Another disappointing descent in a favourite old-time role playing universe
The clunky consolized interface only further enforces the feeling that this is Morrowind's, and to a lesser extent Oblivion's, retarded little brother. It is a real chore to swap between sword and board, bow and healing spells even with the new "sparkling" favourites list and hotkeys. The cries of "modders will make it better" should not even be heard, it's the damn designer's job to make sure the interface is intuitive, easy to use and helps the user achieve what he/she wants to achieve. As everything is set for dual wielding, so too should the hotkeys save what both hands have, but no, that'd be logical, and we're not using that crap here. You also can't change the primary variable you want things to be listed by, so minor protip, if you really like using something, rename it so it starts with an "a".
First run through, old favourite, high elf with heavy use of destruction. Bad idea, magic has been nerfed considerably in this game. Second go, high elf assassin. Easyville. The game looks nice, but really not a great jump up from recent fallout releases or Oblivion. The elves are fugly though. Bethesda has taken a page out of dragon age 2 and made the enemies have more hit points and more likely to mob you rather than more challenging, resulting in combat being more dragged out and less satisfying than it should be. The game also has load screen fever, which only adds to hypertension from the player. The world is big, but there is no sense of wonder, no sense of achieving something grand like there was in Morrowind and Oblivion, and no real inclination to race out and explore every ruin, dungeon and cave. The main quest is short, and unfortunately is the first one I've raced to using godmode, shame the ending is so anticlimactic, it's almost like you are getting a pat on the head and told to go play elsewhere so you don't annoy the big people.
In the end, this is very much like oblivion, with a clunky interface, less choice and freedom on behalf of the player and combat that is even more tedious than that of oblivion's. It is also the first elder scrolls I won't be playing until I literally have no quests left to do, indeed now I've seen the end of the main quest I can't bring myself to load it up again. I'm disappointed by Skyrim, to say the least.