Q
Well i have it, have played for about 5 hours, think its completeley pathetic.......that is to say i think that the wild unhanded rumours about 'unplayable' framerates and 'unbelievable' popup are utterly ridiculous. I would be the first to be dissapointed by faults, and yes there are a few, but this game is utter brilliance! Its uabashed openess and beauty never fails to astound and astonish me. I am a Morrowind veteran, no stranger to Tamriel, even i never believed it could be this good.
As i head off into the world, mind troubled with conspiracy, rusted bow at my hand I feel small. But a prisoner sprung in unlikely fortune, roaming upon a world I thought never again to see, how was i, a meagre halfblood, a convicted killer, to tend the commands of an Emperor? The needs of an empire?
A wolf springs from the bushes. A rusty instict laying dormant within me commands the old and salvaged bow with masterful precision, as the creature leaps its fangs beared with ravenous intent, it is flung back against the tree where it lies blodied and pinned a single crusted shaft protruding from its still heaving chest.
I stare for a second, confused expressions flash across my weathered brow, rejuvinating it. Yes. YES. I am Ilianos master bowman, half elf half man! Rejected by my altmer kin and imprisoned by bearers of my Imperial blood! But by god ill make this story mine! I WILL restore my honour I WILL SAVE TAMRIEL!
This is my story, what will be yours?
Yes that is the sort of tale that i encourage you play out. The game will build the framework for you, you let your imagination do the rest.... However it is still a game, so what about the specifics?
The graphics, simply, are astounding, no they are not magically 10 years ahead of modern technology why would they be? but they are a huge leap for video-games as a whole, ever moreso the oft neglected RPG. Both the exteriors and interiors are way beyond anything ive ever seen, my last gaming PC had SLi 7800GTX's so i know good graphics.
The Gameplay is pure Elder Scrolls, so vast in its possibilities that it leaves even me, a long time veteran, a little bewildered. Yet it is so slick and thoughtful in its execution that it cannot fail to captivate even the most jaded player if he will only let it.
The size of this game is beyond anything i could have imagined or hoped for. Originally it was going to be "smaller than morrowind, but more interesting" then the devs switched around and said "no its now half as big again". So I assumed, in my own anti-overhype way; "smaller then" But by the gods no! In morrowind your average cave/necromancer shrine/daedric ruin usually took in the region of 5-20 minuites to complete, dewmer strongholds maybe an hour. My very first ruin in this game took me nearly 2 hours to explore fully! The average mine or hideout takes over 30minuites on average. Then you look at the map and realise that in a whole day youve only travelled about 3 inches on the map! The scale is truly astonishing. A pilgrimage, at least without a horse, really would be just that, a labour of love. And as i cast my gaze from the tallest peak in all cyrodill, i watch the world roll into darkness and the stars emerge and the beauty of the land like the night envelopes me.
The combat feels very solid, far, far better than any other RPG real-time combat i can recall. I am already a master of the bow, supplementing this with blade and magic skills, my aresenal feels truly rounded, if not specialised. I get the impression that you truly could succeed with just about any carachter you choose to, crafting out your own, very personal, story in the soft clay of Cyrodill. Character creation is probably the best I have seen, every detail is alterable, its quite possible that not only will you never make the same carachter twice, but neither you nor your friends will ever see any character in maybe 5000hours that look anything alike (unless intended). Quite astonishing.
The controls and menu's are very intuitive, some people unfamilliar with the TES series have called it a complex and confusing interface, i disagree, TES itself is complex and confusing, it takes about 10-20 hours to come to terms with much of the universe. Once you do however you will be operating like a pro, bar some button confusion on my part, i have found the menu's very easy to use, and im sure about 10 or so hours down the line ill be a complete menu NINJA, or elf perhaps, still its a 200hour or more game so ive plenty of time to practise!
This game is the art and essence of role-playing embodied, be a stealth assasin, master theif, Warrior hero, Gladiatorial Champion, Elven archer, noble swordsman.It's every fantasy you've ever imagined yourself play out, right there. Lord of the rings comparisons are unavoidable, and why not apt to compare a masterful videogame creation with a masterful literary work? Who of us truly, somewhere below all our macho self-image and real life fear, who i ask wouldnt have wanted to be Arragorn or Legolas? To ride out against improbable odds, to claim victory for honour, to have glory? I doubt one of you hasnt considered it, well this game offers that, in itself fantastic but when put alongside the chance to be the opposite of everything noble as well as everything in between you simply cannot ask more from a role-playing game. The perfect role, your perfect role
....but ALSO because not everyone without the game will read to page 4 (or 20 depending on settings 
) of this one 
ya see my elf has great healing skills.....so i dont sleep much.....then i have a powercut....figure it out for yourselves 