After finally deciding that upgrading my PC at this time (to play Skyrim effectively) was't worth it, I went for the PS3 version.
First thing I noticed was that this is probably sub-HD; I was immediately reminded of how GTA4 looks. Yet having said that, the game nonetheless looks fantastic and runs well. No complaints there at all.
Made a Nord character, 2 handed weapons specialist, and went with Hadvar. The VA is already mountains better than Oblivion.
I finished a couple conversational quests in the first village, all pretty standard ES fare. Then I set about forging weapons and armour, working at the saw mill, and chopping firewood for gold.
I went to this big ruin in the hills, killed some bandits and Nord undead, and received some kind of power/shout. Haven't been able to use it yet. While walking back, I encountered a relatively high level Legion 3-man patrol (the kind Hadvar warned me to avoid) who wanted $100 for something. I told them I was broke, and things regressed from there. I ended up kiting them toward a river and killing 2 with arrows. The last was a mage that, after spending all her magicka shooting bolts at me, had no defense for my warhammer. Maybe going the Legion route was a bad idea after all.
As I walked to Whiterun, I was set upon by several wolves, and an reptilian selling skooma. Told him I wasn't interested, and he said something along the lines of 'Well, you know where to find me" - I guess the middle of nowhere is a prime spot for a dealer?
Arriving at Whiterun I sprinted into a fracas between some 'Companions' and a giant guy with a hammer and a long neck. I hit him once with my bow (I ran up and smacked him with it) before he died. The Companions weren't happy about my involvement, 'You didn't need to be here' was all they could say, so I made my way into the city.
The map does indeed feel a lot smaller in terms of pure distance than Oblivion, but that's not a bad thing. While huge, there were large swaths of ESIV's map that really had nothing of interest in it, bar a crappy dungeon or a bandit camp.
Probably my GOTY.
