Skyrim is Oblivion repolished, albeit not entirely inventive. Not birthed but a modification of already existing pieces.
I am not a huge fan of open world games such as this, though I strongly enjoyed Morrowind I very easily lost interest in games like Red Dead Redemption and GTAIV (different types of open world games I know) and just managed to finish Oblivions main story line and main side quest branches.
Skyrim to me though, is a tad too similar to Oblivion. I didn't find the world entirely engrossing, nor the lore or its main storyline. The structure has remained much the same, there is a main story line, but off the beaten path there are a series of quests surrounding various guilds and such. The other smaller quests are mostly less involving with few exceptions.
I played a stealth archer type character, and heres where the game is kept afloat, by an ambitious flexible leveling, and combat system. Like the Witcher 2, leveling up is not usually just a simple stat boost, but a whole new component to use in combat. I enjoyed it, though I found combat no matter what style tended to wear thin after long hours and couldn't withstand the trekking of the games massive world.
And this world, though it looks good, is very consistent in feeling, this feeling is a sort of dreariness. onset by smudged grays harsh blues and dark greens and not much else. I understand that skyrim is supposed to be darker, but this can be achieved without straining out all the color. Luckily strong textures for such a large game, and art design somewhat compromise this issue.
(Review to be continued..)