Yeah, I know I’ve been very bad with updating this blog recently, although, I did do a vlog which you can see my lovely face in (which you can check out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fs6EGLDuUI)… Its also bad that I sad in the vlog I would update over Christmas… HOWEVER, I’m pretty shure that this post will explain why I haven’t… And if it doesn’t, then go get an arrow, and shove it in your nose… Yeah, I bet you thought I was gonna say knee, didn’t ya…
OK, know that that’s out of the way, let my start off by saying, that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the best game of 2011. No question. It may even be the best game of the decade so far. The thing that I find the most incredible about Skyrim is that it is such a vast improvement over a game that came before, which was a game that needed very little improvements in itself. Oblivion was a masterpiece. It combined breathtaking landscapes, with dynamic music and a great diversity in what you could do. If you got bored on Oblivion then you were not playing right. That’s not to say that it didn’t have its flaws. The level up system was quite horrific in my opinion, since you had to level up certain skills, most of which I generally didn’t and did something completely different. Then you had to find a bed that you owned and sleep in it. Although beds were easy enough to find once you were in a guild or two, if you weren’t it was painful, and I had this problem to start off with. I am absolutely thrilled to say that Skyrim completely ditched that. Upgrading ANY skill counts towards you leveling up. Instead the skills are aimed at certain types of players (Thief, Mage or Warrior) but you don’t have to be any of these by definition. However, (this will be a gameplay tip) level up in sneak and smithing and bundle ALL of your perks into those two to begin with. It will be the most useful you do, especially if you have never played an Elder Scrolls game. However, I do feel that there is a flaw in the level up system, in that if you are leveling up evenly, the difficulty will increase rapidly. More powerful enemies will be around at an early stage, which will frustrate you.
Going back to the improvements, one of the most surprising ones is the graphics. Not only does the frame rate seem more improved than Oblivion – especially within the heat of battle – but also the depth is just astonishing. My first impression of Oblivion, especially the landscapes, was “wow”. However, when you first walk out into Skyrim’s wide world map, your breath will be taken away. It is astonishing… Well, it’s astonishing from afar… If you get close to an object (such as grass) then you can see that someone just put paper in it. I mean, really, the grass is 2D. Or, even better, tree stumps. Get the game and you’ll understand, I can’t be bothered to explain!!!
It is rather annoying that in a game that is SO immersive and SO good that there are a few niggling things in it that really REALLY annoy me. It is a game that is far superior than its previous title, and I know that Bethesda are a small company, but they really do need to get a better quality control department…
Anyway, that’s that over, and next up I’m gonna look at Modern Warfare 3. But until then, see ya!
