Customer Reviews

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

5 star:		(526)
4 star:		(90)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

Time passes really fast when you are playing this game. The first six hours went by in the blink of an eye yesterday ... my character is at level 10 and I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of anything. If you like these kinds of games, you will be hooked because Bethesda has managed to create something which really nails it on every level. I am a heavily magic oriented player so I spent most of my time so far in the mages' guild in winterhold. For some reason though the Dark Brotherhood wants me dead and sent an assassin to kill me. I was just messing around with some conjuration spells in a forest glen and the assassin was killed by this flame creature I had conjured before I even knew what was going on. Looted the body and found a note saying they want me dead. Stuff like that just happens and it is awesome. Dungeons btw are really fun and very well designed.

I do have one gripe that I see has been addressed by some other reviewers who gave a low rating for the game on amazon. That is that you have to pause the action to switch spells. In Oblivion, I could instantly switch spells with the d-pad and then cast them with RB while wielding a sword and shield. In Skyrim, you must assign a spell to one hand or the other, so it kind of feels like you have lost your RB button. I can understand this complaint.

However, if you have posted about this, keep in mind that your RB button is not idle. It has been reserved for shouts, and you will obtain shouts eventually although you have to play along the main quest until you get the first one. I have none as yet because I am focused on the mages' guild for now. However once you do you get shouts, you can instantly cast them with RB while also dual wielding whatever you choose.

The bottom line though is that this game is basically like Oblivion on steroids. If you liked Oblivion and spent 200+ hours playing it like I did, you will be addicted to Skyrim. Having playing all through yesterday and now it's 4 am and I'm getting up to play some more rather than get some sleep, this is probably the best game I've ever played. That's a lot of praise coming from a life long gamer. Again, so long as you like RPG's as opposed to say, MW3 (which a lot of people are playing non stop right now as well), this is the game for you. BTW $65 almost feels like a very low price if you were to actually measure out how many hours you are going to spend playing this game over the next year or so, and divide it by $65. I could spend $65 in a heartbeat at say, a Jets game at the Meadowlands, but that money goes a LONG way when playing Skyrim.

To sum up...why am I wasting my time typing this review? Time to go play Skyrim.

First and foremost, I have to give props to the art department at Bethesda. The art direction for this game is so far above earlier titles that even comparing them to this game is utterly pointless. Its literally in a class by itself and this is evident everywhere you look. The most obvious and impressive improvement has to be the design of the clothing, armor and weapons. The intricate designs are truly breathtaking. Even the cheap equipment you first start off with is stunning. For example, one of the first shields your introduced to in the game is the Hide Shield and its absolutely beautiful. Large metal rivets circle the outer diameter and intricate designs adorn the leather. It even has the dents and nicks one would expect to see from a shield that has seen its fair share of battle. This attention to detail is seen everywhere and it goes right down to the bindings of the books and the crackle glazed dishes and pottery found adorning most tables and halls. When you add this to the significant improvement in graphics....well, what you get is a level of realism that simply blows earlier titles out of the water. This is hands down the best art direction I have ever seen from a video game and ultimately it gives this world a level of realism that we simply haven't seen before.

The world itself is absolutely beautiful. One of the first open scenes I came across was a large flowing river that had huge rocks jetting up creating white water/rapids. Large mountains were in the background with wisps of clouds running all up and down the side of the mountain. It was absolutely stunning. I had to just stop and stare for a few moments. The draw distance has been significantly increased and the detail, as I wrote up above, is amazing. The landscape itself is just one big work of art. Traveling around and discovering the land for yourself has always been one of the big enjoyments for fans of this series. Well, Skyrim doesn't disappoint in this regard. In fact, this is easily the best title yet in regards to this aspect of the game. No other game series can compete with the size and scope of the worlds that Bethesda creates for this series and no other game in the Elder Scrolls series even comes close to matching what Bethesda has achieved this time around with Skyrim. They have significantly leapfrogged anything and everything they have done in the past.

An issue I feel compelled to discuss is the huge improvement with the 3rd person perspective in this game. As I am sure people are aware, 3rd person perspective in Oblivion was pretty bad. Actually, it was awful. You could switch over for short periods but the game was pretty much unplayable from that perspective. Well, the improvement Bethesda has made in this aspect of the game is nothing short of amazing. Your character no longer looks like he is walking on air and your easily able to interact with your environment. Basically this game is now wholly playable from this perspective. I prefer playing in 3rd person perspective when I am just traveling around and its just really nice to see Bethesda finally take the proper steps to fix this aspect of this series. If your going to include it than at least make it playable and Bethesda has done just that.

You can immediately tell that this is an Elder Scrolls game but dont let that fool you. There are a lot of changes behind Skrim. One of the most obvious changes is with the skill system. The skills themselves are pretty much the same. You have Alchemy, Illusion, Conjuration, Destruction, Restoration, Alteration, Enchanting, Heavy Armor, Light Armor, Block, One Handed, Two Handed, Archery, Sneak, Lockpicking, Pickpocket, Speech and a new one Smithing. The big difference lies in the fact that you now have specialty skills for each skill category and there are multiple branching paths one can take. For example, the Stealth skill has two different branches that one can take, one that focuses on stealth (Muffled Movement, Light Foot, Silent Roll, ect.) and one that focuses on blade skills (Backstab, Deadly aim, and Assassins blade). This ultimately adds a significant amount of depth to character progression and it also adds to the games re-playability factor as there are now so many different avenues one can take. On top of this there are no longer character classes. You still have the different races of character to choose from but choosing a class is history. What kind of character you become (Spellcaster, Fighter etc.) is solely dependent on the skills you choose to upgrade or in other words its dependent on how you play your character. Personally I love this new system as it doesn't lock you into a specific mold for your character and it leaves everything open for you to explore. Its just a far more organic system and ultimately I think its a significant step forward for this series in regards to character development.

Another big change is with the menu system and this is easily one of the best changes made in this game. The new menu system is just far more intuitive. Basically the menu system has been broken down into 4 distinct categories. There is Skills, Items, Map, and Magic. You have to press the menu button to access the menu but once you do that, you no longer need to press buttons. Simply press the left stick in the direction of the menu you want and it automatically changes. Once you have done this, a new subsystem of selections will come up and pressing the left stick to the right will take you to the next menu and so on. No button pressing needed. Basically the left thumb stick controls all of your movements within the menu system, with no button pressing needed. I may not have described it very well but its hands down one of the best menu systems I have ever used. Again, its just a far more intuitive system and it just has a great feel to it. You never leave the main screen when accessing menu's. It just blurs out a bit and acts as a background to the menus themselves. This basically does two things, it helps to keep the menus from detracting from the game itself and it ultimately makes the menu system far more attractive. They have also updated the item menu with 3 dimensional representations of the in game items. You can now spin items around a 360 degree axis, both vertical and horizontal. Its a small detail but a very cool one, especially for the weapons and armor.

I also have to mention the skill menu as the way they have graphically laid this system out is...well, its nothing short of stunning. Each individual skill is represented by a constellation in the sky and beautiful gaseous nebula act as a background to the constellations. The visual effect is gorgeous. You can cycle left or right through the skills/constellations and when you access the branching skill set associated with each skill, you suddenly zoom into the constellation itself and the different branching skills are suddenly represented by the individual stars in that particular constellation. Its kind of difficult to properly explain but trust me, the effect is not only stunning, its also nothing short of ingenious. Its EASILY one of the best, if not the best, molds of form and function I have seen yet in videogames. Words simply cant do this games art direction justice. It really has to be seen firsthand to be fully appreciated.

Combat has also been overhauled and what we wind up with is a system that is far more fluid, and ultimately a lot more fun, than previous releases. Characters are now able to duel wield both weapons and spells and can even mix up the two. In other words, you can assign a sword to one hand and a spell to another hand or you can go with a staff in one hand and a spell in the other. You can mix it up anyway you want. This new system fits perfectly with the new character system (that being one with no character classes). By adding so many options in regards to how to approach combat, they have essentially added strategy to the mix, something that was entirely lacking in Oblivion. Well, short of actually picking what character class you were actually going to play in oblivion. Basically the combat is just far superior to what we had with Oblivion. Unfortunately you can no longer assign weapons and spells to the D-pad and this is really one of my only complaints with the game. I dont understand why Bethesda decided to get rid of this. They could have even split the D-pad field in two, to accommodate the dual wielding nature of the game. In other words, they could have made the 4 slots on the left for the left hand and the 4 right slots on the right for the right hand. That would still have given you 4 quick slots for each hand.

There are lots of other aspects to this game that have been updated but I will leave the rest of them for the player to discover and while there are lots of new additions to Skyrim, fortunately there is also a lot that hasn't changed. Traveling is still done the same way. Once you have actually discovered a location you have the option to fast travel to that location. There are still lots of different factions that one can join, all of which have additional quests associated with them. You can still go about playing the game as you want. You still collect herbs and ingredients for potions. There are still hundreds of different books that one can read. I could go on and on and on and on. This is an Elder Scrolls game after all and Bethesda has kept the heart of the game intact and that is a very good thing indeed. I wont go into the story aspect of this game as I hate spoilers. I will just say that the main story line is fantatstic and is really the icing on the cake.

Bottom line - I am a huge Elder Scrolls fan and I have been watching this game since it was first announced. To say my expectations were extremely high would be a massive understatement. With that being said, Skyrim is everything that I hoped for and then some. It hasn't just raised the bar, its launched it into the stratosphere. If your an Elder Scrolls fan then buying this should be a no brainer. This is the kind of game people buy consoles for and this is easily Bethesda's best work yet in regards to this series. They have just taken this franchise to a whole new level. Thankfully, I have lots of time in the coming months to discover all that this game has to offer and make no mistake about it, what this game has to offer....well, its limited only by the amount of time you spend with it.

Outstanding, simply outstanding!

5 Stars!

After 200+ hours of personal gameplay, Skyrim truly is the genre-defining game in which all future RPG's will be measured against. It is MASSIVE -- so large and all-encompassing that it would literally take months to complete 99% of it. With the expected staggered DLC to come out, Skyrim would then be potentially limitless in its replay value, becoming the first true open-ended gaming console experience. The world of Skyrim is breathtaking in its graphical interface, soaring musical score, and simplistic but effective dual-armed controls. There are some initial bugs, but nothing major that are not being patched as time goes by. The third major patch update (12/20/11) has eliminated most of them that I can tell. The release-day issues largely centering around the high-res textures of close-up objects (e.g. your character's hands look blurry or lack detail) are completely gone, as well as the moments of LAG (frame rate drops that cause a stuttering or jerkiness picture). Shadows, textures, and the amazing scenery and sky are now in full Bethesda Game Studio glory. WOW -- you have no idea until you experience it. Bethesda has done an outstanding job making this game the ultimate RPG ever.

**BETHESDA WINS VGA GAME OF THE YEAR** Update 12/20/11: a few days ago, the Video Game Industry awarded it's highest achievement of the year to Skyrim as it's Video Game of the Year, along with several other awards, including Best Studio. Congrats, all!! As the 2012 gaming season unfurls the last of these console generation's banner games, Skyrim will no doubt be left on top. Bethesda lead the next-gen console gaming RPG world with Oblivion and closed it out with Skyrim. Now, three more years to wait for the new consoles. And yet Skyrim will be there to fill that gap for RPG fans. Yes, Skyrim is that big and expandable. And, yes, sadly, it will match up with any game that is set to release in the next 18 months (including Bioshock: Infinite).

Skyrim is not simply the best overall reviewed and awarded Game of the Year, it is also the most personal. While Uncharted 3 and Batman: Arkham City of 2011 are both great games (with Portal 2 and Zelda's Skyward Sword also nominated this past 2011 year), Skyrim is a much more self-centered experience, offering an almost complete immersion into its fascinating and exciting world. No other video game this year (or in the last decade) has come close to its densely-packed and lushly-filled open-world environment. It's rare that a game with this much pre-hype has lived up to its own stratospheric expectations, and then go on to excel and exceed them. BUT SKYRIM IS THAT GAME! I am confident that you and I will be playing it still for months (if not years) to come.

It should be noted that even though Skyrim is a stand-alone gaming experience, with no prior Elder Scrolls games knowledge necessary for enjoyment, it also righteously follows in its own legendary footsteps and lore of past games like Oblivion, expanding upon it in a way that veterans of the Elder Scrolls universe will not find disappointing. This is also NOT a FPS/3PS fast-paced warfare game: those people looking for COD / BF3 / HALO-type frenetic multiplayer experiences should stay away. This is not your type of game. YOU SHALL NOT PASS! Skyrim is intended to be explored over time, wondered at in awe, and is pure escapist entertainment. It is the closest thing to a living, breathing second-life that you will have in a video game reality, leaving you with plenty of goose bump and hair-raising moments in its wake.

An incredible achievement: 9.9 / 10 . . .

Oh, my. Well, I have been playing Oblivion since its release (about 7 characters that got around level 47, with about 300 hours each), and now, finally, last night (midnight launch, yay). I was able to start playing Skyrim. This IS one of the very few games that "lives up to the hype." I know I don't have to go into detail, those of you who are also playing it, especially if you have been along for the Elder Scrolls evolution journey, know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Those few of you trolls, that like to post poor reviews on games like this, just to get all of us riled up, guess what, I just ignore you.

Anyway, this will be sort of brief, because, first, I only have a few hours in (dang it I fell asleep at about 0400), and, more importantly, after this I'm getting right back to it. Without being too "spoilery," as they say at Bethesda, you start out (as usual), as a prisoner. You get asked a question that throws you into "character creation." Something happens (like last time) that will facilitate your escape. This first "quest" is basically a tutorial for you; like last time, once you exit this area and come out into the world, you are free to either continue the main story quest, or do whatever you like. Also as before, you have picked up quite a bit of gear relative to your beginning encumbrance (I started at 300). So, first thing I did of course, was look for a shop, and sold most of that stuff off, and made me some gold. Right now, I'm just exploring on my own; I already have the next stops in the main quest, and about 5 other side or miscellaneous quests, acquired by just talking to folks, in my journal.

On the difference in "skills" and "leveling:" I like it. The way it works now, instead of simply getting to 50 in a skill, and becoming a "journeyman," when you level up (I'm level 2 now), you go to a menu that looks like constellations in the skey, and you pick whether to increase your Health, Magicka, or Stamina. Then, comes the cool part...you receive a "perk;" you can either spend the perk you receive then, or save it for later. You can use a perk when you meet the skill level it requires, and have the pre-requisite perk already (i.e. you can't use one perk to jump from novice to master...you have to move up the 'skill tree' in order). What all this means is, YOU can select what you become expert at; you can be a warrior character and rise quickly to master of illusion etc. I like this MUCH better than Oblivion's "rest and meditate on what you have learned," etc.

The main reason the Elder Scrolls games are my favorites is, they are that rare "open world" "open choice" game. You can do the main quest, and nothing else. You can spend hundreds of hours wandering on your own, clearing out caves, fighting bandits, etc, and never touch any quests at all. You can do a faction quest, and nothing else. You can be a good knight (if you don't do the theives guild/dark brotherhood quests), or go around killing everyone you see. It's ALL up to you.

Well I can't stand it, I'm going to save this review, and go play Skyrim for the rest of the day. If you have the game, you know what I'm talking about. if you don't, get it. The words highly recommended don't do it justice. As far as how I would rate it: 5 out of 5 10 out of 10, you get the idea.

Ok really, I'm going now. GET THIS GAME.

I'd say the fundamental trade-off going from Oblivion to Skyrim is that the world looks and feels better, but there's less overt reason for you to be there. Skyrim is packed with "miscellaneous objectives" (read: fetch quests) to the point that almost every NPC needs you to go over to yon dungeon and get ye flask, and it gets old fairly quickly. Dungeons look more varied, but what you do in them is largely the same and often devoid of meaningful context- just barrel through rooms of enemies until you get ye flask, then return to town. The major questlines don't fare much better, as they're exceedingly short-lived and so have little sense of buildup or progression. A few quests into the Companions' (Fighter's Guild) questline and I'm already part of their inner circle- apparently they have no qualms entrusting leadership of the guild to strangers. Now, if the way you play Elder Scrolls games is to wander around on your own and not worry overmuch about quests, this probably won't bother you. For me, though, I like the context-heavy sidequests and gradual guild progression in Oblivion, and I was disappointed to see these things placed on a back burner for Skyrim. To be fair, when I just explored on my own, the game was a great deal more fun, and I feel like whether you enjoy this game will depend on how you play it and on your expectations coming from previous games in the series.

My other major, major bone to pick with Skyrim is the interface- especially inventory management- which is not very customizable and drags out total playtime much more than it needs to. For one thing, there is no "shift" button to assign shortcuts. Want to set Right Bumper + Face Button as a certain spell? Too bad- you're forced to dive into menus as a magic user. Sure, there's a favorites system, but instead of having one list on each direction on the d-pad- for example, a weapons list, a magic list, a potions list- everything's in the same list. How is that supposed to help me make quick decisions, exactly? Now, again, if you appreciate the time this gives you to catch your breath, this likely won't bother you. However, if you're like me and want to spend as little time in the menus as possible, you're probably going to feel awfully limited as to how you play the game, which runs contrary to the flagship buzzword of the Elder Scrolls series: player choice.

If you buy a house, you can't organize the items in chests and drawers AT ALL- the items don't even auto-sort. Moreover, if you have more than one house, the containers are not shared, so why would you want to store your loot in more than one location? It would just mean more loading screens as you travel back and forth.

By the way, the loading screens are LONG, even with a disc-install- I've waited upwards of a full minute for traveling long distances, and even going in and out of shops can take more than ten seconds. What makes this even worse is the encumbrance system- if you carry too much, you pretty much can't move, so after every dungeon looting session you'll have to immediately go back to town to sell the stuff. It got to the point where I exclusively focused on increasing how much I could carry, but even then you have to sit on the stuff for a bit, since merchants have limited gold.

If you loot a dragon the bones tend to weigh in at 75 (!), which means after every dragon battle you'll probably go straight back to town to sell or store them, which means more loading screens. Sometimes dragons rudely interrupt as soon as you fast-travel, so instead of doing what you were going to do, you may feel compelled to play along. Honestly, I didn't find dragon fights to be very exciting, as they played out the same way almost every time (except when they glitched up), and I never felt the shouts you gain by defeating them were all that useful for a stealth character, which is the path I chose.

Speaking of choosing paths, as soon as you start selecting perks, there's no turning back. What if you decide the perks you've chosen are not as useful as you thought they'd be, or maybe you'd like to try a different playstyle for a while? Too bad- perks are permanent. Is that supposed to be player choice?

There are also plenty of balancing issues. For instance, you can become a master of smithing in no time by just forging iron daggers (pretty much the easiest item to forge), but if you want merchants to carry more gold, be prepared to buy and sell A LOT of stuff.

Overall, I think all of these design issues can really mar the experience.

Basically, if you're looking for a quest-oriented game like Oblivion, you're probably not going to find that here; Skyrim is more of a DIY exploration-oriented game, and while in that respect it performs respectably, even admirably, there are a host of design issues that simply shouldn't be there, and the rampant loading times artificially extend total playtime. As this is the sort of game you can spend hundreds of hours on, I caution you, the reader, to look beyond the unconditional praise this game is unsurprisingly getting to decide whether it's something into which it's worth investing your time.

Edit: I should mention I haven't played the entire game, but I've completed two guild questlines and over 150 miscellaneous objectives, and have done a lot of traveling on my own, so I feel I've seen enough to write a review.

After having played 80 hours into the game, I feel a review is in order (not that my opinion really matters)

Gameplay 10/10
-Combat: The combat in this game is a fast improvement over Oblivion. The excitement of a stealth kill, the brutality of the blade and the twang of the bow are felt deeper in this game than in the predecessors. I play a cleric-type character, mainly using one-handed and destruction magic as my main offensive abilities. The perks in one-handed really allow for some visceral additions to the already brutal finishing moves. The game seems to know when you the enemy really deserves what's coming and delivers every time. I don't find much hand-holding in the game; as a player you need to watch what spells you use and who you swing at, else your allies might fall. I find this adds some realism and removes wanton slaughter for the moral characters among us.

-Character: Leveling is vastly improved since Oblivion and certainly over Morrowind. What you use, you level. You don't need to plan everything and loose tracking of the game itself. I play the game to immerse myself in the environments and story, not to powergame. The perk system allows for very creative combinations, enabling the player to devise conjuror-warriors, healer-archers and anything in between. I enjoy how each decision matters with perks, and I enjoy pouring over the options before me. I find the changes to the magic system allow for more original character concepts than previously seen in other games. Want to play a necromancer? You can do it. Want to play the person that hunts necromancers? I did. I love it.

The character creation is improved in most ways compared to other ES games. I do wish the flexibility of Oblivion's face generator was present, but the options given are certainly flexible and far more believable. Each character has a realistic grit to it. A few improvements could be more hair models, a height modifier, and better eye colors.

-Crafting: I am beyond happy to see the addition of crafting into the series; it adds such life and extension to the gameplay. I however wish the perks that would go into the crafting trees would be separate from the combat trees. Aside from this, it's a wonderful system and I thoroughly enjoy mining, crafting and cooking at my home in Whiterun.

Setting 9/10
The setting of Skyrim is breathtaking. The variety of environments is beautiful and constantly reminds the player they're not in Cyrodiil anymore. I enjoy rivers pulling me downstream, storms blinding my vision and steep mountains to conquer. All is not harsh though. Areas like the Rift and the Reach demonstrate an alpine beauty while the marshes surrounded Solitude evoke a sense of tension and horror. The spiders that dwell there only further this emotion.

Of course no discussion of Skyrim's setting would be complete without mentioning the Dragons which plague the realm. Fighting a dragon is an experience. They hunt you and they hunt everything around you. While some younger dragons are easy pickings for higher-leveled characters, an Elder Dragon or Ancient Dragon poses a serious threat to a town and to the player. That being said, it's a welcome challenge with a nice reward.

Story 8/10:

I don't want to give away much here in the way of spoilers, but I have enjoyed the story. The player is given a sense of conflict woven into the very nature of Skyrim as a nation. Each town is replete with conflict and I am surprised at the variety of quests in the game. I do feel that where the game shines in exploration and combat, the factions are scarce and the quests are few. In comparison to older titles like Morrowind, I found myself aching for more factions to engage in. The game makes up for this by adding Radiant quests, repeatable endeavours. While the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood and Companions offer solid questlines, I found the College of Winterhold to be the cold cousin of the Mages Guild. Lore drops were wondeful but sometimes were left at a cliffhanger. It is important to realize there are two main quests. The Civil War and the fight against Alduin. They both play into each and strike at the heart of what it means to be in Skyrim.

Interface 7/10

The interface is touchy issue for many people. While it is certainly not game breaking or horrible, it doesn't feel improved over Oblivion's. I find it a poor design choice to cause the game to pause to scroll through the favorites list. While the dual wielding expanding choices, I find the interface crude but effective in accomplishing its goals. Personal information is hard to get to and I find important information hard to get to. One small nuisance I have noticed is the inability to remove markers placed by the player on the map.

Overall: 8.5 / 10

Skyrim is a must have title and a wonderful addition the Elder Scrolls series. Technical issues and interface issues are the only things that tarnish this otherwise shining Glass Shield.

Greetings! Yes, this game is ridiculously great. I'll put this review down in three short parts: (1) for those who are new to the Elder Scrolls; (2) for the veterans of Elder Scrolls / Fallout 3 / sandbox games; (3) general thoughts and comments about the game itself.

Quick background: I was madly in love with Morrowind and Fallout 3; I wasn't too crazy about Oblivion for many reasons, which are irrelevant right now. I loathe standard FPS games with linear storytelling and rinse-repeat trigger-twitching action. I play old school dungeons and dragons (paper and pencils, yes) and Lord of the Rings is the greatest fantasy tale ever (along with the Belgariad).

(1) For the unblooded: the open world of Skyrim can and will be daunting; you aren't given any clear-cut goals--or maybe you're given too many! That deer in the headlights, "what do I do now?", sensation is perfectly normal. Sit back and imagine yourself in an alternate reality; exactly, now you have it! Figure out the controls and character management stuff (read the dang manual!) and the rest is completely up to your imagination! Save your game often (every time you do something, basically) and experiment with anything you can think of; in no time flat, you'll realize this game is amazing.

(2) For the grognards: assuming you've played Morrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3, then Skyrim will feel comfy. It feels bigger and more inspiring thanks to the soaring mountains and the astounding soundtrack. The action is fantastic and the new addition of trigger dual-wielding is a lot of fun--experiment with all the combinations (like smacking a foe with fire & ice spells simultaneously).
Bethesda really simplified character creation and levelling, but they added in a robust Perk tree for every skill that presents a bewildering array of choices; I mean bewildering in that it's agonizing to choose which one to choose! The Perks actually have a dramatic impact on the game though, so whatever direction you go is bound to be exciting.
The interface is a lot cleaner and easier to access than any game before, including Fallout. I'd say Skyrim is closer to Fallout in terms of how it feels when you're playing, but the world feels unique and interesting like it was in Morrowind; the best of both worlds, baby. Dragons are fantasy at its best, and they feel appropriately tough. The best encounters come when the dragon roars and swoops overhead, building up that anticipation; there are different types of them, so be wary if you beat one down easily because the next one might not be so cake.

(3) General thoughts: I haven't had the game crash, not even once. The load times off the HDD are less than 30 seconds and much shorter for small transitions like shops. There are definitely some graphic hiccups and texture issues, but it's not constant nor bad enough to break the spell of immersion. There is so much to do in this game that you could easily stay in one province of Skyrim and max out your level.
Be careful with the difficulty setting, as some enemies are nearly indestructable on anything but normal, whereas the toughest enemies are sometimes far too easy when the difficulty is lowered. You'll notice classic Elder Scroll follies, like a bandit kingpin beating you down faster than a pair of angry dragons--but that's present in almost every game that tries to keep it challenging. It's better than Oblivion and much more like Fallout 3.

The best character and most amazing thing about Skyrim is the world itself. I've spent time simply gazing at the aurora lights or galactic clouds visible in the night sky; I've stood atop a lonely mountain in a snowstorm and just listened to the noise; I've stalked massive elk through sun-dappled pine forests; I've floated on an iceberg in the Sea of Ghosts, watching veils of fog swallow the land; I've walked with herds of mammoths across the tundra; I've delved into forgotten, undead-haunted halls where the slightest noise sends chills up your spine.

Enjoy, my friends.

Background: I have played through the original Morrowind on the Xbox at least once, and Oblivion on the Xbox 360 (including all DLC) at least 5 times.

This review is based on 31 hours of play (level 15, playing as a Khajiit) without having the game installed, I am playing straight off the disc because there are reports of a bug in the way the game reads textures off the hard disk. Load times are no worse than in Oblivion, and in most load screens you are shown a random 3D model you can turn around and explore instead of just staring at the screen. This is very smart of the designers, since it allows you stay busy during the load screens. I have yet to experience a single freeze.

The game itself is spectacular. It is as if they took almost every single complaint about Oblivion and tried to address it. The graphics are of course better, the game world makes Oblivion look like a cartoon. Interiors are still semi-generic, but so far I am yet to see much duplication in the outdoor areas. The map screen is now a 3D rendering, so you have a way of trying to figure out how to climb the taller mountains.

The other menus have been redesigned, the journal is now separated from the map, items, skills and magic screens. The journal now allows multiple quest markers on the map at the same time, and all of the miscellaneous quests are grouped together. Quests just fall on your lap, pretty much everyone you run into either gives you something to do, or knows somebody that needs/wants something done. On top of that, there are plenty of menial jobs to do, like chopping wood, milling wheat, picking up produce, etc.

The inventory is still broken down by item type and it makes it easier to figure out if you have a better item that should be equipped. This is the same screen used during trading. In Oblivion you had to switch between your inventory and the trader's, in Skyrim the trader's items are listed on top, yours listed on the bottom, also there is NO confirmation like in Oblivion. If you click it, you buy it.

Skills are streamlined from Oblivion, but most of them mean the same thing. As you level up, you get skill perks that you can spend on any of your skills across a tree shaped like a constellation. Moving up the skill tree is controlled by minimum skill levels for the skill, so for example, you may not be able to pick the perk to smith magic items unless your armorer skill is at least 60. Also, when you level up your only get to pick between magicka, health or stamina to bump up.

The powers and spells from Oblivion still work more or less the same way, but now there's a new kind of magic ability called a shout, which is just that. You scream and things happen. I cannot tell you more without spoiling the main plot of the game.

Things that are different:

Lock picking SUCKS unless you played a lot of Fallout 3 and/or New Vegas and you already got the hang of it. It would had been nice if the game designers allowed a bit more tactile feedback during this.

Archery: You can now sheath a drawn arrow, just hit the X button.

Crafting: this is addictive, there is all sorts of things you can build. You can even mine your own raw materials, smelt them into pure or alloy ingots, make the basic item then upgrade it. You can also upgrade your items once your smithing skill is high enough.

Enchanting: you now have to destroy an enchanted item in order to learn its power, then you are allowed to use this effect in new items. The enchantment altars are in public areas and are ready to be used. In Oblivion I only remember the ones at the Frostcrag Spire, and you had to upgrade them before you could use them. I imagine there were more at the university, but I never tried to find or use them.

Alchemy: there are alchemy benches scattered through the world. You mix and match to learn how ingredients work, then as you discover effects, or buy/find recipes, you can simply craft whatever you want.

Trading: Maybe this is going to change once I reach a higher level, but so far some vendors only want to trade certain items, which is annoying when you are trying to get rid of loot. There is no longer a mercantile skill, you now rely on your speech for commercial transactions.

Training: The hard cap of 5 paid training sessions per level still exists. It works the same way: go to a trainer, pay and you get trained on the spot up to five times. You can still grind your skills the old way, or you can find skill books, but it is so soon in the life of the game that you will have to find these on your own, the unofficial wiki is barely taking form right now. If you want to get an idea on what it will look once people learn the game, check out [...]

Dragons: They aren't a big deal, they are just annoying to fight, and their loot is heavy. Also, every time I have had a quest to kill a dragon at location X, I ran into a different one right before. There's lots of complains online about people having to fight two at a time.

Sidekicks: You can now hire a sidekick, or you will get one as a reward for certain quests.

Factions: some of the factions from Oblivion are present, and there are some designed to force you to take sides in the main plot.

Navigation: the map now marks areas as cleared, which is really nice.

After 31 hours playing, I am at level 15, have a nice set of dwemer armor I crafted myself, and my character is literally living from paycheck to paycheck. According to the journal, I have completed 9 quests (5 of these are part of the "main" storyline) and 38 miscellaneous quests. I have 18 miscellaneous quests open, and 10 major quests open. This is without even trying to find any work, it seems like you can't talk to anyone without finding work.

A funny thing is that the "grind" factor is almost non-existent. Even when you are just trying to make money because you want to do X, it is still amusing. Last night I caught myself spending over an hour just building and improving armor, only to sell it then to spend on more raw materials, go back, start the cycle again. It is just fun.

Overall I don't see any negatives. I am using a slimline Xbox 360, been running the game for 31 hours spread over 3 days and except for slow loading screens it runs fine. It is entertaining as hell, it is better than Oblivion and except for the lock picking, every single thing I have found seems to be an improvement over Oblivion.

When I write a review, I do my best to give both the bad and good. In the case of Skyrim, it's hard to find anything that is a negative. This is the kind of game that raises the bar and begins a new generation of gaming. Let me give you some details. Keep in mind I will be writing a lengthy review here, because I know some people are sitting on the fence as to whether to buy. I played Morrowind and Oblivion before this one. I will compare them with this game to give the most accurate review possible in comparison with what you know.

Here are the things I find make this game worthy of being Game of the Year (It sure has my vote...):

-The graphics are breathtaking. You will find yourself marveling at how Bethesda was able to design an engine that could handle viewing such far distances and still maintain good graphics. I've only played the Xbox 360, and I can tell you the limiting factor of graphics is the Xbox 360 hardware.

-Gameplay is changed A LOT from oblivion, and I consider this a plus. Bethesda has completely removed the attributes (strength, willpower, intelligence, etc.) and this, trust me, is not a bad thing. Do you remember stressing out over a good level up in oblivion? I sure do... No more worrying about getting +5 bonuses to your attributes. Instead, with each level up you get to increase either Health, Magicka, or Stamina. It's an easier system to work with. I feel like it will be easier to decide what kind of character you want to be with this system. If you want to be a mage, increase magicka.

-In oblivion, taking down an opponent could take over 20 strikes/arrows/etc. This really bothered me because I prefer a more realistic amount of damage. Thankfully, Bethesda has completely changed this component of the game around. Your average foe is only going to need a few hits to take down. Don't worry... this doesn't mean that the game is going to be easy. I assure you that some foes (I don't want to spoil anything) will take more than a few spells or arrows to take down. Damage is much more realistic now.

-The addition of perks is going to make this game a real joy to play. For those of you that enjoyed Fallout 3, you will definitely enjoy this aspect of the game. Even better than Fallout 3, perks are aligned with specific skills. As you increase skills, you gain a perk point to spend anywhere you chose. In my opinion, this system replaced the oblivion "choose who you are at the beginning of the game" system. Your character is going to be shaped as you play, which I think is brilliant. NOTE: For those of you who loved oblivion and the leveling system it had, don't be too discouraged here. Bethesda has not switched over to experience points in this game. You still level up skills individually to grow levels. You no longer need to choose what your major or minor skills are though. You will essentially determine this by playing through the game and choosing how to use your perk points.

-Bethesda has added a very cinematic experience to this game. I felt that oblivion lacked this to a certain extent. Right from the start you will feel like being part of an epic story, yet once you've finished the prologue, you are free to do anything that you please from there on forth. I give props to them for this... I imagine it is very difficult to add a cinematic experience to a game that is pure open world goodness.

-I was skeptical at the removal of armor/weapon repair and conditioning, but after playing with it for awhile I love the change! Instead of focusing on maintaining weapons and armor, now you focus on improving them at blacksmith forges and grindstones. After going mining for say, steel ingots or iron ingots, you can use the harvested minerals to improve the armor and weapons that you have. The crafting component of this game is to die for.

-Character design is much improved. Just look on the internet about the difference between Oblivion orcs and Skyrim orcs. I actually have the desire to play as a Wood Elf now!

This is what I have experienced so far. I haven't played much with enchanting or magic much as my first play through is going to be stealth based (I'm playing as a Wood elf.) I will update this as I play more. My only advice as of now, if you are even remotely thinking of buying this game, do so. Unless of course, you are worried about school, work... it's going to be an addicting game. If you still aren't sure about buying, go rent this puppy.

UPDATE 11-12-11 2:12 Am
The option of fast travel still stands strong in this game. However, this game offers something to be done ALL the time. If you love alchemy, you will come across numerous encounters to gather all kinds of plants, herbs, and even dragonflies. While fast traveling gets you places really quick, alchemists may find it much more beneficial to hike it. Actually, people who are into crafting would benefit as well, as hunting wild game in this game is important for collecting hides and other crafting materials. Besides, hunting in this game is a real blast. (I think it's better then buying a hunting game...)

A word of advice... take your time in this game. If your looking for a fast paced action game, forget this. Go with Call of Duty or Gears of War. This game requires patience. The people who enjoy it most will be the people who indulge themselves in the world Bethesda has created for us. Read the lore, explore... Skyrim is a big world.

UPDATE 11-13-11 2:15 Pm
I can tell that Bethesda has hired a full team to work on dungeons. In oblivion, I felt the dungeons all looked and felt the same. The dungeons littering Skyrim are all unique. Every time I enter a new dungeon, there are new surprises and puzzles. Even the general architectural design differs between the dungeons.

There are A LOT of guilds added to this one. You will still get to enjoy the traditional guilds found in Morrowind and Oblivion, and much more.

STORYLINE: I am not going to spoil anything. The only thing I am going to say is that the main story in this game is much improved over the main story of Oblivion. I found the oblivion gates highly annoying. Bethesda has taken what they have learned from making Morrowind, Fallout, and Oblivion to make the best game that they could.

BUGS: Considering how open this game is, Bethesda did wonderful with bug control. I only found a few things that were clearly glitches:

XBOX 360 Version

-I saw an animal that should have been on the ground flying. (only once)
-Floating gear (Again, only once so far)

I have played the PC version, and I can tell that the Xbox 360 was the system that Bethesda intended to make Skyrim for. While the PC is going to give the best graphics and view distances (you better have great hardware...), I found numerous bugs in the PC version. I have am both a console and PC gamer, and my personal opinion at this point is that if you just want to enjoy the game and not have to worry about glitches and such, get the Xbox 360 version.

After playing over 50 hours (it is now 11-20-11), I'm still blown away at how amazing this game is.

This game is amazing!! The wait was well worth what we got here. I just hate having to share it with my husband, looks like he's getting the PC version for Christmas, or his own xbox! Graphics are amazing, the characters are great...I love that some of them sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger, lol. I don't have time to write a detailed review right now, but I wanted to give it my five stars because it really deserves it. I only wish I had no life so I could stay home and play this all day!