User blog:Razorgirl/Revisiting Skyrim

I recently purchased a refurbished PS3 which means that I've been able to return to one of my favourite computer games ever (it's a strong contender against Master of Orion II).

More Efficient Gameplay
Coming back to the game now is a completely different experience from when I started playing. I'm focusing on what I can do to speed up my gameplay through dungeons, and I'm being much more strategic in which Quests I'm doing straight off the bat.

For example, I didn't bother buying a horse and instead I headed straight for Riften to pick up Frost.

Let's Give Playing an Imperial a Go
When my PS3 died I lost my save slots so I'm having to start again from scratch. At first I tried playing the same character I did last time (an Orc Warrior), but I found that I was bored doing the same Quests with the same character.

I read the Book of the Dragonborn in the Torturer's Chamber in Helgen and noticd that said that Dragonborn were historically Imperials that were the leaders of the Empire, so thought I'd give playing an Imperial a go. I thought it would also give me an unambigous side to the Civil War.

I was feeling really uninspired by the Imperial's racial perks, but this is forcing me to try to find a way to make it useful. I've encountered several points in the story where I witness a bunch of folks having a conversation and I've tried to use my Voice of the Emperor ability to no effect - the dialogue is scripted and does not change. Bethesda obviously didn't factor an Imperial using this ability into this scene, which makes me wonder what the point of this ability is supposed to be.

Imperial Armour is Better Than Stormcloak Armour
Now that I'm playing an Imperial with the Imperial Legion, I feel obliged to wear Imperial Armour. I'm still low enough level that the monsters I'm facing are likewise low level, and I'm not sure how far I'll be able to stick to only wearing Imperial Armour before I decide that in order to survive, I need to upgrade to Ebony or the like. Still, it looks mighty fine with my Jagged Crown.

SWF Looking for Cool Quests
There are SO MANY Quests in Skyrim, that I'm now trying to consider what some of the cool stories I could do that I haven't done before, especially those that aren't the main storylines for the Factions.

So far I'm concentrating on the Daedric Quests, and then I might go hunt down Dragon Priest Masks, but I'm not sure if Dragon Priests will kick my arse seeing as I'm yet to activate Shouts.

Different Kids
Last time I played I adopted Lucia and Sofie. Lucia seems to be the only Imperial (non-Nord for that matter) that we can adopt, so I adopted her in the spirit of Imperials looking out for each other.

Yes, I prefer Console Gaming
I tried playing ESO with keyboard and mouse and I hated it. It's so good to get back into the relaxed pose of lounging in a couch with a controller resting in my hand.

I have a new housemate that is an avid PC gamer, and she's trying out playing on a console for the first time. There was a LOT of yelling and cursing at the start, but that has thankfully died down and she's starting to be much more chilled with playing, and I'd like to think that this is perhaps letting her see why I value console gaming over keyboard/mouse.

But it's been an interesting experience learning from each other hints and tips that we each have learned from playing. I've picked up a lot of tricks watching others play on a console, which I've realised is something she's never done.