If you haven’t played either Morrowind or Oblivion allow me to discuss them briefly.  Both were massive worlds populated with characters that approximated real people as much as the technology of their times would allow.  They allowed an unprecedented level of role playing through the diversity of their races and worlds, and the latent racial tensions that were present throughout the land.  A player could choose to support different sides in struggles, join guilds, and complete missions for many different kinds of private citizens.  These worlds were imperfect and while there were certainly many missions with a black and white morality, there were many shades of grey in the world as well.  It was impressive and there was so much to do I quite literally played Oblivion for over 300 hours and explored only about 75% of the dungeons and quests.

Dungeons in Oblivion didn't look this good.

Skyrim is designed along the same lines but has significant improvements.  While the dungeons in Oblivion felt very samey, the dungeons here feel far better designed.  Yes, there are certainly similarities.  Nord barrows all share similar colors, textures, and enemies, but each one has a unique feel to it, a different flow.  Skyrim also adds one incredibly important change to the mission system.  It’s known as the Radiant Quest system, and it randomizes certain parts of the quests so that no two playthroughs will be exactly the same.  This is a brilliant addition, though I’m sure it makes it more difficult for the strategy guide authors.  The quests are generally interesting and varied enough to keep the player’s interest, and you seldom get the “been here, done that” feel that quests in a game like this can have.

She looks pretty good for a merchant chick.

The characters are also vastly improved over its predecessor.  Oblivion in particular had a reputation for stiff and plastic looking character models.  The character animations in Skyrim are vast improvements over Oblivion, and the level of detail is impressive considering how many different characters there are in this world.  This extends to the fighting animations as well, as enemies can now have heads lopped off or be run through.  These animations aren’t perfect, but they do add to the fight scenes.  People also look more realistic while going about their daily routines of farming, peddling their wares at the market, chopping wood, etc.

Aurora Borealis and one of the moons.

And speaking of improved looks, the world itself is simply beautiful.  I literally climbed to the top of the tallest mountain in Skyrim simply to look down upon it.  Clouds move realistically through the mountains, and the Aurora Borealis effect is simply stunning.  Some of the world textures are still a bit low resolution, and running water could use a little work, but for the most part the world is one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen in a game.

You can be an Argonian. And the Argonian models are damn good.

The game plays about as good as it looks, too.  Much like its predecessors, your character can be customized to your play style.  There are 18 different skill trees (down from 21 in Oblivion) that cover the skills you use to fight and interact with the world.  Within these trees are sets of perks that the player can unlock to further enhance the skills.  One point is provided for each level you achieve, and perks require a certain base skill level within that tree to open.  You can also enhance either your health, stamina, or magicka by 10 points with each level, though stamina is always going to be a big one since it’s the only way to increase your base carrying capacity.  You increase your level by using skills and increasing their own individual levels, but unlike Oblivion, which only levelled when certain skills chosen by the player at the beginning of the game were increased, Skyrim will grant level progress for any skill that increases.   This is a welcome change, as it allows the player to change their mind about their play style instead of being locked in from character creation.

Hitting the bandit with the arrow will slightly increase my archery skill. It will also help my housecarl win her fight.

The combat in Skyrim is much the same as Oblivion, which is a bit of a disappointment.  Melee combat feels repetitive thanks to a relative lack of different animations, and archery is… well, just archery.  The magic can sometimes be interesting, but the ability to create one’s own spells has been eliminated in Skryim, which is probably the biggest let down.  You can still experiment with potions, however, and the alchemy system is still excellent.  The big addition to combat are the shouts, which are something like magic with a cool down timer instead of using mana.  The secret to them are words of power that are discovered primarily through exploration, which can increase the power of a shout or teach you a new one.  These words are then unlocked by using dragon souls, which as you might imagine are only acquired through killing dragons.

Someone's working late at the Sky Forge.

The strength of a game like Skyrim is less in the mechanics of the game, but of the vibrant world you participate in.  People talk about your accomplishments and comment on your clothes.  They talk to each other about all manner of subjects.  The player can join sides in a civil war.  You can gain a companion through accomplishing missions or simply paying a mercenary.  And let’s not forget that you can fight dragons.  The loss of spell creation, the very console-oriented menus (which are still better than Oblivion’s), and a few minor bug issues are a small price to pay for the epic experience it provides.  Be prepared to sink literally hundreds of hours into it.  More screenshots after the score.

Final Rating:  

86% (Good) 

 

Hours played as of this writing: 113

Don’t know what this rating means?  See our ratings explained!

 

Yeah, he's mean and he's ugly. But he probably really just needs a hug.

 

The night sky is truly gorgeous in this game.

This dragon will actually have a chat with you if you desire

Generally speaking, magic like this has "bad news" written all over it.

You have to know a Jarl to get a table like this.

The castle the previous shot was taken from is down there, through the clouds.

Another view of the moon and the night sky. Each city has a different architecture and feel to it. This one is very Norwegian.

And this one is re-purposed Dwemer.

I think she's angry...

Don't walk into the light. You might end up in the Nord afterlife of Savngarde.

You won't see caves like this in most games.