Skyrim early hours impressions

I have been looking forward to Skyrim a lot. I was so keen on playing that I decided to stay up until midnight between Thursday and Friday and wait for the game to unlock, just so I could get in a couple of hours of play before I had to head to bed (stupid work making me get up early in the morning!).
Unfortunately I discovered too late that apparently Skyrim was going to be unlocked at midnight GMT and not local time (I'm in GMT +1), so it was 1am before I sleepily got into the game.
So I only got a brief amount of playtime in on Thursday night, and with a busy weekend I was only able to play a couple of hours more.

Skyrim - For all your fantasy fetish needs

But still, I have already seen enough to tell that I think I'm really going to like my stay in Skyrim.

First of all I want to say that Skyrim is a darn pretty looking game, which you have probably already seen on the tons of videos that have been shown. Still, it's also a game that has clearly had to make some graphical concessions in order to provide an expansive open world experience. Look too closely at a lot of the details in the game and you'll realize that the polished surface doesn't stand up to too much scrutiny.
Character faces in particular still look rather on the poor side, which is something that Bethesda has been struggling with for a long time.
But taken as a whole, Skyrim is a really nice looking game that presents many visual thrills, such as stunning mountain top views or creepy dungeon crawling scares.

I am also a great fan of the Elder Scrolls skill system, which is based on the principle that the more you use a skill the better you will get at it. Combined with the lack of fixed classes in Skyrim, this means that it truly is up to you to create your own distinct character.
Want to make a zombie conjuring archer that dabbles in fight with two handed swords? No problem, just go right ahead, sir!
Lightning zapping sneaky assassins? Your call.

Of course, certain skills will have better synergy, but if you don't want to be the stereotypical mage, rogue or warrior then you have plenty of opportunity to spice things up.
Personally, being a fan of magic, I've already specced heavily into destruction and conjuring, so I prefer rolling around with a zombie of a defeated foe and equip a fire spell in each hand for some two handed pyromancy entertainment.

Burning stuff makes me happy

After the games initial action packed opening, I quickly found myself in the first town of the game. Here I was picking up quests left and right, and for once I think I will actually bother completing a large part of the side quests, rather than going straight for the main story arc, as I tend to do in most games.
I did one of the larger side quests that took me through a nearby dungeon, and it was a really cool experience that both presented me with combat and a little bit of puzzle solving.

I can't wait to get back into Skyrim and really plunge deep into it's scaly innards. My only concern is that I will probably not be done with this game in time for the release of The Old Republic, and then I'm going to have be in a real dilemma as to how I'm going to prioritize my gaming time!



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