Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Almost, but not quite"

Skyrim is basically good old Oblivion, but there are differences - some good, some bad - that, when combined, ultimately tip the scales in Oblivion's favor, at least, in my opinion. I'll try and explain why.

The graphics are quite decent, though I wouldn't say they have been greatly improved compared to Oblivion's; in fact, the trees and grass, as well as many textures, looked better in (modded) Oblivion. They did a really sloppy job on the shadows, however. In first person view you don't drop a shadow at all (or see your legs, for that matter), and in third person view it is often absent, as well, which is very jarring and takes away from the immersion. All the shadows have a grainy, pixelated quality even on the highest setting. It's been a long time since I last played Oblivion, but I don't think it was that bad there.

The land of Skyrim, obviously modelled after Scandinavia, possesses a rugged, primal beauty, the menhirs, burial mounds, crude monuments, and mammoth bones evoking something like ancestral memories of our distant, mysterious pagan past (and the sight of the aurora borealis in the night sky can take your breath away). Even more so than in Oblivion, it is a land you just can't wait to explore, and there are tons of interesting locations for you to find. Once again, Bethesda has succeeded at creating a world as immersive as it is huge, an undeniable accomplishment.

The user interface sucks. I won't go into detail, because loads of other people have already done that, and I don't have much to add.

The combat mechanics haven't changed much, but the new kill animations are simply awesome, and watching your character run someone through with his sword is as satisfying for the hundredth time as it is for the first. The magic system has been improved, so now it doesn't take ten fireballs to kill a goddamn rat, but the Destruction school still seems underpowered, and removing the ability to craft spells wasn't a very good idea. The auto-leveling system is, thankfully, gone, but, for some reason, common bandits are still among the most formidable enemies in the game, while dragons, who are supposed to be the scourge of Skyrim, are more an annoyance than an actual threat. The companion AI is atrocious (just as it was in Oblivion); when you need them, they will be a hundred meters behind, stuck behind a boulder, but when you are casting a spell at an enemy, count on them to jump in the way (that's how they die 90% of the time). It doesn't help that some offensive spells affect everyone indiscriminately. Okay, a fireball causes an explosion, so that makes sense, but chain lightning? If you can create and direct a stream of electricity by magic, surely you can direct it so it only affects enemies? It's hard enough with your companion constantly getting in your way.

There are many interesting quests, but - and this is mainly why I think Oblivion is better - the main quests (that is, the Dragonborn story plus the guild quests) feel crumpled and anticlimactic. The respective quests in Oblivion took you a lot of places, told complex and immersive stories, required a great deal of time and effort, but also rewarded you with a commensurate sense of accomplishment (not least thanks to the rank system with all those cool icons, which is completely absent from Skyrim). Here, being the leader of a guild changes nothing, except that some guild members will address you by title (a problem that existed in Oblivion and hasn't been fixed), and even saving the world will earn you nothing more than a pat on the back (not even a cutscene), nor will killing the freaking Emperor of Tamriel have any negative consequences for you, or any consequences at all for the rest of the population. This is lazy and sloppy, and not something that a mod can fix, unfortunately. Sorry, Skyrim, but you lose to Oblivion, if not by much.