The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (Reviewed on Windows) This game is great, with minimal or no negatives. Skyrim is still a great place to get lost in and the visual upgrade is welcome. It perhaps doesn't go as far as it should and it's a shame no other aspect of the game got looked at but it's still well worth your time.
PS4- First came the release on PS3 and Xbox 360, then it was packaged up with all the DLC and a whole lot of visual improvements to create Skyrim Special Edition, and then boosted to 4K for the PS4 Pro.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition has so much content that I haven't even played the majority of it, and I haven't even joined all the guilds, completed all of the Daedric artifact.
- Skyrim's Special Edition recaptures and beautifies the original game, but leaves a lot of room for an even-more-special edition down the road. Editor's note: This review covers the PlayStation 4.
Published on November 6th, 2016 | by Shael Millheim
Summary: The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition is what happens when old is made new again! It almost became epic for this game!
One of the most epic RPG's returns to the world of gaming with The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition as Bethesda take this classic game and increases the graphical capabilities thanks to the power of the PlayStation 4 and XBox One consoles. So at its core, the game is basically a mirror image of the original but with much nicer graphics. Given that, the new Skyrim boasts some graphical advancements that include improved draw distance, weather effects, lighting (e.g. volumetric) and special effects that does make the title look more modern but certain elements in the game like the characters, inside of buildings do look a little on the average. But when compared to the original, this new incarnation still boasts the wow factor, especially with all the diversity in the environments.
Further, this version also allows for mods and even contains all the DLC such as Dawnguard and Dragonborn to give you some great value for money. That's right, there's quite a few mods available to install in this game that range from minor adjustments to some truly world-changing differences. Sure PC gamers may be saying we had this years ago and the graphics but hey, console players didn't and that's why it works so well on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. You can even turn dragons into ‘Thomas the Tank'. Hopefully this will be a sign of things to come that will allow more console games having access to mods but compared to the XBox One, the PS4 has only half the mods (around 100) available. On the PlayStation 4, I also found the game quite responsive and the mapping of controls onto the controller works very well. The quick save is very fast and the save system has been revamped to find what file you're looking for.
In terms of story, The High King of Skyrim has been murdered, the world is at breaking point and even worse, an ancient evil has been awakened. To make matters worse for the player, you start the game as an ‘innocent' prisoner that's been sentenced to death and before being executed, an exciting and terrifying scene takes place, really showcasing early on the true magnitude of pure awesomeness that is this game. Before I know it, I'm jumping down into a burning building, swinging swords, and looting bodies during all of this chaos and that's just the start. Needless to say, you have your work cut out for you!
So having played the original before, I still had to stop and just look around for quite some time at random points in my first few hours of playing The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition. Simple things like water and trees amused me to no end and are complete works of finely detailed art in this game, as is everything else. Shadows are cast everywhere, the sky is a beautiful thing to behold, and you could even see the stars peeking through the clouds at some times. While I decided to do some hardcore mountain climbing, I looked over at the sky and saw one of the most stunning things in my early experience with Skyrim, the Aurora Borealis. So many things catch my attention as I wander around the map – different climates in the various sections, wind picking up particles on the ground and blowing them away, random animal skulls in the middle of nowhere, and countless other things that make this game just feel as massive as it really is.
On the fighting side of things, I find the more creatures I come across the more I want to play with different weapon combinations that are now at my disposal. In The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition, you can dual-wield weapons, dual-wield magic to make more powerful versions of it, use sword and shield, single and double-handed weapons, and so on. It's also filled with a variety of different enemies and some look amazing in this new graphical update, whereas other are a little ho hum but nonetheless, there's plenty to find and fight. The combat does feel a little dated but it still quite playable.
Also, you're able to change up your magic and weapons is a breeze to deal with, and I love the incorporation of showing finishing moves on enemies at some points, giving beautiful takedowns their moment of glory. No matter what type of fighter you are, you will be able to play exactly the way you want in this game. So whatever style you play, that is what your character will become. Messenger for desktop setup. Want to be more of a thief type? Then play like one. Fighter? Mage? Those skills increase as you go along and use them accordingly, and as you level up you choose different perks in each skill section, shown as colorful constellations that you gaze up to for guidance. This means you're not just limited to class but the combinations are quite diverse.
Moving on to some other fun aspects of the game itself, one thing that I do love is the way that lock picking works.
Instead of the frustration of dealing with the tumblers, you now literally feel around the lock using two your picks, moving each individually carefully until the lock rotates and opens. If you rotate them more and more to where they won't open, the controller also vibrates more and more until the tension results in the picks breaking. If you want to find those treasures and weapons, make sure you ‘study' lock picking because there's a boom to be found in The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition.
The soundtrack of the game is brilliant and really captures that RPG atmosphere and whether you're a hero or a ‘villain', it's integral to the game and helps with the immersion factor. The sounds that you hear while fighting dragons, other creatures, and just all of the audio in this game is quite impressive and clearly has been shown as close attention to as every other aspect of this epic work of art. Picture editing program. Another word about sound is that the voice acting is quite good and there's plenty of dialogue in the game.
Final Thoughts?
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim Special Edition is a really good game on the PlayStation 4 and Bethesda have done a remarkable job at giving it a fresh facelift but also keeping the amazing story and gameplay. Sure, some things feel a little stiff and lacking finesse of something like The Witcher 3 but it's quite a detailed world from its culture, denizens that populate this universe and very rich story. Lastly, the amount of time you could spend in this game is practically endless and the only potentially bad thing is that you could lose sleep because you won't want to stop playing.
Key Features
• Epic Fantasy Reborn. Skyrim reimagines the open-world fantasy epic, pushing the gameplay and technology of a virtual world to new heights.
• Live another life, in another world. Play any type of character you can imagine, and do whatever you want; the legendary freedom of choice, storytelling, and adventure of The Elder Scrolls is realized like never before.
• All new graphics and gameplay engine. Skyrim's new game engine brings to life a complete virtual world with rolling clouds, rugged mountains, bustling cities, lush fields, and ancient dungeons.
• You are what you play. Choose from hundreds of weapons, spells, and abilities. The new character system allows you to play any way you want and define yourself through your actions.
• Dragons return. Battle ancient dragons like you've never seen. As Dragonborn, learn their secrets and harness their power for yourself.
Related Posts
Little Nightmares II PS4 Review #Nightmares →- Platforms: PC | PS4 | Switch | XBO |
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher:Bethesda Softworks
- Release: October 28, 2016
Five years ago the newest Elder Scrolls game took players to Skyrim, which ended up becoming one of the best RPGs to come out of the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era of gaming, and also not a too shabby entry in the list of great PC games. Skyrim was huge, both in terms of the physical game world and in the amount things that can be done. Completionists can easily spend a couple hundred hours trying to accomplish everything there is to do, so now is about the time most of them have finally exhausted all available activities. The reward for such tenacity is that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is available, which means all those achievements and trophies can be earned again in an improved version of this title.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition takes place in Skyrim, which is on the continent of Tamriel, roughly 200 years after the events of Oblivion and during a civil war between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. The adventure begins while the character is being held prisoner in the back of a wagon being taken to their execution. As luck would have it a dragon attack saves the day, for during this chaos while the area around you burns, the player is able to make the daring escape.
Send rar file facebook. After successfully escaping the failed execution, the player is free to begin roaming about the massive open world. There is some direction given to seek out people in certain locations such as the Jarl of Whiterun, but whether or not that is followed is entirely up to whatever the player wants to do. There is a main story to complete, but that can be done in whatever time frame the player sees most enjoyable. There is an abundance of optional side quests to take on and dungeons to conquer. On top of that, there are potions to craft and those require the harvesting of many ingredients. Why buy weapons and armor when you can craft your own? Go hunting to gather leather and mine some rare ore and build up your blacksmithing skill. The main quest isn't going anywhere, take some time to see everything the world has to offer. In addition to being free to do just about anything your heart desires, there is a lot of freedom with designing your character. The usual variety of Elder Scrolls races are present such as Nords, Redguards, Elves, and so on. Each race has some bonus attributes or ability, like Khajiit are able to use night vision and Argonians can breathe underwater. Appearance can be customized as well but being as this is a first person game the allure of that feature might not be as strong as in other RPGs.
Skyrim Special Edition Review Ps4
Beyond character design the character will level up by increasing their skill with certain abilities, which is done by using them. For example, wearing heavy armor and using a two handed weapon will increase those skills, but magic abilities will remain weak unless spells are regularly cast. Basically Skyrim tries to add an element of realism to the leveling system by making specific gains coincide with what skills are actually being used. If you skip leg day, Skyrim will ensure your chicken legs stay puny. Since there are no specific classes restricting skill and equipment use, it is possible to build up a very diversified death dealer. A character build I was using during the review playthrough wore heavy armor but tending to dual wield spells and melee weapons. Usually it was a spell in the left hand and sword in the right, but sometimes just for fun blasting the enemies with fire and ice from different hands was a nice twist on the standard battle formula.
When the player levels up, they are awarded a perk point that they can spend in a number of areas. These cover different types of weapons, schools of magic, and other attributes and skills. For example we will examine the blacksmith skill tree. Players with a low skill level in blacksmith are limited in what materials they can work with. If the player wants to make their character an expert at making arms and armor, they need to construct weapons and armor to increase the blacksmith level. On the blacksmith skill tree perk points can be spent to allow the player to work on enchanted items, or work with stronger materials such as obsidian and dragon bone, but in order to unlock those perks they need to have reached a certain level in blacksmith. Spending perk points is not something to be done without consideration, it is best to examine what each ability has to unlock so they are spent in a way that fits the play style for that character. These perks can do a variety of things like reduce the cost of casting certain spells or increasing damage with certain weapon types. Making heavy armor weightless has always been a favorite.
• All new graphics and gameplay engine. Skyrim's new game engine brings to life a complete virtual world with rolling clouds, rugged mountains, bustling cities, lush fields, and ancient dungeons.
• You are what you play. Choose from hundreds of weapons, spells, and abilities. The new character system allows you to play any way you want and define yourself through your actions.
• Dragons return. Battle ancient dragons like you've never seen. As Dragonborn, learn their secrets and harness their power for yourself.
Related Posts
Little Nightmares II PS4 Review #Nightmares →- Platforms: PC | PS4 | Switch | XBO |
- Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
- Publisher:Bethesda Softworks
- Release: October 28, 2016
Five years ago the newest Elder Scrolls game took players to Skyrim, which ended up becoming one of the best RPGs to come out of the Xbox 360/PlayStation 3 era of gaming, and also not a too shabby entry in the list of great PC games. Skyrim was huge, both in terms of the physical game world and in the amount things that can be done. Completionists can easily spend a couple hundred hours trying to accomplish everything there is to do, so now is about the time most of them have finally exhausted all available activities. The reward for such tenacity is that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is available, which means all those achievements and trophies can be earned again in an improved version of this title.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition takes place in Skyrim, which is on the continent of Tamriel, roughly 200 years after the events of Oblivion and during a civil war between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. The adventure begins while the character is being held prisoner in the back of a wagon being taken to their execution. As luck would have it a dragon attack saves the day, for during this chaos while the area around you burns, the player is able to make the daring escape.
Send rar file facebook. After successfully escaping the failed execution, the player is free to begin roaming about the massive open world. There is some direction given to seek out people in certain locations such as the Jarl of Whiterun, but whether or not that is followed is entirely up to whatever the player wants to do. There is a main story to complete, but that can be done in whatever time frame the player sees most enjoyable. There is an abundance of optional side quests to take on and dungeons to conquer. On top of that, there are potions to craft and those require the harvesting of many ingredients. Why buy weapons and armor when you can craft your own? Go hunting to gather leather and mine some rare ore and build up your blacksmithing skill. The main quest isn't going anywhere, take some time to see everything the world has to offer. In addition to being free to do just about anything your heart desires, there is a lot of freedom with designing your character. The usual variety of Elder Scrolls races are present such as Nords, Redguards, Elves, and so on. Each race has some bonus attributes or ability, like Khajiit are able to use night vision and Argonians can breathe underwater. Appearance can be customized as well but being as this is a first person game the allure of that feature might not be as strong as in other RPGs.
Skyrim Special Edition Review Ps4
Beyond character design the character will level up by increasing their skill with certain abilities, which is done by using them. For example, wearing heavy armor and using a two handed weapon will increase those skills, but magic abilities will remain weak unless spells are regularly cast. Basically Skyrim tries to add an element of realism to the leveling system by making specific gains coincide with what skills are actually being used. If you skip leg day, Skyrim will ensure your chicken legs stay puny. Since there are no specific classes restricting skill and equipment use, it is possible to build up a very diversified death dealer. A character build I was using during the review playthrough wore heavy armor but tending to dual wield spells and melee weapons. Usually it was a spell in the left hand and sword in the right, but sometimes just for fun blasting the enemies with fire and ice from different hands was a nice twist on the standard battle formula.
When the player levels up, they are awarded a perk point that they can spend in a number of areas. These cover different types of weapons, schools of magic, and other attributes and skills. For example we will examine the blacksmith skill tree. Players with a low skill level in blacksmith are limited in what materials they can work with. If the player wants to make their character an expert at making arms and armor, they need to construct weapons and armor to increase the blacksmith level. On the blacksmith skill tree perk points can be spent to allow the player to work on enchanted items, or work with stronger materials such as obsidian and dragon bone, but in order to unlock those perks they need to have reached a certain level in blacksmith. Spending perk points is not something to be done without consideration, it is best to examine what each ability has to unlock so they are spent in a way that fits the play style for that character. These perks can do a variety of things like reduce the cost of casting certain spells or increasing damage with certain weapon types. Making heavy armor weightless has always been a favorite.
Skyrim Special Edition Differences
Skyrim is a vast open world RPG with no shortage of activities or player choices. Its graphics were among the best of what 2011 had to offer with some gorgeous environments to explore, especially with the snow covered mountains. The soundtrack is great from the opening Dragonborn remix of the Elder Scrolls theme to the ambient music that occurs intermittently during the game. The sheer abundance of dialog is mind boggling, and the same can be said for the amount of things to do. Just playing through the main story and ignoring all side quests will take a few dozen hours, but staying on task to complete the main story is tricky because so many distracting side quests are everywhere. And just in case someone says the game isn't big enough, the three expansions of Dragonborn, Dawnguard, and Hearthfire are also included in Skyrim Special Edition.Skyrim was a phenomenal game when it was released, and this reissue is the best version. The question at hand is despite how amazing this reissue is, was it necessary or is it worth getting?
The visuals are the same basic graphics we saw five years ago, but they have been upscaled and polished. I fired up my Xbox 360 and put in the original disc and their difference in graphic quality is not night and day but it is noticeably better. It should be noted that this review was played on a standard PlayStation 4 with 1080P output. Skyrim Special Edition does have native 4K resolution so if played on a 4K TV with a new Xbox One S or PlayStation 4 Pro. Personally I am unable to vouch how much better it looks in 4K, but considering the difference between 7th generation and 8th generation consoles is noticeable at 1080P I imagine a 4K display will not disappoint.
For console gamers the addition of PC mods is a great feature. Mods can be accessed after the player makes a Bethesda.net account. Save files that use mods will be marked with an [M] in their title. Playing with mods will disable trophies and achievements for that particular file with the original, unmodded file will still be saved and available to return to at any time. The addition of mods is of no interest to the PC Skyrim players because they have had access to them for years but they will be able to transfer unmodded save files from the original Skyrim to Skyrim Special Edition.
Skyrim Special Edition Review Xbox One
Skyrim Special Edition causes somewhat of a conundrum as far as recommending it. It is great on every level, but with the exception of the mod support nothing really significant was done to the special edition besides making it prettier. It looks better, but the original version doesn't exactly look bad. The expansions are a nice addition, but those are also included in Skyrim Legendary Edition for a cheaper price. If you've never played Skyrim or sold your old copy and want to revisit it or want to tackle a fresh trophy/achievement list this is the way to go. If you still have a copy for the 7th generation machine and still play it, this is an unnecessary addition to the game collection unless you want the absolute best visuals or care about adding the PC mods to the console. In the case of the latter, for whatever reason the Xbox One version currently seems to have more mod options available than the PlayStation 4.
Closing Comments:
Skyrim Special Edition Review Xbox One
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition is a visual improvement over the original, but beyond that, it's still the same old game. Skyrim was and still is a great game, but for people who have already completed it or are still working on completing the original, there may not be enough new content to justify this purchase. Adding PC mods to the console versions is the only significant content update, but the reworked visuals do look nice. This special edition is excellent, but whether or not PC mods, improved graphics and previously available DLC content is enough to warrant a second playthrough and purchase is going to be up for each individual to decide. If you like first-person RPGs but never got around to Skyrim, this version is a great excuse to finally experience this wonderful game.
Skyrim Special Edition Review Reddit
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 4
