14 DAY TRIAL // I talked about how Skyrim made me feel good about my virtual hands during a previous installment of this diary but there's much more to say about the way the combat of The Elder Scrolls V has changed for the better.
Skyrim allows one player with one character to experience the potential of all the “classes” that can be created in the game world, which is something that rarely happens in this genre of video games.
Those who are purists will likely stay close to traditional archetypes of the role playing games space, with fighters going for shields and sword or two handed, thieves choosing bows and sneak attacks while mages prepare spells for a variety of possible encounters.
But I suspect that most gamers will, like I did, try and use their first run through the game (which for the majority will also be their last) to sample a bit of everything and Skyrim is to be lauded for giving everyone this kind of freedom.
For most of the early part of the game, up until about level 9 and my first non-story fight with a dragon, I was a dual wielding heavy armor using brawler who knew just one spell and never used it.
After that I saw how well my companion was doing with a staff and sword combo and I decided to become a sort of battlemage, going to the College and training while also buying all the spell books I could find.
I then got a quest (minor spoilers) that asked me to basically hunt a wild animal, white and fast, in a part of the world where white is a camouflage color and where the target's speed is a great advantage.
This, and another minor event that would be a spoiler, persuaded me to try and use a bow for a while and this lead to me also taking up a more sneaking approach to some combat situations, which was entirely feasible even if going in with steel in one hand and sparks in the other would have probably been easier.
And now, about 60 hours into Skyrim, I am thinking about trying out an enchanted greatsword I recently got.