Okay. 24 hours straight in the game and here are my observations:
- The new UI semi-sucks: The "Local" maps are useless, with icons now in place of detailed maps of cities and such that you can't find what you're looking for without hovering over each icon to see its name. (The world map is pretty cool, tho, with a very pretty/nice 3D look.) To drop the second spell assigned to one of your hands, you have to pick something physical up in it and then "drop it" to empty your hand!
Also, it's WAY too obvious that they designed the interface for consoles instead of PCs: Your mouse is more of a burden than an interface-assisting-device....
(Get ready for your left hand to be on the <Tab>QWER/ASD rows, PERMANENTLY, and your right hand on your arrow keys....)
- The new Skill system is AWESOME! You can manage every single aspect of every ability to your own desire.
- Everything is just as gorgeous in Skyrim as it was in Oblivion, and more!: Environmental stuff - esp. waterfalls! - are beautiful! (Even at the lowest Visuals setting!)
- The story lines are deep, detailed, and excellent! (However, I am one to listen to EVERYTHING that a met character has to say. I'm a nut for the back-stories in these games....)
- The game
IS HARD! (This is A Good Thing!) Stick to the offered growth path or you'll be dead in a minute. (I.e. Go to the Greybeards when they
TELL YOU to go to the Greybeards!)
Sabre-Toothed Tigers, Trolls, Giants, and Dragons are instant death. Steer clear of them early on. (Update: I can now kill STTs, once I reached lvl 7.
)
- The dungeons are ... cities. They are HUGE, and many levels deep (6?), and full of traps and denizens!
- There is an even MORE overwhelming wealth of side-quests. If you like to manage them "regionally" (do a bunch in one area of the map, then move on) you have to go through your quest list one-by-one, tho, to figure out where they are/were....
E.g. In just doing the "main-line," initial quest (Greybeards) I picked up almost a dozen side-quests.)
- Roaming critters are
EVERYWHERE, and those that attack now give you "fair warning" - no more wolves jumping you from behind! Any that will attack you will howl/roar/scream before attacking you now! ($10 to the first person that bags a rabbit with a bow, tho! Game is MUCH more like real life now!)
- The game hung on me twice....
Also, after a long, uninterrupted session it seems to get laggy. (Exiting the game and re-entering with your Save makes all better, tho.)
[Hint: DEFRAG your system - 3 times! - after installation...]I'm sure there's more to report, but I'm getting back to the game now!
P.S. Thank you Bethesda!