Lewis Dunne gets lost in the world of TES V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has to be one of the most hyped games for this year. Someone with even the slightest interest in games would have had to have been hiding under a rock for the past 6 months to have missed it. Often people get too worked up about such games, resulting in disappointment if it’s anything less than divine. Those approaching Skyrim with realistic expectations, however, certainly won’t be disappointed.

Like the previous games of the series, Skyrim introduces you to a massive and rich environment, and then lets you loose. This freedom, combined with the massive and detailed environment really makes the game feel like a living world. There is always something to do as the map is littered with people and factions offering a plethora of missions for completion.

Those familiar with the previous Elder Scrolls game will be happy about the reappearance of Join-able factions such as the College of Winterhold, the Dark Brotherhood, and a Guild reminiscent of the Fighters Guild which featured in previous games. The player can even join one of the belligerents in the region’s civil war. The main storyline itself follows the return of dragons to the fictional land of Skyrim. Naturally, it’s up to you to stop them. The plot is well written and the main story missions alone take around 20 hours to complete. The great length of the game is, however, necessary, considering there is no multiplayer component.

The only real flaw is that the story moves at a slower pace than in Oblivion. Although roaming dragons serve as a constant reminder of the main quest, there doesn’t feel like there’s any real urgency for you to progress; sure dragons are bad, but if you’re busy trying to steal some wine for the alcoholic by the fountain, that’s forgettable. The plethora of side quests also prove to be significant distractions with the civil war backstory sometimes feeling like it overshadows the quests that are supposed to be the focus of the game.

Character and skill advancement also plays an important role in the game, with levelling up offering you the opportunity to upgrade attributes, such as sneaking or improving the damage done by hitting someone in the head with an axe. This lets the player specialise in their chosen areas, giving a healthy degree of customisation, and generally just adds to the game’s depth.

The combat on the whole is decent, and can prove to be a challenge at times. Arguably however, this tends less to be because of enemy intelligence but instead because they tend to be quite overpowering. This aside, the larger opponents, such as giant spiders, can encounter problems at times, such as falling off bridges and stairs or simply being unable to pursue the player through doors proceeding to stand there whilst you fire arrow after arrow into its face. This isn’t anything game breaking, but it can sometimes break the immersion factor that the game prides itself on.

The combat also features cinematic finishing moves which seemingly fire off at random. These cinematic moments are satisfying to watch and occur infrequently enough so as to not be continually breaking up the action sequences.

Skyrim is a true sequel to Oblivion. The main storyline may feel slightly weaker, but the game as a whole is solid and incredibly immersive. Even though the game only offers singleplayer, the huge number of quests on offer means that you’ll definitely get your money’s worth out of the game. Given the scope of the game, the faults are negligible and don’t stop the game from towering head and shoulders above its competitors.