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. jrobpaq

   4

   For the first 10 hours, Skyrim is a pretty decent game. There's plenty to do, weapons to find, civilians to save, rabbits to kill, but after that, the game just ends. After I got through the stupidly short main quest, which barely scraped by as 4 hours, I figured I start with some of the guilds. The guild quests lines consisted of 3 fetch quests, 1 big fetch quest, and then I was head of the guild, all in under an hour. This is the same for all the guilds, including Mage's, Theive's, Dark Brotherhood's, and Companion's. The side-quests are equally disapointing. They all consist of the same formula: recieve quest, go to cave/fort, kill Draugr, return for gold. This is the rubrick for EVERY SINGLE QUEST.
   
   All I'm going to say about combat is that it is a joke. Two enimies run up to each other and swing their swords until the other one dies, not bothering to roll, dodge, or move out of the way. They do occasionally block however, but not that it matters if you do, because you could just stand in the corner sucking your thumb until your health regenerates.
   
   Almost everything from Oblivion and Morrowind has been dumbed down. Intricate alchemy system with calcinators and alembics? Gone. Fun spell making? Gone. Interesting quests? Gone.
   
   The A.I. in Skyrim is laughable at best. I had just got done single-handedly taking out the entire Stormcloak army defending Windhelm, (my fellow Imperials just stood around shouting, bumping into each other) and had just slain Ulfrich. I then proceded to walk outside and was immediately called a "milk-drinker" by one of my comrades. This is just one of the many instances where the A.I. completely ignores your achievements. I have slain hundreds of "powerful" dragons, become the head of every guild, lopped off Ulrich's head and single handedly took out his entire army, and sold my soul to 16 different daedra, and still people treat me like a piece of sub-human trash.
   
   Overall, Skyrim is fun for a while, until you realize that it a dumbed down version of Oblivion with laughable A.I. and dragon fights, complete with a boring world and copy-pasted side quests.… Expand

   • Helpful? 0 of 0 users said Yes.

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