I can still vividly recall the first time I played Oblivion - the Elder Scrolls title that preceded Skyrim. I was excited to see that, unlike in Morrowind, the NPCs actually spoke to me, had schedules, and looked a lot less like fleshy insects. Barely more than an hour in, though, I was headed to Chorrol, the first quest in the main story line. To get from the center of the world map -- where the game beings -- to Chorrol took only about 5 minutes in real time. And then I realized I was already halfway to the border the map. "Wow!" I thought to myself. "This game is TINY compared to Morrowind." And I was right... not only was it tiny, it was also generic: there were very few unique dungeons (excepting those that were part of a quest, and even those were fairly generic), and even fewer unique artifacts. The sense of wonder, of immersion, of adventure that had been ever-present in Morrowind had suddenly vanished. And this was a shame, because with its better graphics and combat system, Oblivion had so much potential - and in many ways it was a great game - only it was never realized because it was so overly simplistic and small. The the time I first trekked up to Bruma -- maybe five hours into the game -- I remember thinking to myself "if only I could cross the border and go into Skryim." I even had a dream about going to Skyrim that very night. A year later, when the future release of Skyrim was announced, I was overjoyed, but a little trepidatious. After all, Oblivion was a big let-down following Morrowind. It would break my heart if Skyrim was similarly worse than Oblivion!
Ah, but what sweet relief in the early afternoon of 11/11/11 when I had finally finished the install (which seemed like it took weeks even though it was only a few minutes) and started Skyrim for the first time. Even the beginning (where I wake up with someone talking to me) was a small throwback to Morrowind. Then, on my first trek (from Helgen to Riverwood) how beautiful and landscape was, and how much more fast and varied. There were sheer cliffs and crashing waterfalls, convoluted paths and raging rapids. It felt, immediately, more a sequel to Morrowind than to Oblivion. Of course, there were no throwbacks to the graphics of Morrowind -- obviously, Skryim's graphics are superior to Oblivions by a fairly large margin. And then, Skyrim goes further, and adds SO MUCH MORE!
The world is grittier and more realistic. Gone are the touchy-feely "help an old fisherman" quests that don't really have a place, gone are the bland "rumors," to be replaced by much more realistic dialogues and exchanges. And with the new dialogue system, where the camera doesn't zoom in to any faces and time doesn't come to a standstill, there are even (at certain points in certain quests) instances where there is nearly a three, four, or even more way conversation.
Importantly, you are no longer a simple "helper" to the new Emperor, as in Oblivion. Much like in Morrowind, you (your character) is the center of the action. You are the Dragonborn, and are capable of powers (shouts) few others are, and upon whom the world will come to rely.
Crafting has taken a big turn for the better, too. Weapons and armor do not get damaged (not realistic, but makes the game a lot less annoying), and os you dont' have to pay to fix it -- or worse use a "repair hammer" to fix your items. This is replaced with crafting, where you can take ore (that you buy from a merchant or mine yourself) and forge it into ingots (bars), which can then be turned into weapons, armor, or jewelry. Within crafting, you can also improve weapons and armor with grindstones and workbenches. All of this, of course, comes with animations that make the whole experience more immersive: there is no more "clink, clink, clink" sounds while the camera stays on your inventory. A lot of this is like in the total conversion mod Nehrim (for those of you who have played it) only, it is done *way* better in Skyrim. In the same vein, you can use ingredients to cook food (no more "aesthetic only" kitchens in your houses), wood chopping axes to chop logs into firewood (and sell this firewood), and use pickaxes to mine ore, such as iron ore, silver ore, moonstone ore... the list goes on. Alchemy is very different than in previous games, too. Instead of alchemy skill determining how many ingredient properties you know, the only way to figure out ingredient properties is to either ingest the ingredient yourself, or to mix it with other ingredients with the same property and create a potion (sometimes you guess correctly and combine ingredients that share an effect or more, sometimes you don't, in which case the potion creation fails). Enchanting is also rather different. Instead of simply going to an enchanting altar and choosing whatever enchantment you want/are capable of, you have to first find an already enchanted item and destroy it to learn the enchantment, at which point you can then enchant other items with that enchantment -- enchanting in skyrim, therefore, requires reverse-engineering, if you will.
The inventory, though a little frustrating for PC users (since it was designed for consoles), is VASTLY improved. In both Morrowind and Oblivion, if I wanted to see a cool artifact or (in the case of Oblivion) gemstone I had discovered, I would have to painstakingly put my items on tables, in display cases, etc. With the new inventory system, items in your inventory (or in storage containers, for that matter) can be rotated in any way you please, so you can really *look* at what you have/have stored.
The combat system, I would argue, is even more improved over Oblivion's than Oblivion's was over Morrowind's. Now you can dual-wield weapons or, if you prefer a shield, can even use your shield as a weapon (which, of course, is the only realistic way to have it in a combat system). You can even dual-wield spells, or if you prefer have, say, a destruction spell in your right hand and a restoration spell in your left... whatever strikes your fancy. Even more entertainingly, you have a certain chance (and this can increase with certain perks you elect, see below for perks) of dealing critical damage to your opponent with your weapon. When you do so, there is a brief animation sequence that shows, in third person view and in semi slow motion, that critical strike. For example, for a two-handed sword (in Skyrim they are called "Greatswords"), you skewer your enemy; with a dagger (when sneaking), you slit their throat. As your combat (single handed or two handed) progresses, you even sometimes decapitate your opponents!
Character and leveling in Skyrim is more different from Morrowind and Oblivion than they were from each other. There are no longer any classes, and the list of attributes have been shrunken to three: Health, Magica, and Stamina. Stamina is a combination, as far as I can tell, of strength and endurance. Agility and speed are essentially gone, and at first I was concerned about this, but about half an hour into the game I didn't miss them one bit. Race characteristics have changed a little, though the basics are still very similar to previous Elder Scrolls games -- Altmer and Bretons make the best mages, Bosmer make the best thieves, and so on. Some skills have disappeared -- such as mercantile, which is now just part of speechcraft -- but others have reappeared, such as enchanting. Each time you increase in level, you may increase by a few points either your health, magica, or stamina (by the same amount, regardless of the skills your have improved upon to level up), but you also get something called a perk, which you can either use right then and there, or save for later (any time later that you make up your mind which perk you want). You need a certain skill level to use your perks for certain things, though. Some of these perks include 12x damage for daggers when you sneak up on an opponent, which means that, for the first time, it makes sense for assassins to use daggers rather than just sneaking up with a sword.
Although there are no "Great Houses" of Skyrim the way there were in Morrowind, there are more than simple guilds to join. You can also decide (if you wish) to join either side of the civil war that is currently raging in Skyrim, as either a Stormcloak (the rebels) or the Imperial Legion.
As in previous Elder Scrolls games, you can become a vampire, although the benefits (as well as disadvantages) are a little more muted. You can also become a werewolf - and in fact, you have to for one of the major quest lines... I'll just leave it at that.
One interesting thing... and I will be as vague here as possible so as to avoid ruining the surprise -- quite a few Daedric quests find you, rather than you finding them. Almost what one would expect.
You can get married in Skyrim, but the benefits of this are not very clear and in my opinion its more a novelty than anything else, though a novelty that certainly (for certain types of characters) adds to the immersion. Similarly, you can be accompanied by any one of a number of companions, though only one at a time (sorry, no armies of NPCs at your back!). Additionally when it comes to relationships with NPCs, you can brawl (fist fight) with certain NPCs, many of whom can be found in taverns, and also as a form of persuasion. Every once in a while, and NPC you beat in a fist fight will become an eligible companion you can bring along with you (and equip with weapons) to help you out in your journeys/quests.
And, obviously, if you didn't already know... there are dragons in Skyrim. They're actually pretty tough, especially with the recent patch, but are well worth fighting, with all their valuable bones and scales (which can be used to forge dragon armor and weapons, by the way), as well as any valuable items they consumed along with their unfortunate victims (helmets, shields, amulets, gold, and pretty much anything else).
I could go on about the game, but I think I should leave my review at this. I've clocked well over 100 hours since release day, and there is still so much more to explore! This is, in my opinion, perhaps the best Elder Scrolls game to date!
In summary:
--Improved graphics (including *much* more realistic faces)
--Improved combat and magic systems
--Gripping critical hit break-away animations
--New leveling system which involves perks
--Character-centric storyline (vs. Oblivion's where your character is only a helper)
--Can mine ore, use that ore to craft weapons/armor/jewelry, chop wood to sell firewood, cook food from ingredients, and reverse-engineer enchanted items
--Grittier, more realistic feel than previous Elder Scrolls games
--Can get married, if you wish, as well as have followers; you can settle differences with NPCs via fistfights
--Can kill dragons (in fact, you will have to on occasion), and either sell their bones and scales, or use them to craft powerful weapons and armor
In conclusion, it is almost as if the minds at Bethesda took the best of Morrowind, the best of Oblivion, and combined them, improved upon that combination even further, and then added boatloads of new material. This is a truly immersive, entertaining, and beautiful RPG, perhaps the best Elder Scrolls game... perhaps, dare I say, the best RPG to date!
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Just a LITTLE bit of consolitis
Yessir this game is splediferous - strong graphics, huge world, great characters, compelling quests ... well, if you've played Morrowind & Oblivion you know what we're talking about. If you haven't: why not?Unlike some other reviewers have stated, Skyrim's got just a *little* bit of the consolitis that's ruined so many recent PC RPG sequels. But it's still well worth playing. Okay, you can't name your saved games, and the levelling system's been slightly downgraded. In Morrowind & Oblivion you could increase attributes such as agility, unfortunately that isn't the case w/ Skyrim. Overall everything's been simplified compared to its predecessors, but that's not always a bad thing. For instance, alchemy is less complex and you don't have to repair your equipment.But unlike a stereotypical console game: - Game play is open rather than linear - You can save any time you like instead of waiting for infuriating checkpoints - you've got a real inventory with real control (although the paper doll is conspicuously absent) - your choices actually affect outcomes instead of having one hardwired story - you can pick & choose your equipment - your character has infinite possibilities for developmentYou want a powerful mage who's also good with a sword? You got it. A big, strong Nord with a two-handed axe who can sneak silently and pick locks with ease? He's yours for the asking.You've also got the new feature of having a companion. ::sigh:: He doesn't understand "wait here" - instead he'll wander in to interrupt your carefully-constructed ambush. He'll get trapped & you'll have to go find him. He'll happily pick fights with critters too big to take on... in short, he'll act like every other RPG companion you've ever cheerfully fragged.One star off for using Steam. Other than that nonsense: stock up on coffee - you're in for some late nights.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2011
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Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2011
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Cathe
Article retourné
Reviewed in Canada on July 10, 2020Platform For Display: PCEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
K.Anshuman
BEST. GAME. EVER. Period.
Reviewed in India on December 25, 2018Platform For Display: PCEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
K.Anshuman
Reviewed in India on December 25, 2018
The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim is not a game. Well, not JUST a game.
This is just an endless array of possibilities.
It can be an extension of your own base personality. It can be the flight of your fantasies. Essentially, you can do anything, be anything.
Be an explorer, mage, archer, WHATEVER you want!
Don't mistake this freedom of play as an excuse for a shoddy storyline; this is as good as legendary-epic tales will go. Riveting, pulsating, and yet granting you complete freedom to divert away from the mail quest line and just explore the vaaaaaast lands Skyrim, with uncountable side quests, people to help, sights to see, and views to behold.
You don't need a proper gaming PC assembled/bought by selling your ancestral land to experience TESV:Skyrim in its full, magnificent splendour. Even "below par" ones (w.r.t. contemporary gaming PCs) will run the original Skyrim with gusto.
Which brings us to.....yes. Please buy "Oldrim", i.e. the vanilla Original Skyrim. (Or maybe the Legendary Edition, with all the AWESOME DLCs alongside) The modding community is much bigger and 'lower' performance is absolutely unnoticeably (w.r.t. Skyrim Special Edition)
PLEASE look for some other source (hella expensive here). Search for the link to buying 'Oldrim' on Steam (really cheap now) and play it.
For God's sake.
This is one of those "MUST EXPERIENCE IN A LIFETIME" things. Pinnacle of human excellence.
'nuff said.
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ROBERTO URBINA
Wow
Reviewed in Mexico on December 5, 2016Platform For Display: PCEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
zzz
買うならPC版！
Reviewed in Japan on October 10, 2013Platform For Display: PCEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Sunita
I am pleased.
Reviewed in India on May 25, 2017Platform For Display: PCEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Sunita
Reviewed in India on May 25, 2017
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