This is definitely a legit position (not that you need my permission to have an opinion) but in the context of Bethesda games in general, I felt like it represented real progression. New Vegas had some interesting storyline choices to make, but really it boiled down to two good choices with no downside (Independent or NCR Vegas) or two evil choices with no upside (House rules Vegas, Caesar conquers Vegas.) Fallout 3 had even less variation; you decide early on whether or not to nuke Megaton and then that's basically it. Oblivion mostly ran on rails.

It was nice to see Skyrim take a step forward from that. If you're invested in the game and the universe (as opposed to someone who plays Bethesda games for the purpose of picking some random dudes house and filling it to the brim with every single plate and cup in the game) the Civil War questline is a really hard call to make and there's no obvious "Yes, this decision is good and right and properly heroic and will bring peace to all the peoples" choice. Some problems are bigger than even the Dragonborn, and even someone who slays the World-Eater and bargains successfully with the Daedra sometimes has to make do as best they're able to.

Mind you, if Skyrim had been a different sort of game, I might think differently. But the setting itself has that weird norse/germanic saga thing going on, where in any given story you never know if the hero is going to slay the monster and become King and everything is awesome forever, or if they'll be betrayed by their trusted companions and die in a forsaken hole somewhere while their unquiet shade wanders the world seeking a vengeance that will never come, the end. Given that context, I like that there's no easy out; you can't just become thane of all the holds and kill Ulfric in an honorable duel and conquer Solitude and become High King yourself. The easy wins come from defeating Alduin, Harkon, and Miraak. After that, things get messy.

-Merc
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