Skyrim sets the stage for the civil war questline immediately, beginning with the player-character riding in a cart along with Ulfric Stormcloak towards an execution to be carried out by the Imperial military governor, Tullius. More importantly, because the quest mostly fails to integrate with the game's other plotlines, it feels overly inflexible and misses some great opportunities. Primarily, although the quest successfully conveys the social importance of the conflict and the philosophical differences between the sides, it fails to make the war a vibrant part of the setting or provide a feel for the military differences between the two armies. There is much to admire in the way this quest is set up, but as a world element and gameplay series it falls short in several respects. In the spirit of getting the bad news out first, however, I want to discuss the game's secondary quest, concerning the civil war between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks led by Jarl Ulfric of Windhelm. Skyrim is a huge and uneven game, and I will be discussing many of its high points.
