ARCANUM: A NEW AGE OF MAGIC

Great spellcasting in a fantasy game requires three things: a wide selection of spells to learn and employ, amazing effects that make your spells feel powerful and otherworldly, and a creative and varied system that allows for a spread of different playstyles. I think vanilla Skyrim does a decent job with spells—they look pretty cool for 2011, there’s a healthy amount of them, and you can combine them with stealth and steel to create the type of mage you want to play. But there’s definitely a lot of room for improvement, and Arcanum: A New Age of Magic takes spellcasting to a higher plane of variety, power, and flexibility.

With this mod installed, you’ll be summoning pillars of energy and tornadoes from the heavens, flinging tremendous and explosive fiery orbs and deadly electrical, you’ll finally become a truly powerful spellcaster.