Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Highly addictive"

I'll cut to the chase, this game is probably what you'll expect it to be. It's Elder Scrolls and you are going to get a huge, open world filled with many mysteries and secret stories to discover. And you are allowed to go about this in many possible ways. Whether you want to be swinging a sword, shooting arrows, casting spells or any variation of all kinds of combat, Skyrim allows you to do this. And this is what makes the Elder Scrolls series truly special and in a league of its own. Sure you can say that the engine is starting to show its age despite some tweaks(Bethesda labeling it a completely new engine, even though it is just an updated version of the Gamebryo engine used in Oblivion and also the Fallout series) but for me, it works well enough. My biggest concern with this game techincally, is that NPC behavior comes off as very artificial, both in the voice acting and in the character movements. Facial expressions are virtually non-existent in the 360 version. Wildlife also comes off as very artificial with the fact that you can walk up to any animal and most will not move or run away. These factors really do hinder the immersion you have in this world Bethesda created. And then you look at the size, scope of Skyrim and you are more than willing to forgive these mishaps. The quests are fun and rewarding, the story is very interesting no matter which sides you take, and the combat is exciting. After playing this game for 40+ hours, I can say that it isn't as unique as Oblivion when it first came out, but it still stands on its own as one of the best open-world RPG's ever made to date.

Story- 9.5; Very political, magical, mystical, deep and sometimes funny.
Graphics- 8.5; The 360 version suffers from limited facial expressions and robotic character movement.
Sound-9; Another great music score, great monster voice overs and sound effects. Slightly hindered by artificial human voice-overs.
Gameplay-8.5; Very fun, deep, varied, and allows you to play in 1st or 3rd person. I almost wish they would get rid of 3rd person and completely focus on 1st person movements. Frequent bugs and glitches hinder the immersion in the vast world of Skyrim.