This is a common occurrence in Skyrim, the setting of the fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls series.

The game takes place 200 years after the events of Oblivion in the region of Skyrim. The High King has been assassinated, putting the region on the brink of civil war. While tensions mount, the Nordic Dragon-god of destruction, Alduin, returns to destroy mankind and reclaim the world.

You play as the last Dragonborn, a dragon hunter chosen by the gods to defend the realm from Alduin’s threat. Ultimately, it is you who will be the decider of Skyrim’s fate.

The main storyline this time around is much better than Oblivion and its anti-climactic finale. There is a sense of urgency, a reason to follow the story rather than just running around doing all the sidequests. Honestly, it’s just more well-thought out and engaging to play. Discovering the mysteries behind the return of the dragons and figuring out how to defeat them is a real treat.

The civil war quests are not part of the main story, but they feel like they have the same weight as the main quest as you’re deciding the fate of the land. The problem with these quests was that they got a bit repetitive near the end, and to me, it explained why it wasn’t considered part of the main storyline.

Groups like the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild make a return, although the Fighter’s Guild is absent. They each have their respective quest lines as well, which are very fun to play through.

It is immediately noticeable as you start wandering around the world that the game is incredibly gorgeous. On a capable PC running all settings on Ultra, the world comes to life. The mountains are truly breathtaking to look at in both detail and scale. The environments take on a new degree of realism compared to Oblivion, and they are a joy to explore. Character detail is also much better compared to the very bland non-player characters (NPCs) of Oblivion, but the facial animations are still a step behind some recent releases.

Not all is perfect, however. Weapon textures look a bit low-quality upon close inspection in first-person view (textures are a bit flat in some cases and the draw distance isn’t as far as it should be) leading to a very noticeable amount of object and texture pop-in at a distance. It’s a bit more prominent on consoles, which overall are not on the same level as the PC. The XBOX 360 graphics are more comparable to the PC than the PS3, but both are lacking in the detail department.

The interface also received a graphical update. Gone are the illegible Diablo-esque fonts of Oblivion and fantasy-flavored menus, having been replaced by a very modern design. Fonts are clean, easy to read and the menus are intuitive and simple to navigate.

Skyrim benefits from a new engine, but Bethesda Softworks’s notoriety for having buggy engines is once again proven true. While I did not notice the usual slew of game-breaking bugs that plagued the Fallout games, like randomly sinking into the environment or freezing, there was one that occurred quite a few times. I would get stuck in the NPC conversations, as the button to exit became unresponsive and I had to reload a previous save.

There a few other quirks as well: corpses falling into the world, NPCs disappearing for a few seconds before reappearing and the action of getting onto a horse can also appear very buggy. Bethesda hasn’t really nailed its physics engine either, as a clubbing from a giant can send you flying into orbit.

The changes to the combat system were thought out really well and added a lot of fun to the game, mostly for magic users. You can now dual-wield spells and if you have a different one in each hand you can combine them into one powerful blast. The third-person weapon animations have also been redone. They look more natural and fluid compared to Oblivion‘s rather rigid animations. Another interesting addition is executions. When you’re about to deliver a death blow your character will sometimes perform a stylized execution. It made playing a stealth character much more satisfying, as coming up from behind and slitting someone’s throat made playing an assassin quite impressive and realistic, or is at least better than Oblivion‘s dagger-waving covert forces.

I must admit when I saw the Thu’um, or dragon shout, mechanics first unveiled, I was skeptical. I felt that it would limit character customization as everyone would end up using the same stuff, breaking down the border between classes. Fortunately, that is not the case.

To get a shout you must find its word of power, usually located within ruins or dungeons throughout the world. Each shout has three words of power, giving the shout varying degrees of effects and strength. Once you’ve found the words, you have to unlock each one by using a dragon soul, which you can absorb and claim by defeating dragons. There are plenty of different shouts within the game, like slowing time or breathing fire, so character variety isn’t restricted, but rather bolstered even more.

The dragon fights are one of the most anticipated aspects of the game, and they don’t disappoint, mostly. Dragons can attack you at any time you are wandering around in the environment, including in towns. It’s truly epic to hear the roar of a dragon and watch the town guard unsheathe their weapons and prepare for battle. On higher difficulties the dragon fights are pretty tough and as you level up you start to face stronger breeds, but on occasion they can be made easier with clever use of the environment. The help of guard NPCs can also lessen the difficulty of the fights.

Skyrim’s condensing of the skills is one of the best features of the game. The cluttered skills of previous installments are thankfully missing, making character customization a bit more accessible without sacrificing the RPG roots. One thing I loved was the new skill trees. Rather than just leveling up your different skills, you now can pick out talents as your skill increases. For example, as I raised my sneak skill, I could pick out talents to fortify my sneak aptitude by making my movement silent so as not to alert NPCs or give myself bonus damage when attacking from stealth.

Bethesda did a great job making a believable world you can really immerse yourself in. Thanks to the new Radiant AI and quest systems the game world truly feels alive. NPCs now react to your character and are up-to-date on current events (usually the results of quests you’ve done) rather than regurgitating the same handful of dialogues that made Oblivion’s NPCs seem so flat.

The Radiant quest system allows you to quest infinitely, as they’ve added a new section to the quest log called miscellaneous, which picks up quests from random NPC interaction as you wander around the world. It’s great not running out of things to do.  I accumulated 40 hours of playtime in my week with the game and I still can count over 50 quests in my log I have yet to do.

Putting aside the minor engine nuisances, Skyrim as a complete package is a phenomenal experience. The world is fleshed out with a wealth of background lore and I think it has much more character compared to other installments. It is backed by stunning visuals, a beautiful soundtrack and an epic experience that a Western RPG should strive for. Skyrim is the pride and joy of its class.

This is a game you’re meant to lose yourself in for long periods of time; trying to finish that one last quest or going exploring for another dungeon. A trip to Skyrim is going to result in an extended stay, and it’s worth every minute.

By Eric DiGiovanni

Another game that I can play,
Another word I learn to say,
Another bloody foreign coast,
Another set of scars to boast,
We Are The Road Crew

-Motorhead

Get this game right the fuck now. I don’t care if you rent it or buy it, because you have never played anything like it. Having said that, I liken the game to the movie adaption of Watchmen: not perfect, but the best we’re going to get given the circumstances.

Brütal Legend is made by Double Fine Studios, headed by Tim Schafer. Schafer was a LucasArts alum who worked on classic adventure games such as The Secret Of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, and his most recent project before Brütal Legend was the highly-acclaimed, but not-that-highly selling Psychonauts.

You play as Eddie Riggs (a thankfully reined-in Jack Black), a roadie for crap-rock band Kabbage Boy (think a combination of Linkin Park and Fallout Boy). When the stage collapses on him and some of his blood gets on to his belt buckle, it releases a giant demon that destroys everything and sends him to another world. The people of this world are oppressed by General Lyonwhyte (Rob Halford of Judas Priest) and Emporer Doviculous (Tim Curry). Riggs is assisted by a group of freedom fighters called Ironheade and also The Guardian of Metal (voiced by Ozzy Osbourne). It’s a good story, but the second half falters a bit, and it felt like more could have been done to diversify the experience.

The gameplay switches between straight up action sequences in an open world and a real-time strategy portion dubbed “stage battles.” The latter concept is by far the most interesting, but if you play these sections like a traditional RTS, you’re going to lose. In a way, the single player game slowly introduces you to the stage battles, which is the core of the multiplayer. I found these sections interesting enough as a refresher from the typical hack n’ slash, but not interesting enough to try out in multiplayer. Even then, the control can get a little wonky. In “normal” missions as well as the stage battles, you have various minions, like “headbangers,” who with their thick necks provide basic melee assistance, or “roadies” who are invisible to turret fire and can destroy buildings with a wall of feedback. Occasionally, you have to choose a specific type of unit to get an objective done, but it’s impossible with a controller, since you have to hold a button, turn around, walk up to the unit you want to choose, turn around again, set a beacon, and command your troops.

The entire game is a love letter to heavy metal and is thick with references (one character is named Lita Halford, after Lita Ford and Rob Halford). Now, I’m not a real huge fan of metal because most modern bands devolve into incoherency, trying to growl louder, mash bass pedals faster, and play solos that sound like someone plugged a Guitar Hero controller into a MIDI program and just started flailing on buttons. But Brütal Legend changed that (sorta). The songs fit in perfectly with the medieval world, and actually work to accentuate the missions. Riot’s “Road Racin’” plays when you have to race against time to deliver bass strings to the Killmaster (played by Lemmy from Motorhead) so he can heal an ally. You drive a hot rod out of collapsing ruins to Dragonforce’s “Through the Fire and Flames.” There are no words to describe how sweet it is to launch off a ramp and have King Diamond wail “GRAAAAAAAAAANDMAAA!” over the in-game radio.

I can’t recommend this game enough, not just because of the experience, but because of what it represents. Going back to my earlier point, the Watchmen movie was an advertisement for the graphic novel. Brütal Legend, at least for me, was an advertisement for heavy metal, and the artwork thereof. If this game gets you to start listening to an awesome new band, to try one of Tim Schafer’s other under appreciated gems, or to not only turn off American Idol and Top 40 Radio, but smash ‘em, set ‘em on fire, and let Satan take over for DJ, then the game did its job.