If you've got kids, a busy work schedule or any prior social commitments - you probably shouldn't even consider touching Skyrim. Seriously, don't even look at the game case - that's all it needs to suck you in and spit you out hundreds of hours into the future. Taking up the role of the so-called Dragonborn isn't simply a decision you can make on a whim. Once you've lovingly crafted your character and escaped the clutches of your Imperial jailers - it's already too late to the put the controller down. Like with all good open-world RPGs, taking your first tentative footsteps through the snow in Tamriel's frigid continent are both exciting and frighteningly daunting. Opening the map for the first time is like walking into a ice cream parlour and being asked which of the five trillion flavours you'd like as part of your three scoops - it's almost impossible to choose, let alone experience every single option. You have to start somewhere though. If you're efficient, you'll probably down Skyrim's story mode and give Alduin a spanking in less than one-hundred hours, but as any Elder Scrolls fan will tell you - that's just the beginning of your journey. Get going, those hundreds of dungeons aren't going to explore themselves.