

Regardless, you still may run into some characters clipping through walls, your character getting stuck in objects, or quick little lags when opening up the menu system.

I'd highly recommend installing the game onto your system (if you're playing on Xbox 360) which should improve load times. I've already downloaded an update to the game and it hasn't even hit stores yet. Of course a game as massive as Skyrim isn't without its share of glitches. Instead, Skyrim's untouchable features lie in the mind-blowing size of the explorable land and the seemingly endless number of different story branches and arcs that can be discovered and completed. In fact, some of the performances from non-playable characters are straight up bland. In terms of presentation, Skyrim may not be oozing with the same voice talent and motion capture production values that games like Uncharted 3 and Batman: Arkham City are loaded with. Like other titles with similar functionality, it can occasionally break up the action. Items, weapons, magic, and the game map are all easily accessible, but there is still no way to bind items to some sort of quick-equip system. There's a lot of stats to keep track of, but Skyrim presents all the data in a practical fashion. Once a new level is achieved, players can then use an impressive constellation system to assign perks. Love to use one-handed weapons? Your skill points will shoot up quicker the more you use daggers and small blades. Leveling-up is a much more dynamic process now as players will automatically upgrade based on their own strengths. Even though Bethesda Game Studios' core attitude toward the series hasn't really evolved by leaps and bounds, there are enough clever and logical tweaks to the formula that result in an even more satisfying experience. Skyrim successfully conjures the same addictive "just-one-more-quest" mentality that the other Elder Scrolls games are so well known for creating. It's the genre standout for this holiday season, and we've already been racking up the hours in the enormous land of Skyrim. The follow-up (though notably not a direct sequel) to 2006's Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has easily been one of the most anticipated role-playing games in recent memory. Just like what we saw in Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls franchise gives players an incredible amount of freedom to do whatever they want, even if that doesn't include following the main story arc. Bethesda Game Studios has a knack for creating enormous playable worlds that give gamers hundreds of hours worth of play time.
