The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim marks the fifth entry in Bethesda’s long running role-playing game and delivers one of the most definitive experiences of this generation. Whether you choose to dive into the main story or go exploring the choice is always yours. Though Skyrim does have issues that have plagued pervious titles within Bethesda’s library Skyrim is meant to be taken in as a whole. And when you see Skyrim as one game you can’t help to wonder how Bethesda developed such an incredible game.

At the start you are sentence to be executed by the Legion for crimes against the empire and begins your adventure as you customize the character you want. It not long before you’re attacked and saved by a dragon which opens up the larger problem that exist in Skyrim, the dragons have returned. It’s not long before you learn that you are a Dragonborn, a person who has the blood of a dragon coursing in your veins that allows you to cast unique abilities and absorb souls of falling dragons. You objective is to find why the dragons have returned and stopped the havoc caused throughout Skyrim.

Throughout the story you’ll also be forced to participate in the ongoing conflict between the Legion and the Stormcloaks. The Stormcloaks want to end the Imperial Legion’s hold on Skyrim and the Legion kills anyone associated with the Stormcloaks. Each offers different perspectives on the war and allows the player to better understand the enduring conflict between the two.

The world of Skyrim is a marvelous place littered with Rocky Mountains, grasslands, snowy fields, dense forests, and dark tombs to explore. Each area is incredibly detailed from snow blowing into the wind to stars lighting up the night sky ensuring that each area you enter feels novel and different. Though the environment looks incredible the weapons, magical items, armor, and structure share the same level of detail with spikes sticking outward to enchantments glowing throughout the weapon.

How you choose to play Skyrim is your choice. You can choose to complete a series of quests, dive into the main story, buy a house, or just explore with no restrictions being placed on how you choose to venture throughout this world. Each area hosts a large amount of quest and by a couple of hours your quest log will be filled with missions to complete that large from large side quest to miscellaneous tasks. However not every story told in Skyrim is good, but when look at a whole the vast amount of content makes up for it. Whether it is a good or boring quest you are treated to an incredible soundtrack that excites a feeling of power, discovery, and accomplishment.

Bethesda has learned from the mistakes from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and sought to fix them in Skyrim. Characters don’t seem as lifeless as Oblivion and talking to each character offers a less artificial feeling, especially in the conversations. However character models are still stiff and having NPC's accompany you through quest can be more problematic then useful. These are only minor flaws and the improvement Bethesda made exceed their issues.

Exploring Skyrim is already amazing and the developers at Bethesda have included is simply amazing. Traveling throughout the world or fighting a Dragon, each experience is accompanied by a distinctive and memorable soundtrack. The voice-acting is exception but you will find the same voice being used by various characters throughout your adventure. It does subtract from the experience but is forgivable with a project of this magnitude.

The same basic functions that are known in Bethesda’s past games are still here but refined. As you traverse through sun, snow, and fog you will be fighting, sneaking, and healing using the various skills that are available for you. At the beginning you simply choose what your character will be and then given an assortment of abilities that you choose to level through consent use. This allows players to test what they like and hate and level accordingly.  If you choose to level destruction magic then use the talents associated with that tree or if archery seems more appeasing then continually use bows and arrows, the choice is yours.  Once a these skills begin to level then your overall level increases and you can link perks to particular talents or store it for later. You are no longer restricted to the beginning to make important decisions that you can regret and the new system makes more sense. As you choose certain perks the feeling becomes apparent and you definitely feel stronger and better.

Combat has also seen a significant improvement. Like other Bethesda titles you can play in both third and first person view. Though fighting still feels a bit weird at the beginning that feeling begins to fade as you play. Combat becomes more fluid as you level up and final blows sometimes initiate a fallout slow moving animation. Magical spells can now be cast independently by linking spells to either your left or right hand and offer different tactics for overcoming each objective. You can choose to cast fireballs while healing or duel-cast the same spell for more powerful results. Another new addition is Dragon Shouts. These require no magic to cast and allow the players to slow time, breathe fire and ice, and call dragons. These abilities can only be unlocked by finding word walls hidden throughout Skyrim and absorbing the souls of Dragons. These encounters can happen randomly or through specific areas and quest lines. These incredible creatures are massive and strong but tend to remain loyal to the same pattern and attacks.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is one of the most beautiful and massive games available today. It maintains the same open-world structure that has been notorious among previous Elder Scrolls titles and gives the player so many options and flexibility to how you develop your character. Bethesda has created a world that feels actually real and delivers a rare experience that is almost impossible to put into words.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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