Skyrim, the first many hours with you were pretty fun. But alas, so much hardcoe gaming has made me a critic, and there's something about this game that doesn't sit well with me.
I do enjoy this game, this isn't hate just criticism.
Skyrim is a huge, beautiful world that demands you run across every inch, but remember the old saying, "Beauty is only skin deep?" I think this is the problem with Skyrim. The combat isn't stellar, it's easily exploited and beaten by a player like myself so raw gameplay isn't enough to keep my chips in the pot. The story (main, guilds, sides) isn't gripping nor are they long enough to develop any sense of true involvement in the roles that you're set to play. Another issue for me, between loading times, sheer size and uninteresting dialogue, it feels like this game is just killing time until it gets to a scarce moment where it's truly cool. I think Skyrims problem is that it's too big. Beth wanted it to be made accessible to anyone, and they did in a brilliant way, but as a guy who's played many games, I don't feel TES V: Skyrim appeals to the hardcoe gamer.
In my opinion, Skyrim is for new or casual gamers, and i've outgrown that. So thanks for the good times, but this game will be shelved after I get 1000 gamerscore.
EDIT: i only mentioned gamerscore because it's my last goal for this game, after that there's nothing for me to come back to. I don't get games for achievements
REEDIT: IT'S NOT ABOUT THE GAMERSCORE. The last bit made me sound like an achievement [censored], sorry, but this is about taking a look at skyrim from a critic's perspective.

The irony of your last sentence disgusts me sir.

I have finished everything I set out to accomplish, but like every other TES... DLC/expansions will bring me back just as much as boredom will.

I disagree with you, but I appreciate thought being put into your post, and not just mindlessly bashing.

Sorry that it didn't work out for you in Skyrim.

i was just going to say the same

Yep, sorry to hear it.

I

I didn't realize "Gamerscore" was what defined "serious" gamers....

lol i knew i'd get a little hate. but i'm close to hitting all the achievements so that's my last skyrim goal. i do love this game though, i just don't think it holds up under a magnifying glass

I play games quite a bit in my spare time, and i've always enjoyed all the TES games and have continued to play them for years.

Skyrim is no different for me but i will say this, most of the things you said in your post... well lets just say many many people have already said the same exact thing lol

I hope you do find a game that grips you tho, some people will like a game some won't.

I disagree I feel like I almost done but I alway find something new and with DLC,add-ons there be alot more stuff to in the game later.

EDIT
sorry you didn't get what you wanted out of the game.

that is what I was thinking I remember a time where gamer scorers and achievements did not exist the good old days

I agree with your reasons, just not the whole post and mainly the gamerscore. I wasn't fond of Oblivion but I didn't get bored as quickly with it as I did Skyrim. Been playing TES for 10 years and now it seems to draw to an end for me. The series now appeals to the newer gamers and there is nothing wrong with that, Just not for me. Only way I would play Skyrim anymore is to mod it out like I did Morrowind and Oblivion.

mods would be nice. i'm a 360 gamer though, and i don't achievement [censored], i only have three games complete and 56000+ gamerscore. I think TES should be everyone's first RPG. It really is amazing the first time you play

I'd ahve to say that I agree with your sentiments, espicely the part about it being designed to draw in the casual gamer... which was a good buisness move to be honest, I've met quite a few people who couldent figure out Oblivions mechanics and were turned off from persuing the game... but its not necessarily the experiance I'd choose for the game.

That being said I'm still really enjoying Skyrim... and think its a great game.

I totally agree TES games are great.

I agree with the OP... minus the gamerscore part (sorry OP ). Skyrim... just lacks something and I believe that something is depth. It looks great on the surface and the first few hours really give off a great first impression... but then it just doesn't go anywhere. Reputation doesn't build, choices don't present themselves, the writing is nothing special, stories never really take off, factions prove themselves underwhelming, and it's just more of the same dungeon-diving for the same underwhelming rewards. It gets old... fast. The base template is there, but for whatever reasons, Bethesda never really built upon it and while it seems like there's a lot to do, so much of it fails to deliver upon actually arriving to it.

On another note, the technical issues... eh... they're just bad. My point with this is I think, in a way, they may have rushed Skyrim and it shows in both the game's technical quality and content quality, but regardless, certain design choices also wouldn't have been improved upon even if given more time because at its core, Skyrim unfortunately, does not seem to me as though it's trying to be an RPG with any depth... just more and more shallow and unrewarding linear content.

I'm still giving it a go, have come to accept the flaws in it and try to look to the good parts. Also, hope like hell modders can get it close to what the more traditional RPGer appears to want. My worry is the next TES is even further away from the RPG and that the only avenue for the type of play you had in Morrowind or Oblivion is MMORPGs(which also went south in the last few years)....

Thank you for giving it some perspective.

Yeah well said the story is just plain bad.Bethesda could learn a thing or two from CDProjekt on how to develop a good narrative that branches in different direction.Another big issue i have were side characters well the lack of any decent ones compare this to characters from The Witcher 2 Triss,Vernon Roche,King Henselt it is light and day they add so much depth to a game.

Gamerscore? Achievements? That's the goals that are being set for games like this? Those things have absolutely zero bearing on anything IMO.

I play for the enjoyment of creating a customized character and letting him or her tell me a story. I can promise you it has nothing to do with nor will ever do with some silly achievement. The ONLY game that caused me to even pay attention to them was the ME series. It's only because there were unlockables. Things that could change the gameplay up a little for future playthroughs. If not for that they would be totaly ignored like the rest of them.

Just a little thought on 'casual' games : Ocarina of Time is a pretty damned casual experience, doesn't stop it being a wonderful game.
Is Skyrim actually being judged for what it is, or only being held up against previous Elder Scrolls titles? That's what happened to Oblivion, and Morrowind in it's time. I appreciate Skyrim has stripped down character profiles, but at least some choices are required, not necessary at all in the games previously.
Just to be fair and balanced, most lacking area : world not recognising your actions, and lack of consequence. That I am not arguing with, 2 or 3/10 must do better. If it felt as though you were making a difference, the world of npcs, towns and factions might feel as alive as the landscape.

Skyrim does lack depth, and I find it become repetitive too quickly as well.

It isn't the world, the world is beautiful and the dungeons are original and it is worth exploring each time.

It also isn't the combat system, it isn't perfect but it is more than enough for me. Combat is a means to an end for me anyway (I also liked Morrowind's combat).

The problem is that there isn't any interesting things to do besides exploring. Quests are simplistic and very uninteresting. None of the guilds' storylines could also capture my attention.

It is made worse by the quantity of the guild quests. Morrowind had 11 guilds each with 25-35 quests. Skyrim has 4 guilds each with 8-10 quests.

So I find myself having done all the guild quests and without guilds there isn't anything that I can hold on too as I progress my character. Exploration still holds a few places of interests but without any 'ending (guild completiion)' to work towards it just feels meaningless.

So the world is still big enough to make this another 200+ hours game, but the quests lack quality and quantity. I'm not sure who all left before Skyrim's development but Bethesda needs better quests designers and storytellers.

SLAYER11496, As a hardcoe gamer who spent a over a thousand dollars on a gaming PC that will take on any new HD quality games I must say that I disagree with your POV. Skyrim is very well acceptable for a hardcoe gamer, and not just for casual gamers.

I do agree with you that the game storyline isn't all that great. Beth could improve it by getting better writers, and as far as the voices goes... I am getting tired of being surrounded by limited vocabulary robots NPC's who keeps repeating themselves over and over again. This game definitely has some flaws but overall this game is very good, and this is coming from a very strict critic too.

If gamesas is serious about improving the quality of skyrim then they would be going to websites like skyrim nexus and hiring some of the best modders, and help make the game be better.

I am looking forward into getting the expansion.

I agree, but i never can get immersed in this for it's lack of depth. I'm kind of sad that it's hard to RP in this game and get what you want out of it. All the achievements is like goodbye six

I mostly agree and have made the same points myself it's fun but once the newness and eyecandy wears off it's just another RPG that could have been great even Epic but has to many problems with story and characters to get there. I remember playing Mass Effect and becoming a Spectre and got chills . This game just doesn't have those kind of moments . Becoming a Nightingale is the closest thing so far but really didn't have the same impact. I could go on with all the really great moments that Mass Effect had as well as DAO but those that have played them know what i'm taliking about. I like Skyrim and it is a fun game but Beth did not hit it out of the park a solid triple though. Having said all that this game does bring ALOT to the table and is the new standard for RPG's in terms of realism combat and graphics. These developers have got to quit dumming down our RPG's though or there going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg so to speak.

The biggest failing point of the game IMO is the creatures. A game of this scope and hours of gameplay demands a large variety of creatures with different styles and attacks. Almost every creature in Skyrim uses melee, bows or destruction spells. (I'm up to level 45 and that's true for me anyway.) Even Dragons hardly ever use shouts other than their breath weapon.