It's Not Just Me!!

My excuse was that I was a late starter. I was embarrassed to see that my entire friends list had long since moved on to save the universe as Commander Shepard, or to massacre maniacal midgets while searching for treasure across Pandora, while I was still getting kicked out of mead halls for shouting at locals in Tamriel's northern territories nearly a year after release. Skyrim's relentless, vice-like grip on my time refused to loosen for more than a day, occasionally letting me out for some Minecraft if I had been a 'good little Dragonborn', before reeling me back in for weeks on end.

For months I thought I was alone in my struggle, and when Resident Evil 6 busted my chains and broke me out, actually allowing me to play co-op with friends and interact with other human-beings, I thought I was finally free!

Until I bumped into an old friend on the way home from an evening of light debauchery.

During a short chat he cautiously commented that he was on his way home to play Skyrim, dubious as to whether or not I knew what it was or had even heard of it as we had never known each other as gamers and operated on different consoles (so no gamertags had ever been exchanged). At that moment I realised: there were others! In an attempt to contain my joy, I casually explained that I was still doing nothing but side quests to build up my level 50 character, inadvertently incurring a simultaneous 'geek-fit'. He told me of others who had suffered the same blight yet wore it proudly as a badge of honour rather than hiding from it in disgrace and inspired me to do the same.

After a forceful strut home I decided that I had fought it for long enough and it was time to give in to my inner callings. Flinging aside RE6 I restored the fifth  instalment of the Elder Scrolls series to it's rightful throne - the tray of my Xbox 360. To my delight, that old familiar ping neglected to tell me that I couldn't sign in to windows live, but instead plastered across the top of my screen 'You have 1 friend playing Skyrim'.

Regardless of whomever that random loner was, forget humanity! Faith in myself was officially restored.