Skyrim: 5 Reasons It Was Over-Rated

Bethesda's latest was one of the best sellers of last year, and a massive critical success, but what gives it such an appeal? I mean, Bethesda can craft a world, but jeez, you can see through Skyrim's technical cracks and see it struggling to cope. While Skyrim did grab me, it's many flaws really didn't help the game blow me away like it should have. Technical flaws are nothing new to gaming, but in a title so reliant on the engine powering it, a key element was really missing. If Bethesda can fix these issues in future titles, then the Elder Scrolls series will set a new standard that all companies will have to struggle to meet. Until then, however, we're left with something a bit sub-par.

1. Graphics

We'll start with Skyrim's graphics. Todd Howard, the lead for the Skyrim team, said they considered waiting until the next hardware generation to do another Elder Scrolls game. Why? Even with Skyrim's "brand new engine" it can't hold a candle to Uncharted 3, Gears 3 or Battlefield 3. The textures are bland and the special effects are very basic. Characters look awkward and unnatural and only the art has any real, boastful potential. The image above is a comparison of character models between PS3 exclusive Uncharted 3, and Skyrim. Hard to believe there is only a week between these games, isn't it?