Sometime later... More thoughts on Skyrim

Hello, my name is Albert and I play too much Skyrim. 

Falmer? More like FODDER, amirite? 

My first two characters in Skyrim were fun. I finished the main dragon-y questline with Kukurin the Imperial Swordswoman first and then with Jan'Ice the Mage I got my fill of mage-y goodness. My third character though, feels like...I dunno. He feels like the one. Is it possible to have a "main character" in a single player game? If so, that's what Albrecht the Nord feels like. Also, he has the most screenshots.

Lots of these screenshots are of Albrecht stabbing people.

I have definitely got my moneys worth out of Skyrim, almost two hundred odd hours later and I am still finding new places, new quests and new ways to utterly decimate enemies.

Decapitation, fun for the whole family! 

I also don't know why it takes me so long to get into the main questline. Actually, I do know why. It's because the other questlines are so much cooler. The Thieves Guild definitely has to be my favorite. In discussions on Skyrim that I have had with my friends, some of them lean more towards the Dark Brotherhood, but I feel like there is a sense of satisfaction that I get with that questline that kinda beats the Brotherhood a bit.

I'm Batman.

Like I mentioned in my first thoughts, the most satisfaction I have gotten in the Skyrim is sneaking through an entire bandit camp, pickpocketing as I go and looting their entire treasure trove before heading out the back. Sure, it's not the sword swinging, magic blasting way to go (not that I completely ignored those skills, theres always a shield in my favorites menu) but its fun.

Just three gang and their badass armor. 

I have my gripes with the game. That's for sure, but they are lumped into minor and major ones.

Minor Gripes (or things that probably just bug me) 

-Why can't I talk more to people? There's a Speech skill. I want to be able to persuade a bandit to put down his sword and think about what he's doing with his life. At 100 Speech I want to be able to make a bandit break down and cry with regret.

Instead, I will settle for taking everyones clothes. 

- People who get in my way. I am looking at you companions. I have probably played 90% of this game without using a meatshield, mainly because they are stupid as shit. Standing in doorways. Running over traps. Everyone in Skyrim is dumb except for me.

- The lack of love my wife shows me. My first character got married. We were both werewolves. I had thought that maybe we could have hot werewolf sex. But no. She just stays home and makes me pie. Sometimes she gives me money. She says she loves me...but sometimes I feel the magic is gone.

Nothing like some Falmer killin' for working off that frustration. 

- Feeling like a god. Okay this is just me. There is a certain point where you become very very powerful. I have tried turning up the difficulty, switching to skills that I don't use often and even like...letting baddies hit me a few times. But this is part of the progression of power that all RPG's kind of have. Plus...I do have the bad habit of grinding a bit in single player games.

- How I have to be the leader of every faction I help. I would settle for being second in command of the Companions, or even like Assistant Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild. It kinda makes me wonder what kind of selection process these people have, when you can walk in off the street on Monday and leave on Friday with the keys to the entire place. Sure, theres always the "chosen by destiny for great things" aspect to it. But come on, the leader of all these factions? Really?

Major Gripes

As close as you're going to get to riding a Dragon around.

-Dragons. That's pretty much it. For a game where one of the main selling points is it's infinite dragons, Bethesda almost dropped the ball with these. Yes, the first fights with Dragons are epic. You panic, you die, you wonder if you're supposed to be able to beat them (or maybe I just rushed into that too early on my first go) but eventually all the dragons have the same pattern to them.

Good times, though, good times.

Shoot dragon until it's angry enough to land. Then hit dragon in face until it dies. That's what I found that worked, and that's pretty much what I stuck with up until the big bad dragon in the end. (Okay that's a lie, there was a Sho...oh wait Spoilers :P)

And some of kind of dragon lock-on so that they can strafe you with dragonfire without you being able to dodge them.

Not pictured: my inability to dodge Dragonfire.

Thankfully all of this can be avoided by not starting the first dragon encounter. Which means you are free to enjoy a Dragon-less Skyrim if you please. Then again, you won't be able to use the Unrelenting Force shout to propel bears off of mountaintops.

Do I really need to praise this game more? 


What I do love about Skyrim though, are the little things. The way that you are free to level your character as you please. That you aren't overtly punished for going off the beaten track. There's always a cave or a temple or someone in need of your aid if you go that way.

And by aid I mean, help me stab these people. 

Just yesterday I stumbled upon a tower, and upon entering it happened across a battle between two mages. Then I helped one of them battle through said tower, get to the top and stop her mother from completing a dark and eldritch ritual.

Then I took the old bags staff and pawned it for some sweet sweet gold.

I like the way you can get your friend to teach you new skills. Then pickpocket your gold back.

I like propelling bears off of mountaintops with the power of my voice.

And I guess what I like the most is making my own story. The Sneak Thief with a Silver Tongue and a penchant for bashing people in the face with his shield. The Swordswoman who fell from grace. The haughty elf who loves her Firebolts. Who knows what adventures await my next character?