Skyrim, the new title in The Elder Scrolls series. This new title brings many new features to the table, most of which are amazing. Here's a quick review for those without the time to read the whole article:
Note: This is a review of the Xbox 360 version.
Overall: 9.3 (Not counting load times)
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 10/10
Storyline: 10/10
Load Times: 7/10
Graphics:
The first thing you notice when you first start playing is that the graphics are already stunning. You can look into the distance and see very far away, yet look close and see extreme detail. When you look around you can see mountains that you can literally walk to and climb up. Nothing you see is "fake" or some sort of scenery backdrop. The characters are also very detailed, with the mouths moving really well with the voices. Adding to the already great graphics is the armor and weapons.
Bethesda didn't cut any corners when designing the armor and weapons. Everything is extremely detailed and you can tell a lot of thought was put into each piece. Nothing really looks the same, and the game features many different types of weapons and armor.
Dragons.. They are just awesome. They send a certain chill down your spine. First you hear their screech in the distance, you know they're around. As they come closer, your controller vibrates letting you feel the rubble of their massive wings. They swoop over your head, sending you into a sudden panic. As they drop to the ground in front of you, you can see the detail put into each dragon. Then comes the fire breath..
The spells in Skyrim look amazing. Some literally look like they could be real, as far as spells go. The blizzard spell looks much like a mini blizzard that you cast in front of you. The shouts you use warp the air around you, morphing the image you see into a wobbly mess for a second, then returning to normal as your enemy is just as disoriented as you would be in real life.
The only reason Skyrim got a 9/10 in this category is because of the many graphical glitches. However, those are to be expected in such a massive world such as Skyrim.
Gameplay:
The gameplay is like nothing I've seen. Movement is fluid, easy to understand and realistic. The interface is simple and straight to the point. Combat is mostly real and makes you feel as if you're actually there.
Bethesda re-wrote the whole game engine, now called Creation, to make movement feel more real. The physics were updated to make everything have that realistic feel to it. In previous Bethesda games (Oblivion, Fallout 3, etc) your character sort of slides across the ground when walking and the movement feels stiff. Skyrim brings you very real movement that mimics real life. Ragdolls were also updated, so when you hit something really hard they enter ragdoll mode and fly around like a real person would if they were hit in a similar fashion.
The interface works really well for consoles, as it's designed with analog sticks in mind. The inventory interface can get a bit extreme at times when it gets full, but it's far from unmanageable. My only complaint is that the Skills interface is pretty awkward and hard to navigate at times.
The combat is completely updated and the collision of your sword to flash feels more real. When your weapon makes contact with the enemy, the sound and controller vibration make it feel very real. The only issue with the combat system is it is still really "floaty". By that I mean you will often not hit the enemy (Your weapon floats by them), yet the game still registers this as a hit. This is probably done to make combat easier and less frustrating when the enemy tries to move away from your blade.
Sound:
All the sounds are simply amazing in Skyrim. It's packed with over 200 different music tracks, all of which are extremely exciting. The gameplay sounds are also amazing to the point where you can hear bone cracking, flesh slicing blows. You can hear the fire burning after setting some one on fire. You can hear the wind blowing in the background and the water trickling down the waterfalls. Wolves howl and dragons roar in the distance, instantly striking fear into you. The sound is the best I've heard in ages.
Storyline:
The thing I really like about Skyrim is that you can dive right in without knowing the story. All the dialogue is spoken, so it's very easy to catch on what's actually happening. It's massive and has no lack of quests to do. Bethesda counted over 300 hours worth of quests. This paired with the many skills you can raise.. You're talking many, many hundreds of hours of gameplay for the average player. Overall, I approve of this very in-depth story.
Loading Screens:
The worse thing about this game is the loading screens. Expect to spend many hours in loading screens by the time you beat the game. This isn't a game changer, though. Although the loading screens do get annoying, they are well worth it.
Last but not least.. Do I recommend this game to you? If you enjoy RPG's with a heavy storyline, then you'll love Skyrim. Even if you don't like RPG's, I'd still recommend you to try out Skyrim by renting it. I hope you enjoyed the review! Happy gaming!
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