Alexandra Lion ’14
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an epic roll-playing game from the creators of Oblivion and Fallout 3. The game has over 300 hours of game play filled with intricate quest lines for the player to explore. You begin the game with a character of your own creation, and can customize his or her race, gender, appearance, and more. By following the main quest line, you discover that you are a Dragonborn, a mortal gifted with the ability to speak the dragon’s language and use “The Voice” to battle the dragons who are returning to Skyrim. Roaming the landscape allows the player to happen upon many ancient sites containing words of power with dragons themselves protecting them. If the player chooses not to follow the main quest line, however, there are many other ways to spend your time in the game. “The game has something that everyone will like, whether it’s exploring, completing quests, fighting monsters, joining factions, or raiding dungeons.” says Evan Johnson, a sophomore who is an avid fan of the Elder Scrolls.
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In addition to the fascinating story line, the game also has an incredible landscape full of creatures and mortals for you to battle. The enhanced graphics allow for more realistic and enticing game play. Players of Oblivion will be glad to hear that the water actually moves in Skyrim, rather than remaining dormant. Where players of Oblivion would have run into rats, wolves, bears, deer, and the ever-present mudcrabs, players of Skyrim will run into those as well as mammoths, foxes, saber-tooth cats, giants, spiders, “Falmer,” and other creatures lurking in the wild. The various dungeons and mines located throughout the fantasy world have vastly different layouts so that the player never feels as if he/she is repeating a previous adventure. So no matter how you choose to play the game, be prepared to spend many hours lost in the enchanting world of Skyrim.