Many great games were released in 2011. Batman: Arkham City, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations were all hugely anticipated games this year. Yet, the game that can easily be called the best video game of 2011 was probably the least talked about prior to its release – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
I purchased this game on a whim. I came across a great deal on purchasing 3 pre-order games at once online. I knew the first two I wanted to purchase but the third choice was a blind shot. I had briefly heard of the Elder Scrolls series and thought I would give the game a try. It has always hurt me to spend upwards of $50 on a game I may beat in a week and never play again. This being said, Skyrim was a great investment. You can play Skyrim indefinitely. There are many characters to choose from, near endless missions to complete, and so many game altering decisions to be made that each player will have a very different experience every time they play.
For those of you familiar with the Fallout game series, the game play in the Elder Scrolls games is more than comparable. Replace the Fifties style mobsters with Renaissance style brotherhoods and the supercomputers with dragons and you have Skyrim.
Similar to Fallout, the ability to customize your character doesn’t end on the start screen. Throughout the game you make decisions that change your character. You can decide to become a werewolf or a vampire. You can fight with the Skyrim army or against it. Your character is always learning new things and with skill points you can decide what they master. Lock picking, blacksmithing, and one handed combat are only some of the customizable talents. You can get married, join brotherhoods, fight dragons; anything you want to do can be done! As a woman I appreciate that the women throughout the game are treated as equals. Despite the renaissance type setting of the game, many women act as blacksmiths and business owners-even soldiers!
My game system of choice is the Playstation3; However, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available for Xbox360 and PC as well. Skyrim will continue to be my favorite game of the year in 2012, as I make different choices to develop my character in the months to come!