Skyrim Revisited
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
I wrote my very first game review when Skyrim premiered in November, 2011, from the perspective of a newcomer to the series, with only a little experience with Morrowind and the other Elder Scrolls games. I have now played the game for six months, with no end in sight. So I thought I would revisit it through the eyes of a veteran and see if my opinions had changed.
And, indeed, my opinions have altered since my previous review: I love the game even more than I did when I first played it. It is totally addicting, as anyone who has tried it will tell you. And it is still surprising me, after over five-hundred hours of play.
The game covers every aspect of its imaginary culture, from religious freedom and persecution, to political turmoil and the feelings of the common people and soldiers — all of it played out in the context of the game. The many NPC characters add to the game’s depth through dialogue, or give you quests, either directly or by casually mentioning a cave or bandits’ den. Soon your map looks like a polka-dotted blanket, crowded with caves, ruins, forts and towns to explore. There is also a huge amount of lore through the use of hundreds of books you can read about everything from magic to history to add to the depth of the culture.
I have found this game to be virtually endless. There are hundreds of side quests that have nothing to do with the main storyline. You can finish Skyrim in as little as forty hours, if stick to the main story and the quests that are vital to it. But there is so much else to do that it would be a shame to play it that way. You would miss the real richness within.
I have become a warrior, mage, bard, assassin, thief and everything in between. I am feared and loved by the NPC’s within the game, having helped and harmed them. I have learned to create potions and armor that can withstand the most grievous onslaught from human, orc, elf or dragon. I have become a healer and a death dealer, and made decisions that changed the course of the game for good or evil.
Alduin, the World Eater
The main story is one of revenge for past betrayal. Alduin, also called the World Eater, is a master dragon, the first-born of his kind, who hates humans and wishes to subjugate or destroy them, to bring back the age of dragons. Dragons once ruled the world with their priests and shouts. Shouts are the dragons’ native speech, and take many forms, from fire to ice, destructive to humans and their world.
The humans rebelled, and fought to regain their freedom. They were helped by Paarthurnax, Alduin’s younger brother, and other dragons who thought Alduin had become too proud. Paarthurnax created a cult called the GreyBeards and taught them the use of the Thu’um, or Shout, to destroy the dragons and restore Skyrim to the mortals. But Alduin was too powerful to be killed outright, so the GreyBeards used an Elder Scroll to send him out of his time, and to the one in which your character lives.
The character you create for this game, regardless of race or class, is the Dovahkiin or Dragon Born — a being with dragons’ blood and the ability to learn shouts quickly and defeat dragons, including Alduin himself in the finale. You have many choices when creating your Dragon Born, each with a specific enhanced ability. During the course of the game, you will learn everything from alchemy and magic to armor creation and enchantment. You cook food, tan leather, smelt ore you dig up, buy and sell, hunt animals and giants, learn destructive and healing magics and look everywhere for the Walls of Power that give you new Shouts to learn and use.
The possibilities are endless, and so are the hours you can spend doing these things. You can even purchase homes in the various cities and furnish them. Each home comes with an NPC follower who will serve you and fight at your side. You have to be careful when using them, as they can die; it is wise to outfit them with good armor and weaponry. There are also several NPC who can be either hired to follow you and fight, or who are willing to join you after you help them. Many come with specific talents, such as being mages or warriors. You have many options in your choice of companion.
Ruins to explore
Many story-lines change how others perceive you. You can be an Assassin of the Dark Brotherhood, a member of the Mages’ College, of a Thieves’ Guild, or all of the above. The choice is yours. Each of these choices, and the other choices they unlock, change how the story comes out. This flexibility makes the experience all the richer.
During all of this, there is a great human drama of treachery and betrayal playing out in the background. There is a civil war, and a struggle for kingship, after the previous king was killed by the Stormcloak leader Ulfric, with a Shout. Though he claims it was done within a rightful challenge, it is up to you to decide whom you believe and join either the Imperials or the Stormcloak side in the war, to progress through the storyline.
The backstory adds to the depth and incredible feeling of reality of the gaming experience, as you listen to both sides and make your decision, with all of its consequences. And there are always consequences to your choices. If an NPC dies in the game, certain quests can no longer be completed. There are shops I can’t use anymore because the shop-keeper died in a dragon attack. All these interlocking complexities add to the inner reality of the game.
Skyrim Panorama
The graphics of Skyrim are among the best in any game, as are the voice-overs for the characters. Some of the roles are played by famous actors such as Christopher Plummer (Arngier), Max Von Sydow (Esbern), Joan Allen (Delphine) and Linda Carter of Wonder Woman fame. There are over sixty thousand different vocal responses in the game, an incredible accomplishment in itself. The graphics are generated by software created especially for Skyrim, Bethesda’s Creation Engine. Its power is evident in the wonderful fluidity of transitions, and in the fantastic vistas and dungeons we explore.
The game has some glitches, but this should be expected in any undertaking this enormous. Sometimes quests are not removed from your roster after completion. And some quest items stay in your inventory, forcing you to carry them around for the rest of the game. Since you have a weight limit before you get too heavy to run, this can become a nuisance. But it is a small price to pay for pleasure of gameplay. Bethesda Softworks is constantly issuing update patches. They care about game quality, and are working hard to fix the remaining problems. 
Still, some glitches remain. Recently, I have been freezing when I enter the water to swim to a destination. That is a glitch I wish they would fix, since it forces me to reboot the game and start over. Lately, I have been saving the game before entering water, to be on the safe side.
Despite these small issues I am totally enthralled with Skyrim, and will probably continue to be, for years to come. I can play it over and over by changing my character in a multitude of ways, and playing it out in hundreds more. I have many friends who already have earned platinum trophies for the game, yet continue to play because there are endless things to do, even after the finale.
There is new download content coming for the game this summer, called DawnGuard. Little is known about it yet. But the fact that Bethesda is already bringing us new content shows that they intend to continue to improve the already incredible experience that is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
- Incredible graphics and sound system.
- Deep story lines to pursue.
- Great variety in choices to be made.
- Character development is wonderful.
- New content coming for download.
- A few minor glitches.
May 28th, 2012 by Burbie52 | 11 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.
Uninstall your game, then reinstall it, it will take care of that water glitch for you and still have your saves.
Careful with that, if you do back up your game save on a USB drive, a lot of people have reported a corruption of the save after uninstalling the game.
Great Article Burbie and I agree 100% the game never gets old. I don’t even know how far i am in the progression of the story i get so caught up in side quests, but I haven’t grown tired of it yet. In fact i still play elder scrolls IV oblivion.
Loved this game, and the previous ones a huge amount, maybe more than is healthy lol. I’ve racked up around 417 hours with a single save/character and still go into it to see what else I can do to improve my guy or his surroundings. It’s just so big, so infinite, and so damn beautiful!
I remember over-hearing a bunch of bandits talking about having the power to turn iron into gold once while sneaking around stealing their carefully hidden treasures, like every game most things are put there for a reason and after months of searching nooks and crannies I came across the ONLY book in the entire game that could grant you the power to do so. It’s still a great feeling that every scrap of iron ore I find, I can turn into expensive golden jewelry. I base my character’s motives on what I would personally do mostly, and when I contracted the vampire disease I saw it as my chance to just let loose. It was fun, but I had to seek out the only person who could remove the curse as I couldn’t take the fact I had to walk/ride everywhere due to being chased by whole villages at a time from not paying attention to my status! Anyway, I’d best shut up about this game since I could talk about it all day! Nice review Burbie.
Yeah, this game so so deep I forgot to even mention that you can become a werewolf or vampire in it. I prefer to do the Companions quest and be a werewolf as it protects you from ever going vampire. It is the better one to have because it is a choice to use the power or not, instead of having no choice at all.
You can become so many different things in this game, I didn’t mention so many aspects like the Daedric quests because as you said I could have gone on forever trying to describe the depth of the game.
I believe this is the most detailed, in depth game that has ever been made, at least it is the best one I have ever played. You can tell from all that is in it that the developers put their heart and soul into this one.
Burbie, if you’ve ever had even the slightest interest in 1940’s America and/or the cold war or nuclear fallout, I URGE you to take a look at Bethesda’s other game (the original creators will kill me for saying this) called Fallout 3. It’s umm, more “shooty” than Skyrim but it’s got the same depth and character growth as Skyrim. If you want a passive experience of it before you play, check out The Book of Eli to whet your appetite.
The frame rate may be a bit slower than Skyrim but it’ll still knock your socks off!
Fallout is an awesome game, but total different feel than the Elder Scrolls world. It is more drab and serious than the fantasy world escapism. I love both franchises, with New Vegas as my favorite in Fallout but certainly a completely different experience, even though it has the same mechanics.
I actually owned Fallout and didn’t care for it much. I am not generally a “shooter” fan though. I tried it for awhile then turned it in for another game. I have more of a fantasy bent so it didn’t really turn me on that much. Skyrim on the other hand has all of the fantasy elements I love. I know several people though who loved the Fallout series, so that’s not to say it isn’t a good one, just not my style.
Thanks for the input!
True Bonzo, New Vegas is a different animal to FO3. The little bits of greenery of the surrounding areas seem a little less “Fallout” to me though. I think there’s quite a bit of humor in the FO games, it’s just a kinda dark humor though. If you (Burbie) were to find the Game of the Year version of FO3, you’d be playing for months and months. Also, The Book of Eli I mentioned is a film/movie, which I forgot to say in my previous post.
For me, FO3 really captures the wrath of a nuclear aftermath, it’s the little things (just like Skyrim) like finding half a house in the middle of the wastelands, and the remains of a man in the bath tub that didn’t see the explosion coming that give it that tragic kind of dark humor.
I don’t want to break any American embargo here, but I can only assume you’ve heard of Mercia that’s coming to Home soon? If not, here’s a link to the developers progress so far…
http://www.lockwoodpublishing.com/2012/05/mercian-diaries-defining-the-art-style/
Seems you’ll be spending even more time in Home Burbie, if that’s possible lol
Yeah I have known about this for quite awhile now and I am looking forward to what they have in store for us. There is an article here in the magazine about Lockwood and their new fantasy line that has a link to this as well. It is about time that someone considered the huge followers of RPG’s in Home and cashed in on it. Lockwood is always on top of these things it seems.