What is legendary edition in skyrim. Review of the game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition
On October 28, 2016, in honor of the fifth anniversary of the legendary game, Bethesda released a re-release of TES V: Skyrim Special Edition.
It’s worth saying right away that the re-release is primarily aimed at console players the difference in graphics between Skyrim on PS3 and the Special Edition on PS4 is huge.
Owners of powerful computers, with direct hands and several mods, could make themselves the Special Edition graphics level before. But everything was sad for console players... until today. The fact that PC owners receive the re-release for free (if they have the game and all DLC), and console players only for a fee, also hints that the main value of the re-release is only for consoles.
There are no gameplay changes (new tasks, items, monsters). At the same time, due to the large graphical bells and whistles, the game is much more demanding on hardware, which has become approximately twice as high.
If we talk about the graphics themselves on PC, then the opinions of players are divided into two opposing camps - those who believe that the graphics have become better, and those who believe that the graphics have become worse, and the original is better. As they say, there is no dispute about taste, watch this graphics comparison video and rate how much you like the changes:
Colors have become brighter and warmer. Personally, I like it better, but the girl, on the contrary, thinks that Skyrim is a cold country, and the color scheme should also be “cold”.
Negative points
Despite the controversial improvement in graphics and increased requirements, there are still several negative points:
- Sound files are now stored in a lower quality format, and audio connoisseurs are throwing lightning bolts and wondering how the sound could be so degraded. Bethesda has stated that it is already working on a fix;
- Most mods made for regular Skyrim will not run on the re-release. Popular mods will soon be adapted for the Special Edition, but a lot of small ones that have already been forgotten by their creators will have to say goodbye forever;
- In the Russian version, Russian names on signs in cities near shops and taverns disappeared;
- Old saves may not start;
- On Steam, the game is available separately (you will have to earn achievements separately);
- Other performance issues and crashes for some players.
If any of the above is critical for you, do not install Special Edition. Please wait a couple of months for Arbor to finalize the re-release and correct current errors.
List of changes for TES V: Skyrim - Special Edition:
- Full adaptation for 64-bit OS;
- Support for 8-core processors;
- DirectX 11 support;
- Windowed mode is now borderless;
- Minimizing the game works correctly (Alt+Tab), no more double cursors;
- The amount of vegetation has been significantly increased;
- Visual effect SSAO (darkening);
- Visual effect of Godrays (sun rays);
- Visual effect TAA (anti-aliasing);
- Visual effect DOF (blur of distant objects);
- Other improvements to shadows, lighting and highlights;
- Improved view of trees;
- Rain no longer penetrates through roofs;
- Fast run now does not need to be constantly pressed, one press the fast run mode is turned on, a second press is turned off;
- Fixed shadows on the landscape (goodbye striped shadows on rocks);
- Improved stability (less overshoot at high loads);
- Lots of other small changes.
To take or not to take?
For owners of new consoles, definitely yes. It is difficult to give clear advice to PC owners. If you purchased the game with all the DLC, then you can download and try the Special Edition completely free, but we’ll immediately warn you that you shouldn’t expect anything special.
It’s worth buying the Special Edition if, for some reason, you haven’t gotten around to this great game before. Includes all DLC and improved graphics.
From the editors website
Skyrim is a magnificent, legendary, incomparable game in which both I and many other players have spent hundreds of hours. A huge number of interesting modifications, including global ones, make this game generally endless.
Despite its enormous popularity in 2011-2013, now Skyrim is no longer so popular, although its competitors can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And in this regard, Bethesda’s idea to re-release the game looks like it couldn’t come at a better time; interest in the game has grown again. For some, the re-release became a reason to replay the franchise, for others - to try it for the first time.
I think that the developers should definitely be praised for their caring attitude towards old games. Praise and remind that the same re-release is very much awaited by Morrowind and Oblivion.
Good old games need to be reminded.
Good old games need to be played.
Screenshots
System requirements
As we wrote earlier, the system requirements have approximately doubled (!). And if we compare the minimum RAM requirements, it is generally 4 times (from 2 GB to 8 GB).
| Skyrim Special Edition: System Requirements | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
Like her predecessors, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim It has simply incredible dimensions and gives the player an incredible amount of possibilities. The beginning of the game is the same for each player. You are a wanderer who has fallen into the hands of the Empire and is being taken to execution. It is at the moment when the main character is about to be executed that a huge dragon intervenes in the situation, interrupting the execution and giving the main character a chance to escape. After a short introduction and escape of the main character, the player is given the opportunity to choose the hero’s race and his name. I would like to add that further customization of the characteristics in the game is very subtle and varied, so each player will be able to create his own unique player, unlike anyone else. After all, it all depends on what you use most. If you like to fight with a sword, you will become a swordsman, if you like to shoot a bow, you will become a marksman, and if you like to steal, you will become a thief. And so on. However, universal “monsters” of all trades are also not excluded. But this is for those who do not have a personal or any other life.
After joining, the player is thrown into the dangerous, but amazingly beautiful snowy world of Skyrim, in which, as in life, the player is free to become anyone. Yes, two years have passed since the game was released. She doesn't look so stunning anymore. But on a PC with good hardware it can show the “wintering place of crayfish” to many modern FPS. With consoles, alas, it’s worse - textures are blurry, detail is sometimes clearly not enough, and the drawing distance leaves much to be desired... But the most important thing remains the same, whether you play on PS3, Xbox 360 or PC - you can achieve your goal in different ways, depending on , what type of passage do you prefer and what kind of character did you get? Yes - your own play style matters a lot. The variability of the passage is simply off the charts. The game can be played endlessly, even after completing the main storyline there is something to do in the game world. Even more than that. After all, Skyrim, like Oblivion and Morrowind once upon a time, is probably the most MMO of single-player role-playing games. Sounds weird? But there are few games like this.
In addition to the main quest, which will take the player dozens of hours wandering around the game world, the player will constantly encounter various side quests, which are sometimes almost more interesting and more complex than the main one. Some take no less time. Depending on what quests the player completes and what character he helps with, the further development of the story will depend. In the icy kingdom, everyone creates their own unique journey, unlike any other.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition differs from the original version in that it provides players with the opportunity to play all the game’s additions at once, which include: Dawnguard, Hearthfire And Dragonborn. Now all add-ons are woven into the main game and do not need to be installed separately. Among other things, in this version of the game a legendary difficulty level is available for experienced players, by choosing which they will be able to perfect their already pumped-up skills and upgrade unlimitedly, because now you can increase your character’s level endlessly.
If for some reason you haven't played yet The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, then together with the output Legendary Edition, you can catch up and fully enjoy all the latest additions to the game. Well, or get an old disk and just download the add-ons. Fortunately, they are present in PSN and XBLA.
I think no one will be surprised if I say that after all the patches and DLC, Skyrim remains an incredibly exciting game, for all its “time-killing” nature. And people who know Bethesda well will not be surprised if I say that the game is still incredibly buggy, and even with fan patches it is sometimes impossible to play without console commands. It is much more important to try to answer the question: does it make sense to return to the game now for those who received everything from it immediately after release, before patches and DLC. And giving an answer is more difficult than we would like.
Even without the DLC, the game has made several small but noticeable changes, the most obvious of which is the removal of the theoretical leveling cap that was in the game. Namely: now, when any skill is pumped up to 100, it can be made “legendary” (an infinite number of times), after which this skill is reset to 15, and all the perks that were assigned to it can be reassigned. This is useful, first of all, perhaps, for something like the skill of working with lockpicks, which is usually incredibly easy to upgrade. They also seem to have added more slow-mo finishing moves to the game and even the possibility of fighting on a horse, but given my dislike for the incredibly aggressive horses in the game, I didn’t even try the latter. Even with patches, some quests continue to break horribly, and if you try to play from an old save where something is already broken, then you can save the old quest, as before, only with console commands. Fortunately for achievement lovers, working with the console still does not disable the ability to receive achievements.
But much more tangible changes came... should have come with DLC. And partly this is true, partly not so much. A particularly good example of this is the first DLC - Dawnguard. On the one hand, this was supposed to be a return to the importance of vampires in Tamriel (and slight improvements for werewolves too), the addition of a new faction of vampire hunters and stories about one and the other. In fact, the downloadable content has added a new type of vampire that works on a similar principle to a werewolf, and is incredibly boring to play in its form. And instead of an interesting story about vampires and at least some information about the titular dawnguard, we are told a few more interesting facts about the snow elves/falmer. What’s cool in principle - I always loved TES precisely because in each part the player can learn more and more about the history of Nirn and the civilizations on it... But the add-on is called Dawnguard, and was advertised by vampires and bloodsucking hunters - it’s very strange what exactly There is nothing particularly interesting about them in the supplement. Especially about the main faction, about which nothing is known at all, except that “there was once a similar faction, but then it didn’t exist.”
Well, in terms of gameplay, as I said, the content doesn’t add anything particularly interesting. Crossbows, a couple of types of armor, several new (and, frankly, boring) locations, equally boring quests for both hunters and vampires. The vampire form is generally incredibly inconvenient to use and simply stupid; its main advantage is, perhaps, the ability to float above water. But despite the wings and the fact that you can “fly” (in fact, soar), the player’s jump height does not change at all, and the good old entertaining experiments with flight or incredibly high levels of acrobatics from Morrowind still cannot be repeated. Perhaps, purely for some individual plot elements and several locations, this DLC is interesting, but overall it is a very dull addition. Oh, and yes: until this addition reaches at least a certain point, at any point in the game, including inside closed cities, the player will be regularly attacked by vampires, which will be terribly annoying and can lead to the death of many side characters on the streets, and to the fact that the player will regularly become infected with vampirism.
Second DLC – Hearthfire, - at least delivers on its promises and is correspondingly cheap. With this insurance company, it becomes possible to build three mansions in areas of those cities where it was previously impossible to get your own home. Also, now you can adopt children, and for these two functions all sorts of rubbish has been added, such as toys, building materials and other things. Not a particularly important DLC, but at least fairly harmless and giving more control over what will be in the place where the player will store his trash, and what this place will look like.
And finally, the third DLC - Dragonborn, is the most interesting of the set. Although it also finds something to disappoint. In many ways, this is one medium-sized nostalgia trip. This is a return to the island of Solstheim from Bloodmoon, an add-on for Morrowind, and therefore the return of some elements from that part. Unfortunately, there are mostly story and audio-visual elements, but not gameplay - there are no new particularly interesting or memorable features in Dragonborn, except for the incredibly stupid ability to ride dragons. But, on the other hand, the “empty but addictive” gameplay of Skyrim is enough to make it fun to “remember.”
True, the second problem of the addition manifests itself here - there’s nothing special to remember. Maybe it's just me, but Solstheim itself didn't really stick in my mind a long time ago - after all, it came out a year after Morrowind, and there wasn't that much interesting content. Because of this, I constantly thought about how much more I would “remember” if the events took place on Vvardenfell, which I once climbed up and down. Of course, both for plot reasons (Red Mountain is still erupting, as clearly visible from Solstheim) and for the amount of work involved, it would be foolish to expect. But still, Solstheim is incredibly empty. Upon arrival, the player will be greeted by the familiar Dunmer architecture of the once small colony of Raven Rock and music from Morrowind (and while wandering around Solstheim, and unfortunately only there, the old soundtrack from TESIII plays). But very quickly it becomes clear that the whole of Raven Rock consists of a dozen important characters and a couple of not very important ones scattered across a dozen buildings. The other “large” settlement in the expansion is the Skaal village, but there are incredibly few of them. And the house in which the representative of the great house of Telvanni lives may be a giant mushroom, “like in the good old days,” but it is one tower and three small mushrooms on the sides for the entire addition.
Added to this is the fact that the main storyline of the add-on is, frankly, very boring, even though with it we finally see in what strange dimension Hermaeus Mora lives. By the way, he was visually remade very well for this addition, and this same change is visible in the main game in one quest where this Daedric prince can be met. His new look, however, is suspiciously reminiscent of Elder God from the Legacy of Kain series, which, coupled with one character and his armor in Dawnguard (which in turn resembles Kaine from Blood Omen), seems like a very random decision on Bethesda's part.
But if we put aside disappointments and the desire for more, Dragonborn is at least a really interesting addition, which, at the same time, is also presented in a much more convenient way - it is a separate island, with its own map, its own locations, its own quests. And not an attempt to cram more locations into the main Skyrim map, which cannot cope with scrolling. And listening to music from old Morrowind was surprisingly pleasant - for a long time I thought that it would make me sick - so often I heard these repeated couple of tracks 10 years ago. However, thank God, the fucking Cliff Racer is nowhere to be found in the game. Brr.
Returning to the question from the first paragraph - should people who have completed all the main content of the original Skyrim release install the game again and buy additional DLC? (and install fanpatches to spare your nerves) Only if you want more of the same, but something new. Plus, together with some mods (and now I can’t even imagine how to play without SkyUI), the game can be made more interesting or completely crazy. You can even try the interesting Requiem mod, which tries to turn Skyrim into a normal RPG (in terms of mechanics), in which even the first enemy can be killed in a couple of hits if you try to play like the main game, but I found it a little annoying - if Skyrim had been made in the first place with such a balance, I would be happy, but as a mod it doesn’t fit a little with the overall hurr-durr mood of the game. And so hurr-durr on Skyrim can still easily take 100 hours or more. But if you got tired of all this the first time, then you won’t find anything fundamentally new even now.
If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The milestone is approaching - five years since I first visited Skyrim. I remember how I fought with dragons, wandered through Dwemer ruins, settled the problems of the jarls, and for a long time could not decide who to join - the Imperial Legion or the Stormcloaks.
Recently Bethesda released The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - Special Edition, again offering tours to the northern province of Tamriel, this time on an all-inclusive basis: with all three add-ons, improved graphics and mods on consoles. Is it worth returning to permafrost lands? Certainly!
And that's why.
Who is the cutest in the world?
I played the original on PC and, having launched the Special Edition on PS4, I didn’t immediately understand where the catch was - the console version Sony looks the same as the PC version five years ago. If you look closely, you can find differences - in some places the developers worked with the lighting, in other places they “redrew” the water and “updated” the shadows. Comparing versions for PC and PS4 frame by frame, you'll probably find a dozen more changes, and if you look into , you'll learn a lot of new terms like "depth of field", but the essence will remain the same - the Special Edition looks good, but not much better than the PC version of the original.
This is how the game looks on modern consoles. It looked almost the same five years ago on PC.
Here's a simple truth: Bethesda created the re-release primarily for console players (by the way, on PC, owners of the original received the Special Edition for free, so no offense). Compare PS4 version of Skyrim with the one that was on PS3, and everything will fall into place. Textures, draw distance, effects, weather, light - all this is much more beautiful on modern consoles.
But no matter how you update the fifth part of The Elder Scrolls, it will not cease to be the game that was released in 2011. It has breathtaking landscapes, thick autumn forests, high snow-capped mountains and rushing rivers, but questionable characters' faces, sometimes strange animation and blurry landscape on the horizon.
However, there are still more beauties in Skyrim, and players didn’t like it for its graphics.
 |
 |
| The drawing distance in the console versions could still be turned up even more (PS4 version). | |
Skyrim for Nords!
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is one of the best role-playing games in the world. Five years ago it had few competitors, and even now it can easily stand comparison with any game. All thanks to the open world concept and freedom of action. As soon as the prologue ends and you are left alone with a huge province, you can forget about the main task. Dragons? They will find you themselves, don’t worry. Just learn the most important cry, and off you go: conquer snow-capped peaks, uncover secret conspiracies, search for lost cities, save people, join guilds and decide destinies.
Is playing a hero not for you? Well, find the vampire and let him bite you. Or join the thieves guild and become the most famous pickpocket in the province. There are a lot of options: you can become a blacksmith and sell swords to city merchants, collect herbs along the road and brew potions from them, make friends with a deity and steal a goat from a local farmer, get yourself a talking dog, in the end!
 |
 |
| Working with weather and lighting at night and during the day in Skyrim is amazing. | |
The developers do not oblige you to anything at all. Skyrim is a whole life, you are free to live it as you wish. And to give you even more options, Bethesda has released three add-ons - all of which are included in the Special Edition. So, Hearthfire will allow you to buy a plot of land in a deep forest, build a mansion there and start a family, which you will then have to protect from all sorts of troubles. IN Dawnguard You can join a clan of vampires, gaining the ability to turn into winged evil spirits. Well, the biggest addition, Dragonborn, will send you to the island of Solstheim and teach you how to fly dragons.
And this is just a small part of what you can do in the northern province of Tamriel.
A Guide for New Arrivals
Haven't played Skyrim before? Then use our short instructions. Here are five things to do first in Skyrim.
Kill the dragon and absorb its soul. After this, everyone around you will recognize you as the Dragonborn, and you will be able to study the words of Power that the hero pronounces in the language of dragons. From three words you can make a thu'um - a dragon cry. The coolest thu'um is, without a doubt, "Fus Ro Da". If the character shouts these three words, his enemies will be blown away by a powerful force.
Attack the giant. Just save before doing this!
Embark on a journey along an unfamiliar road. Sooner or later the path will lead you somewhere. It’s good if you go to a hidden chest with strong armor, but it may also happen that you come across an unfamiliar cave infested with vile Falmers. But it’s more interesting this way!
Become a werewolf. Some consider lycanthropy a gift, others a curse. One way or another, it gives the hero a unique opportunity to turn into a shaggy monster and tear apart enemies with his clawed paws. There are other advantages: in the form of a beast, the werewolf's health improves, its carrying capacity increases, immunity to stunning appears, and so on. However, there are also a lot of disadvantages: for example, after the hero turns back into a human, he again needs to put on all the armor.
Climb the highest mountain in the province and look around. Beauty, isn't it?
Made from what was
Mods are further proof that the Special Edition was created specifically for console players. On PC, user modifications have existed before, but on consoles, player-created content is new. With the help of mods, you can turn Skyrim into a completely different game - add new tasks, locations, things and equipment. True, everything here is not as simple as it seems.
Currently on PS4 the range of modifications is not very wide. The situation is better on Xbox One.
 |
 |
| Dovahkiin Keep adds a castle to the game - it will serve as a good refuge for the Dragonborn. | |
On PS4 and Xbox One, you won’t be able to install all the mods you want - you’ll have to choose from those that are on Bethesda’s website. In addition, the number of modifications that can be installed at the same time is limited. At the time of writing, Sony console owners could choose from 71 mods, and Xbox One owners could choose from 184. On PS4, the situation is complicated by the fact that Sony only allows modifications to its devices that are created using in-game objects. No cartoon trains for you instead of winged dragons, PS4 owners!
 |
 |
| Another mod adds ten thousand gold to all merchants in Skyrim... | ...and another hangs these lanterns along the roads, illuminating the hero’s path. |
However, there is no need to be sad about this. Already now on both consoles you can find custom modifications that add new buildings to the game, increase difficulty, increase the amount of money from Skyrim merchants, and the like. Of course, it won’t be possible to replace a horse with a car (and is it really necessary to ruin the atmosphere?), but you can easily diversify the already rich gameplay.
* * *
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim - Special Edition is a great reason to return to the snowy province of the Tamriel Empire. Whether on PC or modern consoles, the game looks great, and plays just like it did five years ago, so you can’t put it down.
Have you already spent a good hundred hours in Skyrim? Well, I see no reason not to repeat it.
The RPG genre has been rapidly gaining popularity among players for two decades. No other genre provides so much freedom, choice, action, dialogue and an open world. The brightest star in the RPG firmament is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Released back in 2011, it immediately managed to attract the attention of millions of gamers around the world. Two years later, they announced an update to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition, which included additions, fixes for some bugs, and more. Of course, the game turned out to be the best in its series. Many consider it the apogee of RPG games due to its story and mechanics. Skyrim has countless awards and nominations. The game occupies a leading position among games of all time in terms of the number of mods and additions from the community released.
Background of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The storyline is truly unique - in addition to the main line, there are about 5 additional lines plus a large number of side quests. The action takes place two hundred years after the previous part. The Empire submitted to the Aldmeri Dominion after the war was lost. The only region that did not want to join the winners was Skyrim, the homeland of the free Nords.
Ulfric Stormcloak kills the supreme ruler of Solitude (the capital of the Skyrim region) using his voice. With this act, he wanted to proclaim Skyrim independent. Now there is a civil war here. But the main threat lies in the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. Alduin, an ancient dragon, returned to this world with the goal of its destruction and rebirth. Other dragons returned with him, but not all share the same views as Alduin.
The plot of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The main character is a trespasser who illegally crossed the border. He is being taken by an imperial patrol to execution along with the rebel leader Ulfric Stormcloak and an ordinary thief. The execution is attended by the ambassador of the Aldmeri Dominion and General Thulius (representative of the imperial side). The protagonist manages to miraculously escape execution, as at this time the fortress is attacked by Alduin, who has begun to fulfill his destiny.
After being rescued from the fortress, you find yourself in an open world full of dangers and adventures. Now the player himself makes decisions to save the world, end the civil war and other interesting goals. Following the main storyline, you must master the art of voice from the Greybeards in order to defeat the main villain in Sovngarde.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Legendary Edition
This is an official re-release, which adds new quests, enemies, locations, equipment, and improves game mechanics. Skyrim - Legendary Edition contains 3 major additions and some fixes:
- Dawnguard. The protagonist will have a meeting with a vampire lord who will offer to become part of his blood family. If the player is interested in having their main character take the form of a powerful vampire lord, then Lord Hakon's offer should not be rejected. Otherwise, there is an alternative to join the Order of the Dawnguard, which is dedicated to fighting vampires. Regardless of the choice of protagonist, the gameplay promises to be interesting.
- Dragonborn Travel to the island of Solstheim, the territory of the dark elves and tribal Skaal. You will have to unravel the secrets of the island, and also come face to face with the first Dragonborn.
- Hearthfire. If you are tired of endless running and harsh battles with monsters in the vastness of Skyrim, then pay attention to the beauty of this snowy area. Buy a plot, build your dream home with everything you need. Start a family - now you can adopt a child.
R.G. Mechanics. Skyrim - Legendary Edition
A re-release from 2016 is currently being sold on Steam, with improved graphics, an improved combat system and much more. But many players do not want to switch to the re-release for many reasons. There are those who are accustomed to the old graphics of 2011, others are faced with friezes and underlays in the reissued project. Everyone knows that Steam annually organizes various promotions and discounts, so the game can be purchased for 449 rubles (without a discount - 1399).
Not every player is ready to give money for a single game; it is much better and more profitable for him to download a pirated version. Skyrim from mechanics is original content since 2011 plus the Legendary Edition add-on. System requirements are no different from the original Skyrim. Size - 10.75 GB. This assembly can be found on the official website or on torrent resources. This group has long been providing gamers with free games that are no different from a license.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
Four months ago, Bethesda announced a familiar part in virtual reality. VR technologies are being introduced into the gaming space more and more successfully. Many fans of the Elder Scrolls were waiting for the introduction of VR technologies into Skyrim. Now they enjoy magnificent views, experience battles with monsters as in reality, and practically erase the boundaries between the virtual world and reality. Unfortunately, VR equipment is very expensive, but those who own the kit are delighted with the possibilities of gaming at a new level. On Steam, the game is separate from the original Skyrim. The price of this product is 1999 rubles.