Thank God and Talos we still have an Open World, a huge open world. Everything built, bartered or copied these days is getting cheaper, but the Open world in Elder Scrolls is still there. Even my cat's scratch pad just got flimsier cardboard, and many new releases of major game titles are in a race to see how short game-play can be and still sell the product. They've proven the public will almost buy anything. There are games completed in a afternoon, not weeks, and I'm glad Bethesda still offers a real product.

The music score is still true and with the original artist, Jeremy Soule. Sticking with him showed class by Bethesda. Without him, well, I don't like to think about that. I won't feel the same about Elder Scrolls; it may not be Elder Scrolls. The music is the backbone of the experience. They stayed true.

The actual gameplay, despite various criticism, is consistant with the series and satisfying. There are letdowns, amongst them the lack of the specialties like chameleon and extra movements like acrobatics and high speed (on consoles) But they left enough and improved some, and the experience is acceptable. That magic choice took a huge hit is disapointing. I can't use a heavy weapon if I choose light armor without a damage penalty- I could see a penality with using the heavy armor, but in weapons weighing a pound apart? There was no penalty in Oblivion or Morrowind, if you could swing it it was yours. And someday we really need to be able to fight on horseback.

Guild questlines are shorter, but there are many questlines, so that's a matter of choice.

I think the only way Bethesda can satisfy the devoted will be to offer a two or even three track game play, like the hardcoe vs regular introduced in Fallout New Vegas. Thus the purists will not be offended by 40 foot leaps through the air, or running all day long on a single ham sandwich. Many of the losses came from us- that's right- Bethesda listened. There's a reason we can't jump, or make our own spells; someone told Bethesda they did not like these and broke their 'immersion'. If Guild questlines are too short today it's because someone didn't like the longer versions last time around, be that from a casual player or rabid eclectic.

With the possible exception of PS3, the glitches have been minor for most and corrected for many. I hope Bethesda does not trust a computer to run tests of their next product but hires me instead.

Alternative game play tracks, choosen at the beginning, could answer many criticisms. But Skyrim is a job well done.
At some point Bethesda can't listen to fans because fans disagree, and they have to build a game they themselves would like to play. They have done that.

Cool, but I just thought of an irrelevant question:

Is it safe to install Skyrim into my 360's HDD now?

Hope someone can answer.

I did on day one.

Yes but I mean after patch 1.3 alas nevermind, off-topic.

Open world is ok, wasn't expecting any less (if they had left the open world out there would've been nothing of TES left on this game).

environments, gritty people die and no one knows about it, environments, music but Jeremy did the Music not beth lol ;p

Yes, it could be a mistake for anyone, any one person, to have too much control over the franchise- even Todd Howard. But we don't know, do we?
Was it arbitrary to remove chameleon? Acrobatics? We don't know the process. I've read Howard's word is the final one. Someone I respect said, "Bethesda listens to the wrong people, they've always listened to the wrong people."

If that's the case, then we're lucky so much Elder Scrolls is still there and as good as it is.

I am hoping other companies start competing and offering alternatives to the Elder Scrolls. The consumer would win if we had a classic battle like that between DC and Marvel through the 70's and 80's.

(edited for grammar)

The races look distinctive and original compared to generic fantasy.

1. Love the music. It's wonderful. Sound design is pretty much great too.
2. The scope, attention to detail and sheer size of the gameworld.
3. Artt direction is a smash hit most of the times. College of Winterhold being a notable exception. On the other end of the spectrum , we have Black Reach, which is simply stunning.

One thing which is not often mentioned is physics. I have been impressed by how good physics are in this game. So,

4. Physics.

Graphics(not faces or shadows)
Landscape
Music
Animations(some)

The new spell animations are pretty tight. Oblivion spells all looked the same except for color which was a real drag after a while.

I was kinda hoping the technically minded would add their insight. I don't know enough about software and physics, just that it felt right.

Updated the Dwemer art design without forgetting what made it so special in MW

The Mass Effect series has done that well enough for me. Doesn't have an open world, but MMOs have a plenty open world if you just want to explore stuff.

Three things they did right

1. This world is one of the best most detailed and immersive game worlds ever created, this is why I keep coming back to this game, even with all the bugs even tho they should be fixed.

2. The characters are unique and distinctive, which is another huge plus.

3. The music is stellar.

Mister JagarThorn12 above brought up a forth plus on mine I should have included.

4. The Dwemer they are done amazing well in this game their ruins and updated art style does them justice. They are one of the rewarding and atmospheric places in this game. I also am glad I can collect their relics again. Now they just need to fix the exploding items bug in your houses so I can display them.

After playing it a bit, i actually feel like the overall state of the world, i.e. the civil war, the return of the dratgons etc. Is actually pretty well done. Especially the civil war bit, it's actually managed to make me really feel anger towards the Thalmor, when a game can actually get me emotional about it I think it's doing something right. I think it did a ton of things right..maybe they could have made some more concessions for 'veteran' players, but the same goes for Oblivion really. Overall I think it's an amazing game.

Also in Skyrim you can just go wandering and be entertained by random events, there's alot of good content as far as encounters on desolate roads and such. This wasn't the case as much in Oblivion, and hardly at all in Morrowind, though MW was good for exploration due to find ruins and unique items.

There is a lot more right with this game than what's wrong with it. But what is wrong with the game is big and causes the game unplayable at times.

The writing improved, a notch above Oblivion. I don't mean the plots, but the conversations, the interactions are more sophisticated and there is more realism.

Too Earthy? Maybe. Are there really as many corrupted and cynical people around- is that 'real'? I liked the warmth of Oblivion. But we thankfully lost phrases like the hero asking, "What evil lurks in Sancre Tor?"

I like the gameworld in general. Looks great when tweaked! I like the fact that we can now duel wield weapons and spells. I like the idea of stronger magic effects when dual casting. I like a lot of the quest-lines. I LOVE the continued ability to mod this game to your taste. Those are the GOOD things things that I can say about the game. There are tons of negatives as well but that is another topic.

The world feels great, but a lot of the stories and characters are generic. The thing that really interests me in TES is the Daedric Princes. Those guys are probably the only really uniquely created fiction that puts it away from generic fantasy. The world sometimes feels like this place abandoned by the Gods and left to fend for itself which I love.

The landscape/world in general. Still takes my breath away.

Ah yes! Forgot to add this. Good point!

I was concerned we were forgetting the good. I look around me and see a universe of crap for sale. There are products in my home that will self destruct in a set time so I will buy a replacement. Everything is either cheaper or smaller. Have you looked at a container of ice cream lately?

Skyrim is still Elder Scrolls, and Elder Scrolls is stil good stuff.

The Daedric princes became deeper, better drawn, often more evil. Well done.

Good thread! I agree.

Loved the graphics. When I first played, I loved it! And when they started talking about the Nine, i was like 'omg... this really makes me feel like i'm there'. This is coming from an obsessive Oblivion player. I really felt like this was too real for a fantasy game Even if the graphics don't match that of Crisis.