As I read all of these gameplay accounts coming out of PAX I have noticed that while most people took different paths and encountered new and interesting things, almost everyone seems to have ended up with the same shortsword and fire spell combo in the end... Sure several people tried out all of the weapon types that they were given in the demo, or picked up a weapon or two, but almost everyone settled on the shortsword and fire combo in the end because it seemed to be the most effective means of dispatching enemies.

I am concerned that this weapon combo might be the only viable option, maybe overpowering other spells and weapon types. I know that I'm free to choose whatever combinations I want to play with, but it seems odd that almost every single reviewer decided on the same one independently of one another.

Edit: My concern is that they keep touting this new-found ability to use dual wielding, but no one seems to have found it particularly useful as of yet. I was pretty excited about it initially, but if people are just returning to the standard single-weapon and magic combo then what's the point in having that new option?

I think they were only really given one or two spells for demo purposes, so might be why that's what most previewers used. Not to mention all the characters are level 1.

Everyone was a level one character, so I wouldn't assume this is the most viable throughout the whole game, only at low levels.
But, you should play what you like.

I'd rather have my Paladin, Pure Mage and Thiefsassin instead of going straight into Magic and a sword to dispatch two guilds at once. I'll leave that to my Thiefsassin.

I'd rather use lightning. Darth Sidious FTW.

Nobody got a hold of any other Destruction spells. No Chain Lightning, no Frost spells, nobody had Conjuration, etc...

Also when you have such a limited amount of time with a game you want to check out the most interesting stuff possible. Combining weapons and magic is the best way to do that.

They merely used the best style with the equipment they were given.

I think you looked into it too much, there will be better weapons and spells, don't worry about it.

Quite a few of the character screens had two handed weapons. And most of the previews seemed to explain that they tried bows, swords, magic and pretty much everything available.

I was going to go with dual wielding for a fast, light-armoured, Nord Scout type character. But considering the dual wield reviews are not so positive I may end up going with magic and weapon. Depends on race traits and whether dual wielding is any good!

Yeah, my concern is that they keep touting this new-found ability to use dual wielding, but no one seems to have found it particularly useful as of yet. I was pretty excited about it initially, but if people are just returning to the standard single-weapon and magic combo then what's the point in having that new option?

I think half of the people playing wanted to burn through as much content as possible in 20 minutes, so they picked the two that were the easiest to use at level 1. This is a GOOD SIGN because it means not all weapons and playstyles are going to be 'dumbed down', right? We'll have to put some time into them.

One of the new articles states that you only start with a fire and a healing spell... so maybe none of them found/purchased other spells to use and liked the magic/weapon combo?

They were given a "SELECT" variance of weaponry to use, as well, they were only afforded the privilege of specific spells. It's highly illogical to assume that because of the "trend" users are following during a preset demo, that it will be the likely "play style" post release. Millions of players have yet to fully experience the game, nor have any of those who received a small preview through a playable demo. Taking into account all the various types of weaponry / spells / shouts, that will be available (that were NOT during the demos), I'd say it's reasonable to assume every play style will be viable.

Edit: Also don't forget to take into account the demo allowed users to explore only an hour of content at the most, for a game designed to allow players hundreds of hours of content exploration.

Still though, no one seemed to like the new dual-wielding experience enough to stick with it for even an hour. That might say something about it's usefulness. That, or it just takes a long time to master it...