After a conversation I had with Aaron last night regarding my general refusal to actually beat games, I decided to finally beat the main story line in Skyrim. As I have mentioned previously, I have pumped clean over 600 hours into this game, all the while avoiding the main storyline like I owed it money. So, I woke up at the crack of noon this morning (it was a little before noon....shut up), put on a pot of coffee and fired up the PS3. I had managed to make a little progress in the game, so rather than start at the beginning of the main story line I was actually a little over halfway through, on the quest 'Elder Knowledge'.
Let it be known I cannot stand Dwemer ruins. Were it possible to commit full genocide in the game, I would have demolished the Falmer...with fire.
Having already completed the Civil War story line, I was able to skip the quests 'Season Unending' and 'Paarthanax*' (*I'll get back to that one shortly....), so after bitch-slapping Alduin at the Throat of the World (punk dragon ran away...) I could skip the political bickering and get straight to the awesome part: killing me some World-Eater (that's Alduin).
Carried by Alduin's right-hand dragon and my newest pet Odahviing I stormed Alduin's keep, dragons flying overhead, wrecking Draugr Overlord and Deathlord face along the way. Upon reaching to top of Alduin's temple Skuldafn I saw Nahkriin, one of the eight Dragon Priests whose masks I am collecting. It was at this point that I began to feel something...amiss. Nahkriin hadn't so much as turned around before I finished him, a surprising feat considering the other four or five Dragon Priests I had already killed were much more challenging. No time to dwell, onward to Sovngarde!
Wow I love the music in Sovngarde. It's the theme from the opening of the game, but slow and haunting. The Nordic afterlife was completely blanketed by Alduin's mist, a substance he used to hunt the souls of Nordic heroes. The atmosphere in this part of the game was amazing. Heavy and terrible.
So why is it that I'm disappointed? Everything so far has been amazing, so what went wrong? Short version: everything after entering Shor's Hall. Alduin himself was little more than a joke in battle, dealing virtually no damage TO me and taking enough damage FROM me to kill him in two landings (I didn't bother shooting him as he flew, instead using Dragonrend when I noticed he wasn't glowing anymore). Just like that, the great evil of Skyrim, the World Eater Alduin was dead. I had had more trouble killing regular (leveled) dragons in the field. Tsun, guardian of SHor's Hall, teleported next to me as Alduin's body burned to ask me if I wanted to go home. No no, I'll leave, don't want to overstay my welcome...
I once again set foot on mortal soil, again atop the Throat of the World. Oh sweet, I'm surrounded by dragons! This is what I'm talking about! Oh, Hi Paarthanax! Lookit what I did! Oh...you're not very happy with what I did? Ok...sorry? Hey Blades! Come see what I...whats that? You want me to kill Paarthanax? But I kinda like that guy...
Long story short, I finally beat Skyrim, but it was one of the more empty victories I've had in a video game (the last was the ending of the PS1's Legend of the Dragoon). The Blades now hate me (going to talk with them started the quest 'Paarthanax' where I am to kill the ancient beast) and dragons still ravage the land. I don't really feel as though I've accomplished anything.
That, unfortunately, is part of having a game that basically never ends. I could play for another 600 hours on my current character and feel as though there was more to do, which is a huge part of why I love the game as much as I do. While I will gladly exchange a satisfying ending for that amount of replay-ability, it still leaves me feeling...a bit empty.
This is Skyrim, though. The Dragonborn has no time to dwell on the past. I have Vampires to hunt, for tomorrow, Harkon of Volkihar will die!!!
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