Pushing Through

No matter how good a game is, there are nearly always moments when you find yourself pushing through a monotonous task or a series of elongated missions.

To its credit, Skyrim kept me completely absorbed up until last night. So far I've clocked up over 50 hours on the game, and there are only a handful of titles that offer up such an extended experience. It's rarer still to find a game that can go for so long and still feel fresh; and I know just how much more there is to explore.

I've not deviated too far from the main quest. I've got involved in some of the domestic politics (after all, I'm a Nord, it would've been rude not to get involved and help my countrymen wrestle the country from the grip of the cruel, Godless Imperials), and I've taken down my fair share of castles and dungeons, but beyond that I find myself falling into a bit of lull.

I know what I've got to do to get things moving, it's just I'm finding it harder and harder to motivate myself to do them. I'm putting off the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood quest-lines for a later play-through, and I'm not really exploring magic either, so I'm left with the unenviable task of having to run through the wilderness looking for side-quests and dragons to kill (so I can finish making the armour I have coveted so long).

The only problem I can find with Skyrim is that it is so frickin' massive, doing anything of worth in the game takes a considerable chunk of time. Something that slows the pace down even more. I sat down last night for a quick adventure, but by the time I'd sorted out my inventory and got going on my quest, I'd been on for nearly an hour. With over 50 hours in the game so far, I find myself wanting the pace to quicken a little, but all I seem to be able to do is meander about the map looking for trouble, trying to grind my stats into respectability.

It's such a minor gripe, because Skyrim offers value like no other computer game I've ever played before. Other than this little lull in pace, I have been very, very impressed (as has everybody else) with the world created by Bethesda. I'll soldier through this lethargic patch and get back into the main story soon enough; games of this quality insist on completion. I guess I've just got to keep pushing through.