It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed since Bethesda originally released The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game heralded by many as one of the best of the previous console generation. The Elder Scrolls formula had slowly but surely been improved by Bethesda with each new iteration over the span of several years, resulting in Skyrim. IGN reviews the hotly anticipated RPG epic, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. But does the latest installment in Bethesda's RPG series live up to the legacy of its an.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, Skyrim Special Edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail. The Special Edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features like remastered art and effects, volumetric god rays, dynamic depth of field, screen.
- This game is one of the best Elder Scrolls game they have out there, if not the best! Skyrim brings you to the land of the nords, The Home of Tiber Septem! And brings you into conflicts that no other Elder Scrolls games have had Yet. Be a Mighty Warrior! A Sneaky assassin, A Curious mage!
It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed since Bethesda originally released The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a game heralded by many as one of the best of the previous console generation. The Elder Scrolls formula had slowly but surely been improved by Bethesda with each new iteration over the span of several years, resulting in Skyrim becoming the new standard for western RPGs. A sequel is still nowhere on the horizon, but seeing as we're in the age of the game remaster, Bethesda has decided to bring that critically-acclaimed title back for another round.
So what has been done to the game to warrant it getting a second release? Well, Bethesda has done some touching up to the original game, with art and effects remasters being accompanied by increased depth of field and 'volumetric god rays.' Putting it side-by-side to the game that released 5 years ago, it's easy to point to this version as being the definitive one from a technical standpoint. Everything is more vibrant and eye-grabbing, and the improved lighting effects make exploration more atmospheric. However, that doesn't change the fact that this is a 5 year old game (a 5 year old Bethesda game, at that), and the character models and textures are looking very dated. This results in things like character conversations often becoming unintentionally hilarious due to their stilted animations and poor lip syncing, which is even more glaring today.
Thankfully, the effort that Bethesda put into designing the game's world is what allows it to continue to impress despite its shortcomings. While it's true that getting right up close and personal to characters or objects is where things look iffy, wandering the game's vast fields, mountains and towns still leaves a big impression. There's a feeling of grandeur that you get when playing Skyrim that you simply don't get from other RPGs, and age hasn't taken that away from the game. It's a testament to Bethesda's knack for building worlds packed with meaningful content that the game still feels as expansive as it does 5 years later.
See search com. Speaking of which, it's the wealth of content itself that will make this package the most appealing to those who are considering checking it out a second time. You're getting the entire game, all of its DLC (which ranges from decent to great) and the addition of mod support on consoles, with mod support in particular being an easy sell for console players. Even with the game only releasing recently, there are already plenty of mods to check out that range from fixing the game's numerous bugs to vastly expanding major features like character dialogue and crafting. This is the area of the Special Edition that is the most worthwhile (for console players, at least), because if you've already played everything the base game and DLC offered then the mods can still provide basically endless new experiences for you. This applies more so to the Xbox One version of the game, however, as it allows for more extensive modding with 5 GB of space compared to PS4's measly 1 GB of space.
The addition of console mods is likely worth the price of admission alone.
As mentioned previously, bugs are still a big issue with Skyrim and it's harder to look past them this time considering we're dealing with a 5 year old game. There's plenty of problems with clipping that you'll witness on a regular basis, getting accidentally stuck in an object, dialogue cutting off early and so on. These bugs have become par for the course when it comes to Bethesda games at launch, but you'd think 5 years later it'd be in a better state with a remaster. One technical aspect that definitely needs to be praised, however, is the loading times. Rather than having time to read a book each time you enter or exit a new area or die, loading times typically last just a few seconds here and that's a huge improvement.
This leaves us with the core game itself, and it's still an engrossing experience despite the aforementioned dated aspects. Interacting with the game's plethora of characters and embarking on countless quests that may or may not progress the main story at all is all part of what makes the game special, and honestly is more interesting than what the overall narrative has to offer. The combat is the best that it has been in the series thus far, with both physical and magic attacks being more fluid and giving a greater sense of impact against the game's vast assortment of human and beast opponents. The game's standout moments are still the encounters with the dragons, however, as these epic showdowns can happen at any time and at any location. Fighting these monstrosities out in the wild is one thing as you scramble for cover against their overhwhelming fire breath and fast movement speed, but taking them on in the midst of a thriving city where NPCs come to help (and the scales of these battles have been increased thanks to this remaster) still results in some of the most epic showdowns in gaming to this day. Morphvox pro autotune.
The Verdict
Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim Reviews
Skyrim has been around long enough for people to form their own opinions on it, so your interest in what this Special Edition has to offer all comes down to how much you're itching to play the game again. If you've never played the game before then this is undoubtedly the place to start, and if mod support is a feature you've been dying to have on consoles then that may make this new package worth the price of admission alone. It's showing its age and still suffers from the trademark Bethesda bugs, but The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is a good enough excuse to warrant a return trip or serve as an entry point to this massive game.
- This article was updated on:November 18th, 2017
GAME DEALSGet Twitch Prime For Free Right Now and get in-game items, rewards, and free gamesThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
- Available On: PS4, Xbox One, PC
- Published By: Bethesda Softworks
- Developed By: Bethesda Game Studios
- Genre: RPG
- US Release Date: October 28th, 2016
- Reviewed On: Xbox One
- Quote: 'It's showing its age and still suffers from the trademark Bethesda bugs, but The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is a good enough excuse to warrant a return trip or serve as an entry point to this massive game.'
I've fallen back in love, and it feels great. My romance with Skyrim last winter - has it really been a year? - was heady and intense, but over the months since it cooled considerably. My levelling up had levelled off. The map markers were all filled in, and all that was left for me to do was maybe consider finally trying my hand at alchemy.
My malaise was deepened, rather than alleviated, by the lacklustre DLC so far. Dawnguard tried to spice up our waning passion by squeezing a perfunctory questline into an already busy map, but leaned too hard on a clumsy gimmick that let me turn into a lumbering Vampire Lord who couldn't fit through doors or open cupboards, as if that was a thing I'd ever expressed an interest in. Hearthfire tried to get me to settle down, offering three plots of land on which to build identical houses that I could fill with furniture, provided I didn't mind having no say over what the furniture was or where it was placed. There was also talk of adoption, but the life of an adventurer leaves little room for watching an eerie digital child loop through the same animations and voice clips over and over.
Just as I'd resigned myself to the thought that it was time for me and Skyrim to part ways, along comes Dragonborn and all the wonder, the thrill, the passion comes flooding back.
This isn't DLC. This is an expansion, like in the good old days. It's an entirely new area, a blank map waiting to be filled in as you roam, packed with new quests, miscellaneous tasks, dungeons, barrows, ruins and crypts. It's an absolute beast, with a main storyline that lasts a good few hours and enough supporting content to keep you playing for weeks more.
'This isn't DLC. This is an expansion, like in the good old days.'
Animal crossing ds console. The island of Solstheim is the location, and it'll be familiar to those who played the Bloodmoon expansion for Morrowind. It's a desolate place, perched on the edge of Tamriel and plagued by volcanic activity. There's a town, of sorts, called Raven Rock, which is ruled by aristocratic Dark Elves; a community of hard-bitten hunter-gatherers known as the Skaal; and small bands of bandits and pirates taking whatever they can get their gnarly hands on.
Solstheim has more immediate problems though. Its people are being strangely drawn to a series of sacred stones, erecting temples around them in the thrall of some unseen force. There's a cult at work, and it's their assassination attempt on you that brings the player to Solstheim's shore. They worship the first Dragonborn, a corrupt priest called Miraak, who has been trapped in a plain of Oblivion plotting his return. You, unsurprisingly, must put a stop to such shenanigans.
It's a solid storyline taking in seven major quests, each with a unique tone or flavour. Most notable are the jaunts into the realm of Apocrypha where Miraak dwells. It's a trippy place, with Lovecraftian tentacles reaching down from the sky and constantly shifting corridors made from books of forbidden lore. Seekers, squid-faced guardians of this knowledge, are your main foes here, along with Lurkers, gigantic Pumpkinhead-like beasts who combine the strength of a giant with the magic abilities of a mage.
Skyrim Se Review
Like most Elder Scrolls plotlines, the main Dragonborn story is join-the-dots stuff when you step back and consider what's being asked of you, but it ties together neatly enough and never feels like its padding itself out for no reason. Only the ending lets it down, with Miraak remaining a sketchily drawn antagonist and his potential as a mirror of the player character untapped. In the end, inevitably, it all comes down to a boss fight.
Do you really know the rules?
Oh, and you can ride dragons now. It's surprising how easy it is to overlook this fact. The ability is unlocked as one of two new Thu'ums on offer in the main quest, but it's not something I can see taking off, if you'll pardon the pun. Dragon flight is awkward, control is vague and it makes a right mess of the camera whenever you come close to land. I'm not sure Skyrim desperately needed a rough knock-off of Lair stitched onto its face, but here it is. As a novelty, it's worth a look. As a useful way of getting around the map? No thanks. At least the dragon-riding is more of a throwaway extra, unlike the similarly awkward but less avoidable Vampire Lord business in Dawnguard.
Dragonborn is at its best when you've polished off the main quest. What reels you in is the amount of incident and adventure Bethesda has crammed into Solstheim's relatively small landmass. A huge part of the appeal of the Elder Scrolls series is the knowledge that you can set out in any direction and find something of interest. That's undoubtedly the case here.
Price and Availability
- Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
- Price: 1600 Microsoft Points
- Release date: Xbox 360 out now, PC/PS3 versions due in early 2013
There's a secondary quest line, almost as large and important as the primary one, that finds you investigating a plot against the Dark Elf family that rules the island. There are mines full of Draugr Deathlords and hidden 'black books' that lead to yet more Apocrypha realms to explore, each one a navigational puzzle in itself. There's a treasure map and several archaeological expeditions to tag along with. If you're a werewolf, there's something just for you up in the mountains. Thieves Guild membership pays off in another quest. Even something as esoteric as knowing about The Lusty Argonian Maid can lead to fresh content, if you rummage in the right place.
There are new creatures to fight, such as the eerie floating Netch which resemble Mass Effect's Hanar, lumbering Bristleback boars and the fearsome Ash Spawn, who attack en masse with heavy melee attacks and fire magic. There are new crafting materials - Heart Stone and Stalhrim, a tempered ice that can be used to make armour and weapons. There are even new plants and ingredients to add to your recipes.
Any game that demands hundreds of hours from the player must build a long-term relationship, and relationships must remain fresh if they're to endure. With discoveries around every corner, Dragonborn just gave Skyrim fans the perfect excuse to lose themselves in the wild for another winter.
9 /10
