Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Solid"

Skyrim does what you expect it to do, which is to provide a huge open world filled with places to explore. The best part of the game probably is that exploration, through beautiful varied terrains. Skyrim has succeeded in creating the largest most interesting world to walk through, complete with all aspects of nature including fantastic snowstorms, waterfalls, rivers, forests, and more. Combat is satisfying, especially archery and magic, but swords are ok too. While not near perfect, the combat gameplay mechanics are pretty good. Leveling up is well paced, and there are many areas you can specialize in.
The areas themselves (caves, temples, towns, etc.) are as varied as any game has been, and there are many hours before monotony will start to creep in.
What keeps Skyrim from getting a higher score is the dialog and quests, which, sadly, are rather dull. A few are of interest, but mostly I was clicking the dialog to end it as soon as I could. This is a far cry from Dragon Age Origins, or Mass Effect 3, which had a great plot and dialog.
Skyrim is solid. You get what you expect. In some ways, you may be pleasantly surprised, particularly with the terrain and how large the map is, but there is no new ground elsewhere.