Having review Skyrim and it’s expansion Dawnguard, I didn’t think for a moment that Bethesda had anymore pleasant surprises for me that would allow me to like the game even more, let alone rate it up. I am glad to say I am wrong. This new expansion adds new weapons, a new location actually located somewhere between Skyrim and Morrowind and brings back the pleasantly nostalgic sites that remind me of Morrowind (and makes me wish for a remake). I admit a lot of the reason I was excited for this expansion at first was for the very reasons I stated earlier. What surprises me was that the game continued to impress me with the story and characters (I actually began to give a damn again about NPC’s), and the final battle with Miraak was pretty epic! Anyways, with that all said, I will proceed with the actual review.
Readers, please note that while some variety has been introduced to the setting, visually speaking… It did not affect the visual rating of the overall game and as such I will not be rating that aspect of the game just as I did with Dawnguard.
Story: 7/10
The story starts with the player being attacked by a pair of masked fanatics wearing armor colored very similarly to the armor used by the Guard from the game Morrowind. They claim that the player is a pretender claiming to be the Dragonborn, and that the real one (their lord) is in fact the real one. Needless to say I sent them flying with a quick “Fus Ro Dah” and followed up by blasting them away with a dual cast Thunder Bolt. I then raised tried to them as zombies and butcher them once again for their insolence… Unfortunately My reanimation spell was a little two weak… By investigating the matter a little more you eventually find where they come from and head there.
Generally the story takes a very Lovecraftian theme, introducing Cthulhu like daedra, the servants of Hemaeus Mora as well being overly mysterious and generally creepy until you reach the climax. The game also introduces interesting side missions each with their own new stories that introduce me to this new setting. At the climax of the story (don’t worry no spoilers here) an event occurred that actually made me feel guilt. Actual emotion about a game! I do NOT remember the last time I even gave a moment’s thought about the consequences of my actions and how they may affect other non player characters.Another thing I really loved about the story was the way Hermaeus Mora was portrayed while the daedric side mission was interesting and portraying him as an empty abyss was interesting it did not feel to me as if he was represented correctly, I would have perhaps envisioned Sithis’s Avatar in that form but Old Mora… No not really. Mora controlled the domain of forbidden knowledge, giving him those creepy eye stalks was pretty fitting and his manifestation impressive. With that said, Dragonborn is a definite improvement in regards to the story! I am quiet pleased.
Gameplay: 7/10
Where do I start? Oh yeah Bloodskal Blade! Having a shock-wave emanate from the blade as you power-slash was a brilliant idea that should have been introduced earlier! The idea was fun, but it was a shame that I could not stack it up with enchantments. The new shout and Dragon Form power where excellent additions to the game as well and contributed to the mood set for the story showing the player that despite their accumulated power, Miraak is far older and knowledgeable resulting in a pretty satisfying final confrontation with him! What was truly disappointing was the dragon rides which where overly hyped! You have practically no real control over the dragon, he just flies around and attacks whenever he freaking feels like it. Next, the damage dealt by the dragon to the monsters is minuscule and it is honestly best if you go in there with your favored weapon or spell and just obliterate your enemy. Also, the dragon flight is a proper glitch fest. I will have to be honest and say that if they actually had worked on it better or not added this part of the gameplay all together the game would have scored significantly higher in this regards, and I did feel compelled to mark them down for the half-assed attempt at fooling the consumer with promises of taming dragons! Overall though still a pretty good job in terms of gameplay and a hell of a lot of fun when combining the Bloodskal Blade with the Time Stop mod!!!
Story: 7/10
Visuals: 5/10
Gameplay: 7/10
Sound: 6/10
Total: 6.5/10 (Good)
Please refer to our Score Guide
