Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Greatest Hits) - Playstation 3

And that statement is from a long time Final Fantasy Fanatic. But despite FF13 having impressive graphics, and being relatively glitch free; I feel Skyrim completely outmatches it in nearly every category. For those unfamiliar with the series (which I started playing with the original back on DOS), Elder Scrolls was a ground breaking game based on the 'do anything' model that has become popular with open ended RPGs and action games. Think Grand Theft Auto 3 and onward. The series has become more popular, with Morrowind (part 3) getting more into the popular mainstream and Oblivion (part IV) officially becoming a mainstream title. This game shares much in common with its predecessors, but improves on the formula in many ways. If you have played Elder Scrolls Oblivion, then you have a good grasp of the style of game play. If not, then it is basically a first person action RPG. You use the L and R triggers for most of your attacks while using the dual analog sticks to move your character and the camera. It's a system that works well for this type of game (I remember space flight style games seemed to use this system a lot on PS2). It's a control system that is smooth and fluid most of the time. Far better than the setup for GTA 4. Battle is much improved. No worthless battles hitting the slash button repeatedly. Instead the battles are quicker, more fierce, and more realistic. Sometimes the game cuts to a deathblow scene which is actually pretty amazing. Dragon battles can take a little time though... depending on your level. Also, expanding archery skills almost seems cheap since I can pick off most enemies in one or two hits. But the drawback is that if the enemies get close, you're screwed. Archery is slow so you get wailed on while notching an arrow, so you might consider switching to magic or a blade. Also, backing up while attacking is much slower, so you can't do the hit and run like in Oblivion. Major improvements have been made in many areas, but the two areas that come to mind are really the menus, environmental interaction, and music. The music in IV was always nice with an ambient touch. But this is really the first Elder Scrolls game that has a soundtrack I actually want to hear prominently. The developers really scored big points on this front. The music still has an ambient quality, but it's just better sounding. Whereas Oblivion's score sounded like a bad knockoff of Pirates of the Caribbean, Skyrim has a more Lord of the Rings style of music (think of the music during the Balrog battle or the celestial choir style of music during less tense moments). Good job Bethesda. Environmental interaction has improved in my opinion, but others might like IV's system better. The descriptions of items appears before you pick it up, so you can see the weight, value, and other notes before taking possession. IV just had the hand icon which meant you could pick it up, but you couldn't see info until you looked in the menu. Also interacting with things such as drawers is fun because it does show the drawers and baskets open up. It's really kind of neat. Taking herbs and flowers from the field is easier and the flowers (or mushrooms, or herbs) disappear when taken, so you know you've hit the spot. Menus are much more fluid, though the equipment menu was much more interactive in IV. But other than the equip menu, it's a stellar menu setup. It's easy to navigate quickly so you don't take too long of a break from the action. There is a shortcut by pushing up on the d pad to gain access to favorite items, magic or weapons. Now for the issues: with a game this graphically advanced, there are some slight issues with display and frame rates in some areas. If you played IV, then you remember a few minor frame rate issues and some points where the game would stick for a few seconds. There were also a few times in IV when the entire game would freeze and a hard reset of the PS3 was required. So crashes were not uncommon in IV. But at least the game auto saves at various points. So not too bad. The main issue here is that Skyrim doesn't seem to auto save as often, so those rare crashes or freezes are more frustrating. The 360 version seems to have less issues with freezes and crashes, but both systems should be able to handle the game without these bugs. Some online forums discuss some of the reasons behind these bugs, but it seems the latest patches have fixed most bugs. The main quest can be completed in a short time, but if you spend time completing optional quests and exploring, the game can take over 100 hours. The game is open ended, but less annoying than in Oblivion. I refer to the annoyance of super powerful goblins with priceless armor and weapons that crop up later in the game. When you level, in this game you don't really gain too much power other than a nifty one point allotment to use for a skill. The skills are capped though to prevent you from running through one skill tree without leveling the skill adequately. Also, the main story is much better than Oblivion (no annoying Martin in this one). It has a feel more like Lord of the Rings (though the big baddie in IV looked like Sauron). If you want a great action RPG, then this is a winner. Despite the minor glitches this is still one of the best games on PS3. It allows for open ended exploration with plenty of optional quests beyond the main story line. I had the game completely freeze on me within two hours of my first playing it, but luckily frequent saves are my friend (I had to power down the PS3 to fix it). I highly recommend keeping those save files going. It auto-saves much less than Oblivion did.

***Update 13 January 2012*** I've hit the 60 hour mark with a save of 9mb. Besides some minor stutter after discovering Riften for the first time, I still have not experienced any unplayability r brokeness. After leaving the city and coming back an hour later or so later the stutter was gone. My previous statement of casual gaming has gone out the window. I'll find my self playing for 8-9 hours straight (12 hours one day) and not even blink an eye. The game is still running buttery smoothe for me, even after these marathon sessions. I guess I'm just one of the lucky few. I did experience a broken quest though, but one out of hundreds is no big deal. The game is huge and I don't expect it to be perfect. As for GOTY, it definately has my vote! ***3 January 2012*** I am now about 40 hours into the game and have a save file of 7mb. I'll also throw out there that I have a fatty 80G PS3 that is about 4 years old. Still no game killing stutter, I have had a couple of complete freezes though where I've had to hard shut down the PS3. After the hard shut down the system then has to restore all my files. This hasn't corrupted anything or broken any of my other saved files so I'm not going to ding a star on that. The game itself continues to be fun and addicting and I will continue to update as I get further into it. ***Original Review*** I have yet to experience any of the game crippling lag that many people say happens after their game reaches 8mb. I've been playing for about 25 hours with a save of 5mb. I also only play in 3-4 hour blocks, I'm more of a casual gamer, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the lack of freezing or not. I've had some minor stutter but that's normal for most games I play. As of right now this game gets 5 stars from me, but if I start to get the slide show syndrome, I won't hesitate to drop the rating accordingly. As for the game itself, it's just amazing. The music really sucks you in to the world of Skyrim. It's so easy to get immersed that sometimes I'll find myself just riding around the tundra on my horse taking in the views. No game has every captured my attention the way Skyrim has. I thought I would hate the first person view, but I actually think this is one of the strongest points of the game. The leveling is also a vast improvement. If you don't want to level up a skill, then just ignore it, it's that simple! The amount of quests seems almost overwhelming at times, but makes it so that you always have something to do. I want to say I have something like 50 different quests open right now and am sometimes torn between what to do next. This doesn't take away from the game at all, in fact it adds to it. And of course the dragons! I've only killed 4 and have been lucky each time as I have yet to face one alone. The dragon is usually distracted fighting a giant or an archer while i just come up along side him and start hitting his leg. Bam! Easy dragon soul. There was also the tough choice of werewolf, or vampire... Hmm, well I hate Edward so I guess werewolf it is! I tried to play Oblivion when I first bought my PS3 a few years ago and was utterly disappointed. I only played about 6 hours before I traded it in for something else. So I was a little hesitant at first about Skyrim. But after receiving it as a gift I decided to give it a shot, and I was not disappointed. Best RPG I've played, and I look forward to plenty more hours of fun.

El servicio de entrega y atención de Amazon fue Excelente En cuanto al video juego, muy entretenido y más si descargaslas expansión que añaden muchas horas mas de diversión. Tiene una gran cantidad de misiones secundarias y lugares que descubrir que garantiza muchas horas de diversión.

A really engrossing and interesting game such a great big huge world to explore! 10/10

Für Sammler optimal

Gioco infinito

Do not look at the pegi rating, the violence is similar to uncharted 3 and great game! But by ordering it using standard delivery I got it for RS890 + shipping charges and got it two days earlier than what the prime delivery said. The prime delivery one although late will cost you 1299 rupees.buy it! Very impressed by my first Bethesda's title