I am so glad I finally started playing Skyrim, a game that is over ten years old. It is so masterfully developed with all the gaming elements that I can only think of one word to describe it, a Masterpiece.

Before I started playing the game I did a Google search for videos and found a popular young Canadian guy talk about the re-released version for Xbox Series X. He said one thing that gave me all I needed to know, in his gamer enthusiasm he did a quick run through and I could tell he was thrilled, saying something like all he could think about was how much there was in this game to do. I’m discovering that very thing.

This past weekend I played for way too many hours as “Spiritual Opium” took hold of me and I made a constant stream of new discoveries. Thanks for my exploiting the wealth that can be created by the Hendraheim mannequin glitch, I’ve been able to enjoy many luxuries that would take someone playing at a much higher level. For example, I purchased a complete set of Ebony Plate Armor (see below) and jacked it up with the Enchantments I wanted most.

That’s me in full Ebony Plate Armor without the helmet. The headpiece I’m wearing grants me 30% greater Archery.

That’s me in my full Ebony Plate Armor aboard “Horse With No Name” in his finest armor.

BTW, I’m still playing at “Adept” (Easy) and I’m at level 36 for now. I feel slightly guilty about playing at a low level even though I’ve exploited a fortune in gold. I’m using this playthrough to gain an understanding of Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Enchanting, Weapons, Armor, and to a lesser extent I’ve begun learning about Magic.

Alchemy is daunting, it permits you to combine hundreds of ingredients and make hundreds of potions and other compounds. THAT alone is an awesome undertaking because–for me–most of those compounds are useless. Maybe I just haven’t figured out how to use them all effectively yet, but for someone interested in exploring all the possibilities it is probably quite enjoyable.

Then there’s Blacksmithing which is far easier to understand but to get the most out of your weapons and gear, you need to apply Enchantments. This gets tricky because at a low level, even when using potions to enhance both operations, you don’t get the strongest items. And I’m not even at the level where I can forge Ebony items, so I have to buy them. I’m probably nowhere near discovering the strongest of the metals to work with, but I recently found armor pieces made from dragon parts, so there’s prolly much great discoveries to make.

I’ll probably set my gameplay to the next higher level soon, but for now I’m still simply captivated by the story and lore. And concerning the story, it is enhanced so much by the voice actors who portray the characters throughout Skyrim.

Praise to Max von Sydow who passed in 2020 at the age of 90!

I just checked and master actor Max von Sydow did several of the really great parts. I recognized his voice from “Three Days of the Condor”. Touches like this makes the great games so much greater. Like in Fallout 4, we had “Wonder Woman” Linda Carter playing the part of Magnolia who sings at The Third Rail.

Oh, before I forget: Tundra Homestead became far too dangerous for my adopted kids, so I took them back to Breezehome for the foreseeable future.