TheOverclocker Issue 18 | Page 40

As previously stated, there are dragons, and I should probably spend a bit of time discussing them. They’re important because, while previous games in the franchise have referenced the existence of dragons in the game world’s fictional history, we’ve never before actually encountered them firsthand. Now, as the prophecy foretold within the titular Elder Scrolls shambles onward, the reappearance of every child’s favourite winged fantasy beasties arrives with it. As the last Dovahkiin, or Dragonborn, your job is to hunt down these dragons, absorb their souls to grant yourself fancy new powers called Shouts and use said Shouts to aid you in killing more and more of them until eventually you can confront the biggest and baddest of the bunch to stop him from consuming this gorgeous fantasy world. That’s essentially the main 40 The OverClocker Issue 18 2012 storyline (without giving too much away), but, just as it always is with games bearing the coveted Elder Scrolls title, the real beauty lies with everything in between. There’s a wealth of possibilities in the extraordinarily detailed and distraction-filled land of Skyrim, and I’d hazard stating that some of the secondary quest lines available can rival the level of engagement you’ll get from the main quest, possibly even surpassing it. It’s not just the superb multitude of side quests you find littered around the world and scribed in your in-game journal that’ll keep you busy either, but also the tertiary activities and superfluous fluff that you can immerse yourself in that make this a title that’s easy to get lost in, setting yourself personal goals each step of the way. Fancy yourself a bit of a blacksmith or an alchemist? Collect raw materials from around the world,