Hoping to expand on the long-living excellence of The Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda Software once again brings a new view to the world of Tamriel with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls series has been fascinating players with outstanding gameplay ever since the release of The Elder Scrolls: Arena back in 1994, which was the first in the series. Skyrim continues the tradition of excellence by not only expanding the lore of Tamriel and its founders, but also by adding many new graphical upgrades as well as other features.


Things that positively caught my attention

Gameplay in General: Have you ever wondered what it’s like to gaze upon a world untouched by things that bring harm to it and its inhabitants? Have you ever gazed upon the sun as it sets over a snowy mountain while you are standing in a field of green grass? The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim does not disappoint in terms of its graphical upgrades. Every inch of the huge world is covered with something that you may interact with. Whether it is assassins hired to “take care” of you, or Stormcloak soldiers captured by the Imperial Legion, random events while traversing the roads are never a rarity. Another substantial feature added to Skyrim is the ability to put points into “Perk Trees.” These Perk Trees allow the individual to decide upon how they would like to play. If it is a traditional sword-and-board warrior that you’d like, there are perk trees for One-Handed swords and shields. Want to bring a fiery or icy death to those that oppose you? Not a problem! Mages have many skill trees devoted to the type of magic they would like to wield. There is also an option for the sneaky, long-ranged archers. The archery skill tree allows archers to increase the damage of arrows as well as allow them to slow time to place more difficult shots. These features allow for a fast-paced, personalized gaming experience adjustable to each gamer.

Lore: Two hundred years after the setting of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the year is now 4E 201. The death of the High King, Torygg, has created the threat of a civil war over the land. The Stormcloaks, under the command of Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, wish to secede from the crumbling Empire to pursue their own interests, while the Imperial Legion, under the command of General Tullius, believe that the Empire is still worth fighting for. This chaos is part of the prophecy foretold by the Elder Scrolls that will lead to the return of the dragons, led by Alduin the World Eater. It is the destiny of the Dragonborn to bring an eternal end to the looming threat of the dragons by defeating Alduin once and for all.

Scale: The size of the world of Skyrim is unrivaled to say the least. If you were to walk across the entire map, at full speed, it would still take about two to three hours easily. Bethesda has left nothing to be desired in terms of size. The variation in geographical regions is also impressive. The regions range from snowy, ice-capped mountains, to dense, swampy marshes, to even lush, rolling grasslands.

NPC Voices: Bethesda has really outdone themselves in terms of the voices of the characters that you may encounter. Though not a broad variety of actors, the NPCs still have great voices that enthrall the player.

Realistic Combat: The combat system in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is revolutionary in many meanings of the word. Once too smooth and unrealistic in past titles, Skyrim has properly corrected this issue. Swords, axes, and warhammers alike now appear as if they are being held by a competent warrior. Gone are the days of simply slashing an enemy. Combat now includes power attacks, which are very strong attacks capable of staggering even the toughest opponents, and even shield bashing, which has the same effect, but leaves the sword hand open to disfigure the enemy. Another feature made more life-like is dual-wielding. I’m sure you’ve seen movies where there is a guy that has two swords and is unbeatable. Well, Skyrim also grants the player this ability. Dual-wielding axes, swords, and maces grants DOUBLE the offensive power to the player, but, unfortunately, takes away the defense provided by a shield.

Enemies: The enemies in Skyrim are almost too numerous to count. One of the most numerous enemies includes the Draugr. The Draugr are ancient warriors who were buried with their Dragon Priest masters to serve them for eternity. These Draugr are ferocious fighters and will defend the crypt they were buried in to the UNdeath. Another common enemy are dragons that are sent by Alduin to stop the Dragonborn. These dragons range from common dragons to Legendary Dragons, which are very difficult to defeat. Though proven to be challenging, these dragons seem like a cakewalk compared to the ancient Dwarven machinery. While exploring ancient Dwarven ruins, the machinery left by the Dwarves still protect the halls as if their masters were still present. The Dwarven Spiders, which are small robotic spiders, are not particularly deadly, but they may cause enough damage to be a nuisance. Dwarven Spheres, medium-level fighters, are a slight threat to the Dragonborn. They have sharp swords as one arm, and may have a warhammer as the other. They also roll around on a ball instead of using legs, which makes them easily able to escape the slashes and hacks of a warrior. The Dwarven Centurions, giant, mechanical warriors are the deadliest of the protectors of the ruins. The Centurions have HUGE warhammers as their right hand, and another huge sword as their left hand. As level increases, the Centurions also gain the ability to breathe steam onto the Dragonborn, which itself is very deadly. Throughout the Dwarven ruins, the Falmer also lurk. The Falmer were originally Snow Elves captured by the Dwarves and used as slaves. Centuries of subterranean slavery have harshly altered the appearance of the Falmer, turning them into sick, disgusting, evil creatures that will mercilessly attack anyone who dares enter their lair. There are MANY other enemies that may be encountered throughout the land of Skyrim, but the list would be far too long to list.

Things I did not particularly like

NPC Behavior: The NPCs of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim are not particularly bright. Often times the follower of the Dragonborn will blindly run into battle and manage to get themselves killed. Also, the enemies are fairly unintelligent for the most part, as they sometimes run past you or even straight at you, but this is not always the case.

Glitches: Ever since The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the Elder Scrolls series has been riddled with glitches. Skyrim includes more than its fair share of glitches, all of which are fairly annoying. Often times, objects that should be in a certain location for a quest will simply not be there. Also, NPCs have a common tendency to misbehave and attack you when they shouldn’t, which is ANOTHER major issue. One of the last glitches to discuss is the random absence of essential NPCs in some areas. For whatever reason, the NPC that should be in a specific location simply isn’t there, and that ruins the whole mission.


Conclusion

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a fantastic game that, even with its slight issues, should be purchased by anyone who is a fan of the series or even by someone that wants a game to entertain them for hours. This game’s price may be exact, but the value of such a great masterpiece of a game cannot be adequately placed. I would rate The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, as a nonprofessional critic, as a 9/10.