Review: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Empire of Tamriel is on the edge...for the conclusion

There be dragons about

The biggest surprise in Skyrim is the dragons, which I assumed would be nothing more than a gimmick. On the contrary, they're essential to the plot and often dramatically change the feel and pace of Skyrim. Though there are quests to kill dragons, the fights aren't always scripted, which keeps matters interesting. Dragons can appear out of nowhere swooping down from the skies with great alacrity. They animate superbly and prove to be a brilliant addition to the series thanks to some epic battles. And, like everything in Skyrim, reward for a successful slay is bountiful - in this case a "dragon shout" proves to be more than enough motivation to go dragon-hunting.

The levelling system is also extremely rewarding, and the new perk system gives further options to customise characters and play to strengths. Completing quests provides the impetus to become more proficient in a variety of skills, from conjuration and archery to two-handed attacks and alchemy, and the player grows with the game. Perks make Skyrim so much more personal - there are no two characters the same.

A 101 things to do in Skyrim's towns

Peerless fantasy

Bethesda has done a great job with the brand-new user interface, too. The clumsy menu system from Oblivion has been streamlined and it's now so much easier to navigate through items, with everything accessible within a few clicks. Equipping weapons, arming spells, trading and finding items quickly is also much easier. It's a simpler, less-cluttered interface, and though the layout and dull colour scheme is not as visually attractive, it's certainly more efficient.

Skyrim's storyline is intriguing, but having not yet seen how it all pans out - I've been caught up in too many side quests and searches for Nirnroot - I can't come to any conclusive judgements. I don't need to; I've seen enough. Though Skyrim does require a serious amount of time investment, the game rewards back ten-fold. Make no mistake, this is single-player role-playing gaming at its very zenith. The biggest compliment I can pay Bethesda's latest Elder Scrolls game is that overnight Skyrim has become a way of life in our house, and when I've not been playing it I've been thinking about it. That's the mark of great RPG, and Skyrim is most certainly the greatest.

The Good

Brilliant characters, NPC interaction, and incredible game world
So much great loot to search for!
Satisfying and challenging combat against some brilliant enemies, not least the dragons

The Bad

It will eat your life away

HEXUS Rating

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

HEXUS Awards

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

HEXUS Where2Buy

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available to buy from Play.com

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!

“Players choose a class that specialises in a particular area”

Oh no they don't :p

I am gutted that I have to wait till Christmas before playing Skyrim, wife has told me not to buy it as she wants to get me the edition with the dragon statue. So started playing Oblivion again, replaced my disc version with the Steam Deluxe edition, hooked again already!

Cant wait for Skyrim though, ploughed around 240 hours into Oblivion first playthrough, will probably get about that out of it again this time round. Going on the cons on this review looks like it will be about the same playtime.

Kal which do u prefer? witcher 2 or this?

Im getting skyrim next month

j.o.s.h.1408;2184121
Kal which do u prefer? witcher 2 or this?

Im getting skyrim next month

Very hard to pick a preference - they are very different styles of game. The Witcher 2 is better looking, takes place in a better setting, has a better story, has better characters etc. But it's a finite, if intense, experience. Skyrim, like all Elder Scrolls games, might as well be infinite - you have to put in the imagination to bring the world to life a bit more, and gloss over the weaker points, but if you can do that then it's a proper little virtual world that you can come back to for years. In The Witcher 2 you play a story. In Skyrim you make a story.

So they're as good as each other really, they just do different things. I have more room in my life for the shorter intense experience, just because I have less free time than I used to, but I've got time for one long term game, so Skyrim might as well be that one, and I can fit in The Witcher 2, Diablo 3 etc around it. As a PC gamer you should get both.

PS Tarinder, they still don't choose a class. You only chose race, gender and name (and play with a brilliant character look generator - how many beards?!).

My arguement against Skyrim is the clumsy PC port, the menus are horrid with a mouse, far too easy to misclick and close a screen.

Dragons are also a disappointment, far too hard to engage them when swooping overhead, plus the occasional random insta-kills.

Still, this aside it's definitely addictive!