Internal Friction

[Story]

Skyrim is the fifth game in the Elder Scroll series. Having to live up to the expectations of Morrowind and Oblivion, it wasn’t an easy task for Bethesda to come up with a whole new story. Imagine having created 7 RPG’s which have 100’s of quests, must be pretty hard to come up with 100’s of new quests! But then you don’t know Bethesda. They just keep producing these fantastic games with great atmosphere. Skyrim is their ‘medieval, fantasy type of RPG’. If you aren’t interested in that you could check out the post-apocalyptic RPG Fallout. The fact that this is more fantasy based makes me happy. It has been a while since I have played a decent medieval RPG! I looked forward to this game and it certainly has lived up to the expectations. The story is amazing, you have a few main quest lines which I’m not going to spoil but one of them involves a civil war whilst the other is about slaying dragons. The story is very versatile as you can see. There are 100’s of quests and there are a couple of guilds you can join, each with their own unique quests and rewards. Bethesda really showed here that they are the leaders in terms of developing great RPG’s. The whole concept of you being dragonborn and helping the province of Skyrim slay these dragons is just really well worked out. Kudos to Bethesda for making another great game!

[Graphics]

With their new engine, Bethesda shows that they can pull off amazing stuff. They manage to capture amazing graphics, realistic lightning and fun combat all in one. I was personally amazed by running around at night in a random forest just looking up to the sky. It looked phenomenal, that was until I got attacked by a sneaky pack of wolves, I proceeded to just cut their heads off in an amazing cutscene. I don’t know how they do it but except for Battlefield 3, this game has felt the most realistic for me. Also noteable is the fact that when you cast spells in a dark environment the room lights up for example. It’s the little things that do it for me.

[Sound]

Sounds is absolutely great, the soundtrack is one to be remembered and continues the successful trend of Morrowind and Oblivion.  When I first launched the game I didn’t start yet, I let my xbox at the starting screen just to hear that awesome theme over and over again! [link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJfApgSuRvo] The combat sounds are realistic and hearing an arrow penetrate somebody's skull is just really satisfying!

[Gameplay]

I personally played a sneaky archer/thief type character and it worked out for me. Having messed around with a tanky/two hander char, it wasn’t that great. Melee combat is quite clunky and just feels like button mashing. All you do is just swing your sword around. I highly recommend trying archery, it requires some skill but it is so much more satisfying. Running around is great and the less armor/items you carry the faster you can run. You have a sprint function that drains your stamina. Stamina can be recharged with numerous items such as potions or racial abilities. You have an option to fast travel around the map using your interactive 3d map or you can just hop on a carriage and travel around the different small towns. I do prefer to just explore everything on foot for the first playthrough tho! Except for fighting you can buy your own houses, get married and even own a dog! Your wife will then open a shop and she will give you the profit she makes and she will even cook you meals, such a great wife! The gameplay is very solid, just avoid 2-handers!

[Verdict]

Skyrim must be my favourite game ever released. I really like the setting and it feels great running around the province of Skyrim. Bethesda made a masterpiece here and that is why I’m giving this game a 9.5 If only they added some more features and they should fix the combat system!

Pros :

+ Easy to get into

+ Lots of quests

+ Numerous activities

+ player housing

+ have a spouse

+ lots of companions

+ Diverse world with a wide variety of towns

+ Amazing sneak/achery system

Cons :

- Clunky melee combat for 2-handers
- killcams for archery would be cool

[Rating]


9.5/10

review by [IF]oli