Skyrim is one of the most anticipated games of the year. The creators of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, Bethesda, have released an excellent game—without exaggeration, the best one this year. Taking into account much of the criticism for the previous installment, Oblivion, Bethesda changed their development approach, and as a result, Skyrim perfectly combines an RPG system with action elements and feels just like the very The Elder Scrolls.
Game World
According to the developers themselves, the sequel to Oblivion took five long years to make. One glance at the map makes it clear that those years of development were not in vain: the vast world we can explore is the main advantage of the game. And the in-game landscapes are truly something to behold! Thanks to the vivid visuals rendered by the engine, every corner of Skyrim looks real. Since the region is cold, snow and blizzards prevail, but there are also barren steppes, forests, and small lakes. The sky was also given careful attention: at night, you can see beautiful northern lights, or, if you are in a temperate climate zone, a gorgeous sky with two moons.
The developers didn’t slack off and breathed artificial life into the game: there are plenty of random characters and events, and on your journey you’ll encounter not only travelers, but also animals (including predators). Naturally, this region of Tamriel is densely populated, mainly by Nords. They spend most of their lives in cities and small villages scattered across Skyrim. But you won’t get bored traveling between them — a huge number of various caves, abandoned forts, towers, and castles have been added. By visiting each of them, the player not only gains experience but also learns special words of power — the dragon language.
Beating Up Babies
According to the story, Skyrim is attacked by a horde of dragons, which our main character has to deal with. The Dragonborn — the best dragonslayer and, at the same time, our protégé — literally takes down every dragon encountered single-handedly. The beating (there’s no other way to call it) of dragons lasts just a couple of minutes, and apparently, the reason is the level scaling system. If at first you can play on the “Adept” level, later it becomes necessary to switch to something higher, otherwise the game becomes too easy.
The main campaign of the game can be completed in 2 hours and 15 minutes, so don’t be surprised if it ends quickly. What to do with the rest of your time? That’s up to you — you can wander around Skyrim, rob caravans, kill travelers, and commit immoral acts with geese. Or you can pick up side quests and go complete them.
Of course, besides dragons, we’ll encounter other enemies as well. However, they’re not particularly strong; most of them are ordinary dummies who can’t stand up to our hero. Still, there are worthy opponents — giants, polar bears, Falmer, Dwarven automatons, and so on.
Let’s play on consoles too!
By taking a small step towards consoles, Skyrim took a big step back in terms of graphical interface. Here, you won’t find a convenient menu with your inventory on one side and a picture of your character with their gear on the other. Yes, the familiar RPG element of the HUD is replaced here by text bars. For example, let’s virtually open the “inventory”: we see a spinner with labels like “weapons,” “apparel,” and so on. Can you imagine? WHY did they have to do this for the PC version? All that’s left is to hope that fans will fix this unfortunate oversight with amateur mods.
Despite the fact that the Creation engine (which is actually an improved Gamebryo) does not support DirectX 10, the graphics in the game are top-notch and meet the standards of 2011. In addition, a huge number of mods have already appeared online, improving the overall visuals: from textures and faces to blood and objects.
Leveling is leveling
The main idea of The Elder Scrolls—"The more we use a skill, the more it develops"—remains unchanged in Skyrim. You can still create and improve items using spells, enchantments, and unique ingredients. The developers came up with an interesting feature when we enter the player leveling menu. For some reason, it's a beautiful and convenient menu in the form of constellations, and with enough experience points, we can light up a new star in the constellation, granting certain bonuses.
The three classic leveling paths—mage, warrior, and assassin—have been diversified by the ability to become a werewolf or a vampire. Of course, in addition to, say, magic, you can also level up stealth or weapon skills—all of this adds even more variety to the gameplay.
You can do anything you want
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an excellent game, and you absolutely need to get to know it better. Pleasant graphics, a huge map, gorgeous landscapes and diverse environments. A vast array of ways to develop your character and improve their attributes. The ability to create and upgrade in-game items...
It’s impossible to cover all the game’s features within a single review. Against such advantages, some of the shortcomings introduced by console requirements are easy to overlook. All that’s left is to wait for fan-made mods, and the game will be a perfect 200 out of 100.
