impressive the scope and functionality of the game was (i.e simply wandering around and watching the complex world unfold around you). In Skyrim, many of these shortcomings have either been corrected or are improving. For me, the aspect that needed the most help was the combat. It was bland button mashing that rewarded the player with little visual consequence.

This time around, combat is greatly improved --specifically the magic system. Spells look entirely more interesting and are a joy to cast and watch react with your enemies and the environment. The dual-wielding creates an entire new dynamic to combat and allows for greater customization to how you want to play the game. Instituting the "kill moves" adds some slight, Assassin's Creed-esque, flavor to melee combat, but doesn't add much more than visual appeal. One subtle, welcomed change is the player can no longer run backwards as quickly. Consequently, you generally can't run backwards away from an enemy and keep shooting spells. In Skyrim, the enemy will catch you and get his licks in anyway. The leveling system and hotkey interface are completely revamped and are infinitely better than Obivion's.

The dragon battles are as fun as they were hyped. There just isn't a comparison to fighting a dragon on a mountaintop overlooking a vast, beautiful world: think Gandalf fighting the Balrog in Lord of the Rings. However, I have had a battle where I caught a dragon from behind only to have him fly around, land, and allow me to firebolt him to death.

The voice overs, while not perfect, are better and more diverse. The conversations are more detailed and well written, but they still suffer from bland facial expressions and relatively emotionless tones. A small quip to be sure, but when Bethesda sets the bar so high in so many areas, we get picky and expect thrills in every facet.

Replayability
No matter how you play the game, the replayability factor is through the roof. I think it would be more enjoyable to play through as a certain character type, than to play through again as a completely different one. That way, you could do different quest lines in different games. You can enjoy the world of Skyrim many times just simply by being in it. Add in playing the game in entirely different ways based on race and class, the replayability is astronomically high.

It is impossible to encompass every little nuance of Skyrim within such a short space. While the game is not without it's minor bugs and failings, they are just that: minor. When they are compared to what this game offers, they can almost disappear. Even if they don't disappear, they're certainly forgivable. Hands down, we're looking at the game of the year.

Sources
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Official Site