'Twas the night before Skyrim....

So here we are, less than 24 hours till Skyrim releases.  It's been a long couple weeks waiting for the game as I scoured the NeoGaf forums for info and resisting the temptation to watch leaked YouTube videos of the game in action.  Rest easy my friends it's almost here and while we wait check out my last reasons why I'm so excited for Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

4. The small stuff...

Skyrim unlike any game I've ever played promises detail in the utmost smallest form.  Your character can mix ingredients of all kinds to create potions, remedies, and other useful concoctions.  You can become a blacksmith and collect raw materials like deer skins and iron ore to create and enhance your own weapons and armor.  You can buy a house, go to jail, get a job, practically live another life in Skyrim. Kinda reminds me of Dwight in the Office and his new life in "Second Life". To say the least Skyrim is incredibly detailed and I can't wait to find out how far down the rabbit hole I can go just as long as I don't end up like Dwight.



3. Sean Connery would be proud...

When I think of dragons I can't help to think of the movie starring Sean Connery called "Dragonheart". It's really the only movie I can think of that brought dragons to life in a believable and wonderful way.

So with Skyrim it's obvious that dragons are the focal point of the story.  They're evil, hell bent on destroying the land of Tamriel.  What's exciting to me is the potential that Skyrim has dragons dialed in, much like the movie Dragonheart did years ago.  Dragons in Skyrim unlike Sean Connery's are mean, fierce and want nothing to do with being your friend.  These are like mini boss fights scattered at times randomly in the game. They are a huge risk reward proposition where you can choose to fight and claim the dragon's soul/power or run in the hopes to live another day.  I'm also looking forward to seeing how dragon's play into the main story and overall I'm intrigued by the lore of them and what will become of them at end of my adventure.  My only hope, which I have a feeling won't happen, is to be able to fly a dragon and if not Skyrim maybe the next Elder Scrolls game. 


2. & 1. Goodbye forever......

Because what I'm looking forward the most in Skyrim is so big it's taking the number 1 and 2 spots in my list.  What I'm looking forward to the most in Skyrim is how big this game is.  MMO's have always intrigued me because they're usually huge with lots to do and things to experience yet the quality in my opinion isn't there.  I want a game I can sink my teeth into and not be worried of being bored or that the experience will be all too short and come to a screeching halt.  Elder Scrolls games have a reputation of easily being 300 hour games and Skyrim looks to be no different.  The actual playable area of Skyrim is close to 16 square miles which entails 5 large cities, 150 unique dungeons, and dozens of towns and ruins.  I want to explore and see all that Skyrim has to offer which is quite a bit obviously. What I'm most excited about in the vastness of Skyrim is the unknown. What will I find out there? What kind of creatures will I see?  Who will become my friend and foe in Skyrim?  What happens when I do this or that?  What kind of hero will I become? I can't wait to answer these questions in time as I indulge my gaming wholeheartedly to Skyrim while savoring ever minute of it.  

Now sure I have my concerns that Skyrim will fall short of my expectations but that's the fun of hype. It makes a game feel epic, an event so to speak. So I'll be in line at Gamestop around 11:45pm tomorrow eveing waiting to get my mittens on a copy and before I go to bed I hope to create my Nord character and get started on this grand adventure.  What are you're plans for 11/11/11 if you have any, and what are you looking forward to the most in Skyrim?

Northern landscapes and she-orcs...

Okay so now the wait is getting close to unbearable.  5 more sleeps until Skyrim is released and so that means another blog describing reasons 5 and 6 why I'm so stoked for Skyrim.

6. There's no place like home...

This reason is most definitely unique to me.  I live in the Pacific Northwest, home of the Cascade mountain range, Olympic peninsula rain forest, and miles of Pacific ocean coastline. 

A picture I took while motorcycling through the North Cascades.

I love living in Washington and the first screens I saw of Skyrim looked as if it was in my own backyard.

This has me excited.  Since Skyrim is based in the north of Tamriel I'm expecting it to be a lot like the places I love in my state. I know some may want to go to some place exotic and no doubt Skyrim will be that but I'm looking forward to it being a fantastical version of my own backyard.  I look up at the mountains surrounding my valley and many I have never been to but with Skyrim everything is accessible and have reason to be explored. So far in Skyrim previews I've seen sea ports, mountain castles, wooded villages, lakes, and rivers all looking gorgeous and I can't wait to discover and explore these locales in the familiar land of Skyrim much like I've done here where I live in real life.



 5. Pick a race, any race

  
Before ever venturing out in the land the first thing you do when you start Skyrim is create a character.  There's over 10 races that you can choose ranging from elves and orcs to highly civilized humans and the native people of Skyrim the Nords.  I know I'm going to mull at this for awhile as I decide who I want to be and how I want to look like.  In the Mass effect series I choose the default look just because I felt like I was playing Shepard's story more so than my own.  Yet for Skyrim I feel it'll be different as the main protagonist is pretty much a blank slate when you start.

 So here's my plan which may or may not change once Friday rolls around. I'm going to be a Nord which I feel is fitting since I'm a quarter Norwegian.  I want to specialize in one handed swords, archery and dabble some with magic. With every decision, action, and conversation I face I'm going at it just how I would in real life.  I'm pumped to forge a character in the first hours to the end of the game that will be a reflection of me of some sorts and I appreciate the constant luxury of choice that Bethesda has put in the game.

So who do plan to be in Skyrim?  Do you like to play games that have a familiar feel or do you like the exotic and foreign?  Let me know and remember just a few days till this puppy is out there.

'Twas the seventh day till Skyrim

Only 7 more days until The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim will be in my hand!! I can only recall my excitement for a video game being like this just a few times in my life.  The first time was when I was 12 years old and waiting for Christmas day as I knew I had a Nintendo 64 under the Christmas tree just wanting to be opened. The next was waiting for Halo 3.  I spent the months up to the release squeezing out every little detail I could about the game.  The most recent game was Mass Effect 2, and rightfully so cause that game was incredible.

So for this year I've had my sights on a game series I've never played, the Elder Scrolls.  I've never even touched Oblivion and I only dabbled in Fallout 3 for a few hours yet something about Skyrim has captured my excitement and imagination.  Skyrim comes out 11/11/11 and no doubt I'll be picking it up at the midnight release but until then I'll spending the next 7 days explaining to you 7 reasons why Skyrim is my most anticipated game and what I look forward to.

7. Barbarian Choirs

Ever since the announcement trailer, the music for Skyrim has been unique. Music in a video game can easily make it or break it for me.  I can still hum to myself some of the memorable scores from the Halo and Mass Effect games. Even my son knows some of the Super Mario Galaxy tunes now.  So with Skyrim the music is crucial to build the atmosphere and drive me to continue through the story.  Take a listen to the main theme of Skyrim in the youtube video on the right.  It's a barbarian anthem that riles me up to bring out my inner Norwegian viking.  I love it and I can't wait to see how the other Skyrim songs make me feel.

Skyrim is filled with over 3 hours of composed music and I feel it's greatest challenge is to make the huge world of Skyrim enjoyable and livable while playing potentially 300 hours of the game. The track in the video on the left is background music while you traverse and explore the land of Skyrim.  To me this song is the epitome of fantasy.  It's whimsical, mysterious, and moving. I hope years from now I'll be humming to myself some of the memorable songs of Skyrim.  7 more days!!



P.S. If you have no clue what kind of game Skyrim is and would like some details be sure to check out this great summary on NeoGaf.