The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review
Take note, dear reader, this is not the revolution that Skyrim may have been subconciously hyped up to be within your existence. To expect such a feat would be to ruin what product of near perfection you'll be holding in your hands from midnight tonight.
Simply put, it's the formula that Bethesda have worked tirelessly upon since Morrowind, only fully realised to it's truest of potentials, accomplishing the goal of making an Elder Scrolls game actually feel like a true adventure from start-to-finish. Everything in the presentational arsenal from the smallest incidental details (mist rising off a stream in the morning sunrise) to the absolute care maintained to ensure a breathtaking view, both in the micro and macro sense make for a visually elusive euphoria. The mix between the startlingly good and the functionally productive graphical styles means that nothing intrudes in your experience. Blend this into the orchestral beauty and raw foley SFX that accompany the game with perfectly tuned stability and you have a dilectible experience ahead of you, admirably defining the wintry-nordic motif to entice yourself within.
The structurally secure gameplay elements are the same as before: level-up, interact with villagers for quests, complete and repeat. You can easily identify some 'Fallout' inspirations in the form of the slow-motion third person finishers, along with various other gameplay related homages to the post-nuclear wasteland. But for those with a long-standing acquaintance to The Elder Scrolls series, be prepared for a spell of theatrics with your conquests against dragons: probably the most epic battle sequences you'll experience this year.
Contrary to all of this, I must emphasise, if you haven't liked this form of RPG in the past, then you will not like it now. This, in its purest element, is the utmost of fanboy tributes (probably why we were in love near-instantly). The minor glitches that were apparent in Oblivion are still here, AI that's almost bipolar in difficulty throughout the game, the same sort-of confusing loot system, the same grind, the same extensively long quest structure, the same absolute non-linearity.
You will either love or hate Skyrim, which can be easily predicted based upon your opinion of the previous game. But, to those who have loved the aforementioned, this is everything you'd ever want from an Elder Scrolls title, and then some. The true sense of immersion makes for the generation defining RPG we all wanted. 9
