The Guildmasters

The reason I took so long to write this review is because I wanted to play the game for a while first. This gives me the opportunity to write a decent review, unbiased, with no guess work.

When trying to write a good review it almost always includes a downside, Skyrim is no exception but any downsides to this game are not that bad that it spoils the overall gameplay, and you can improve on any negative issues just by taking a little extra time to do a couple of things that will make it better.

First off, you will get instances where the game will lag, quite badly at times. I have found the best way to cut down on this is to not overload your chests in your houses, this helps for some reason. I found this out because I was putting everything in one chest, which appears to be a bottomless pit, it doesn’t fill up. The game was lagging a lot, then I went to a dresser and starting putting stuff in there and it was running quick again.

Another option which pays is to delete all the autosaves, these seem to build up and don’t overwrite the previous autosaves, at least on mine they were all seperate, so I had my game save, and about 6 autosaves, as soon as I started deleting the autosaves the game didn’t suffer from lag anymore.

Apart from above there really isn’t anything else, apart from the odd glitch which most won’t even come across.

Basically Bethesda has taken everything good about all their previous games and incorporated it into this one huge game, then they have added a bunch of other stuff to improve on it even more.

This game is probably more open ended than anything previous. The added randomness of everything just gives it a ton more playability. Dragons free roaming and random encounters makes it more “real” because you can visit the same area time after time and get a different encounter or outcome.

Bethesda obviously listened to previous advice from their players because they have added all the things that everyone wanted to see and then some.

Instead of owning a house, you can own a house in every city, 9 in total, with some extra free residences which you will acquire by completing a line of questing, like the thieves guild, or becoming arch mage. You can also put your books in bookcases now, something I previously saw a lot of posts on where players were saying this would be a good idea.

Although there is a lot of randomness in the game, it is organized, you don’t just come across an animal in the middle of nowhere that seems out of place, you will come across deer or elk grazing, then you might see a pack of wolves attacking it which gives it a more sense of reality than a basic random encounter, you can watch or dive in and kill for the materials.

The other new aspect of creating weapons from scratch by using smithing is a great addition, it makes you want to experiment with everything. I think I spent a couple of days creating, sharpening and enhancing weapons, and if that wasn’t enough you can make a tidy profit when you sell them.

Everything about this game involves you, it is impossible to get bored of a game like this. I played for more than a week before I rode my first horse, I just didn’t want to ride one, I wanted to explore everywhere by foot because you can miss so much just by traveling by horse.

The towns are so interactive and with virtually endless quests I can honestly see me playing this game off and on for years, this is the kind of game you can just cut yourself off from reality for a few hours and become immersed in something extremely enjoyable, like a really good movie.

The list is endless on what this game can do for you, and what you can do in the game. Harvest flowers, catch insects to make potions, kill animals and use the hides, kill dragons for some of the best armor in the game, join all the factions, buy a house, decorate your house however you want, explore dungeons, ruins and caves which are not small by any means, some caves and ruins can take up the best part of a day to explore.

Overall Bethesda did not let fans down this time around in any way, I would go as far as to say that what most of us expected was nothing compared to what we got, me personally? I’m extremely impressed, and if this game had $100 price tag i’d still buy it, can’t wait for the game of the year edition, you know there will be one.

Rating out of 5 = 5 simply because it’s as close to perfection as you can get right now with a game, and that is based on graphics, main storyline, playability and the amount of things you can do to keep you wanting to play more.

Tony:)

I’ve been watching some videos of the latest Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and every time I watch something that I haven’t seen before it just makes me want it all the more.

The latest video I saw was Todd talking about how they moved into new ground again by giving us an infinite amount of quests. I don’t understand the technical side of this but its all to do with this new engine they used which seems to be able to create quests on the fly, meaning you will never actually be able to finish everything in the game because its endless, talk about cool.

I played morrowind for what seemed like forever but this one, at least for a while, is going to be the ultimate gaming experience. The first game of its kind that doesn’t end, and lets face it, fans of the Elder Scrolls don’t really want it too.

One of the most frustrating things about really good games, is that once you’ve completed them, you have to wait like 2 maybe 3 years to get the next one, with this, we will have something to continue playing right up until the next installment.

I think my biggest worry with something this huge and open ended is whether I will get any time free to play some of the other awesome games out there. Being able to make a game that is endless certainly gives value for money, one of the biggest letdowns with games is they cost so much and when you get a game that can be completed in a few days it seems a waste of hard earned cash. With a game that is never ending we will definitely be getting our moneys worth, thanks Bethesda, now let me play it already !!!

Tony:)