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    The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

    Game » consists of 30 releases. Released Nov 11, 2011

    The fifth installment in Bethesda's Elder Scrolls franchise is set in the eponymous province of Skyrim, where the ancient threat of dragons, led by the sinister Alduin, is rising again to threaten all mortal races. Only the player, as the prophesied hero the Dovahkiin, can save the world from destruction.

    griddler's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360) review

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    • 1 out of 1 Giant Bomb users found it helpful.
    • griddler has written a total of 5 reviews. The last one was for GRID 2

    Bethesda have perfected the formula

    If I had to use one word to sum up The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the sequel to Bethesda's critically acclaimed 2006 game Oblivion, that word is epic. Although to use only one word to describe a game so large and detailed seems almost unfair. You can quite easily spend 100 hours exploring Skyrim’s rich Nordic world discovering bustling towns populated by chattering pedestrians, joining secret guilds, crafting potions, marrying a local, attending a college of magic and so much more. All that without even touching the main story quests.

    Exploring the land and discovering its various activities and locations is one of the best aspects of the game. Skyrim immerses you in a way that gives the feeling of being in a living, breathing world. What's equally impressive is that you can play the game in any way you like, if you want to be an archer you can be an archer, if you want to be a mage, a thief, a warrior - these are all equally viable options for you.

    The freedom of choice on offer to you is apparent as soon as the game begins and you are asked to create a character. There are 10 races and 18 skills (as well as the various ways you can customise your character’s appearance) to choose from in the game and if, like me, you’re an indecisive person, this process could take a while.

    Soon after you have created your character you will encounter your first dragon. The dragons are one of the biggest new additions to the series and the focus of the main storyline. Killing one of theses giant creatures rewards you with a new “Shout” - a power which, when activated, will have various effects ranging from fire and ice attacks to disarming your enemies or slowing time.

    Unlike some large open-world games, Skyrim's visuals are great, with spell effects and epic vistas being particular highlights. The menus are well streamlined, making inventory management much more bearable than it has been in Bethesda's past efforts. This level of quality is also seen in the game's audio design. Skyrim's orchestral score is suitably grand and the voice acting is believable, although some lines of dialogue are repeated.

    Bethesda RPGs are well known for their glitches, and Skyrim is no exception. The game crashed on a few occasions during my time playing it but thankfully it autosaves regularly so you won't lose too much progress if this happens. There are also some long load times and I encountered a few other animation and graphical bugs, but these minor issues are easily overshadowed by great gameplay, a stirring soundtrack, fantastic graphics, a massive world and tons of content. If you're a fan of RPGs, Skyrim is one not to be missed.

    Other reviews for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360)

      'Ere Be Dragons! The First Giantbomb User Review of Skyrim! 0

      The RPG event of the year is finally here. If you're like me, not much else in the gaming world has gotten you as psyched as the arrival of Skyrim. As such, most of what I'm going to comment on in this review will not be much of a surprise to anyone who has been soaking up the snippets of Skyrim goodness that have been slowly released over the last year. Even without a demo, I think most will know what to expect from the new addition to the Elder Scrolls franchise, and likewise, I doubt anything...

      27 out of 33 found this review helpful.

      One of the deepest open-ended RPGs to date. 0

      Most games earn the unflattering distinction of being catalysts of social destruction. Is the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim any different? No, not really. Yet, if you can allow yourself to cave in, a hugly rewarding experience can be found therein; an experience unlike any game in the market today. The fifth in the hugely successful Elder Scrolls RPG series makes its infallible mark in the fabric of the franchise, and just might possibly be one of the greatest video games ever made. Such a claim is op...

      1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

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