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 Today we're showcasing an essay by homeschooled 8th grader Jack C. from Georgia. This essay is his third out of four in the Essay Rock Star full semester program. The requirement was to write an analytical review, and he chose to review his current favorite video game.
In this case, Jack was challenged to both explain the game clearly to non-gamers (like his instructor), as well as give a detailed review of the game overall.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
by Jack C.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an open world RPG, or role-playing game, developed by Bethesda Games. It is the fifth title in the Elder Scrolls series, and the sequel to the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Bethesda has also created several other well known games such as Dishonored and the Fallout series. This game allows you to customize your character greatly, which adds to the game's realistic feel, and the exciting gameplay won't let you get bored. This game achieves its purpose of providing entertainment very well.
This game takes place in a world called Tamriel, specifially, a place called Skyrim. There, the ancient dragons are returning after being defeated hundreds of years ago. Their leader, Alduin, was sent forward in time when he was defeated, causing him to reappear in Skyrim. Your character, the Dragonborn, is the hero that is destined to defeat him. The purpose of this game is to provide entertainment.
At the start of the game you are a prisoner being transported to a village called Helgen, but your name is not on the list of prisoners, which causes the Imperial Captain to ask your name. After being asked your name, a character creation screen is triggered, which allows you to choose your character's race, appearance, and name. There are many races, such as several variations of human, different kinds of elves, and several other animal-based races like the cat-like Khajit and the reptilian Argonians. The game lets you customize your character in every way possible, choosing cheekbone hight, eye depth, nose length, and more. Being able to customize your character adds to the RPG experience by making the game much more realistic and personalized to you, in contrast to other video games that don't let you customize your character's appearance at all.
The gameplay is fast-paced and exciting, but is open ended, allowing you to explore anywhere and do anything in the large world. There are dungeons to explore, castles to take over, and dragons to fight. You can join several guilds such as the sneaky Thieves Guild, the shadowy Dark Brotherhood assassins, the magical Mage's College, and the brave Companion warriors. There are many different enemies you face, such as giant insects like spiders and scorpions, giant rats known as Skeevers, dangerous but non-aggressive giants, and, of course, dragons. There are numerous weapons at your disposal to defeat these creatures, such as swords, daggers, axes, maces, bows, crossbows, more than a hundred spells, and the ability to speak in the language of dragons to breath fire or frost. Hours of extra gameplay can be added to the game with mods, short for modifications, that add new things such as weapons, villages, characters, or features to the game. The way the gameplay works keeps you entertained and involved in the game.
The game does have some faults, though. After being defeated, some enemies will collapse through the floor instead of falling on it, and important items they may have are lost. Giants will occasionally send you flying through the air, which may be intentional to add comedy. Also characters who are essential to quests sometimes are hostile to you when they should not be, and it can cause quests not to function correctly, but that is a rare case that can be fixed very easily. None of these glitches are game-breaking and do not take away much from the overall experience.
Bethesda hit a home run with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, because they use action packed battles to grab your attention, and create an enormous world to be explored, littered with dungeons, castles, and yes, dragons. There are some glitches, but they are not major enough to detract from the gaming experience. In conclusion, this is an exciting an immersive RPG that I would recommend to everyone except people who hate fun.
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