Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - the game to end all games
If you're looking for a video game that could possibly last a lifetime with virtually unlimited replayability and gives you the sense of being an epic bad@$$, then Skyrim might be the game for you!
Now I'll be honest, I was very skeptical about this game prior to playing it. I've played the last two games made by Bethesda, namely Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, and although they were received warmly by those entrenched in the Elder Scrolls series and RPG players alike, I was not very impressed; however, I will admit that I didn't make it very far into those game.
When I started playing Morrowind, I didn't last very long. After creating my lizard guy character, I immediately ran out into the closest field and tried to start killing things. I found a little crab like creature and started my assault. Within about 30 seconds, I was dead...from a crab! Killed by some "surf & turf"...just embarrassing. I promptly took the game out of my computer, uninstalled the game, and never spoke of it until now. Seriously...an F'n crab!
My next adventure into the world of Elder Scrolls was Oblivion, which was a fairly good improvement in my opinion. After creating my character, I was thrust into this demon invasion that I was destined to vanquish. Fantastic! All seemed to be going well, striking down demons left and right...until this idiot soldier got in the way of my demon hunting and got himself killed. I tried to explain to his fellow soldiers that his head ran into my sword and that I had nothing to do with it, but they wouldn't have any of it. All of a sudden a half a dozen soldiers are bearing down on me and none of the cities would let me in without putting me in jail...well screw that! Another game gone into "Oblivion".
So when I started playing Skyrim, I figured it would pretty much be the same. I'd probably end up getting killed by some little bunny rabbit with big pointy teeth or more likely get into an argument with some companions over who's going to go after the bunny and end up killing each other. That skepticism held true until about the 15 minute mark when this dragon swooped down in front of me, swiping a couple of soldiers off of a boulder and laid down fire on everything in its path. My wife still laughs every time she hears me scream a little when a dragon dives out of the sky and land right in front of me. To my defense, it is an F'n dragon!!
I can't tell you how many hours into the game I am, but unlike some other games like Fable that has one linear storyline and a couple of different little side quests, Skyrim feels like there's multiple main storylines and hundreds of side quests, including the biggest open world environment that I've ever experienced in a game. To just walk from one side of the map to the other would probably take an RL hour...thank god for horses, carriages, and fast travel! Sometimes though, exploring every inch of the landscape can be just as rewarding, not only from an aesthetic point (as the world is absolutely beautiful), but for picking up the hundreds of side quests in different caves, ruins, etc.
I don't think I've ever felt as powerful in a game as I do in Skyrim. Even after recently finishing Batman: Arkham City and having the ability of taking down 20+ henchmen and Titan filled goons with relative ease and fluidity, in Skyrim, one of my giant two handed fireballs would finish them off in a blink of an eye.
In Skyrim, you're a total BAD@$$...until a dragon drops down in front of you...then you'll scream like a little B!%@#!!!!!
