Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Mixed reactions"

VANILLA (OUT OF BOX) VERSION *UNMODDED*:
***I tried to be spoiler free as best as I could***

It was hard for me to slap a score on this game. I will simply share my experience with it, and at the end list some pros and cons. Then try to come up with one afterward.

Let me start by saying that this is my first Elder Scrolls game. As soon as I left the first section of the game, you get a sense of vastness and beauty. When I leveled up for the first time, I looked up to the heavens and couldn't help but say "This is awesome" The leveling system seems deep and complex, and it gives you a sense that you are growing. The awesome part is, I level up what I play, which feels great. Almost like a callas forming on your finger from playing guitar so much. This was a great feeling. People comment on your race or your character build. They comment on what you are wearing, or who you side with in the conflict. The attention to detail is remarkable and fascinating. Every object looks unique, distinct, exact. The music isn't the most original, but it works for the setting.

I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with the games vastness, and seeming complexity. I started planning out my character, using skyrimcalculator.com. I planned out the character all the way to the leveling cap. This was the beginning of the end of my experience with skyrim and please stay a while and listen to understand why.

As I leveled up, I was always anticipating the next level for a particular enjoyment enhancing perk. I felt like I was growing with every launch of my arrow, or swing of my sword. Eventually, I found ways to buy and sell items, to make tons of money, and in turn I leveled up certain skills. This was not an "exploit" or "bug", it was completely allowed by the developers and it seems they were aware of this. My character got extremely strong and the game became too easy. I upped the difficulty to Master, and it was still easy. My original stealth character was then able to face people up front for the rest of the whole game, with no problems.

This was where the game started failing my expectations. Since the game was too easy, and that I got all the best weapons and armor, and all the exciting perks, only a few things were left for me in Skyrim.
1. Combat,
2. Quests,
3. Story.
4. Roleplaying

The combat started to show its repetitiveness, and sometimes it was merely dull. Weapon timings are not interesting, and it doesn't test your reflexes the way I like. The only thing that remained somewhat fun, was using my bow, and even that got dull later. OK, now that the combat started getting dull, what's left? The story and quests.

The quests were repetitive; and in distinct categories :
1. Go and fetch an item, spell, or information
2. Escort non-player character
3. Kill someone/something

That's it! Even the main quests were like that...
Now, that's all good if the combat was fun and interesting, but it really wasn't for me.

Now lets get to the story. Its not bad, but its not terribly amazing either. It sounds cliche most of the time, and somewhat predictable. There are some nice twists but nothing special. I really tried to get involved...but with the dull combat, and shallow difficulty, I had to force myself to beat the main story.

OK, now what's left? Roleplaying

This is where the game shines. You can roleplay! You can be Bosmer (Wood elf) and hunt for your food, only eat meat, only use a bow and a dagger, wear Hide armor. You can be a Nord that hates Elves because of their history of conflict. You can be an evil Orc that kills everybody, everything, with no mercy. You can be a Merchant Kajhiit named J'Zarva that wonders the land, crafting potions, jewlery and top quality weapons to sell at marketplaces across the land. You can choose to fast travel to destinations, or go by foot. You can use horses and carriages as well. Its all up to you! This is what Skyrim is really about. The game isn't about challenge, properly timed attacks, or well thought out character builds. The developers wanted you to have a fantastic experience with the vast and beautiful Skyrim - and some awesome tools and friends by your side.

Unfortunately, I'm not quite the roleplayer. I like playing games for the challenge, to be the best, to know the system and create the most Bad-ass character I can. In turn, Skyrim did not deliver this, and the game became essentially boring for me. I hope this review will help you decide to invest the 200+ hours of gameplay Skyrim has to offer.

I really really think Skyrim deserves at least a 9, but I just can't bring myself to it due to my personal experience with the game.

Sorry, Skyrim, Its not you....

it's me.


Pros:
Beautiful environments
role playing is well offered
arrows and spells are fun to use
leveling system is casual, open and free
attention to detail is truly impressive
unique presentation to the whole game

Cons:
sword-play is clunky and dated
abundant technical problems, glitches, and exploits
you can create an overpowered character easily if you plan ahead
combat could use more innovation


MODDED VERSION:
More than half of the problems I stated above can be fixed through appropriate mods. My favorite mods combined make the game 9.5. Not 10, because of all the additional bugs and glitches they come with. You will need Nexus Mod Manager and BOSS to arrange the load order. NOTE: LOAD ORDER OF MODS CAN CAUSE THE GAME TO CRASH. YOU WILL ALSO NEED TO READ EVERY MOD AUTHOR'S NOTES. YOU WILL HAVE TO CHECK FOR COMPATIBILITY PATCHES WITH OTHER MODS LIKE SKYRIM REDONE.

My favorite mods that are compatible with each other:

Gameplay:

Skyrim Redone
Alternate Start - Another Life
Mage-Friendly Dragon Priest Masks
Extensible Follower Framework
CM Companions
More Followers
Interesting NPCs
Arrows of Magicka
Better Fast Travel
Banking
Water Arrows
Acquisitive Soul Gems
Move it damnit
Poisoner Bow
Staff of magnus fix
xbox 360 Controller hotkeys
Categorized Favorites menu
Sky UI

Immersion, graphics, items:

Burn Freeze Shock Effects
Climates of Tamriel Project Reality
Jaysus Swords
Omegared99 Armor compilation
Immersive Armors
Birds of Skyrim
Birds and Flocks
CLARALUX More and Brighter lights
Better Bows
Cloaks of Skyrim
Divine Punishment for mention Arrow in the Knee
Varied Guards and Stormcloaks
W.A.T.E.R
Footprints
Winter is Coming - Cloaks
Roosters At Dawn
Realistic Ragdolls and force