SKYRIM: THE ALMOST ULTIMATE ADDICTION

Heroes and their allies gather in dark places, apparently.

Before I delve into the world of older CRPGs, I want to take a minute to address the game that has been making waves the last couple of months...The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  Like many others, I spent a good portion of about two months lost in this game.

Skyrim had a lot of beautiful locales.

For a good long while, I got sucked into the world and the story lines.  There was a lot to see and do at first.  The excitement of having a new world to explore seemed thrilling, as did the combats with dragons and other fell beasts.  The graphics were stunning and certainly didn't hurt to help the immersion.

Looks like something straight out of a Dungeons & Dragons game session.

But, this honeymoon period wouldn't last.  Because under the surface of the game grew a sense of sameness.  After a while, the missions started to become tedious repeats of what had become before.  As you completed each epic story, you were left with a ton of mini stories that did nothing to truly enhance your experience.  How many times can you take out contracts with the Dark Brotherhood or run numbers for the Riften Thieves Guild?

Some of the visuals were astounding.

As it turns out, you could do it forever.  The game had been programmed to supply an infinite number of these types of missions at random.  It sounds like it should be fun...but after you do it for a few months, you begin to realize how tedious the whole affair is becoming.

A long hallway...of doom...

Like all things posted on this blog, this is just my opinion.  Someone else might still be engaged in the game and completely enjoying it.  To them, I say...great!  Enjoy it for as long as you can...I kind of wish I could have enjoyed it longer.  But, ultimately, after I'd completed all the major quests, it just became a chore.

Yes, I don't mind playing female characters from time to time.

So, what started out as an ultimate addiction fell short.  I don't say that as a negative thing...because it was a really good addiction for a while...but I was sad when I realized that the adventure was over.  So, I washed my hands of the game and moved on to something else.  Eventually, I'm sure everyone will.