Skyrim

Overview of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
By Louis A. Koester

Skyrim is the fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls series, which takes place in the vast world of Tamriel. Skyrim will leave you astonished with its open world gameplay and seemingly endless world filled with massive landscapes and well-crafted dungeons, all beckoning to be explored. While the land of Skyrim may look small on paper, getting from point A to point B could take the better part of an hour or more, if you get lost in the excitement of discovery. Getting lost in your imagination and going to see what may be around the next corner, or in that cave just up the hill, is part of this game’s allure.
In Skyrim, you will find yourself lost in its natural beauty, often losing track of time. You can choose to take on many quests, fight many foes, or explore any of Skyrim’s amazing cities. There is always something for you to do, whether exploring, questing, crafting, hunting dragons and other mystical beasts, or even starting up your own family and home in the Hearthfire expansion.
In case you don’t know, the character you create is Dragonborn, meaning he or she can use powerful Shouts, which are one of your best tools when confronted by a dragon. However, Shouts can also be used against other enemy types as well. As the game starts out, you will be thrust into action, picking up a sword and fighting after only the first few minutes of the game. Within the first half hour, you’ll be discovering cities, towns, forts, and caves; all of which are filled with weapons you can wield, gold you can spend, spells you can cast, and books you can read. With the new, fast menu, you can access your world map, your inventory, your magic, and see all active effects easier than ever.
What Skyrim truly excels at, is letting you choose what role you will play in its world. You can be a Mage with a staff and sword or a Warrior fighting with magic in one hand and a sword in the other or maybe even a Thief with a two handed hammer. The possibilities are endless. Any and all skills and weapons can be used by anyone; you aren’t bound to a single class. The way you play won’t have a massive effect on how hard the game is, and this is because it’s based on how much you use certain skills, rather than how good one weapon is over the other. The more you use your skills, the faster you level up. As you level up, you gain perk points to spend on the perk trees and improve your abilities to be more potent.
If you’re looking into buying Skyrim for the PC, mods can add even more depth, visuals, quests, and aspects of gameplay. Mods have the potential to make Skyrim into a completely different game. Downloading mods is simple, especially if you use the Skyrim Steam Workshop.
To say this game is refined is an understatement. Although at times the game can be buggy, it is has beautiful graphics and an immense amount of content. Skyrim is more of an experience than merely a game. Skyrim is by far one of my favorite RPG’s I have ever played, and I recommend to anyone with a thirst for adventure.