Skyrim Review

Skyrim Review:

I wanted to review a game that I’d always wanted to play but for different reasons I never got round to actually playing. So when I came to write and present a review I had a recent, fresh opinion of an unknown game.

When starting the game I was unsure what to expect but as soon as I entered the character creation I was hooked. I was immersed in the back story of each race and species and spent countless minutes experimenting with the wide range of tools to create my unique character. I particularly liked the fact that I knew that there wouldn’t be a character similar to mine because of the wide range of elements to make up your own character.

After leaving the creation area I immediately connected with the game due to the ability to create and tailor my own story which was defined by my character. I found myself creating my own backstory and a personality for my character even though I was assigned one because there was enough freedom in the game to make it what you want.

From the beginning as well as being able to make your own story the game sets out the main plot by introducing the evil protagonist. The introduction to Vulthuryol where you have to escape from him only takes a fraction of the time you would expect for a main story. It seems as if this game is really geared towards making your own story and you’re not just bound to following the main quest as it takes up only 1% of the game.  Although because it makes up such a small percentage of the overall game I didn’t find myself in any urgency to complete the main story objectives.

After escaping the attack you are free to go wherever you choose. You just choose a direction walk in it and find yourself surrounded by rich stories and lore to be consumed by. So much so that the mundane elements are just as absorbing as the actual quests.

The gameplay is easy, the controls are similar to any other 1st person shooter and role play games. It’s familiar, so you don’t feel hindered to just pick up a control and play. The combat in 1st person allows greater depth into the game, however I found myself mainly playing in 3rd person to allow me to view the character and how it coincided with the environment around it.

I liked the talents system as they further help you mold you character by rewarding you by what you like to do during the game. I had always had an interest in archery so I found myself mainly using this weapon and I was able to tailor my talents to what I wanted my character to be. It feels as if the game is helping you to mold your character.

Visually it’s beautiful. The amount of detail Bethesda have included is breath taking, they have managed to give it a handcrafted, lived in look from the overwhelming snowy mountains surrounding River wood. To the dark, dingy, absorbing caves deep in the grounds of Skyrim.  However there are some visual flaws which is to be expected of a game of this magnitude. There are random frame rate drops, missing sky boxes, glitches in character animations and on occasions my characters frame disappeared. It is a minor annoyance and it didn’t detract from my personal experience of the game.

When exploring Skyrim managed to create many different emotions but this wouldn’t have been possible without the well-structured music. Its stirs you when it’s called for, it drives you on through the game and its well timed to kick in to create a dramatic reaction which I’ve never experienced before. In my personal opinion the sound design greatly heightens the game experience is one of Skyrim’s main selling points.

I don’t think there’s anyone I wouldn’t recommend this game to. It has the ability to hook you from the very beginning and its one of those games that you can sit down to and play for hours on end. You get so immersed in the story you lose yourself in it and the hours the fly by.