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Post by Juxapose on Feb 28, 2013 20:40:03 GMT -5
Today, I want to take some time to review a game I have not stopped playing since September. Elder scrolls V: Skyrim. I received it for my birthday, and I cannot put it down. I thought I was gonna hate it, but this is the most fun I had since Harvest Moon: 64. Allow me to share my thoughts.
Skyrim Review
Graphics:
I was blown away by the game's graphics. So much detail was put into the game. The fields and land look stunning when you look down from a hill or mountain. Dungeons are crazy detailed, and no two are truly alike. NPC's are detailed and very realistic, though most of them are quite unattractive. I would have liked to see more visually appealing characters, like in a final fantasy game. But I can accept this.
Sounds:
The game doesn't have much of a soundtrack. Mostly ambiance music you hear in the background. When things are calm, you hear calming music with horns and such. Battle music is medieval drums that makes battle dramatic and suspenseful. Voice acting is well done, and every line of dialogue is voiced. They did not cut any corners to make the people of Skyrim feel real. Sound effects are what you would expect for what they are.
Gameplay:
Gameplay is what makes this game excel. Although this type of gameplay is not unique or groundbreaking, it works. The game resembles an adventure sim, much like Harvest Moon is a farming sim. You are an adventurer who delve deep in dungeons looking for treasure and loot. You find coins, gems, metals, gear, and other goodies from bodies, chests, urns, and anything you can hide into.
But even though the game is fun, the game can be VERY frustrating as well. Because this game is so detailed, human error comes into play, and glitches are born. You cannot play this game without running into a dozen glitches of every kind. Most glitches are harmless and hilarious. Others can help you.
But there are a handful of annoying glitches that can make the game unpleasant. Some of those glitches tend to break quests, make items unusable, and even force you to erase your file and start over. Trust me, you don't want to start over.
Combat:
Combat is simple, yet requires some dexterity and strategy. There are three main ways to do battle: Warrior, Thief, and Mage. Warrior is more head on where you bum rush enemies while hacking and slashing. Thief is more sneaking, and killing off enemies before they realize you were there. Mage is the most powerful, but hardest to play, considering you need to have a level of mastery of the game to understand and perfect. Warrior is the easiest, since monsters do little to no damage to you, while you dish out massive punishment. An Orc with heavy armor and two handed sword is overpowered and practically unkillable. My Orc warrior can 3 hit a dragon without effort at a relatively low level.
Main Character:
Like most massive multiplayer RPG games, Skyrim allows you to custom make your character by choosing a race, gender, and a huge array of customizable features. Each race has their own set of strengths, and history in the lore of Elder Scrolls.
Your character has the option to be a Vampire or Werewolf regardless of race. (Insert Twilight joke here) If you have the Dawnguard expansion, you can also become a Vampire Lord, and both the Vampire Lord and Werewold can gain extra strengths. Both of these forms are ultra powerful, but they have their disadvantages. Werewolves can change to their wolf form temporarily, and requires to eat human hearts to stay as a wolf. Werewolves cannot gain bonus from sleeping. Werewolves can only change forms once a day. Vampire Lords can change forms at will, but you sustain severe penalties for traveling outside during the daylight hours. You must constantly drink blood from living victims to stay strong.
My three favorite characters are:
Juxapose - Argonian, Male. Married, 2 children. Light warrior with one-handed mace/shield.
Felix - Kajit, Male. Married, 2 children. Vampire Lord. Sneak thief with 2 one-handed swords.
Thrall - Orc, Male. Widowed (Dragon killed wife), 2 children. Werewolf. Heavy warrior with two-handed sword.
Story:
The game has several main plots, and hundreds of sub plots to keep you entertained. The stories range from being the Dragonborn, your destiny to kill Alduin, The war between the Empire and Stormcloaks, The war against Vampires, and the second Dragonslayer. With so many storylines, you get to choose your own adventure.
Skyrim's story can be tough to follow without any knowledge of the Elder scrolls lore. Luckily the game supplies you with a ton of in-game books to learn the history of Elder Scrolls if you don't want to play the other past games.
Marriage & Adoption:
Skyrim allows you to marry one of 30 potential grooms or brides. If you have the Dragonborn expansion, you can even marry someone of your same gender, upping your choice to 60. Marriage has it's benefits, though not required in any way. Your spouse will cook for you once a day, and will open up a shop in your house. He or she will give you 100 gold per day, and it stacks up over time. Sleeping in your house while married grants a stat boost temporarily.
Even though you can get married, you cannot make babies with your husband or wife. If you want children, you must adopt one of many kids in Skyrim. You can adopt any abandoned children in the cities, or you can go to the orphanage and adopt a child there. You also have the option to adopt any child in Skyrim as long as the parents die in some way (You kill them without getting caught, they die from an invasion, dragon kill, etc.) You can adopt a maximum of two kids. Kids do have their own set of benefits. Kids will find items for you, giving gifts will grant a small stat boost temporarily, sleeping at home with kids will grant a stat boost (This stacks with spouse's stat boost). You do not need to be married to adopt, but you must own a home with a room made for children.
Crafting:
In order to be competable in battle and have the house of your dreams, you need money. And a LOT of it. A few hundred thousand gold will not be enough gold to get anywhere. And money can be tough to make. You need to craft in order to be strong, but crafting costs money.Although there are many ways to craft, some are more beneficial than others.
Cooking - Easily done, but quite worthless. Some recipes give a small stat boost, but it's temporary, insignificant, and you need a special house built with a kitchen wing.
Alchemy - Although worthless, this craft can make you ridiculously powerful when done right. But in order to make this craft beneficial, you need to be at an extremely high level (like level 90 - 100 base level) to make this work. By this time, you won't need it anymore.
Blacksmithing - One of the most important crafts for light or heavy armor users. This craft allows you to make equipment out of metals. But metals are rather expensive, and you need to craft over and over and over to get that armor and weapon you want. At Blacksmithing level 100 (the craft skill, not base level), you can craft Dragon Bone armor and weapons, Which are the best gear in the game. Rare items don't even come close.
You also need blacksmithing to upgrade your equipment and raise their attack/defense stats. The higher your blacksmithing, the higher the stats get.
Enchanting - Along with Blacksmithing, Enchanting is HIGHLY important. Enchanting allows you to add permanent bonus stats yo your gear you collect/make. With high enchanting, you can make your attack hit 260% stronger, add lots of extra HP and Stamina, carry more weight, reduce elemental damage to nearly nothing, and more.
Farming - If you want to do alchemy, finding ingredients can be a challenge. If you custom build a house, you can add a greenhouse to grow your own alchemy ingredients.
Game Difficulty:
Skyrim is a tough game, and requires a lot of digging through the dungeons/stealing/murdering in order to get the gold you need to be strong. There are many glitches and exploits to make the game easier, but you feel bad about cheating? Let me tell you one thing, the game cheats against you! Fair game does not apply here, and your conscience could let you get away with some money making bugs.
In conclusion:
Skyrim is a fun game. For the most part, it's a game set in the viking age, and you have to go out and forge your own destiny. Many parts of the game are serious business, but the game has some odd and funny moments. Glitches plague the game, but for the most part tolerable. Many of us when we were younger dreamed to be explorers, maybe treasure hunters, or just wanted to slay a dragon. This game lets you have that fantasy, and have a little goffy fun too.
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