1. MusAddict

   9

   Simly put: the pros outweigh the cons. Biggest pro: Aesthetics. Biggest con: Magic Constrictions. Theres more if you're willing to read. I will start by saying my vote is based on a scale of 0-10, 0 meaning "unplayable", 5 equal to Oblivion (not inherently bad, just to compare Skyrim respectively), and 6+ is an overall improvement from Oblivion. Voice Acting (+1) has been greatly improved from 12 to 70+ actors, meaning you can play longer before you are driven insane by the repetitive voice of Jauffre. Aesthetics (+2) are greatly improved over Oblivion. The map itself is slightly smaller than Oblivion, but it's designed to feel 4x bigger, and it does. Filled with flowing creeks, ice caps, mountains, snow, and A LOT more. Graphics (+1) are improved, not by much tho. It looks better, for sure, but that's thanks to the aesthetics. As for clarity and detail of models, it's only a slight, but noticeable improvement. Skills (+1) have a better setup. Many people like that the skills were directly related to your use of them like in Oblivion, but perks make the game feel more survival/strategic based. They're done nicely. Professions (+1) are a wonderful addition that are a tie between skills and aesthetics, but is prominent enought to be listed as its own plus. While the only real mechanical upside of professions relates to smithing, it's still wonderful to be able to chop wood, mine ores, smelt ores, and so on to improve your gear. Dragons (+0) are an interesting replacement to Oblivion Gates. That's exactly what they are, a replacement. While epic within the story line, and fun to battle with their random characteristics, they are also as repetitive as Oblivion Gates. No matter how epic they are, I find myself only wanting to kill them only for their souls, but after the first 10, it starts to get old. That's why it's a plus zero, cause they're epic, but repetitive. Number of Places (+1) have been increased by about double, and to top it off you never feel like you explore the same place twice, unlike Oblivion. Magic (-2) has been drastically reduced... I'm not sure the number of spells in either game, but I do know they REALLY trimmed magic. They completely did away with Mysticism, and got rid of the ability to craft spells. Bethesda combated the lack of spells with the ability to dual wield spells, but it's not enough... They dropped the ball on this one. User Interface (-1) has always been a core downside for Bethesda's most recent games, even on consoles. I would have not listed UI as a downside, however I hate that they replaced the D-Pad hotkeys with a pausable favorites menu. While it's nice at first, it really pulls you away from combat when all you want to do is unequip your shield and equip a spell. So, to summarize, Oblivion is a 5 on the scale (not inherently bad, just to compare Skyrim respectively), and the improvements include Voice Acting +1 (6), Aesthetics +2 (8), Graphics +1 (9), Skills +1 (10), Professions +1 (11), Dragons +0 (11), Places +1 (12), and the downsides: Magic -2 (10), and UI -1 (9), so overall Skyrim is a +4 compared to Oblivion.… Expand

   • Helpful? 5 of 5 users said Yes.
2. HerrJesus

   8

   It´s a great game but all of the huge bugs makes the score a little bit lower. the game looks great it has a wonderful interface for console, it has a great storyline, and the fighting feels great.
   8 points. would have gotten 10 if it would have had fewer bugs.… Expand

   • Helpful? 3 of 3 users said Yes.
3. Acquiredempire

   7

   Fun but main story is way too short and NPCs had little to no personality. Never felt any strong emotion or bond to any faction or character. Ending was non eventful. When I beat the main story quests I didn't even realize it. To me it felt like is should have been the half way point. The world itself is very well done and fun to explore. Fighting is the best it has ever been in the Elder scrolls series. Not too many bugs and glitchs as previous installments. Just wish it had more memorable NPCs and a deeper story but the game is very well made otherwise.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
4. manguything

   3

   There is virtually no choice and consequence whatsoever. Quests rarely have any branching paths or variables that hold lasting effects according to your actions; indeed, as demonstrated by Skyrim and Oblivion beforehand, Bethesda fasely believes that "role-playing" amounts to little more than "having alot of stuff to do." Combat is incredibly flawed and was not improved upon over Oblivion in the slightest; enemy A.I. is without any complexity or variation, and this, coupled with the lack of precision in attacks ("WOAH LOOK AT THAT CAMERA FLYING EVERYWHERE WHEN I SWING REALISTIC!!!111!!!11") reduces battles to little more than mindless hack n' slash fests, with the only "challenge" in these battles being how well you can last out against objects with inflated stats (This isn't Skyward Sword, or Dark Souls, where you actually have to think and adapt your strategies accordingly to different battles; the only difference among Skyrim's foes, most of the time, is what numbers are attributed to each NPC).
   
   The leveling system is terrible and encourages mindless grinding. While "practice makes perfect" works in theory, you aren't actually practicing when you level your one-handed skill, for example; you're just repeatedly hacking and slashing to get higher points. This stands in opposition to games such as Dark Souls, where you are rewarded for tackling tough enemies that require thought to take down. In Skyrim, you are rewarded for doing nothing.
   
   On that note, level scaling is terrible. Early on, abilities seem to be balanced; there are fair benefits to going with either a melee or magic build. Later on, the system becomes incredibly broken, giving unfair advantages to melee builds and rendering casters useless.
   
   The animations are still hideous and robotic, and differ little, in quality, from Oblivion's (In fact, many of them seem to be ripped straight FROM Oblivion).
   
   Quests are poorly designed and feel like standard MMO fair (Which should be inexcusable in a game that is NOT an MMO); unfortunately, there is no hint of quality story-telling to mask this problem (It's as if Bethesda's writers spent a little too much time in the young adult literature section of the local library and came back believing they could write quality fantasy with compelling characters).
   
   While the overworld is nice and gives the illusion of complex design, dungeons are still cramped, narrow corridors without any nuance to their design. The environment itself should be a challenge; if there is no challenge present in the dungeons, it is pointless to include them.
   
   The game does feature quality music, and the visuals are pretty (Except when you get a little too close to a wall or the ground and realize how low-quality the textures can be), but that isn't enough to mask the game's mechanical flaws. Skyrim may be a great nature walk simulator, but it's a bad game.… Expand

   • Helpful? 10 of 34 users said Yes.

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