Review: Skyrim

Bethesda Softworks are finally back with the epic arrival of their fifth instalment of the iconic and critically acclaimed franchise; The Elder Scrolls, and with such an extensive amount of brilliant and fantastical content found within, I wouldn’t so easily count on a simple walk in the park… or even a run in the park for that matter.

200 long years have passed since the horrific events of Oblivion and still remnants of instability can be found all across the empire. The heroic and secretive Blades have all but faded into legend and the High King of Skyrim has been assassinated bringing about a new age of civil war between two fearless enemies that has continually raged throughout the land causing all manner of blood-shed and social fallout. With almost no contact from the surrounding kingdoms, cities stand alone and their people step lightly not daring to make any rash decisions in fear of deadly retaliation. But amongst the pandemonium lies a larger threat that has awoken from its fiery slumber. The ancient dragons of old have once again mysteriously returned to the frozen peaks of Skyrim bringing with them a viscous shroud of fire and ash that has engulfed the farthest reaches of the kingdom renewing the fear and hostility within its people and ultimately entangling their own fates with that of your own.

But the deathly arrival of the dragons has also given life to a speck of light upon the darkening landscape – a ray of hope which may be the answer that the world has been looking for. The mythical Dragonborne whose hearts beat with the courageous blood of the dragons are an equally ancient people who harness the true power of the dragon language after Akatosh; the high deity of the Nine Divines instilled his blood within Tamriels greatest known Emperor over seven centuries ago. As the last remaining Dragonborne, you are Skyrim’s only hope in solving the mystery behind the return of the dragons and halting the age-old prophecy foreseeing a colossal winged shadow soaring above the smouldering ruins of the empire.

Like its predecessors, Skyrim is host to a monumentally large open world which is just begging to be explored in any way you see fit. Along your way however you quickly pick up a number of quests (story, faction or miscellaneous) that will no doubt soon build up in your quest log which you can freely journey through at your leisure. This simplistic yet intricate style implemented within the game opens up a huge amount of customisation options for the player from the moment you start the game since you’ll naturally play the way you want and because there are no linear restrictions holding you back you are free to be who you want to be and do… you guessed it… exactly what you want to do. You will also notice that certain quests (namely story and faction related quests) will react to your play style and act accordingly which will actively alter your progression through the game making it so you’re not always making the same choices and receiving the same outcomes.

From the start of the game you will almost instantly start gaining skills in various divisions depending on your play style. If you’re more of a warrior type, you will likely earn skills in heavy armour and one or two-handed weapons where as if you prefer the arcane you will level up certain skills such as destruction, conjuration and restoration etc. However, while previous titles forced you to make certain choices that would forever alter your character throughout the course of game, choosing certain styles ingame won’t limit your capacity to experiment with each skill as you are free to use different techniques and abilities to fit your preferences without being held back by contradicting perks. The main levelling system works in a similar fashion but will ask you to choose from three governing perks that each dictate certain skills in order to mature your character into the way you want them, mage, warrior or otherwise.

The population of Skyrim can easily be described as the personality behind the game for the reason that such a hugely diverse and colourful palette of characters and races provide such a genuine and memorable experience that can be found throughout the game, be it from casually walking through a town marketplace listening to the banter that fills the air to eavesdropping in on some unknowing necromancers plotting their next foul experiment. But being the surly and hardened people they are, the weather beaten inhabitants of the frozen landscape won’t always greet you with the welcoming remarks Oblivion fans would come to expect. Instead you are host to a variety of mean, humorous and darn right strange social reactions from the people you meet in your travels which always helps in adding that extra bit of realism especially with such a huge amount of voice actors that have each perfectly brought with them a number of demeanours that they have infused with various characters throughout Skyrim.

With such a massive selection of spells, weapons and armour to choose from, you may find yourself endlessly fiddling about trying to find your favourite combinations depending on their stats, enhancements or even just looks. While past titles limited your adventurous endeavours with restricting combat choices that made little room for varying fighting styles, Skyrim however offers up and endless amount of customisation options giving you the ability to not only now duel wield weapons and magic but combine both the limitlessness of the arcane with the deadliness of blades, hammers and war-axes giving you the ultimate edge over the battlefield. The same also applies for the many armour and clothing types found throughout, offering up a number of bonuses and enhancements that can boost magica, defence or any of your skills.

That said, you won’t have to endlessly search around for these perks and enchantments as Bethesda has made a great job of implementing a vast amount of intricate crafting, enchanting and alchemic abilities into the game that open up a huge array of options and paths in order to improve your character in any and every way you want. Whilst crafting you’re able to perform a number of actions such as creating armours and weapons with certain metals and even improving them through a series of stages from their original state all the way to legendary. While these basic augmentations are all well and good, you can always go a step further by enchanting them with the infinite amount of improvements ranging anywhere from better combat or stealth abilities all the way to heightened stamina, magica or health. While not so directly involved in combat as the others, Alchemy plays an equally large role within the game as you are able to create a huge amount of potions and poisons serving you in many different ways such as regeneration to improved abilities and even to helpful perks like water breathing or detect life.

Another great addition to Skyrim is the introduction of the intriguing Dragon Speak commonly known as a Thu’um allowing you to utilize a range of special abilities such as force push, fire breath, familiar summon etc, in the form of a shout similar to the mighty roar of the dragons. The so-called World Walls that teach you of these shouts can be found throughout Skyrim each with a new helpful and alluring ability. However, being a Dragonborne won’t simply allow you to snatch them up as you please as you must first consume the souls of the dragons that soar across the landscape which will undoubtedly provide you with some epic battles throughout your adventures.

With more than double the amount of locations in Skyrim as there are quests, you will no doubt find yourself  travelling through a number of varying environments, such as vast open fields to rich green forests to blizzard ridden mountain peaks with each perfectly detailing real life environmental conditions in stunning authenticity. And whether you are travelling on foot or on the back of a horse you’ll always be able to gaze upon the endless landscape (unless you fast travel of course) before you unknowingly stumble upon a derelict ruin or small town or maybe even an entire kingdom depending on if you have become unknowingly bewitched by the sheer beauty found throughout.

The enchanting visuals Bethesda have injected upon the lands of Skyrim have come a long way from the simplistic and primitive design methods of Morrowind and Oblivion and so in this day and age have been given a lot more freedom to deliver a great deal of imaginative and ingenious ideas that they have been able to intertwine within the game’s epic narrative. The many sights of Skyrim are truly a thing of beauty as you travel within the various dynamic settings through sun, snow and rain whilst gazing upon the rich endlessness of the landscape and picking up on the many details that dot the scenery filling you with pure wonder and amazement as each environment actively plays a monumental role in the game as everywhere from the misty snowbound peaks of High Hrothgar to the sunny grasslands of Whiterun Hold provide you with an alluring and exiting experience that will drive you to scour the lands in search of the infinite beauty that oozes from every inch of the game.

Nevertheless, with so much going on visually, the game can sometimes struggle to keep up as you may experience some slight lagging here and there especially for you PS3 gamers which is due to the massive amount of information being processed at that time. You may also find that the player menu, while looking fairly simplistic and easy to use, equally uses a fair bit of processing power and can sometime lag for a very small time. Hopefully these small but unavoidable errors will be fixed with the next update but for now we must simply endure.

But the intricate detail found throughout not only shines through the scenery and varying interfaces but also in its inhabitants, and in the knowledge that Skyrim is an unrelenting and brutal wilderness where survival of the fittest truly comes into play, the people that have civilized the kingdom look exactly how you would expect them to. You’ll soon find that this bunch of burly and mostly muscle-bound people covered in animal furs and heavy armours are perfectly acclimatised to the environment ultimately making them feel like another great addition into this living environment. And so combining the masterfully crafted character models with the elaborate personality’s and backgrounds that embody each and every one of them – the people of Skyrim are clearly a force not to mess with.

Known widely across the world for the many brilliantly crafted and awe-inspiring pieces of music found throughout the franchise, The Elder Scrolls name could have easily built its own success from the illustrious music alone, and Skyrim is no different. Continuing to complement the franchises legendary themes with its dynamic and engaging scores, Skyrim’s massive soundtrack acts as the life-blood of the game that flows unfaltering through every dungeon, forest, mountain and city providing you with a greatly immersive experience that can turn a simple stroll in the woods into an intense battle of wits and courage as you come face to face with a monstrous werewolf. Very few games today can provide such a variety of feelings portrayed through the music as Skyrim can since every second spend adventuring the land makes you truly feel like a part of the world around you. Each soundtrack that plays throughout has been perfectly integrated within every event and scenario which works to bring out your feelings and emotions in the best possible manor ultimately immersing you further into the game.

With around 5 years in development and the legendary name of its predecessors to live up to, the ingenious minds at Bethesda have well and truly gone to no end in filling Skyrim to the point of insanity with its unimaginable amount of quests, characters, items and locations to interact with that will undoubtedly keep your adventurous flame burning bright for months and even years to come. The few slight errors ingame were a little disappointing given the amount of time in development but are soon lost in thought due to the sheer amount of thrilling and engorssing content that shines throughout. Each and every aspect of the game be it from the thrilling narrative, stunning visuals or huge sense of freedom, does a staggering job of bringing pure life to the lands of Skyrim by providing you with a living breathing environment to interact with and in by doing so helps to create an unbelievably immersive experience that will no doubt continue long after finishing the game.