The lack of classes and birthsigns bothers me because it tells me nothing of my character.
In Morrowind, I could choose a Monk character and go with the route of acrobatics, speechcraft, hand to hand and restoration. I was playing a role. I KNEW from the start what my character is good at. I KNEW what he will do in this land, how will he react, fight and explore. The birthsign gave me an extra power, an extra option. As a Monk, I'm bad at fighting, so why not choose Warrior sign? Wanna be more harder to hit, since I'm a Shaolin Monk? Ok, I will pick Thief which gives me 10 points in Sanctuary. This things were important because it made me choose a ROLE (in a role playing game!!) and it made each character unique and different from other characters.
In Skyrim, from the beginning of the game, you are a jack of all trades. You can cast any spell you like without failing. You may wield any weapon, carry any armor, make any potion, pickpocket every person. There is just no point of "restricting yourself" when you are good at everything. Why create new characters when with one guy you can be everyone and everything?

In theory I can make a jack of all trades with 100 in each skill, but it will be a lot less effective as a jack of al trades then a similar person in previous games thanks to the perks and the way they provide bonuses to your character. What I end up with is a more specialized and unique character then I had in Oblivion or Morrowind. My Assassin is good at sneaking, stealing and killing, however dress him up in heavy armor and give him atwo handed axe against an elder dragon and he will be struggling as he lacks the perks to make both heavy and two handed really useful. From the start the character generation isn't limited to this or that class, but to your imagination of your class. I play a nightblade type of assassin, he sneaks around, using Blade of Woe and some magic to help him get away from danger and control triky situations. My assassin in Morrowind and in Oblivin that also had the same starting point as I have today as a nightblade did this. The difference on my nightblade in Morrowind or Oblivion was that at high level they were jacks of all trades, it was not possible to avoid that from happening. On high level in Skyrim my nightblade is still an assassin, sure I can throw other spells, but I'm not really any useful with them. I miss the perks to make Destruction really effective, I miss the perks to make conjuration really powerful. I can heal myself, but I don't have any perks that will make my healing really good. So at level 81 I will have 100 in all skills, and he will still be an assassin. He can choose to wield a two handed axe and heavy armor, but without perks to back them up he is a lot less useful with these then a pure warrior would be. And here you have the biggest difference on previous TES games and Skyrim, while you did become as powerful as others in previous game by getting skill to 100, you will nt be able to achieve the same in Skyrim. So what starts as something that seems to end up as a jack of all trades will end up as something more unique at end levels then in previous games.

I hate it. Because of this, I might just blow my brains out. Life has no meaning anymore. If only someone made a true RPG again.

Skill trees finally added actual character development to TES. Before every character ended up exactly the same, with the only things distinguishing endgame characters from another were Birthsigns and Race, both of which are still in Skyrim.

I like the standing stones, although switching should (IMHO) have a quest associated with changing from one to another. Let the first pick be 'free' from the three stones near Riverwood.

I also like perks for exactly the same reason that Wayman stated.

To say that this game is no longer an rpg i utter crap. I've never rp'ed in any game as much as I've done in this game. The fact that you can choose everthing about your character makes for a perfect rp-experience. I've played a warrior, a thief/assassin and a mage thus far, and I can honestly say I've never had this much fun. Those of you saying this is no rp game must have a lack of imagination. All of my characters have had a purpose in the world of skyrim. The rp system in this game is so easily accessible that it makes for an easy rp adventure. I haven't put down so much time in a game since Dragon Age (although I must admit, I had more hours played in Oblivion) and it still feels fresh and exciting (unlike Oblivion and DA.)

Sorry about the rant. I'm just fed up with all the whine on this forum. Some of the whine might be justified but ever since the dawn of the internet community, everyone have shown too much critizism. Skyrim is the best game I've played since DA:O and that's saying alot.

I hope you're not replying to me.. I thought it was obvious I was being sarcastic.

I like the fact that their are no classes and birthsigns are now Standing Stones that you can choose and if you don't like one you can replace it with another.

Sometimes I really wonder whether all the 'it was better in Morrowind/Oblivion' people actually played either game that much. Birthsigns and any notion of 'class' were actually less meaningful (especially in Morrowind) in either game than they are in Skyrim. So if that is your test, then Skyrim's model is better by default.

There are some things about Skyrim that are 'dumbed down', it is a mainstream game after all, however for the most part you can just turn off your quest marker and the gameplay is just an improved version of what's gone before. I'm amazed by so many of the complaints towards the game, 90% of them don't seem based on any kind of realistic recollection of the previous games.

I weren't replying to you, I was replying to those that are overly critical about a game! When modders get their hands on this beauty I think most flaws will go away.