Dragonborn. A title that commands respect and emanates power beyond any mortal imagining.
Skyrim is the next chapter in the history of Tamriel which has spanned across four previous main story games, extra content, spin off's and eventually as of 2013 an Massively Multiplayer Online Game; The Elder Scrolls Online. That's nearly 18 years of development and fantastic storytelling. Thank you Bethesda :)
Your humble beginnings are unknown in the prologue to the game. All you do know is your being carted off to the Helgen outpost as Imperial Soldiers have captured Ulfric Stormcloak, the rebel leader, so it's a beheading for him and unfortunately you too for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not going well for you so far huh? It gets even worse. As Ulfric comes closer to meeting the edge of the executioners axe a giant mythical beast of scale and fire, once thought to be destroyed many centuries ago, swoops down and attacks the people of Helgen: allowing Ulfric and yourself to escape. Once finally out of the now burning Helgen you are free to roam the wild snowy landscape that is Skyrim.
Bethesda are very experienced at making games where the player can become whom ever he/she likes and choose which ever path it takes to get there and this game is no exception. There are main story quests to follow in which you discover you are Dragonborn and learning powerful Tha'ums which is the language of the Dragons by absorbing their souls, their knowledge.
A bag of bones
You can also decide to join either the Imperial Soldiers fighting for the Empire or the natives of Skyrim the rebellious Stormcloaks who are fighting against the Empire and the right to worship Talos as a God, even though he was a normal dude, but an hero to all of Skyrim. This upsets the Thalmor Elves, who from previous instalments of the Elder Scrolls are the bad guys. I haven't chosen a side yet as I see the benefit to being able to walk into every town and not get attacked by one faction or the other. Also, I find the religious war excuse, as just exactly that. I'm sure the story is more complicated than that considering Ulfric Stormcloak killed the High King of Skyrim and I'm guessing the Empire didn't like that.
This game also distracts you from the main story with a great many side quests. Oh wow so many times I promised myself I'd just quickly run back to my house in Whiterun, sell my stuff and oooh what's this symbol on the map? A cave? okay it'll only take 10 mins. Oh there's a guy inside and poof there goes an hour. It is incredibly engaging. I must have completed over 50 sidequests plus many miscellaneous quests on top of that but only actually done about 20% of the main story. But that's the great thing about it, that's what this game was made for. For you to do whatever the hell you like! It has got to the point now where I'm actually slightly displaced from the story and enjoying myself more getting to know the people and secret organisations within Skyrim.
I remember from playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion there were guilds and factions you could join to earn extra monies and perks. Like reduced bounty, with the Thieves Guild, when you got caught in a house you may or may not have had permission to be in. Skyrim is no different, however has greatly improved the development and value of being a member of these guilds and factions. You can follow main plot quests specifically for your chosen trade that not only rewards you with perks, unique gear and special life changing abilities but also gives you a connection with the characters involved due to brilliant intricate storytelling. I've had more fun with the Thieves Guild and Companions quest lines than I have the main story so far.
I was always one head in front of him!
The Dragon Shouts learned from Dragon Word Walls or certain NPC's are a form of supporting magic as they can have area effect as well as long range capabilities and can be used for non-combat too. Such as the Become Ethereal you can walk through solid objects, like doors, and have a peek or avoid detection if your somewhere you shouldn't be. The most used one is probably Unrelenting Force as it can be very effective for knocking Dragons out of the sky, but have your weapons ready, once they get up boy are they pissed.
What's great about which ever weapon you choose, you are not limited to that particular style. Yes most of your skill points will be in two-handed but sometimes the situation calls for a less messy approach shall we say? Like an inconvenient arrow to the knee? You don't need to be a prolific archer to down a guard from 100 yards away. Unlike some games where once you've chosen to be a Rogue that's it. All you can use is daggers and crossbows.
I have to say I'm not a magic user per se, I'm in the "two-handed battleaxe" category so I can't really comment on the magic system. But from what I have had to use (quest related) I've found it really easy to get a grasp of (hur hur) and in that classic Elder Scrolls way; the more you use something the better it becomes so if throwing a fiery ball (or balls; duel wield baby!) of doom is your thing then go for it! Me? I like to cleave stuff in half and chop heads. For the HORDE!!! wait...wrong game.
As you know I love Fallout 3 and the transition from playing that combat system and in that environment to this one wasn't that difficult. I like that they play kind of similar you just hand in your lasers and steampunk attire for Skyforge Steel and Dragon Scale Armour. Yes, you don't need the VAT system here for easy targeting but the combat isn't that difficult to handle to need something like that. I LIKE that Bethesda have made an entirely different game to Fallout and not been lazy about using the same engine and their own stuff to make it awesome and truly unique gaming experience, unlike BioWare: the menus and gameplay for Mass Effect 2 was EXACTLY the same for Dragon Age 2. Lazy.
Frost the Fearless
I've hired and fired many of the companions you can get to accompany you throughout Skyrim. Some don't cost gold but will make sure you travel to the arse end of no where to get something for them before they'll even think about putting their coats on let alone take an arrow to the..wait already made that joke. But by damn Frost the Fearless Steed has never let me down. Thus far he's the best companion I've had on account that He doesn't run away, glitch, make my presence known, die instantly, doesn't have the IQ of a fart and best of all he was completely FREE. He may or may not have been illegally acquired but since he was technically stolen by someone else doesn't show up as Stolen when he came into my possession. Crime free. Plus he kills Dragons. He's actually better than me too :)
You know I've read about the possible glitches regarding him running away or just not spawning when you fast travel but he's the only travel companion that hasn't glitched on me in one way or another. He just doesn't die either. Maybe that in itself is a glitch but it's a damn good one for a change!
I've stuck with Jenessa the Dunmer Mercenary for most of the game, she's not the best I hear but she's the better from the ones I've come across so far. Some puzzles in the ruins you can blunder into require you to have a companion to stand on pressure plates while you pull a lever etc. However, I have found some will just walk over the very apparent traps and set them off when you have gone to a great deal of care (and time) to avoid. (Lydia; IQ of a fart). The AI of your followers could be greatly improved or a least the instructions you can give them apart from Attack, Stay, Bugger off, and "here carry my stuff!". It would also be helpful if they stayed a certain distance from you at all times especially when sneaking. Many times Aranea the Priestess of Azura didn't even bother going into sneak mode and often didn't actually follow me at all. It is good in some way when a companion is morally objective and often comment on the wrongness of an act you are about to commit it's all very good for the immersion but is it an AI fail or glitch when they simply "push" you into a group of mobs when you are BOTH supposed to be in sneak mode? Harsh, very harsh. I mostly avoided stealthy missions for this reason, my followers would often rush in or Frost would appear out of no where and kill everything anyway.
Which one are you again?
So I decided to get hitched and reap the rewards and joys of matrimony. Mostly the rewards. A homecooked meal and 200 gold a day? Where do I sign up? Best thing is my handsome beardy man is a Training Vendor, which means I can buy skills then get my monies back from trading inventories with my spouse! Another great thing is that you can go Skyrim weeks without seeing them and they don't throw a hissy fit, unlike the many wenches in the Fable games.
Just Google "Skyrim Landscapes" and you'll find some of the best in game screenshots of the world you traverse on your adventures. I have dubbed the landscape "a treat on the senses" as it is truly amazing. a lot of hard work has gone in the the look and feel of the environment and when your spending many many hours of your life in a fantasy world you want it to look real damn good. And real. Which it does spectacularly, from snow capped mountains, stormy seas and even the scale of the cities are amazing. Bethesda never fails to impress when it comes to environment design. The only thing they could have kept on par is the enclosed spaces to match the overwhelming feeling of "awe" for their outside spaces. Objects or characters trying to interact with their environment in a small cave or house just repeated the same glitches often found in Oblivion and spaces often looked unfinished and blocky, not to mention a whole area of the map with nothing in it.
GLITCHES! Bugs, objects colliding at incredible speeds, cows falling out of the sky, broken spawns...the list goes on for the many glitches found throughout the game and it's a shame they feel like the same known glitches experienced in Oblivion and I'd imagine it's predecessors too. It spoils your fun and sometimes you just have to say "come on guys didn't you fix this from last time?" too much effort and time spent on making this game look good they forgot about making it FUNCTION? I'd understand if there were new bugs but not the same ones overlooked?
Overall, it looks amazing, wild and the freedom very much appeals to me. Character interactions could be improved, hell their AI could be improved greatly and more options to tell your followers what to do. Maybe go as far as mixing some RTS style commands for combat? The game is distracting, like I mentioned earlier, to the point where it really does defer from the main story line. Maybe it's my innate curiosity and gaming style but I ended up getting really lost sometimes and "lost" from the story too. Doing all those other quests and challenges meant no real progression and it got to the point where I had clocked over 100 hours of game time and no sense of achievement. Also when I did follow the story I found it led you to large open areas with nothing in them, which from the start made me feel like i was testing an unfinished game.
In the end i can say I very much liked this game but I did not LOVE it, primarily because I never finished the game due to my brother wanting his copy back. I don't think I'll be rushing back in to it either.
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