We have all seen bugs and glitches in our games. Be it in World of Warcraft (WoW hereafter) or Oblivion, etc. We have become used to such things in our games, and we tend to view them as a minor inconvienence and we just calmly wait for a patch to fix it. To me, this is bordering on the inexcuseable in several ways.

In WoW, the bugs are, most times, enviromental or specific to a dungeon, class, etc. Never are the bugs and glitches game shattering, they are just annoying as hell. They get the bug reports, work up a patch, fill it with new content as well and release it. Over my 7 years of playing WoW, I have seen many patches and many bugs. This is to be expected in a MMORPG where you have over 14 million people playing. Every individual plays the game differently, so bugs and exploits will happen in a game world as large as Azeroth. It's just common sense that Pedro over in Brazil will play the game differently than Mike in the U.S.A and Derrick in Canada and Darrel in England. Between these diverse gamers and there playing styles, they will all find different aspects of the game that are wrong, broken, don't work right...whatever words you wish to use to describe it.

Now, Bethesda. I love this company and it's games. They have taken me to worlds and given me joy since there first games hit the market. I love Oblivion and certainly Skyrim. These games have provided me with hundreds of hours of pure joy and bliss. I love the "Sand Box" idea that drives Bethesda to create these games and to give us the power to control the way the story unfolds for each of us. The newest game in the series, Skyrim, is no exception to this and I love it as much, if not more, than WoW and Oblivion. However, having said that, the bugs are vast and destroying the fun and immersion of the game for alot of my friends and fellow gamers. On Fuse, you can see post after post of problems with quests, NPC's, falling mammoths...Dragons that fly in reverse (seen this one myself and laughed so hard I fell out of my seat). With all games there will be bugs, glitches. We know this. Sometimes though, we can see that the game is rushed to hurry up and cash in on it's lineage. I can't help but feel now that Skyrim was a bit rushed and they knew about the bugs but figured since the patch will be released just after Thanksgiving (source: GameBanshee) we can just go ahead and release it and by the time gamers get far into the game we can work the patch up and release it to fix the bugs and gltiches. Let's go ahead and get it out the door and into the hands of the gamers.

This is all speculation by me. None of what I said should be taken as fact as far as my comments about Bethesda. It just seems like the game was rushed. Now, does it make me love Bethesda or the game any less? Hell no. I am just disappointed that these kinds of glaring bugs and glitches can be overlooked. The bugs and glitches are not unique to just one person or one type of system or video card, etc. They are universal. I love your games Bethesda and your company, and I'll always support you. I think you should just love your customers back and love us enough to give us a product that's not so rushed and broken. Give us what we pay for and we will give you what you desire and need....our wallets. ~DarkRaven~

Well here it is, 8 days after my purchase of "Skyrim", and I still haven't touched the main quest. This is insane for me as a gamer with an OCD need to get things done and get them done quickly. I am lost in this world of Dragons and Giants and Elves and Khajitt and...you get the idea I'm sure. I just finished the "Companion" quest line, and am enjoying the ramifications. Lets just say, without spoiling any of it for those of you to yet play the game, that as I'm now in the "Dark Brotherhood", it's very fun and interesting to enter an area, look up at the full moon, let out a primal howl at it's glowing beauty, and transform into a Werewolf and run around the area murdering and killing.

Now, one might guess, and rightly so, after reading my 2 blogs that I enjoy the darker side of things in my games, and you would be right. I love playing as evil...the unabashed feel and pursuit of power. The need to bend others to my own dark will. The overwhelming desire to take what I want, when I want and no matter the consequences. From games like "Neverwinter Nights" to "Neverwinter Nights 2" and all of it's expansions, to "Star Wars-Knights of the Old Republic"..you shall always find me on the darker side of things. In real life, I'm as nice as nice can be and love to donate my time and money to charity, raised my daughter to do right, and love to help out wherever I can. Yet, in our make believe worlds we enjoy as gamers, where I have met many of you good people I choose to call my friends, we can be what we want, when we want. To me, that's the idea behind a good, immersive game. Respect to you all. ~DarkRaven~

So, I'm sitting here, on this cloudy, rainy day, 11/16/11, and loving every minute I spend in Skyrim. I must confess, my initial impressions were not favorable, as I thought it nothing more than a glorified console game hurriedly rushed out to make a quick buck, but I'm damn glad to say I'm wrong. VERY wrong. The game has such depth and scope. I feel such a fool for ever doubting Bethesda and there ability to deliver on the promise of "A game that will surpass Oblivion in every way."

My Dark Elf is now level 17, firmly rooted as an "Assassin" with a strong focus on archery. I am like a shadow to all that cross me, for I am death incarnate and you would do well to avoid me. Heed this warning and remember the name "Darius Blackheart." See? See what total immersion within a good game can do to a gamer? Well, back to Skyrim and my quest for total domination of those weaker than me. I have yet to even start the main quest, as I have spent too much time with the side quests and exploring every dungeon, mine and ruin that I come across, amassing a wealth of gear. Good luck to all my fellow PC gamers out there, and may you find the rewards and power you seek. ~DarkRaven aka Kenneth Crippen~