If any of your friends disappear for the next few weeks, go ahead and blame Skyrim. Created by Bethesda Softworks and released today (11/11/11!), Skyrim is the latest installment in The Elder Scrolls, a series of beloved role-playing video games dating back to 1994. This new game already has earned rave reviews– including a few perfect scores– for its lavish landscapes, sprawling story, and tense action sequences. For the next 30 to 300 hours of game time, you can probably find your vanished friend questing in Tamriel, a magical and medieval continent populated with monsters, dragons,  …and Capitals P.A. Announcer, Wes Johnson.

Wes's son Sam, me, and Wes

In addition to calling goals, Johnson is a veteran of stage, screen, and radio– lending his talents to works like John Water’s delightfully twisted A Dirty Shame, the cartoon Phineas & Ferb, and that classic Ovechtrick commercial. He’s appeared at a bazillion Capitals promotions, performed stand-up comedy, and worked radio with the legendary Wolfman Jack.

Since 2002′s Morrowind, Wes has been lending his voice to the Elder Scrolls series. He’s been an assassin, a master thief, an announcer at a gladiatorial arena, a mad god, and the freaking guards who bust you if you pick someone’s pocket in-game.

I tagged along with Wes to the midnight release of Skyrim at a GameStop in Vienna. Wes brought a platter of cheese (you had to be there) for the throng occupying the store. He answered questions, signed games, posed for photos, and generally held court with nearly one hundred enthusiastic fans. We discussed Skyrim, the overlap between calling goals and voice acting, and fighting his sons for the right to play the game.

I’ve been playing Skyrim since I uploaded this video, and it’s already sucking away my will to do anything else. The world of the game has a vibe a bit like Game of Thrones (sweet.), and the character customizations available are immense. It weaves a compelling story from the very first minute …and then it’s only a handful more before the first dragon shows up. I recommend it.

Skyrim is out today for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Windows PCs. You can follow Wes on Twitter at @WesJohnsonVoice. You can buy my red hoodie at Wal-Mart.

So NHL 11, the new hockey game by EA Sports, has been officially released to the world as of … right… now. If you’re like me, you either pre-ordered it weeks ago (like last year) or are planning to pick it up today at Best Buy immediately after work. Over the past decade, I’ve bought the game religiously on the first day of its release. And at first play every year, I’ll pick up the controller, sit through the opening credits, love the new gameplay and then get childishly furious at one of the minor details that are off. You know, like the rosters will be wrong (i.e.- Nicklas Backstrom‘s on Brynäs IF of the Swedish Elite League but not on Washington), Green Day will be on the soundtrack (ugh), or the PA Announcer repeatedly mispronounces Alexander Semin‘s name (the really, really wrong way).

Anyways, if you share in my excitement, let’s try something fun this year, shall we? If you’re going into the store and buying the game today, I encourage all of you to take pictures and tell us all about your first experience with the game in the comments below or on the hashtag #RMNBNHL11. And please, please complain about any minor thing that’s off. Like we’re a bunch of pedantic beta testers.

Let’s see how this goes, but try and make me proud. I’ll even give a free t-shirt to somebody if they come up with something truly epic. Like submitting a photo of yourself doing the hot stick celebration with the game box or checking the GameStop employee over the counter. Game on!