His Review with Ian

Skyrim is a colossus. A landscape dripping with encounters, where you uncover cities, races and creatures at your own pace and can choose to interact as deeply or as shallowly as you desire.

This idea of genuine exploration, free from narrative interference (if you can handle that level of freedom) is wonderful and rare. For the first 25 hours I deviated from the path, went to clear forts, plumb mines, die in Sinkholes and was happy as a pig in mud. I was a pioneer, finding new trails and lifting the clouds from the immense Skyrim map which created an almost invisible sense of immersion and bond to the game without me realising it, clever stuff Bethesda. Playing it ate my time - suddenly six hours had passed and I’d only travelled to two cities.

Each of the eight areas are distinct and it’s testament to the art direction that the clarity of social class and climate in each place is obvious. Markarth with its weaving MC Escher like staircases and alleyways feels very different to faded Riften and the only physical boundaries I could find were a couple of invisible “You Can’t Go That Way” walls at the very outer reaches of the map.

Everything in the world of Skyrim that you happen upon is linked and has alchemical possibilities. From the salmon you can catch in the river to salt dishes you find in huts – put ‘em together in a fiery pot and you’ve got a Salmon steak. It’s a similar story with gem stones, bear pelts, dwarven metal and spells – mixing them up at the numerous stations brings upgraded tools, armour and all sorts of customisable goodies.

The entire crafting scene and game is littered with choice. I chose to play as a balding, sneaky, lock picking wood elf (one of ten different classes) with a penchant for my bow and arrow. As you level up and gain experience you secure perks to either deepen your specialities or balance the other skills you’re lacking. Your warrior class also determines how the world and its people interact with you (I got a particularly rough ride at an Orc stronghold) and so the replayability value is immense.

The soundtrack, composed by Jeremy Soule, is worthy of an Academy Award. As I traversed arctic mountain ranges or went for a dip in the crystal clear rivers, the audio design and musical themes matched, enhanced and told the story of the Skyrim more successfully than the visuals. Skyrim is an ambitious landscape, but the soundtrack is a fully orchestral heroic accomplishment and is available on 4 discs if you want continue to embrace the world as you drive to work every day.

However, for the next 50 hours, when I chose to engage in the official story with quests being set by minor and major characters in each of the areas, it felt strangely artificial. Barked instructions like “Go and find evidence of Margaret and Weylin’s death” really jarred with me because now the game is offering a series of narrative constraints in order to progress the story.

This sense of jarring was exacerbated because of the freedom I had previously been privilege to and it’s at this time when the fun of Skyrim started to fall out of the game. Things started to repeat, the same sabre toothed cat appearing on the mountainside, identical internal building architecture in every inn and hut, glitchy NPCs sliding down stairs and a similar rhythm to the quests all made it a “game” like other games. The narrative is huge, but hard to hold in your head. There are so many characters, quests, sides, histories and grudges to wrap your head around; it’s a monster task just to keep everything in between your ears.

I was never satisfied at the end of each play session because I knew that there was always another quest, another character to discover and I always felt like I’d drunk a potion of minor displeasure after powering down. Other things started to irk me perhaps more than they should. I had a gripe with some of the voice acting. When there were multiple NPCs on screen, you couldn’t tell who was speaking as mouths moved very little, making it hard to decipher the origin of the voice and if a little fight ensued afterwards I wasn’t always sure who was offering me out.

What I think Skyrim had a chance of becoming is a world that you could interact with, free from linear progression, which offered players a different path. This would have been a real line in the sand in terms of gaming experience. However, once I got beyond level 30, enemies and exploration became quite easy, it began to lack challenge and I very rarely died because I’d become attuned to enemy patterns of behaviour, my weapons had been suitably enhanced and combined with a sneak attack, enemies fell with very little effort. I’ll continue to play Skyrim because it warrants further discovery and it feels like the game I will come back to if there is nothing else to play. It has a map bigger than anything I’ve played before and deserves to be played because it’s so ambitious (and I genuinely applaud the scope of the game). I will return to the behemoth that is Skyrim.

Her Review with Tracey

There’s no denying that a game about killing Dragons with your voice is worth investigating. Add an expansive and rugged, snow capped world to explore, then throw in a Civil War, barrels to plunder, blacksmiths to abuse, spells to master, a few dozen woolly mammoths and grilled leeks for an irresistible RPG stew.

Completely ignored by Ian, there is a main quest woven into this massive experience that is more compelling than he gives it credit for. The dragon of all dragons Aludin has returned to the frozen rocks of Skyrim and is resurrecting other dragons across the land. My first encounter with a massive, scaly, roaring-fire-breath beast was a tense and closely fought out affair that took two attempts, left me with no arrows in my quiver and all of my potions drunk dry. The sense of achievement after the battle was exhilarating – I may even have shared a high five with Ian – because the odds were stacked high against me. This all happened relatively early on and I quickly learnt that to survive at all around Skyrim, I’d have to invest heavily in myself. It’s this constant challenge and battle, the addictive levelling up mixed with free-roaming fun that has captured mine and the imaginations (and pennies) of gamers everywhere with Bethesda announcing that over 10 million copies of Skyrim across three platforms were sold in the run up to Christmas.A life in Skyrim is damn hard work and to be the best, requires dedication so be prepared to knuckle down to hone skills, which is where the real brilliance and beauty of this game lies; it forces the player to take responsibility in a surprisingly non-linear way. There are no auto-saves and we’re free to choose how we spend our time in Skyrim. The prospect of going up against another dragon any time soon sat uneasy with me. It must be totally terrifying to be a lowly Nord housewife with a flimsy blouse living in some backwater neck of the woods, minding your own business then a dragon turns up. If only there were an ancient order of forgotten skilled warriors whose numbers have been wiped out but those who remain secretly await the coming of the only person who can defeat said scary dragons… hang on a mo! This IS an epic fantasy game after all and what’s that you say? It turns out I’M Dragonborn - a hero who can defeat dragons using the power of my shouts? Who? Little ole me? A hairy talking cat with armour? Well, who would have thought? Cue much training and levelling up. If this were Rocky, there would be a montage inserted here of my Khajiit female cat carrying hay bales up and down the steps in Whiterun, followed by a close up of my furrowed (furry?) brow as I stoop over the white hot bellows of the smithy honing my armour but forget any passive enjoyment, Skyrim is all about getting hands dirty. Learning special words to shout out frosty, firey or forceful gales is inventive (plus is great fun if not used in the intended way) and for me, it beats having to get the biggest weapon or remembering complex spells as typically seen in other fantasy RPGs. As with most elements in Skyrim, mastering chosen talents takes time, lots and lots of time. Ultimately, the story is rewarding and worth pursuing. Yes, this is classic fantasy RPG and not fully subscribing to the perilous quest assigned can sometimes reveal it to be nothing more than a series of unnecessary, unengaging chores, coercing you into a particular style of play but here’s the big draw that has propelled Skyrim above other RPG’s of this genre and into living rooms across the world – it’s an amazing experience if you decide to ignore the story and like Ian, seek out a different level of engagement.The words ‘side quest’ seem inadequate as there are hundreds of them varying in length and topic. I’ve dipped my toe into the college of magic, drank with the thieves’ guild and battled alongside the companions, all of which required a certain number of tasks to be carried out before I was accepted as a member. Each group offers unique and different perks although the further up the ranks I went, the more my moral aptitude was tested. Not wanting to fully commit to any particular group (or rather, beginning to feel uncomfortable breaking so many laws and not having the money or skill to resist arrest) I sought out those needing help across the land. Delivering books and love letters or retrieving magical vases, rescuing or murdering pesky citizens and scavenging for ingredients took yet more time – we’re talking hundreds of hours worth of game play here. Not ideal for the casual gamer as accomplishing anything in less than 30 minutes is almost impossible until you’ve opened up a huge section of the map which allows for blissful fast-tracking. However, the option of just roaming the land, taking in the scenery and pottering around doing smaller tasks should allow this game to be enjoyed by a huge audience, not just RPG nuts.There was little emotional drive or depth from the characters I met, even marriage is a dull affair; “Is that a love necklace you are wearing? Do you want to marry me? Okay.” Any fantastical romantic notions I had about living in Skyrim were quickly dispelled as I travelled half way across the world to a scabby pub which was to be my new home with my newly wed husband and was greeted by yet another wooden plate laden with potatoes and cheese. I really wanted to decorate my new home but that isn’t the Skyrim way.

It’s certainly not going to win prizes for its graphics which appear functionary close up but viewed on a grand scale are beautiful and combine to create some amazing vistas. Nor will the ‘school of Arnold Schwarzenegger’ vocal performances impress (though they do provide some good unintentional humour) but this isn’t attempting to be like a blockbuster movie. In a similar vein to the multi award winning cube building survival game Minecraft, the genuine creative sense of freedom you get from talking to who you want, when you want, going wherever you like whenever you like feeds a basic human desire to explore without too much trepidation whilst challenging skill but providing the tools to find a way to play that feels ‘right’ for the individual.

This isn’t a glamorous alternative reality, a fact regularly acknowledged within the game as it’s own sense of identity is clear – work hard in this cold, harsh landscape, specialise in your chosen field, put the hours in and you might just make it through. The celebration comes when you overcome insurmountable odds to carry on. Also this is a game. It’s worth reminding ourselves of this every now and again. The most accessible out of all the Elder Scrolls series, of course there are parameters but for me these small guiding threads, the in depth history, the seemingly endless terrain were reward for the times I felt I was on my own, left to my own devices. There are subtle references to other games within it (like a shelf with a PacMan shaped cheese facing a bowl of ghost dust) and I’m sure there will come a time when the apparently inexhaustible tasks dry up. Until then, the game mechanics are so unobtrusive whilst being necessary and for me it created a special and balanced experience that I felt was personal and unique to me. Only by watching some of Ian’s game did I begin to see pattern or repetition. The game is so large that it will take years for it to become stale. I’ll still be playing this game come next Christmas.

Skyrim: The Elder Scrolls V is out now on PS3, Xbox360 and PC.