93/100 (reviewed on PC, also available on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
The word “epic” is overused, but some works of man still earn that designation.
In an era when videogame campaigns rarely last 10 hours, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the latest in the acclaimed fantasy roleplaying series from Bethesda Game Studios, can easily absorb 100.
Skyrim’s complexity and length make it difficult to review, but after spending 105 hours traversing its dungeons and meeting (and often defeating) its people, it’s fair to say that, despite a bevy of bugs and glitches, it may be the best adventure game of all time.
What separates Skyrim from lesser titles is its vastness -- there’s 16 square miles of photo-realistic terrain to explore -- and the ability of the player to decide which quests to pursue. The “main” quest can be put off indefinitely and many of Skyrim’s side quests can take hours.
There’s more than 240 scripted quests, but the game has the ability to create new missions on the fly. This adventure can theoretically last forever.
The storyline involves the return of dragons to the land of Tamriel. And it’s a good thing they do, the appearance of the first dragon interrupts the player’s beheading by the local military. Once escaped, the player is free to figure out exactly why dragons are terrorizing the land, get involved in the raging civil war, chase butterflies to craft useful and money-making potions … or all of the above.
There’s a lot to like about Skyrim:
- The plot is interesting, and has a few twists and moral dilemmas. The player's decisions can affect real change in the game world. Some of the side quests are more complex than what is typical.
- The graphics are impressive, especially on a high-end PC. Standing atop a mountain peak, gazing at distant castles, abandoned ruins and circling dragons is mesmerizing.
- Skyrim's nine cities and multiple towns all look convincingly different. The attention to architectural detail is impressive.
- The sky and weather effects are stellar. Being caught in a blizzard is a real visual treat. Witnessing the Northern Lights atop an ancient ruin is a real treat.
- People look like people. Oblivion was a great game, but faces were short on pretty. The men and women of Skyrim are super-models by comparison, though there's still not enough body shape variety.
- Award-winning composer Jeremy Soule has done it again. The tunes (four CDs worth) subtly provide an inescapable magic.
- After achieving a bit of fame, players are awarded followers that can wield a sword or cast a spell in their defense. As characters, followers are shallow, but mighty useful when being swarmed by a dungeon full of skeletons. Hirelings are also available. And there's even a dog (or three), but, unfortunately for Fallout fans, he's not named Dogmeat.
- Players can get married. Some husbands and wives will join the adventure, while others will stay at home and run a store and cook nourishing meals.
- Crafting and enchanting systems allow DIY players to mine ore, smelt it, create armor and weapons and then apply powerful magical effects. Alchemy allows for the creation of helpful potions.
- The voice acting is hit and miss, but some characters nail it. There's over 60,000 lines of spoken dialogue.
- Those playing the PC version will have plenty of user-created content to tinker with once Bethesda releases the Skyrim construction set in January.
There’s also a few problems, but most amount to only minor annoyances:
- A game this large seems destined to have bugs. In the past, Bethesda has been good about releasing patches. Two were released in the first month, but problems persist. On the PC, most bugs can be easily surmounted, but those playing on a PS3 or Xbox may be frustrated. On my playthrough, there were no game-breaking bugs.
- Graphical glitches are unsettling. Casting a "breathe water" spell and diving to the depths of the ocean and seeing a fox chasing a rabbit ruins the immersion factor. Dragons sometimes fly backwards and perform other bizarre stunts. A hawk hit by a fireball dies, but remained aloft in a frozen position.
- Characters have no depth. After defeating the final dragon, it seems like there should be a parade in the player's honor, or at least free drinks in local taverns, but NPCs, even those you've performed heroic tasks for, seem uncaring. Even your wife is a bore.
- Dropped items, even extremely valuable ones, will hang around a long time. A guard or thief should make off with that unattended magical sword.
- Some quests require very specific actions. For example, the city of Riften has a huge thieves guild which most players will feel forced to join to advance the plot. Why not make it possible to destroy the thieves guild and replace Riften's corrupt leadership? Another city, Markarth, is clearly run by evil fools, but the player can do nothing about it.
- Dragons are chumps in combat. It's a shame, really, since they look so cool, but being chased by a polar bear can be a lot more frightening than a sky full of flying reptiles.
- Followers tend to get in the way in tight quarters (aka dungeons). Also, followers are a bit dense, often choosing the wrong weapon when attacking or repeatedly running into the same trap. Few seem capable of using healing spells.
- Quite a few spells present in Oblivion are gone. Feather, which allowed players to haul enormous amounts of loot for a short period, being one of them. Oblivion also allowed players to create custom spells, some of which were overpowered, but many were hilarious.
- Compared to Oblivion, there's fewer enchanting effects and certain effects only work on specific types of items. The overall result is less powerful armor, which is probably a good thing, but players will miss the creativity that Oblivion allowed.
- Some Oblivion abilities are also missing. A high score in agility made it possible to leap atop small buildings in Oblivion, but rooftop running seems purposefully ganked in Skyrim.
- Inventory control has been streamlined, but much has been lost, most noticeably the ability to sort items by weight and value.
Despite the shortcomings, the latest in the Elder Scroll series is a lengthy, memorable adventure. And with more than half a billion in retail sales since its November release -- double the top grossing movie of 2011 -- players can expect plenty of patches and additional content from Bethesda.
About the Author
