Skyrim's a really fun game. The gameplay loop that started in Oblivion has been refined through it and Fallout 3 and Skyrim's the first time I feel like they successfully made this gameplay loop fun. The gameplay's like, average, but it's just good enough to be fun. The magic system is way less varied, but the spells themselves are funner to use, and feel a bit more expanded on. The perk system is a welcome variation in the at this point stale leveling system of The Elder Scrolls. The world's legit got some beautiful spots, and despite being smaller than Oblivion's Cyrodil, it's masked way better, and feels more expansive (partially 'cause it has far more verticality and a whole underground world that's about a fifth of the size of the mainland; it wouldn't surprise me if this game's area was about the same as oblivion's!). The setting is also less generic, so it feels more unique. With all of that praise said, the story and worldbuilding's never been weaker, and the quests are almost invariably dull, with a few notable exceptions. If you're not a fan of the gameplay loop, this game will wear itself out on you shortly. Outside of the main quest and the main questlines (even then, some of these are boring too), the sidequests this game has to offer are really lacking. The DLC is very good though. Dawnguard's fine, but Solstheim is like a micro-version of Skyrim made by people who understand what was wrong with Skyrim. Overall, definitely a very fun game, but keep in mind that fans of Oblivion's RPG/questing elements may be disappointed by this game. Fans of its dungeon diving will be thrilled though!

Ahh, Oblivion. What can I say? This game's delightful. Fair warning, it's very generic High Medieval Fantasy, and the gameplay's very.....mediocre. But oh my god, the world is so deep. Every city, all 9 of them, has so many quests, many of them really interesting! Even the smaller sidequests! And the main questlines are all really cool and have these interesting twists and turns that actually makes you think "oh! this had a writer! maybe more..." feeling that you just, don't get with Skyrim. The magic system is expansive, and naturally restricted to the Mages' Guild, the Daedric quests are great and the rewards for them are great too. However. The gameplay really is very dull. And the gameplay loop is a proto-skyrim, meaning that it's not at ALL refined and it's usually just, not, fun, to be quite honest. ONE PERSON was responsible for every single dungeon in the game. Repetition is the name of the game. Play this with mods though, and it holds up very well! Play it vanilla, and it's a good game, albeit dated.