Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim – A Beginner’s Look
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
I just played the newest role-playing game from Bethesda Games — Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It is a sequel, the newest of many, that surround the Elder Scrolls series — and I must say that I am extremely impressed by this game. Having not played much of the others in this series, I decided to do my first game review based upon a beginner’s outlook.
I tried Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on my son’s XBox a long time ago, Elder Scrolls IV on my PS2, and lastly on my PS3 I tried Oblivion as well. I never finished any of them though; they were very time consuming and I had other RPG titles to fill my time. I got Oblivion from a friend to use when I first obtained my PS3; it was the first RPG type of game I played on it, as I was waiting for Final Fantasy XIII to come out, which was the actual reason I had bought the PS3 in the first place. But once I got Final Fantasy XIII, life took over and I returned Oblivion. I hadn’t thought about getting a new one in this series, until now, and I am glad I did. Elder Scrolls is like Dragon Age on steroids.
The whole series of Elder Scrolls games is astounding in the fact that they literally take hundreds of hours to complete. I had a good friend tell me just the other night that he spent over eight hundred hours in Oblivion alone, looking for everything to finish there. I don’t know that I will ever spend that much time on any game, but this new one has tempted me to try and complete it as best I can. Not being a trophy hunter myself, I will probably never platinum any game, but to each their own.
Wikipedia states that this game is not a direct sequel to Oblivion, but a new chapter in the series that occurs two hundred years later. It uses a premise to begin the game that was used previously to give you a feeling of familiarity to the other games before it.
In Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim you start in the back of a wagon filled with other people that is rumbling down a dirt road behind another one just like it, towards an unknown destination. This is all done in a first person view, which I don’t like at all, so right away it made me wonder and hope that I would have the third person option at some point. It becomes quickly apparent through the conversations that are going on, and the fact that all of the men in the wagon with you are bound, that you are somehow a prisoner. You are being taken to an outpost to be executed for some reason unknown to you. What a way to start a game!
Once they reach the outpost they line all of you up and say to come forward when your name is called. This is when your character development comes in. When it is your turn it becomes apparent that you are not on their list to be executed, but the captain in charge says to do it anyway (nice person). When they ask your name, the customization of your avatar takes place, your name being the final touch. This was a very clever thing to do in my opinion because in many other games of this type, like White Knight Chronicles, you just go into the game and create your avatar, in this new way it makes it a piece of the game itself.
The customization features in the game are very detailed. You can choose from male or female and every type of Human or Elf, as well as an Orc, Khajiit (cat), or even an Argonian (lizard) race to start, then go on to make it your own unique version through a myriad of choices from the hair, skin and facial features to scars, tattoos and build type. I love doing this part as it gives me the ability to define who my character is and what they will do in the future of the game. I think that appearances are everything here as the different races have inherent traits and it will affect the avatars future path and interactions. In a way this reminds me of Home where what you look like plays an important role in how you are perceived by others, especially the trolls, and you will find those in this game as well.
Once you name your character and save it, you are instructed to move into the line forming up behind the headsman’s block, where you are witness to a man’s decapitation. This is still all done in first person and I was beginning to worry, as I don’t like first-person at all. Then just as you are about to be executed, a loud noise sounds through the air, and a dragon appears! This sends everyone, yourself included, scurrying for their lives like cockroaches in a suddenly lit-up kitchen. Through the next course of events you will find that eventually you can switch to a third person outlook, thank God. Now I really started to enjoy this.
Once you have gotten through this controlled first part of the game, the world literally opens up for you; everything you do from now on is up to you. You are given suggestions as to where to go to move the storyline along, but you can choose when and where to do this. The graphics in this world are phenomenal to say the least; I felt like an explorer in a brand new hi-def world of endless possibilities. You can go anywhere you wish among the forests, mountains and plains that stretch all around you and perform an enormous amount of tasks and quests to gain coins to upgrade your equipment and level up your character. It also seems that everything you look at can be picked up and sold for gold coin, just like Fallout 3, Oblivion, and the other games that Bethesda has created before this.
As you fight your way through you can also strip your dead opponents and sell or equip their gear to upgrade yours, but there is a limit to what you can carry in weight, so be careful what you choose. I usually go by worth as well as weight, to be able to carry whatever will get me the most money. If you get over-burdened you can’t move very quickly and it becomes a drudge to get from place to place, at least until you can buy a horse and ride there, and horses are expensive.
There are literally hundreds of decisions to make that alter how people react to you and what path you will take as you make your way into the game. It seems that you are a Dragon Born, the first seen in many generations, and you have an incredible destiny to fulfill. But how that destiny manifests itself is totally up to you. You can be a thief, an assassin, a mage, an all around goody-two-shoes hero or a combination of the above, it is all determined by the interactions you decide upon.
There are also many options as to how you spend your experience points as you level up and there is even one to change the difficulty for those of us who like to play for the fun, and not deal with having to struggle through every level without dying right away. To me gaming is about having fun, not struggling to survive every second like a squirrel dodging about in rush hour traffic.
The music and sounds they have created as a backdrop to all of this is wonderful. When you go into the local inns, there are even minstrels who serenade you with the local stories and original music. The people all around you chatter away as you make your way through the towns and outside scenery. You can literally talk to anyone you encounter, and many times they have a small task or a quests for you to fulfill. You can choose to accept or reject these, it is all up to you.
The depth of the storyline and histories, the incredible versatility of play, and the fact that you can decide your own fate make this the best new RPG to come out in quite awhile. I think I am going to enjoy this game immensely, and I will have to try hard not to become addicted and shirk my responsibilities elsewhere.
- Absolutely stunning graphics.
- Incredible game play and characterization features.
- Wonderful storyline.
- Easy to hard game settings, great for beginners.
- Beautiful original music.
- None I have found so far.
November 14th, 2011 by Burbie52 | 8 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
Wow this article convinced me to buy the game and try it!!!!
You won’t be disappointed, I promise.
I don’t know if its a 5 of 5, but it is a damned fine game. the inventory system is cumbersome and you have to go into a sub menu to access your magic which seems like a design flaw to me. the forced third person on your horse along with the inability to use weapons or magic while mounted is also frustrating. there are more tiny flaws but I don’t want to seem like I’m complaining, the game is wonderfun.
The first time I went one on one with a dragon out in the wilderness… gaming gold.
The magic thing is a bit odd, I am playing as a female, High Elf warrior right now, but even she uses magic a bit and having to use that favorites idea is a hassle I agree. I wrote this right after the first day of playing and it is meant as a first impression article. But all in all I think the game is totally awesome and i am already have that issue with getting addicted, lol.
This game is deceptively huge,when I 1st looked at the map that came with it I thought it was about the same size as “The Shimmering Isles” expansion pack for Oblivion but it’s waaaay bigger.A friend of mine bought the tell all guide for it and it’s 670-ish pages long!!!I spent easily over 1000 hours total on Oblivion and it’s extras and I think that this 1 will take more time than that if they plan on having any expansions.The magic sub-menu thing is a pain in the butt however as long as I’m in there I usually use an item or 2,no reason to double-dip if you can help it.True gaming gold for me was when I acquired the werewolf ability(in order to stop the vampirism) or when I was casually strolling along killing the local wildlife when I was jumped by 3 hired thugs that had a note in their pocket with my name on it saying the Dark Brotherhood had a contract out on me.That last 1 is kinda funny because in Oblivion I got to run the Brotherhood,now I get to be on the receiving end of their “tender mercies” lol.I agree this game is a 5 out of 5 even with the tiny flaws.I officially hung up my Blk-ops zombie killing guns yesterday and will be spending all my gaming time in/on Skyrim.
Having now gotten into the game a bit deeper I am still extremely impressed by all of it. The sheer volume of information available to you is staggering. There are books to read everywhere that have histories and stories and the wide range of activities you can become adept at from alchemy to ore smelting and weapon creation is amazing. I am over 20 hours into it and just beginning to scratch the surface. I may have to spend a day or two just learning the techniques of alchemy, and weapon crafting alone. I can’t believe the incredible work that must have gone into making this game as good as it is. All I can say is WOW!
Skyrim is without a doubt the best RPG I’ve played in a long time. I’ve noticed a few minor flaws, but overall the game is just…amazing! I highly recommend this game to anyone looking for a challenging but fun gaming experience. Plus the fact that is has dragons doesn’t hurt. lol
Dragons,Werewolves,Vampires,Zombie-ish creatures,public executions,drinking contests against demi-gods,dogs that follow you faithfully and act as front line skirmishers for you this game has just about everything an RPG lover could want so far and I’m only on level 26.This is a great game.