The opening minutes of Elder Scrolls: Skyrim are impressive and enchanting as the game reintegrates dragons into their fantasy setting. But eventually the style settles down and, even though the graphics have taken a huge leap forward since the Shivering Isles expansion pack, the game becomes at least a bit more familiar.

Despite the science fiction dystopia represented by Fallout, The Elder Scrolls is clearly the franchise where Bethesda is clearly most at-home. The game screams developer affection for the product being presented.

When my wife and I first encountered Oblivion around the time we first got married, we ended up playing two copies of the game to death before we grew tired of it, and just my first couple hours with Skyrim tell me that my PS3 controllers are going to need some fresh duracell procell replacements by the time we grow weary of this latest installment.