On the topic of Skyrim...
I still cannot believe how fucking massive this game is. seriously, WHAT THE FUCK. I've been doing side quests and whatnot and building up smithing (an actual fun way of weapon improving other than just clicking on an item a billion times with a repair hammer equipped) and on the side I've just been exploring when I go to an area where I've discovered almost nothing. The landscapes are so diverse it's fucking ridiculous, and there's just so god damn much of it so filled up.
I seriously avoid discovering dungeons if I'm trying to do a specific thing because I don't want my map to fill up with icons when I don't have time to explore them (though I know if you fully clear it out it says cleared, but that doesn't always work). From the Tundra, to the highest snow capped mountains, to the forest, to the swamps/bogs, to mountain paths through the icy waste, to a frozen iceberg wasteland, exploring it all is just god damn fucking ridiculous. combine this with the fact that every dungeon feels unique in some way (be it a different architecture style, different elements, different enemies, or one large theme such as a boss or quest etc) and you can explore forever. I stopped doing the main quest at 30 hours in and now I'm at 45 and haven't even needed to go back or felt compelled to, as I'm just so addicted to doing everything else.
The fact that they were able to recapture the Morrowind feeling of unique ecosystems with different aspects yet keep the size and scale is absurd. I'm going to enable screenshots because there are some points where I seriously stop and just stare out at a vista, and it looks like something you'd see on a post card saying GREETINGS FROM SKYRIM. The detail in the different regions is just absolutely insane, and I've never felt compelled in any videogame to just walk around, see a mountain, climb it, do whatever and purposelessly walk around (maybe the only other time would be in grand theft auto 3 back in the day).
I can't even imagine how many hours I'm going to sink into this. Morrowind being my first game of the type I spent at least 100 hours on xbox just doing the basic intro things: killing people, stealing stuff, taking peoples houses, exploring etc (my brother did the same in Oblivion as that was his first), and another 60 on PC, I've spent at least 70 in Oblivion and already in Skyrim I've spent 45 yet show no signs of boredom whatsoever, no signs of monotony, just sheer new interesting adventures. I'd guess I'll finally complete the main quest (after doing a lot of side stuff) at about hour 80, then do more side quests until hour 100, then explore the entire landscape until hour 140, and then once all the DLC's come out spend at least another 20 hours. God damn this game is an amazing piece of art and deal.
