I am new here to the Bethesda forums, and to Bethesda games for that matter. But I just wanted to speak my mind about this game.

Aside from all the bugs and the glitches this game carries with it, Skyrim has truly restored my love for RPG games. Never have I played a game that has made me feel so lost in its world. Not only has this game been a wonderful experience to play, it actually has brought closer to a couple people in my life. My brother and I talk back and forth all the time about how my "dual-wielding war axe Nord just destroys enemies" or how his "theif/archer Argonian steals everything and is rich from it." As stupid as that sounds we've actually grown closer because of this game. Hell, my girlfriend, who has never really played a video game in her life, plays this game with me now and talks to me about how she can't wait to fight a dragon for the first time, and how she loves the history and detail of this game.

Truthfully, I play mainly first person shooters because quite frankly, RPG/Adventure games just haven't caught my attention in any way, shape, or form. I had heard of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, but was not interested in trying that game out. It just didn't seem to grab me. I was reluctant to pick up Skyrim, and had originally planned to get it for the PS3 (but after reading all the problems, grabbed it for XBOX). I decided to purchase it, so I drove home on my day off and popped in the CD figuring "Well, if I don't like this game, at least I have Battlefield 3."

I haven't played Battlefield 3 in almost two weeks (excluding last night due to Back to Karkand expansion).

When I load this game up and start playing, I get this feeling like the world is there for me to explore. Yeah, there are quest to do, but after I was set free to go where I wanted and do what I wanted, I discovered something I didn't think a game could deliver: that feeling of discovery. I love the fact that I can go out into the world, stumble across a random cave and tell myself "I wonder what is in there?", then actually go in and find out there is a murderous vampire group inside and it's up to me to stop them. Or to climb to the top of a mountain and find there is a random bandit camp with treasure chests, and ACTUALLY find stuff worth my while.

The score of the game, the atmosphere, the adventure and excitement of not knowing what you'll discover next just drives me to play more and more. My first fight with a dragon left my heart pounding and full of adrenaline, something a game has not been able to do since my years back with the PS1.

Bethesda, I thank you for developing and releasing such a masterpiece. Again, I know there are issues with this game, I know there are glitches that make mammoths fly and dragons fly backwards (which I've yet to see), but Skyrim has truly brought me back to what it means to play a game for the shear excitement of playing the game and discovering all it really is worth, not because "it's there and I guess I'll play it."

Nice post. It reminds me of my first experiences with Arena (the first game) back in the mid-nineties. I'm almost jealous of someone experiencing the wonder for the first time.

Welcome to the wonderful world of The Elder Scrolls, mate. I hope you enjoy your stay.


Stannie

I have passed the one-month mark with this game and am still enjoying it. And I am very much looking forward to Skyrim's first expansion too!

Thank you. I know I haven't even scratched the surface of this game, but I'm already excited for the expansion as well, and even the next Elder Scrolls game!

You're gonna have to wait a few years for the next Elder Scrolls game there buddy But Skyrim + DLC's will keep you occupied till the next one!

I just finished "all" quests including the main one today. Great game! Though I must confess it won't be the same for a second playthrough. For me, the exploring part of the game is 90%, and since I discovered most locations on my first playthrough, I don't think the next one will be very exciting. There is the choice between Imperials and Stormcloaks, but I don't think the storylines differ so much as to warrant a second playthrough. I will probably give it another shot in January or February, when most quests should have been fixed (hopefully) and when there will surely be some great and stable mods to try out (and perhaps even DLC?). It will be interesting to see what the modding scene will do for this game as well as how much DLC can extend the playing experience.

I finished the game without any mods except for "the field of view" change as well as the "longer days" change.
I can really recommend both, even for people who don't usually mod. They are easily implemented through just some INI-editing and won't break anything.

Sure, the game crashed every other hour or so after upgrading past patch 1.1, but that wasn't so bad compared to the broken quests I had to either use the console to start/fix or just give up on entirely (like Blood on the ice). If you want to experience as much as possible and don't fancy having multiple playthroughs, you feel a bit cheated when quests break... (especially if it's a cool one like Blood on the Ice).

Still, a great game and I feel much content right now. Too bad I finished before the LAA patch... ^_^