Yahtzee’s review is out. He hits on a few good points, namely shops never having enough gold. I’ve got so much dungeon loot sitting in my houses because the shops couldn’t afford them. My own personal annoyance is cheap little bastards running out of nowhere to pick off the last sliver of your heath after a dragon fight. Giants are particularly bad for this.
On Empire vs. Stormcloak, I’ve played both through to the end and have decided that Empire is the way to go. A few reasons;
[spoiler]General Tullius’ comment at the end of the Stormcloak campaign - “You realise, this is exactly what they want.” Divide et imperia - it’s clear from that Thalmor Judiciar in their embassy that the peace is going to be temporary, and every knows it. A relatively unified Empire (without Black Marsh and with a nuked Morrowind, but still) got an absolute pasting last time, losing a great many legionaries. An Empire that is just a battered Cyrodiil, half of a resentful Hammerfell and High Rock is going to be easy pickings. The Thalmor aren’t going to stop with Skyrim, especially now that Stormcloaks are so vocal about Talos. Once the Empire has regained its strength, Talos becomes a moot issue. If it doesn’t, it’s also moot. The White-Gold Concordat was the only way to save the Empire - the Emperor had rejected the same terms 5 years earlier.
You Stormcloaks are all racist! Look at Windhelm, their capital. Refugee Dunmer are treated as second-class citizens and kept in a ghetto. Argonians aren’t allowed in the city at all. One of the citizens in Windhelm, forget who, makes Ulfric’s attitude clear - when misfortune befalls a Nord, he is the first to help. Anyone but a Nord and he doesn’t give a toss. Say what you like about the Empire, they are an inclusive bunch.
Ulfric is a bit of a prat. Before he started shouting about Talos, Nords were still able to worship him. But a protruding nail gets hammered down, and now Thalmor Judiciars wander Skyrim thanks to his bleatings. He also wandered straight into an ambush just before the start of the game - if not for Alduin he’d have been worm-food. A man who fails against a failing Empire…he’s the best hope against the Thalmor? He lacks the tactical and strategic finesse. Talk to his number two, who claims that they’ll take the fight back to the pointy-eared bastards with no thought towards supplies or casualites. The Legion is a trained, disciplined force. He also murdered the High King for his own ego - Elisif says that her hubby would have listened to his council, but he went straight in with a one-side Shouting match sparking a civil war at the worst possible time. The rebellion and its cause are just an excuse for Ulfric to make his move.
Whiterun. It felt better defending Breezehome against rebels than turning against the city and attacking it. “…and you, a Stormcloak? I thought better of you.”
Useful documents to make your mind up: The Thalmor Dossier: “…obviously Ulfric’s death would have dramatically increased the chance of an Imperial victory and thus harmed our overall position in Skyrim.”
The Great War:
“The entire remaining Imperial force was gathered in Cyrodiil, exhausted and decimated by the Battle of the Red Ring. Not a single legion had more than half its soldiers fit for duty. Two legions had been effectively annihilated, not counting the loss of the Eighth during the retreat from the Imperial City the previous year. Titus II knew that there would be no better time to negotiate peace, and late in 4E 175 the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion signed the White-Gold Concordat, ending the Great War.”
[/spoiler]
The Empire is far from perfect, but the Stormcloaks are worse. The Empire is Law. The Law is Sacred. Praise be Akatosh and all the Divines!
And I don’t even care what gods or daedras they’re worshipping.