A supurb example of classic 1st person role playing.
Superior graphics, intuitive control, deep customization, mature and interesting plots (scores of them), moral choices, huge explorable world, and elevating yet appropriate difficulty are just some of the myriad features you'll experience in this game.
The class, race, and other choices you'll make (even choosing your birthsign has significant impact on the gameplay) are far reaching and, unbelievably, have me considering another run from the beginning to play with perks associated with other character classes.
You feel like your character. When you master destructive or conjuration magic, you actually feel accomplished, and your in-game life becomes easier. You quickly develop your own play style, and use your skills to complement your character.
The only downsides are somewhat repetitive sub-plots, increasingly long load times (fixed with clearing the xbox cache), and steep equipment curve (you'll struggle for the first dozen hours for 1000 gold, then be overflowing with it at the higher levels).
Some of the skills are disproportionally difficult to raise, questionably so. But these are minor complaints for a game which has in some ways, redefined the genre.
I look forward to the sequel.