And I haven't played an RPG in....well.....pretty much years.

*UPDATE* I started writing this thread prior to my purchase at around 10am. It is now 8pm and the game is sitting on my table. What should I expect from this game?

Ignore this forum and have little to no expectations.

This, the shock may be bigger later on though but trust me going into the game with full expectations is amazing just play and have fun.

acknowledge that you will see lots of negativity on the forum, because most who are enjoying the game are playing it, while plenty who hate it enjoy ranting about it. Just start playing the game and see if you like it.

People who complain about it don't have to hate it, Skyrim is one of my top 10 games. They're just disappointed when they compare the game to Oblivion or Morrowind. Which is why these forums should indeed be ignored. There will come a time when you will notice what things are missing and what are not but you feel better when you play without knowing what was left out in the game.

yeah, see the last "real" RPG I played was probably Baldur's Gate 2.

the game is amazing. Period. It gives you a lot to do and every inch of it is enjoyable. Don't listen to the milk-drinkers around here that think they know anything about having a good time. Some of them still think Captain Kirk should run a starship.

Want advice? Play a character, and not a build. Don't worry about conflicts in your assumptions... they'll be there but not be game breaking. Do what ever you feel like doing... from taking quests to disregarding them. There's no "mandatory" actions by your character.

Alright, I'm at the race selection screen. I don't even know what to pick (besides Argonian and Khajiit)....I'm leaning towards Breton or Nord.

^ ^
This. The best advice of the day.

Adding: EPIC

It's a seriously amazing massively open world game- the key to enjoying this game is doing whatever the heck you want! once the introductory sequence is over you can go/do/speak to whatever or whoever you want. Also I concurr with the others. Don't read this forum until youve played the game for a minimum of 50 hours. Seriously.

Epic game. Enjoy

:D

It's so much better than Oblivion or Morriwind IMO (except bugs). People complain that is has less depth but that makes no sense at all to me; I feel like it is the deepest ES game yet (aside from simpler leveling mechanics and no spell creation, not big deals IMO). The world no longer feels repetitive and bland like it did to me in previous games; it is rich and beautiful.

If and only if you are level 1 and see a bear...any bear...run up to it....it will give you candy and toys!!!!!!

Please save the game before following my advice.

Better yet...don't listen to my advice...its really bad advice.

Just play and enjoy the game in the way you want.

So I decided to play a Nord. Level 2 currently. Just kinda wandering around Whiterun right now, getting a feel for the game.