The new Elder Scrolls Game has sky-high expectations. Can it deliver?
Artwork by Ed Gloor
The player is sprinting as fast as the character can, across a wide open plain. The stamina meter is running low, and the dragon is right on the player’s tail.
This is something that may happen multiple times when playing The Elder Scrolls V (5) Skyrim (Skyrim). The breathtaking mountainous world opens up to the player completely, right as they exit the tutorial area. This in itself is impressive, but this only scratches the surface of the fifth installment of one of the biggest role-playing game (RPG) series ever made.
The graphics are the biggest thing that the gamer notices when beginning this adventure. Critically acclaimed Bethesda Game Studios decided to create their own graphics engine for Skyrim called the Creation Engine. Everything in the game is stunningly beautiful from the snowy mountains, rocky cliffs, plains, and thousands of trees. Even all the little details like shadows, weather, and lighting effects are handled with the utmost consideration. However, with such a large world supporting graphics such as this, glitches are prominent. I have never encountered a glitch that ruins the game experience, but things like texture pop in (when a texture on an object isn’t loaded when you see it), missing environment, and floating shrubbery are a fairly common occurrence.
For those who have never played an Elder Scrolls game, they can jump right in. The story in each game is not a continuing saga, but rather another chapter in the deep and relevant gaming world of Tamriel. Each game takes place in a different country, and the games are usually named after their setting. Skyrim, the homeland of the Nords, (one of ten playable races and comparable to Vikings) is in political turmoil, with a rebellion taking stage. To add to this problem, The Elder Scrolls (scrolls written long ago, predicting the ages to come) have predicted the return of dragons to Tamriel, and they have never been wrong before. However, with dragons on the rise, the gamer receives the role of Dovakiin or Dragonborn, with the ability to fight dragons, and steal their power.
After choosing from ten different playable races (High Elf, Argonian, Nord, Imperial, Dark Elf, Kajiit, Orc, Redguard, Brentan, and Wood Elf), and getting through the tutorial, the gamer is ready to really play the game. There is also a deep customization system, and the gamers can give themselves a name, but this can be ignored if so desired.
Skyrim is largely a game of choice. Decimate a town, get married, join any of an elite group of guilds, do any of the thousands of side quests, or just beat the main quest of the game. It is entirely up to the gamer. Each race starts with different specialties, and powers that can have a drastic change on the game as a whole. Races like Orcs and Nords are largely combat-based, High Elves and Brentans are the most magically skilled, and Kajiit and Wood Elves are the best at stealth. (Even if the race starts better at some things, and bad at others, the player can still play anyway they want with any race they want.)
These choices affect the fighting system of Skyrim immensely. The player’s character can focus on magical abilities, stealth abilities, combat abilities, or any combination of the three. As a magical character, fire, ice, and electric spells are the prime offensive capabilities. With magic, it is also possible to manipulate foes, create magical wards and protections, and summon creatures to fight with the character. Stealth abilities involve the use of bows, sneak attacks for offensive capabilities, and light armor for defense. Combat capabilities are fairly straightforward. Swords, maces, daggers, and axes are the offensive capabilities, and heavy armor for defense.
The choices of Skyrim have their largest effects in the level up, and progression system. All of the many skills the players will use in the game will upgrade the more they use them. In addition to this, every time the players level up, (becomes more powerful in a big way) they get to choose a boost in stamina, magica (magic points), or health. Once they have decided on which value to boost, they get to pick a perk in any of the 14 skills. Perks can do simple things like make the player 20% better at that skill, or they can do more involved changes, like the ability to decapitate with weapons.
The title of Dragonborn gives anybody playing the game the Dragon Shout combat ability. After killing the first dragon (early on in the main storyline), they become a common occurrence throughout the land. Slaying dragons allows the players to take their souls, and use them to progress their dragon shouts. These dragon shouts range from freezing enemies solid, to an incredible sprint forward. Some dragon shouts are unlocked through the main story, but many can be found while exploring the world. All of them are linked to a universal cool down (the time it takes to use again) meter, but they have different cool down times.
Simply put, anyone who considers themselves a gamer should experience this game. The graphics are beautiful, the world is alive, the game play is stellar, and it has over 300 hours of content. This is a game for the ages; the true definition of gaming excellence. Those not used to the series may be overwhelmed at first, but will eventually adapt to the complex world. Skyrim is the best Elder Scrolls game ever made, and is also one of the best RPG’s in existence. Skyrim gets a 5 out of 5.
