A mighty warrior stands in a frozen, Beowulfian wilderness, surrounded by traditional characters and archetypes: kings, damsels, wizards, trolls, dragons and, yes, a quest that promises both personal glory and salvation for the downtrodden. The reward at the end of the quest? Our hero gets to learn a new word.

On paper, Skyrim sounds like your high school English teacher's ultimate fantasy. In practice, it is one of 2011's greatest adventures. That is, of course, assuming you can keep your mind on the quest at hand.