With an outstanding pedigree in contemporary role-playing games, Bethesda Studios had massive expectations coming into the latest Elder Scrolls game. With this installment in the series, the studio set out to create one of the most expansive and immersive experiences in the current console generation. However, with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Todd Howard and company created one of the greatest experiences in gaming history.
Coming from the critical successes of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Bethesda learned a lot about combat and immersion. The main complaint associated with Oblivion was the combat?s lackluster feel. In Skyrim, However, that has all changed. The combat system was retooled to allow for duel wielding spells, weapons, or a combination, and this simple addition opens the number of combat possibilities into the thousands. In addition to creating many weapon combinations, unlike in Oblivion, certain fighting styles are viable with the incorporation of duel wielding, such as the battle mage. Bethesda also fixed the feel of the weapons, with each blow feeling weighted and more fluid, unlike the clunky feel of Oblivion?s melee combat. With improved melee combat, the studio could focus on further perfecting the spell casting and sneaking systems within the game. Both feel precise and incredibly polished along with the new shouts of power. These shouts are derived from the language of the dragons and activated by killing dragons and taking their souls. Shouts act as super powerful magic attacks and add an additional layer to combat. These improvements and additions bolster Skyrim in its predecessor?s weakest area and create a visceral combat system required to slay hundreds of bandits, bears, and dragons adequately.
Along with changing the feel of melee combat, many of the systems within the game have been altered, including the leveling system, which Bethesda radically altered for Skyrim. Now, players level up through increasing their skill in any area, not just a few select abilities and the constellation based skill screen is a pleasant upgrade from the cluttered menus of Oblivion. In addition, when the player levels up, they can now pick a perk in any skill ? a la Fallout 3, and this new perk system allows the player to see the advances they are making in individual skills. These small additions really add to the joy of leveling up and give more reason for grinding to level 50.
Another couple of systems changed in Skyrim are alchemy and lock picking. In the countryside of Skyrim, there are ingredients aplenty, but to create lifesaving potions now requires special pedestals found throughout the Nordic world of Skyrim. While the act of preforming alchemy has not changed much, lock picking has. The old mini-game of locking pistons into place no longer exists; instead, a new mini-game, much akin to Fallout 3?s lock picking mechanic takes its place. The player rotates the lock pick whilst trying to turn the lock until it opens. The new mechanic is interesting and more immersive than the previous game?s mechanic and is incredibly important to one of the game?s main guilds.
As in previous iterations of the series, guilds return with some alterations and improvements. The Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and Mage Guild return with myriad quests and intriguing narratives to keep the player entertained. The standout is the Thieves Guild, which has a litany of new characters and an easy to hate antagonist, who drives the majority of the guild?s narrative. In addition to the returning guilds are the Bard?s college and the Companions. The companions are akin to the Fighter?s Guild, but with mercenaries rather than just people looking to fight and protect the world. While all of the guilds are interesting and enticing narratively, they all pale in comparison to the main quest, which is an unforeseen switch from Oblivion, where the guilds were far more interesting.
Skyrim?s two main narratives deal with the civil war raging within the Nordic world of Skyrim and the return of the legendary dragons. The story begins with the player being led to their execution when the World-Eater Alduin returns and begins resurrecting the long dead dragons. These dragons then appear throughout the world and challenge the player in a fiery duel to the death, as he is the Dragonborn ? the slayer of dragons. This three-act narrative leads the player across Skyrim searching for information about of the mythic dragons? return and a way to defeat their seemingly invincible leader. Without doubt, the main narrative demonstrates the growth Bethesda experienced in making Fallout 3 as the main narrative is expansive and more developed than any previous Elder Scrolls game.
The second main narrative has an entirely different feel and is not quite as enjoyable as the dragon based main quest, but it holds up and adds another layer to the inconceivably deep game. The Nords of Skyrim have united under the leadership of Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak, who murdered the previous High King of Skyrim. The Stormcloaks wish to liberate themselves and the realm of Skyrim from the Empire, which stands opposite them in this war. The majority of these quests involve battling many Stormcloaks or Imperials, as the player chooses which side they wish to support, until the fort, city, or ranch house is theirs for the keeping. Eventually the player leads one side or the other to liberating or reunifying Skyrim under one main power. These quests are entertaining, but not too impressive compared to some of the guilds and the other main narrative juxtaposed in such a close proximity to these quests.
Along with the main quests and guilds, there are several hundred individually crafted dungeons with loot and shouts galore within. In addition, there is a vast collection of side and miscellaneous quests that even after 40 plus hours, there will still be hundreds of quests remaining. Bethesda stated that if a player did all the quests and cleared all the dungeons with one character the game would max out at about 300 hours. The sheer magnitude of content in this game is mindboggling. However, the amount of amazing and tantalizing content that could suffice as many smaller games is not the reason this behemoth of a game ranks upon the greatest gaming experiences of all time; The reason for that distinction is the world of Skyrim, for there has never been a world like it in video games, ever.
Skyrim?s world is the experience. The world is a living, breathing, interwoven piece of logic that cannot be found anywhere in the annals of gaming. Every piece of the game is real and truly in the world. A dungeon with a hole in its roof that radiates sunlight appears in the environment and players can look down the hole to see the dungeon at the bottom. Players can traverse the entire world map without a single load, assuming they do not enter any interior places, which while in the world environment, require a separate load to page the details of each cove, dungeon, and shop in the realm. The world of Skyrim is truly shaped and changed by the player, as the scars left by the player?s blade remain long after they have left. Creatures killed in one cave remain dead and chests looted in the first hour of the game remain empty in the 40th hour in most cases. The power of the game?s experience comes from the impossible to articulate nature of the world, which takes the many brilliant moments and pieces of this game and weaves it into something more than the sum of its parts.
Many other pieces of this massive game both shine and fail. The radiant storytelling mechanic, which guides the player to places they have not visited and to enemies closer to their own level constantly keeps the game progressing. In contrast to that success, some of the textures and facial animations fall flat in this current generation of blindingly beautiful graphics. In addition, the loads can be intrusive when traversing cities and interior locals. Another small failing is in the less than random dragons throughout the world near the end of the main quest. After a certain point, as with Oblivion gates in Oblivion, dragons appear frequently and are obtrusive to completing goals, mainly because the game sometimes spikes in difficulty and fighting a dragon, a troll, and a bear often leads to a dead Dragonborn. However, the changed menu systems, fully rendered 3-D objects, and readily available favorite items, shouts, and spells all improve the experience.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is neither infallible, nor is it perfect. However, it is one of the greatest gaming experiences of all times. Many iterations and games led to the advances made in Skyrim, but none can compete. A game that changes its genre is special - as Skyrim does for the Western RPG in its breadth and depth, but to create a world and experience I cannot say exists in any other game I have played is something unique and invaluable. This game will suck players in and never let go with its layers of discovery, wonder, and unadulterated fun. There are no other games like this on the market and if it does not find its way into your console or computer, it is one of the greatest losses for any gamer.