Skyrim; a name that will be etched into the gaming world for generations to come. Anyone who's picked up a game in the Elder Scrolls series knows just how epic they can be and Skyrim is no exception, this game is a true masterpiece. Up until Skyrim I'd never played a game quite like it, with the exception of Fallout 3 and New Vegas I'd never seen a game so vast and full of adventure. Of course the Fallout series has guns and the very bleak holocaust theme to it, whereas the Elder Scrolls games are all medieval and now with Skyrim, full of dragons too. It's just one of those games that no matter which way you look at it or how you play it everyone has their own stories to tell. There is always going to be a special place in the gamer's hearts for Skyrim. I hadn't picked up an Elder Scrolls game until Skyrim and from what I've heard that's not necessarily a bad thing. Having played Oblivion now and taken a glance at Morrowind and the previous instalments it's plain to see that they were all brilliant games but did have their flaws, whereas Skyrim has taken these Flaws on board and try to fix everything humanly possible. Considering the vast amount of development and complexity in the games programming I think Bethesda have done a pretty swell job.
Now with a game as big as Skyrim I simply can't cover all the fundamentals in one blog hence why I'm going to split this into a two-part review, that way I can delve a little more into the gameplay, lore and history behind this remarkable franchise. So before we can continue with Skyrim let's take a look at Bethesda and how they got to where they are today. Back in 1994 Bethesda released their first instalment of the Elder Scrolls series: Arena. The studio would then go onto release Daggerfall in 1996, Morrowind in 2002, Oblivion in 2006 and finally Skyrim in 2011. Prior to this Bethesda was making games for PC as far back as 1986 when the company was first founded. In 1999 Christopher Weaver and Robert Altman would found ZeniMax Media as the parent company to Bethesda, following this in 2009 they would then go onto purchase ID Software who's first release title under the new management would be Rage. And of course how can we forget back in 2004 when Bethesda bought the rights to franchise Fallout and went on to release Fallout 3; that was a truly epic game, I'll definitely review that down the track. It's amazing to see just how much the studio has grown over the past two decades and how they've revolutionised the gaming world with such titles.
So getting back to Skyrim...where do I start? I suppose the best place to start is: what is Skyrim. The game is set in the northern most county of the land of Tamriel, Skyrim, a harsh cold place home to the Nords, a friendly easy going race who work hard believe in their rights, their land and their lore. Being in the northern most part of Tamriel you can expect to encounter a wide array of environments from the rolling hills to jagged cliffs dotted with forests and most of all the brutal snow ridden terrain that claims many lives. Within Skyrim are nine major cities each with their own Jarl, an overseer of their dominion. 200 years after the events of the Oblivion crisis the High King has been killed and civil war looms over the land. On one side are the Stormcloaks who believe their land should belong to them and be an independent state while on the other side the Imperials feel that Skyrim should be apart of the Empire along with the other counties in Tamriel. To make things worse the Nordic god of Destruction, Alduin, a ruthless dragon king wants of Tamriel devoured by flames. There's a lot going on in this epic instalment of the series and both dragons and civil war aren't even the least of your worries. Dozens of adventures lay waiting for you across this beautiful land so expect to have majority of your life consumed by the glory this is Skyrim.
Probably the most important feature of this epic journey is that you are the 'Dragonborn', a being who can speak to, shout and absorb the souls of dragons. Being Dragonborn has its privileges, after defeating a dragon you can absorb its soul which you can then use to unlock various dragon 'Shouts'. These shouts are capable of many things ranging from summoning lightning storms to animals that will come to your aid. It's a great way to make an already rich game even richer with more interesting content. Much like previous Elder Scrolls games you can choose from ten different playable races each with their own unique skills, advantages and disadvantages. Having played through the main quest at four times now I can certainly tell you that every play through is different and just as fun as the last. While dialogue choices throughout the main story stay relatively similar the variety you can get from all the additional quests is remarkable. In the next part of the review I'll touch on the gameplay elements, the many species and races that inhabit Tamriel and the lands that makes up the world. I hope this review is informative for everyone and that you all endeavour to pick up of copy of Skyrim!
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