The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a big game. Players will want to save their progress along the way. And this is apparently causing players problems on the PS3 and making some call the game "broken".

After Skyrim gamesave files surpass 5MB in the PS3 version, many claim to experience lag and stability issues. "Such as framerate issues, poor rendering, shoddy loading and non interactions fro finishing quests/cutting wood etc," wrote gamer PurpleHaze on the game's official forums.

"I can't finish ANY quest and i can't buy from ANY trader/npc and i can only talk to them after some laggy button pressing," continued PurpleHaze. So my gamesave is now 6mb (how i don't know since i couldn't buy/sell/talk or complete quests) and the LAG and framerate issue is so bad at this point, the game isn't worh restarting."

PurpleHaze, whose issues started after hitting 5.3MB, isn't alone, with other players experiencing similar slowdown once their save files pass the neighborhood of 5MB~6MB (some are reporting problems after reaching 10MB).

"My file size is growing constantly, and fast," wrote player AMG on the game's forums. "It's already well over 3mb in size and I've only played for 3hrs."

The current fix is to restart the system, which makes Skyrim playable. However, after an hour or two of play, the game once again apparently becomes laggy.

This issue does not seem to affect the Xbox 360 version nor the PC version. Even gamers with plenty of available PS3 hard drive space are having problems.

"It does not take long for the save file to exceed 6MB, roughly 16 hours for me, so playing the game in any sort of depth will become very troublesome," wrote Kotaku reader Toby.

In the above gallery, there is game footage of what looks like people experiencing these issues (note that they might be experiencing unrelated glitches, too). Players are calling the PS3 version "broken".

Bethesda, Skyrim's developer, is no stranger to PS3 game issues. The PlayStation 3 version of Bethesda's Fallout 3 also suffered a whole host of PS3 problems, including this.

Kotaku is following up with Bethesda and will update this post should the company comment.

PS3 Skyrim bug, needs some publicity [Reddit]

Gamesave Size Limit Lag [Bethesda Forums]

While it only takes a half hour to run from one end to another, Bethesda has packed an extraordinary world inside Skyrim's tiny space, filled with visuals sure to strike a chord in anyone that's ever contemplated the majesty of nature. Here's my favorite spot. What's yours?

I was wandering about aimlessly in an attempt to follow my blue guide arrow in a direction I wasn't supposed to go when I found myself perched precariously on the edge of a sheer cliff. For just a moment I forgot the quest I was on, the virtual people counting on me. I was captured by the sound of the wind, barely audible over the crashing of water over rocks. I gazed out over the horizon, imagining the tiny droplets of water hanging in the air about the waterfall, those cool pinpricks against my skin.

I fell in love, just a little bit.

What's amazing about Skyrim is that you might have been standing in the same place and you just don't realize it. Maybe it was dark, or stormy, or you were being chased by bandits, wolves, or dragons. That's why this is my place; the variables that brought me here are likely completely different from anyone else's.

I've shown you mine, now show me yours. Drop in a screenshot or two, or just tell us where to find it on the map. Give us a quest, and find out if we see what you see.

Our week-long celebration of the stories The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim hatches in our heads continues today with a bawdy tale of blacksmithing and berserker rage, courtesy of commenter Isangrim. Stay awhile and listen!

"Thrice damn this bastard Orcish steel!!" I cursed as the hot sweat dripped down from my brow to sting my eyes as I hammered away at a particularly troublesome pair of gauntlets.

"You need to learn some Talos-damned patience if you wish to master the Skyforge, Isangrim!" growled a particularly surly Eorlund Grey-Mane. He had been up all night drinking in Jorrvaskr, the mead hall at the center of Whiterun and no doubt his head felt as cotton filled as mine this morning.

"Here, like this, you have to feather the heat so it hits the steel at different intervals, so the temperatures differ over the surface and hammer, then do the whole thing again and again and again. Then build up the ridges in clay, fire the whole thing again and quench the steel. It's a whore's mother to get right but trust me when I say the result is worth it....speaking of a whore's mother's did I tell you about the time in that bandit camp I found..."

"Shut up you perverted old man, I wish not to hear your mythical tales of wenching while my head hurts so, and especially while I sweat like a fat woman over this forge!"

Grey-Mane just chuckled to himself as he turned back to the blades he was tempering "Whatever! Just let me know how you go whelp! And when you done there take this to that damned huntress, I swear to Talos for an archer she gets more cracks in her shield than that Housecarl of yours..."

Suddenly the sky darkened and an ear piercing roar echoed of the hills, followed by a flap of leathered wings

The shrill sound of screams filtered up from the town as a house near the market district exploded in a brilliant shower of flames. The shadow continued to pass over the city and looped around to spread destruction on one of the farms outside walls.

"Quickly Dovahkiin" uttered Grey-Mane "Grab your gear and get out to the farm, I'll go to try rouse the companions! But my guess is you're on your own". I dropped my hammer and ran to my pack in the corner, grabbing my helm and looping Frostfang, my war axe through my belt. "Wish me luck old man, Talos knows I'll need it, this one's a big bastard". Grey-Mane nodded a grunt at me as he turned heel and raced towards the mead hall

Panic was everywhere as I powered my way through the city. Buildings were charred and burning as the fire spread, all while frantic guards were trying to organise buckets to quench the hungry flames.

An old women cried out to me as I sprinted towards the gate "Save us Dragonborn!" Gritting my teeth I spurned myself onwards through the gates

In the distance I could see the dragon as it barbequed a group of oxen and a farmhand who stupidly thought standing in front of his herd would save them. I unsheathed Frostfang and steeled myself. I felt my guts tense as my mind filled with the voice I let rip a mighty shout of Whirlwind Sprint that catapulted me forwards at blinding speeds, using the speed to add weight to my swing, I drove my axe into the hind quarters of the viscous beast, and satisfyingly heard a crackle of energy as the frost enchantment attached to the blade dealt a blast of concussive cold.

The monster reared in pain, immediately kicking off and taking flight to avoid the unexpected attack. The air around my left hand started to shimmer as I silently mouthed an incantation. An orb of fire burst into being and I hurled it at the retreating dragon's back, catching it on the wing where it exploded with a volcanic fury, forcing the dragon to come crashing painfully back to Earth.

The fight was far from over though, the beast reared its great head and unleashed the full fury of its voice, sending billowing plumes of fire towards me. I was barely able to incant a spell of resist fire before the flames completely overwhelmed me, I was not quick enough to resist all of the blast and sustained a horrible burn down the side of my arm.

The Dragon leveled its gaze at me and spoke in a deep guttural voice that was so powerful it felt like trying stand against a hurricane. "Dovahkiin! You cannot possibly defeat Alduin! It is pointless to even try! You can't even defeat me! He will eat your world and there is NOTHING you can do about it!". He sent another ferocious pillar of flame my way and i struggled to keep the integrity of my spell intact. the flames died away and not an instant to late as the pressure of keeping my fire ward active became too much and I staggered to one knee.
I had to end this quickly or else I was doomed, and so too the world.

"No dragon. You are wrong! He will die, and there is nothing YOU can do. Because you are already dead". All of my training, All of my discipline, was forgotten in an instant. I became an animal or pure instinct and rage. a howl built in my throat and roared into a deafening crescendo.

"FUS!! ROH!! DAH!!!". The unrestricted fury of the shout caught the dragon square in the chest. dropping it quicker than one of Grey-Mane's fabled whores. Still with a bestial roar echoing like the sound of shattered glass and rusted Dweomer gears, I leapt above the dragon's head and drove Frostfang through the middle of the beasts eyes with so much force that the surrounding ground shattered and cracked.

An unholy wail built up around the dragon's corpse and its skin turned to fire then into a bright shimmering light. The light shimmered around me and cocooned me in its warmth. I felt the Dragon's strength become my own and my mind expanded at the new knowledge that was granted to me. The bleached bones of my fallen foe stared up at me looking dull, ancient and dead. I grasped Frostfang by the haft and pulled it free of the now brittle Dragon skull, incanted a spell of healing to mend my burnt arm and turned back towards Whiterun.

It was at this point that I realised that I had left my nearly finished Orsimer gauntlets in the fire back at the Skyforge. Oh well! Just another day in the life of a Dragonborn!

Yesterday, we had human faces disappearing in Bethesda's hit action RPG. Today, in glitch-or-feature news, it's dragon skin and sinew that's nowhere to be seen. Being nothing but a skeleton doesn't stop this dragon from putting up a fight, though.

[thanks, tipster Peter]

Skeletal Dragons in Skyrim?
[YouTube]