The tantalisingly brief Skyrim teaser trailer debuted by Bethesda Softworks late last year filled my mind with visions of titanic battles between man and beast; of shining steel bathed in ancient flames; of a champion rising from humble origins, prepared to sacrifice everything for the fate of the world. After 60+ hours with the game those visions have been fully realised — and rendered largely inconsequential.
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I’m not sure if it’s a testament to Bethesda’s open-ended game design or my own frivolity that in a world filled with thousands of built-in activities I spent several hours making up my own. I earned no skill points for relentlessly pursuing elk across the frozen wastes, cliff-diving into shallow pools, or attempting to cross entire towns using only rooftops, but I felt just as fulfilled as I did when I was swiping a valuable trinket for the Thieves Guild, deterring a rambunctious bard from pursuing an unwilling maiden, or battling Dark Elf racism with my bare fists. Skyrim is the ultimate OCD adventurer’s playground, packed so full of entertaining new experiences that you can barely complete before the next appears on the horizon.
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When all was said and done my 60+ hours of adventure consisted of perhaps seven hours with Alduin and company, 10 hours of random exploring, and the rest of my time spent devouring just a small portion of the side quests — the real meat of the game. Ranging from short fetch missions to adventures so lengthy and memorable they rival the core story, it’s almost insulting to call them side quests. They are the beating heart of Skyrim.
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Traditionally a singleplayer game, Skyrim has spawned its own social multiplayer component. By stocking the game with so much content that only the most dedicated player (or those armed with strategy guides) could hope to see it all, Bethesda has created an ever-growing community of storytellers, each eager to hear the unique tales of others while sharing their own. It’s happening on internet message boards. It’s happening on Facebook and Twitter. It’s even happening in game stores, where the mere mention of the game’s name evokes spirited conversation between total strangers.
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Skyrim is not a flawless game by any measure, but where fans of other titles might rise up against rampant glitches and shoddy programming, this impassioned community has embraced it. Thrown into the air by a giant’s club? That’s hilarious. A horse that mysteriously blinks in and out of existence? He’s our legendary steed. An overall lack of proper combat targeting? Damn those stupid non-player characters for jumping in front of my fireball. I’ve seen accusations since the game’s release that reviewers are giving Bethesda a pass because their games are always flawed, but it’s not the reviewers.