Oh Lydia my love, you did not die in vein - you were my everything. Well you were until I met Jordis the Sword-Maiden.
Not only does the character creation system allow enormous flexibility, it extends allowing you to completely customise your adventure along the way. Felt exposed with your build in that last encounter? Then decide to take up a new skill, weapon or spell - whatever appeals to you. If you want to be a mage in heavy armour that is effective with bows then the choice is yours. There is also a massive range of non playable characters waiting for you to interact with - however you desire. The good, the bad and the indifferent are all options at your disposal. If you like that feeling of your heart racing uncontrollably then you will most likely experience this multiple times throughout the story line or off on one of the fulfilling side quest lines. I am still working through therapy after a dragon surprised me whilst innocently wandering the fields picking herbs and almost swallowed me whole.
Once I had chosen my character I was completely immersed and particularly enjoyed the breadth of the world, the complexity of the story, and the numerous choices at my disposal and the subtle dark humour evident throughout the game. Skyrim lures you in with multiple options within its character system and a varied story line giving it excellent replay value that will not disappoint both those experienced with RPG's and those dipping their toes in. I read a lot of reports of the bugs with skyrim but in over 100 hours play through I only locked up once and this was during an extended session. What more to say?
Bring on Elder Scrolls 6!