Skyrim is the rare gaming experience that may come along only once in the life of a console. Bethesda's carefully crafted world is utterly encapsulating, irresistibly compelling, and a blissful place to spend hundreds and hundreds of hours. The attention to detail in this land is astounding.

Consistently compelling quests; Rich; convincing world design; Combat is more visceral

A.I; could use an overhaul

The long five years have been well worth the wait.

Over recent years it cannot be denied that single player campaigns have, on average, gotten shorter. With developers pushing towards tighter and tighter deadlines in a highly competitive industry, it seems only sensible to concentrate on designing a short-lived yet flawless experience.

For weeks now I've been told how great Skyrim is going to be. Loads of chatter on the Internet and from games people and of course fans of the series. Having never played an Elder Scrolls game before I had high hopes. Bethesda Studios have delivered in every area except one.

Expansive world to explore; stunning detail & design; engaging storyline; loads to do; hundreds of hours of play

To say that there have been high levels of anticipation for the latest entry in The Elder Scrolls series would be an understatement. When a teaser trailer that shows only a stone wall, accompanied by the sound of a male choir, manages to inspire videos such as this one (NSFW, btw), you know...

So; Much; Content, A beautifully crafted land to explore, Freedom to create whatever character you wish

Friendly AI pathfinding can prove annoying; Newcomers could find the experience overwhelming; Social lives will be stolen.

Suffice to say Skyrim looks the business, with vast panoramas and entire weather systems in place, the swirling snow actually making you think that you're cold, to the extent that you instinctively head for warmer climes.

Epic; involving; addictive

Long loading times; cliched; addictive

Every hope fulfilled, every fear allayed. Bethesda's Skyrim is quite astonishing. We always knew though that a developer that can make games as breathtaking as Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion could pull it off again. The key was balance. We didn't want the same game again and it isn't.

Even with these issues there is only one way to describe Skyrim and that is epic. There is so much to see, do and experience that it's exceedingly easy to get lost in the fantasy. It's not a remarkable or radical departure from Oblivion, so if that game left you cold, Skyrim will too.

Masses and masses of things to do; An easy and rewarding levelling system; You'll lose 100s of hours of your life

Glitches; pop-in and the odd bug; Inconsistent voice acting; Your girlfriend will leave you

Format: Xbox 360 (Tested) | PlayStation 3 | PC Developer: Bethesda Game Studios Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Release Date: 11th November 2011 (Out Now)

Nearly every complaint we've ever seen from Oblivion and Fallout 3 has been addressed in some manner here. There's really not a single drawback to Skyrim that I could find, save the fact that it is so enjoyable that just exploring and doing random stuff will surely eat up several weeks of your life.

Detailed graphics; living world dying to be explored; a massive amount of content

Weeks of your life will just disappear