From an avid RPG fan and a Elder Scrolls player since Daggerfall
you liked Morrowind? you liked the feeling of wonder you got exploring dungeons that sometimes had unique twists and treasures? it's here... you liked the more refined combat system in Oblivion? it's back... and 10 x better (though still lacking).
Did you hate the way Oblivion's enemies scaled? i know i did.. and that's long gone.
Skyrim may seem overwhelming, even to an elderscrolls fan, when you enter. But play for about an hour ( i recommend on Expert difficulty the difficulty is perfect in my opinion) and you will get the same thrills you got from Oblivion and Morrowind with a twist that puts this game over the top. The perk system is possibly the best addition to Elderscrolls to date. This is exactly what Bethesda needed to up the ante and put themselves on TOP of all other RPGs out there to date. Just skimming through you will realize how DEEP things can get in terms of character customization as you level up, seriously, they are amazing. Also introduced are random unique item drops. I'm not exactly sure how they work, i have not found one yet, but they are there. some perks even increase the chances of finding these random treasures. this is a great addition also, lack of unique items in oblivion was a pet peeve for me.
Spells and potions in past Elderscrolls games were lack-luster... This is not the case in skyrim. the spells are AWESOME. what you'd expect a spell to be/look like, it's there.... such as Blizzard... creates a windy field that throws debris and heavy snow inflicting frost damage, appropriately. Who didn't love Morrowind's soundtrack??? that's right, no one. it was short, but awesome. Well guess what, they've brought back tracks from the Morrowind score and god damn, i love Bethesda.
as for the guilds/main story. take a guess as to how that will be....
... and this review is barely skimming the surface, i know they are more features i have yet to discover as i have not even played enough to uncover, but these additions/improvements alone make Skyrim the best elderscrolls game, if not the best RPG ever made.
as for gamespots review....
you can lose "immersion" by having to take a **** while playing, the bugs are expected. there has never been a game of this size completely free of bugs. If they wanted full set of animations and actions on every NPC during conversations/events, this game would have taken an entire decade. Don't listen to them. this is the best rpg of all time