One of the things that I have really liked about Skyrim - (amongst the many things, but that's another story...) - are the atmospherics, the sounds design is really good especially I've found on headphones.
When you're going through a fort or a cave and just the ambient sounds can genuinely put you on edge, it's brilliant.
But more than that the "everyday" noises that you hear in the world add so much to it (IMHO). It really does have an excellent atmosphere that seriously lends itself to really immersive gameplay, I mean fairplay to the designers for that, they've really put some serious thought into it.

I just spent 3.5 hours realtime in a fort, clearing it of bandits, and by the end of it *I* was worn out!

Brilliant.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I also play with headphones (have to, no speakers) and I get totally absorbed in the world, especially the forts and caves. The sound guys did a great job recording everything. Did you check out the sound devs' video diary that was made a few months before Skyrim's release? Interesting stuff.

If you play on PC then I highly recommend the sounds of Skyrim mod too. It adds a lot more to what is already there and it really blends in well with the original content. (although I have the odd case of birds singing in the corner of dungeons but that can be overlooked )

lol
I might try that, cheers.

I cant believe i never thought about using headphones! Thanks!