Review – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Written by: Big Ross, CC2K Staff Writer
Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain
Bethesda has done something else with Skyrim, something that might seem objectionable, even blasphemous to the RPG purists out there. They’ve significantly streamlined character management. Morrowind and Oblivion took a more traditional approach. Your character had a rather lengthy list of traits, attributes, and skills that governed their performance in the game. As you progressed, largely by completing quests and killing things, you accumulated experience points; amass enough XP and you’d level up. You’d get some predetermined number of points to distribute among that lengthy list of traits, attributes, and skills, and doing so would, in a mostly indiscernible way, improve the respective trait, attribute, or skill that received the points. Players anything like myself approached leveling up with as much trepidation as excitement. Sometimes it felt like a chore more than an accomplishment. How do I assign these newly acquired points? Which skill or skills do I choose? Once chosen, how many points do I assign to each? How much difference does it make if I assign 2 or 3 points to my repair skill? Or sneaking, or conjuration or heavy armor?
Most of that is gone in Skyrim. Well, I shouldn’t say that it’s absent; rather, it’s hidden. There’s still a frumpy old man behind a curtain, furiously turning dials and pulling levers, but you don’t see him. For that matter you don’t even notice the curtain, as your full and undivided attention is fixed on the great and powerful Oz.. If I’ve lost you with that metaphor, let me simply say that Skyrim is no longer as concerned with numbers when it comes to developing and managing your character. To start, Skryim does away with racial restrictions. While Orcs are better at smithing, Redguards better at combat, Altmer better at magic, etc, all races can practice all available skills. Skills improve as you use them, so if you want to improve your destruction magic you simply cast more destruction spells (flames, sparks, and so forth). As you raise skill levels and complete quests you level up. Here is the major difference (and improvement) from previous games. With every new level you choose to improve either your Magicka, Health, or Stamina. You also earn a single Perk point that you assign to your various skills. Every skill now has an associated skill tree with branches composed of various perks. Lower level perks are more basic (novice locks are easier to pick, heavy armor offers better damage protection, two-handed weapons do more damage) while higher level perks are more powerful and interesting (Shield Charge, Avoid Death, Dragon Armor Smithing, etc). The new system represents a significant improvement that takes some of the tedium and minutiae out of the typical RPG and lets the player focus on and enjoy the role-playing.
Thoughts on Strategy Guides
When I went to the local retailer to pick up my copy of Skyrim, the sales associate recommended I buy the strategy guide, especially if I hadn’t played the previous Elder Scrolls games. I chuckled and said I’d played both of them, so i was good. He replied that he had too, but Skyrim was so big he’d need the strategy guide. Whether he was speaking honestly or simply trying to make a sale, I declined. I’ve never bought a strategy guide, and have never understood how publishers make money from them. If you have or are going to buy Skyrim, I have two good reasons for you to leave that ~$20 strategy guide sitting on the shelf.
The first is that there is nothing in a strategy guide that you can’t find online for free. Maybe the info isn’t available immediately, but I’m sure within days of Skyrim’s launch strategy guides, walkthroughs, and FAQs went up online. If you’re stuck on a quest or can’t find a particular item, simply do a Google search and you’ll find all the information you need. There might even be a video on YouTube literally showing you how to overcome whatever hurdle is in your way. The only reason you might need an old-fashioned paperback strategy guide is if you don’t have access to a computer or the internet, but if that’s the case you aren’t reading this review, so there really isn’t a reason. Save your money. The second reason is more a matter of principle.
Two friends of mine who are also playing Skyrim right now both bought strategy guides. Recently we were all online playing the game and chatting via Xbox Live Party. Over the course of this 2-3 hour gaming session, they both repeatedly asked questions about where things were, how certain quests were completed, how different abilities were used, and so forth. Invariably they’d quip, “Gotta consult the book” or something similar, pause their game, and start thumbing through their strategy guide. A few minutes later they’d have their answer easy as that, which is exactly the problem.
This is not to say that there is a “right way” to play Skyrim. I will be the first to admit (and praise) Bethesda for designing a game as big, as multifaceted, as open and free as Skyrim that not only allows but encourages different styles of play. That said, much of the joy to be had in Skyrim comes from moments of discovery and achievement. With the freedom of an open world can come occasions of confusion and indecision. Quests quickly stack up, more and more locations become revealed on the world map. It can all be a little overwhelming.
But that’s exactly the point.
If you want to be taken by the hand and led from point A to B to C, play a linear game like COD: MW3, Gears of War 3, or Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, just to name a few. This is an Elder Scrolls game for Akatosh’s sake! Things aren’t always meant to be easy; you’re meant to struggle at times, to get lost at times, it’s part of the fun! Yes, I’ve gone online to find the answer to a particular question or the location of a particularly well-hidden quest item, but this has always been a last resort for me. Having a strategy guide on the couch next to you, neatly organized and indexed, it’s too easy. The guide becomes a crutch and the next thing you know you’re hardly doing anything without consulting the guide. That sense of discovery and accomplishment is lost. Do yourself a favor, skip the guide and just play the game. It won’t always be easy, but you don’t need it. And I promise it will be all the more enjoyable without it.
What’s the Opposite of Total Sensory Deprivation?
There have been a handful of moments that stand out in my mind from playing Skyrim. Some are big, dramatic sequences of significance to the narrative of the game. Others are minor, seemingly random encounters that likely have no impact on the world in the game. Honestly, the small moments affected me as much or more than the big ones. My first encounter with a dragon was one of those big moments, and while impressive, I was *meant* to experience it. It was scripted to be big and impressive. But those smaller moments, would they have happened even if I wasn’t there to see them? As much as that seems like a 21st century version of that old question about the falling tree in the woods, I can’t help but think that the answer is yes. And that blows my mind more than a little.
I’ll give you an example. I was heading cross-country toward a bandit hideout to collect a bounty on their leader, just your typical, miscellaneous Skyrim quest. As I approached the hideout I noticed a farm in the near distance, thinking little of it. Out of nowhere a dragon dropped out of the sky and swooped low, letting off a below of rage. This was my first Random Dragon Encounter, and while I was unprepared, I was resolute. There was going to be one less dragon in the world when this encounter was over. And then something happened I didn’t expect. The dragon didn’t immediately attack me. It veered off and headed for the farm. Unleashing a gout of fire, it began attacking the farmers and their livestock. As I began firing arrows from my Dwarven Bow it turned it’s attention on me, and thus began our dance of death. When the dragon finally succumbed to my onslaught, it expired near the farm. As I approached to harvest its bones, scales, and soul, I noticed something peculiar. One of the surviving farmhands, a woman, was venerating the dragon’s corpse. This sequence of events left me in awe.
I have read that in Skyrim the behavior of dragons, like other creatures and NPCs is not scripted per se; they are given a set of rules/guidelines and “let loose” to act as they will, within their own set of parameters. The encounter I described, while still the result of programming by the developers at Bethesda, was amazing because of its organic quality. The level of sophistication and attention to detail that has been achieved is a major part of what makes Skyrim so immersive. It draws the player into the virtual world of the game and drives the desire to inhabit that space, to luxuriate in the experience that Skyrim offers. The escapist fantasy of the rugged hero in a world of sword & sorcery has never had a Siren’s song as enticing as this game. The SS Your Social Life is doomed to crash upon Skyrim’s rocky shores, a fate shared by all who play it, and a price I imagine we’ll all too eagerly pay.