C+

Pros:
Fun
Open World
Good art
Fun Quests

Cons:
Poor programming
Poor quality assurance
A publisher that would make decisions to release a game with so many problems

I have the game on the Playstation 3.

It would be an A- if the product was technically stable. A game studio as large as Bethesda doesn't have the personnel to write their own engine? They hire a third party in gamebryo? I think they are what you call "script kiddies" in the programming world. Making games on the backs of others. In other words they aren't innovating and inventing on their own, they are using deep pockets to get it done. Aka their own talent is limited.

A-.
Best game of my year, hands down, but it can't get an A+ because the interface is unreliable, the audio engine has stupid limitations that Fallout 3 and Oblivion didn't, and gaining a level is unsatisfying/boring.

In detail:
clicking on a category closes the menu ~50% of the time. It acts as I expect 50% of the time. There's no obvious way for me to entirely restructure my character without favoriting EVERYTHING, or entering the menu more than once. After 80-ish hours, I'm STILL not sure when I need to use wasd, and when they do not work at all. and why is my journal in a totally different menu than my map?

Who decided that 24-bit, 96KHz shouldn't work, when it works fine in previous games? More to the point, does the PC QA team all use headsets instead of trying with an X-Fi and 5.1s? It's hardly an uncommon setup these days. Us PC gamers aren't known for frugality. I'd be less annoyed if I were accustomed to playing BGS games through headset only (Skyrim is currently in a class with, in my collection, only Prototype: games that don't understand 96KHz output), but it's a downgrade in compatibility.

As for levels being unsatisfying, it's subjective. In my case, gaining a level is still too fast in the 40s. It's just not rewarding when I ask myself "didn't I just get one a few minutes ago?". Then, when I do get one, I just can't seem to care. The stat increases just don't change the outcome of a combat often enough to be a reward. If I would have lived, I still live. If I would have died, I'm still going to die. I wind up making an absurd "rule" just to help me "choose". Then I get to pick a perk. According to the numbers, I even usually do so. That said, I have 6 or 7 stored up, and little to no motivation to use them. Getting my butt handed to me isn't even enough to motivate me to add 20% to block or heavy armor.

All of that said, I put down money for a massive world with a lot of adventuring to do, and the potential of the province of SKyrim to do it in. They delivered that to a slightly generous A+ or very stingy A in my book. If I come off sounding a bit negative overall, it's just because the negatives are... more personal... than the positives. But... just to mention a positive, I got to watch a giant one-shot a heavily mailed Orc clear off my screen. It took me minutes to find the body, no less. Never did see it come down, but it apparently did. I also made someone on the other side of the country smile while I was listening to Sheogorath. Probably because I was laughing my butt off. So there's a lot of good things, but they're almost impossible to relate without spoilers.

C ?!?! Love the Elder Scroll series, but since MorrowWind freedom seems to get less and less.

Pro's
A vast and beautifully detailed world, rich in content
Dragons
New and old books
Some of the elements of fallout being brought over like kill cam(done right, fallout got real repetitive) lock picking, and mission screen.
Archery actually effective
Better city stories, and small stories in general You can feel attached to certain towns, and better guild stories.

Cons'
Inventory menu keeps freezing/pausing very annoying, stops immersion
Hot key button formula is gone! The fav menu just plain svcks. svckS! I say it twice.
Mage neutered for dragon shouts, no combos or making spells=no freedom, no unlock,again no levitation and looks like no invisibility so far... totally screwed mages, enemy mages more effective then player, and that staff of "blank" is useless. The arch mage being bested by a Necro Apprentice?
Trolls were harder to beat then dragons, as you level up, this seems to change, but still.
Each newer version of elder scrolls gets better detail, voice, scope and beauty, but the game play mechanics get dumbed down.
Lastly, Giants not really giant. Big yes, giant?LOL
I love all these games, but till an update adresses the long pause to inventory/magic and everything screen, or the fav menu gets replaced(biggest gripe) a C it is.

Nah, it's still there. Easier to get from potions, but I have the spell itself.

Grade: A (this american grading is stupid though)

PROS:
- Fun gameplay
- Immersive world
- Many-many dungeons to be cleared
- Looot looot and more loot
- Interesting stories (maybe a little short though)
- Dunno..

CONS:
- Bugs still there
- Perk system can basically turn you into godmode after a while...
- Companions useless other than distraction
- Pathfinding issues still exist for NPCs
- Dunno what else...


I still gave it an A, because the good points overwhelm the bad ones..

C-

Pros:
Decent Lore/story
Dwemer Ruins are back


Cons:
Interface
Dumbed down(less armor,no classes,no spell maker,no stats IE int str agi ect ect)

C+

Pros:
Beautiful open world with lots of interesting sidequests and great art design

Cons:
Main story terribly executed and disregarding existing lore
Shallow factions
Shallow and incoherent character system (this includes so many points, but I'll just count them as one)

A

Most of my issues with it are personal things rather than things that are "wrong" as such, but that holds it back from being an A+. The PS3 lag problem hasn't been an issue for me yet, it might be in the future.

The world is just amazing and there is so much care and attention to detail on a massive scale. This makes some of the poor UI decisions really weird... I actually like the UI overall, but there are a couple of really dumb choices they made.

Probably my game of the year so far. Haven't played Zelda yet though because the missus won't let me break "street date" (it's her christmas present )

is there a grade for omg this is the best game ever

A

Pros:

Large open world that, unlike many sandbox games, still has mostly unique and interesting content rather than filler
Beautiful visuals
A history to the land and people which you can learn in game via dialogue or books as well as some just via NPC banter
Noteworthy attention to details adds even more life to the world
Allows for a variety of ways to play the game in not just combat, but via politics and moral decisions as well
High replay value with many hours of gameplay per play through

Cons:

UI and controls (very)poorly optimized for PC
Imbalanced and clunky combat
Graphics are hit and miss, noticeably lower res textures and out of place low detail objects

I feel more comfortable giving it a 9/10 instead of B.

Negative things:
- Console game / Bad UI
- Poor character animation and characters look outdated. They are really bad compared to some other games.
- Everything looks bad from close
- Some bugs in quests that might even break the game
- Too simple level up system
- You can abuse several skill / bugs
+ Blacksmithing too easy to level up (should need example to be level 30 to smith ebony, same for other professions)
+ Magic should do more damage at higher levels and so on.

C+

Pros:
- Aesthetically pleasing: Aurora amidst the night sky? Check. Snow storm blinding me on top of a mountain? Check. Running water looking good glittering in the sunlight? Varied landscapes? Check and check.
- Memorable music
- Dragons are relatively impressive
- Voice acting is good
- Combat is really good compared to its predecessors

Cons:
- Level Scaling
- Quest hand holding
- Forgettable story
- Uninspired, and actually reduced, magic system
- Very few unique game play elements
- UI

I suppose my biggest gripe comes from the, I know I'm going to hell for using this word, consolization of the game. In comparison to its predecessors (minus oblivion) and other RPGs there is just a lack of depth. Enemies scale with you making you feel safe and challenged wherever you go (except ice trolls, mammoths, and giants), quests virtually holding your hand on how to get things done, and a sore lack of game play elements to tinker with make this really an action adventure first person game rather than an RPG.

I'm coming in with high standards here, so it's not that I think I'm entitled to certain things, just that I've seen better examples of what I want already. A strong background in DnD and early computer games will make anybody uptight about RPGs. Skyrim feels like a movie to me, they even brought me popcorn! It's fun, it's pretty, it's grand, and it's forgettable after a fair number of hours.

I'm getting older and I really don't like where games are going, but what can I do? I guess I'm just too used to have my face bashed into the virtual curb by games until I can turn around and show them who their master is. Having everything given to me at the drop of a hat just makes me lose interest. Even on master difficulty the level scaling and "go anywhere and do anything" attitude makes me miss challenges that I have to solve through critical thinking and in-game research.

Seems we average on a B or a B - so far

I have to wonder what kind of standards these posters giving it anything less than a B are going by. O_o

C+, it disappointed me in a lot of ways but a good patch and some worthwhile DLC could fix that to some extent, maybe put it into the B range.

B+ Almost perfect missed it by just a tad Focused to much on cuts instead of additions

Pros
-Endless amount of content
-greatly improved magic system with a larger availability to all the races ( Was stupid hard being a mage as a imperial or orc in oblivion)
-huge amazingly crafted world
-one of the best soundtracks i have heard from a next gen game in years
-large variety of voice actors (Stop right there criminal scum!!!!)
-Archery is highly realistic
-Perk system adds a new lvl of depth to the game
-More gore (this really helps to make the game feel more realistic killing blows are a added bonus though they need to be improved)
-Boss fights (no rpg is complete with out good boss fights) (btw fallout 1&2 had amazingly difficult boss fights why haven't any of the fallout's bethesda has made have any)
-So much to do in the thieves guild
-Crafting was a awesome addition great job on that.

Cons
-No hand to hand skill tree (forced to ware heavy armor to play a H2H character WTF?) (absolute destruction of my intended character i had been planning sense announcement)

-Some what overly simplified (very upsetting for a game series i look forward too for its firm grasp of what a true RPG is)

-Stronger magic spell tomes dont show up for purchase un-tell u have adapt or higher perk in the category making magic advancement seem like a waste of time.

-Perk system somewhat under used (I was so existed to see its announcement I really looked forward to seeing what you guys would do with combat animations when you unlock new ability's)

-Long standing features cut from the series entirely ( I love seeing new features added to a game formula to add more depth. But i hate having to worry so much about what features that i enjoyed in previous titles wont be making a reappearance in future titles. It should just be a given that if it was there before it will be there again )

-Vampirism is underpowered and pretty boring. (Its best ability's are unavailable un-tell every one in town is attacking you any way. that vampire drain is completely useless. You could have done so much more with vampirism. dissapointed you guys didnt) Note - their should be sun dmg at higher lvls of vampirism im glad i dont have to worrier as much about it but i dont think it should be entirely cut either.

-Seems like you guys are relining on mods to cover the things you left out or did work on as much. (examples H2H,vampirism,Cut magics,Stats)

-So littile to do in other guilds when compared to the thieves guild

D+

The Interface is to thin and to high making it painful to scroll up and down in the menus, no mouse slider to save time from scrolling, only one item for each line in your inventory, the font is to large takes up to much space,

Sluggish controls no optimization for the mouse or keyboard.

No option to bind two of the same weapons if you are dual wielding, you have to visit the inventory every single time both has been unequipped.

Repeative voice acting that will drive you insane after 140 hours of playtime.

Woodcutting and mining is boring and unnecessary, if they had added skill requirements and a way to do it manually i would have been impressed.

Brawls are nothing but mindless button mashing, Arena is a thousands times more fun and addictive.

The Magic system is but a shadow of what it is in Oblivion, there is only a fraction of spells available to you and no spellmaking altar.

Misc jobs is another uncreative way of attempting to keep you occupied.

Quests often lead to the same destination no matter the choices you make, wich makes it less fun to go through them more than once.

Lack of custom classes, Attributes, birth signs (not stones), Major and Minor skill system.

Horses have no first person view and they can climb any mountain, running and sprinting with light armor is faster than sprinting with a horse.

Playing as a melee fighter without magic on master difficulty can be a very painful experience and you feel like a weak sack of poo when you often die in a single hit with 380 armor factor, 280 health and 67 block at level 21.

The Elder Scrolls is becoming more FPS and less RPG and i do not like it at all, the more i play Skyrim the more i want to go back and play Oblivion or Morrowind.

Skyrim has as many flaws but what bothers me most is that i can not find anything that has been optimized for the PC version, everything seems to come directly from the console.

A

I'd give it an A+ if it wasn't for minor corner cutting like all kids being related to each other and the minor level scaling.. I could even see past that if it wasn't for the bad idea to make Nightingale armor scaled. :shrug:

I give Skyrim a grade A, looking at the competition i find it impossible not to, it's just so far and above what i am used to from most other games.

My only complaint is that i wish the cities were bigger and were not separate from the surrounding countryside, that's it, everything else i am more than happy with.

Grade: C

If Skyrim is a roleplaying game, then they did the effort, but they did average. Significant room for improvement.

The graphics are nice, but the flowing water is probably the best visual effect that they added. I've seen snow before. They could have made the world more visually interesting. I am quickly getting tired of white, black, and shades of grey.

The upgrades to the NPC AI behavior is welcome, the additional voice actors are nice, but I the animation is stiff. My kid thinks they run around like C3PO. My thoughts on why they walk so stiffly is not as G rated.

Where they fall down is that I think they forgot that the Elder Scrolls has been a series of computer role playing games and Skyrim is just a pretty shooter game.

1. No roleplaying game needs a menu system like what they have. It is like gold plating the door handles on a Yugo. It looks pretty, but doesn't make it better as a car.
2. Everyone gets to start with just one of 20 basic characters now. Yes, you can develop as you please after that, but you start from the basic 20. (compare to over 5000 in Oblivion)
3. All of the attributes were dropped. They may exist in secret, under the covers, hidden from prying eyes, but the 8 attributes from Oblivion (Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, etc) are actually what separate it from a generic shooter game. (get actor value does not work for any of the old attributes)
4. Most of the story information has been stripped. The Journal has become a bulleted to-do list. There is no back story and no context. If you collect enough quests, and take a break in play, you will forget why you are doing them. It has been 31 game days since my character escaped beheading and as I sit here looking at a rather large list of quests in my journal, I cannot tell you which one resumes the main quest line.

A+

The only thing I'd want changed would be the bugs, and I've only seen a few. The major ones being Lydia unmarriageable, despite being dubbed so on UESP.net, and *SPOILER* everybody in Markarth thinking Madanach escaped when I actually killed him near the end, before he left the tunnel.

A

Pros:
Most of it

Cons:
Magic System
Steam


If I actually used magic much, I might go down to a B+
It has some problems but I A:WAYS have a lot of fun playing it so far.

Flat B

Fantastic world design, and quests galore.
Mediocre UI and gutted magic system.

A- to B+

Pros:
Too many to name

Cons:
Game was dumbed down ALOT from Oblivion
Magic svcks balls
The different choices we get for conversations have little to no affect in the game
Invisibility got nerfed way too much (i personally think)
^ Because of this sneaking is now ridiculous at how you don't get spotted when you are right in front of someone in broad day light. (100 sneaking btw)
Not very many new armor/clothing choices (not too big of a deal for me though)
Cities didn't impress me very much

All i can think about for the moment...

The word you were looking for is "Until". Un-tell is something completely different, and is a logical impossibility. It's like saying you un-seen something. Bet we all know that which has been seen cannot be un-seen.