I will start talking about why The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the second best game of 2011 in terms of gameplay by pointing out that in many ways this is a game which could have used a lot more polish when it comes to its mechanics.
The swordplay is improved over Oblivion but could have used a little more attention, something to make it more than mostly flailing with some powers thrown in and a bit of room for strategically using sneaking and blocking.
Lockpicking is lifted pretty much wholesale from Fallout and can be infuriating when high level locks are in use and too easy when the player finally accumulates enough picks to not care when he breaks one.
Magic is less freeform than in previous games and often too costly.
Conversations often lack weight and the speech checks seem perfunctory.
But these mechanics and others manage to come together in order to deliver one of the most complete gameplay experiences of this year.
When involved with Skyrim the player no longer cares about the shortcomings and is caught up in acting, fighting or doing side activities that tie him directly to the game world.
The mechanics also flow easily from one another, with spellcasting easily giving way to melee which effortlessly moves to conversation or some limited puzzle solving.
Even walking around, something that modern video games have always looked down on, is exciting in the newest The Elder Scrolls because gameplay is embedded in it, with a search for new locations always going on and the player mentally calculating what he can do next.
Skyrim does not do everything perfectly but it does so much so well that it deserves to be recognized with a GOTY nod and, more important, it deserves players that can sink 50 hours of real world time to play it.
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