Ross' RPG Recommendations

Ewok Recommends:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The fifth game in the Bethesda's popular Elder Scrolls series and, arguably, the best. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a fantasy epic of Dragons and magic, set amidst a backdrop of civil war and taking place in a huge, fully explorable, open world.

Skyrim is a never ending time-sink. In addition to the main quest of prophecy and Dragon-slaying, there are a further five substantial quest lines (more including DLC expansions), each tied to a specific faction, the length of each putting entire games to shame. That's just the 'main' quest threads: Skyrim features so many side quests that you can't walk from one objective to the next without picking up two or three more missions.

To put into an easy-to-understand context: I have played around 150 hours of Skyrim and have completed three of the available six factional quest threads. I have not completed the main quest and am still playing. Take into account several quests have multiple solutions, that you can ignore quests entirely and just explore the huge world and the fact that playing a game with a different character class is a completely different experience and Skyrim is probably the only game you need ever play... Until The Elder Scrolls VI of course.

Also Try:

Fallout: New Vegas

Another Bethesda title, but this time with the development reigns handed over to Obsidian Entertainment. Fallout: New Vegas is similar to Skyrim in that it features a mind-boggling number of available quests and gigantic open world. However. New Vegas trades the fantastical expanses ofSkyrim for the post-nuclear apocalypse of the Mohave Desert and swaps the swords and spells for guns and baseball bats.

There are four different ways to align yourself during the main quest and the drastically changes the way the game unfolds, thereby demanding at least four playthroughs. While prospective players may have been put off by the multitude of bug reports following the game's release, rest assured the worst has been patched away over the years and New Vegas is stable and ready to eat your life.

Mass Effect 3

The concluding part of BioWare's sci-fi space opera pits your Commander Shepherd against the greatest thread the galaxy has ever faced, as the entire cosmos erupts into open war against the nigh-unstoppable Reaper menace.

More restricted in scope than the previous two entries, Mass Effect 3 still has numerous distractions to grab your interest on the path to saving the galaxy, and the tighter structure allows for excellent scripting and storytelling. Combat is excellent, combining tactical thought with twitch reflexes seamlessly.

There was some controversy over the ending, which I honestly didn't get, but BioWare have since patched in an extended ending to address player feedback. It's definitely worth seeing the series out, but if you managed to miss the first two you can now get your hands on the Mass Effect Trilogyrelease. Well worth it.