Here we are 23 years later and I'm a self-proclaimed closet gamer. As I get older I find that I much prefer RPG's (Role Playing Games, if ya don't know, now ya know!) and some sports games like Tiger Woods PGA Tour or Tony Hawk. Grand Theft Auto is a personal favorite of mine as well. But enough history. On to the game!
I guess the best way to describe this game is it's like Dungeons & Dragons meets Grand Theft Auto. You start by choosing a gender and a race for your character (I'm currently running a male Dark Elf). There are 10 races you can choose from. The facial features can be altered which is a nice perk. In Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion that option was not available. Once you have created and named your character, you are free to move about the land of Skyrim, but not before you escape the enormous dragon that swoops in to town just before you get your head cut off by the guards in the opening sequence. You actually start the game as a prisoner. Skyrim is huge. Really huge (The Game Guide is 655 pages). In 20 hours of gameplay I haven't even scratched the surface of this snowy mountainous landscape. As you roam around you come upon towns, farms, caves, wildlife, hostile enemies, friendlies, weapons, artifacts and who knows what else. You can make potions and food, repair and improve weapons and armor, complete quests, go on a killing spree. Whatever you feel like. The game has a Main Quest which is more involved than most games by themselves. There are also numerous Miscellaneous Quests which can sidetrack you for hours on end. This game has so much to offer, it's almost impossible to do a detailed review on it. Your character will level up as you enhance your skills which you can do by fighting, casting magic spells, fixing weapons or armor, and talking and bartering with people just to name a few. There are 18 skills in all. Each time you level up you can increase your Health, Magicka, or Stamina. You are also given one perk that you can use to further enhance one of your skills. For example, once you've attained enough points and perks for the One-Handed Weapons skill, you can weild two weapons at once, otherwise known as dual-weilding. Pretty cool. My character currently sits on Level 12. I read somewhere that you can actually get up to Level 80 or so. Since I put the difficulty level at Master, and I kinda suck at video games, I suspect I'll be about 80 years old when I get there.
There are some downfalls to Skyrim that I've noticed. With a game this big you can expect there to be some bugs and glitches. For example, the friendly AI is more of an annoyance than a help as they frequently get in your way and don't attack when enemies are nearby. Kinda sucks too when you're trying to be stealthy and sneak up on a group of skeletons, then suddenly your "friend" goes on a kamikaze mission and attacks blowing your cover. There are some tricky corners you can get stuck in as well. Veterans of the Oblivion game will be familiar with this. Because the terrain is hilly and mountainous, a lot of times you'll find yourself running in circles searching for the pathway that leads up to the top of the mountain you want to climb. Also, some of the music sounds like you're listening to the Mormon Tabernachle Choir.
All in all though, I would highly recommend this game to fans of RPG's. The fight sequences are awesome, the graphics are pretty sharp for a game this size, and the storyline is interesting and stays in line with the previous games in the series. If I had to grade it I would give Skyrim an A- based on what I've seen so far, but like I said, 20 hours in and I've just barely scratched the surface.
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