If I pick my race based on their looks, how gimped will I be later on (assuming they don't "match")? The Games Radar beginner guide implies that you must pick a race that aligns with your playstyle. Is it that bad? I'm not interested in min/maxing, but I don't want to find out 60 hours later that I can't finish the game with my character.

You don't have to pick a race based on your playstyle. Just about every race can be whatever you want that character to be.

You can be a heavy armor wearing, warhammer wielding sneaky orc if you so desire.

It matters very, very little. It really only really affects you first few levels of play.

The choice of race is a purely cosmetic one at this point. Anyone can just as easily be anything as the next race can.

it all depends on the players personality .

my personality suits the dark elf race

In the beginning of the game it can have a significant effect. Bosmer are obviously going to deal more damage with a bow at level 1 than a Breton would. However, later in the game these skill bonuses don't matter.

Another aspect of races are their abilities - certain racial abilities can make a fight a lot easier. Altmer, for example, have an ability to regenerate their magicka very quickly, which can be a huge help in a boss fight. Other races, such as Bosmer, may not use their racial abilities as much.

Breton and Altmer - the 'magical' races - begin with an extra spell. Bretons are able to use the 'summon familiar' spell from the very beginning of the game, and Altmer are able to use the 'fury' spell from the beginning to th game.

Finally, some races receive bonuses to their attributes - stamina, magicka and health. Altmer begin with more magicka than other races, which again is more useful earlier in the game than later.

In short, they're most useful the beginning of the game, and more often than not don't have big impacts on skills and general gameplay.

Pick what you want. What race do you enjoy looking at? Which one would you want to be for 60 hours or more?

For me, it's all in the RP aspect, so beyond that, it's not important. (bar racial ability and power)

Awesome. Thanks for the quick answer.

Attribute bonuses(altmer magicka bonus) and powers(highborn/orc berserker rage) can make a difference but skill bonuses really don't matter at all. In fact you will gain your first few perks faster if you use a race with no bonus in that area. 15-20 in a skill takes no time at all.

i find it interesting how some ppl do things or choose things in the game just for wining sake ( race, fighting style, weapons) , instead of the journey or experience . to some guys its all about getting ahead and just completing things .

im not like that

why are you listening to the Games Radar beginner guide on choices for a game that is supposed to be all about your choices

I like playing a Dark elf or Breton, I figured they both fit my personality so I can literally create any character I want out of those races.

I choose my character as if it was me..I love Skyrim and Fallout as well as New Vegas which I have really gotten into as of recent. All hail Bethesda thanks for making my life better.

Right now I am playing a http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v90/subrosa_florens/Skyrim/Skyrim220.jpg. Heavy Armor, two handed sword, and only a healing spell and oakenflesh for magic. I am having a blast!

She looks awesome.

Well since they got rid of classes and actual attributes races matter little anymore, which is quite sad.

Technically, Altmer jump 4% higher than a nord. It's not noticed however.

Except that 1st person for an Altmer is weird.

Flip a ten-sided coin and go with one, really.

That's technically a knight...

In the case for Pure Mages, it makes a huge difference early game whether or not you pick a High Elf but late game, everything blends together. I mean, racial abilities are nice but it's not that good. Exception is High Elf, Orc, and Dark Elf racial abilities. In the same order, High Elves can regenerate magicka really really fast once per day, Orcs can get a massive burst of power, and Dark Elves are resistant to flames 50%, which is the hardest hitting type of magic in my opinion.

this can either go two ways in my opinion either you are more interested which race is stronger and which classes are stronger. which goes back to my point about guys not caring about the journey and more interested in wining fast and getting ahead , or you miss the individuality that separates each race .

which is it ?
bethesda blended the system (Race,classes) together because they wanted people to be what ever they wanted whenever they wanted . i think Bethesda is trying to get the player to enjoy the journey and evolution of there character rather then wining .

but then again is or was any race or class stronger then one another in Skyrim and also in Oblivion ?

Play according to how you feel and how you enjoy your character's look, not "power-playing"
This is a game meant to be "Felt", not "Played".

I'm a fan of barbarian human "Nord" warriors in TES games!

Almost none existent, an Orc could be just as great of a mage as a Breton in the long run. There are minor perks that make some races more worthwhile than others at certain classes, but as TES series evolves, the races become more and more generic.

Quite sad, really. The race system could be a great source of providing the game with replay value, but instead they're just diminishing it's value to nothing...