Skyrim is the most dumbed down version of Elder Scrolls thus far. Its also go the richest world and deepest immersion thus far.
No way to tell in advance if someone will like it or not.
I'm going to add Skyrim to this list: because it is going to ruin my life!
Here's my two cents for those sitting on the fence about it, and this coming from someone that generally dislikes TES games:
Great:
Environment--gorgeous, immersing, music, character models--everything about this game is a wonder to behold
Dungeon design--so far, I haven't seen any re-hashed models. Many are quite unique, and the only interiors that are copied, so far, are a few of the taverns (so what?) and some of the "petty Jarl" houses. Not a big deal.
Combat--excellent. Two handed to sword and shield--very effective, very involved. No simple hack and slash.
Questing and missions: It's a TES game--so it is great if you love it, horrible if these drag on you
Cons:
--Inventory system: this encompasses many, many levels of stupendous failure. a very consolized interface that is essentially worthless for PC. It wouldn't be as bad if some of the features weren't completely broken--i.e, inability to actually save specific weapon sets to hotkeys (dual wield and one-handed with shield will not save when going from a magic hand and back; and sometimes will unequip your weapons).
In fact, some of that, I think, is improved by what most PC players hate: "streamlining" I'm glad that they got rid of the pants and such, especially for simple non-armor clothes. Helps to cut down on the clutter, but not by too much.
Leveling--I'm mixed about this. Definitely dumbed down tremendously for an ES game--no attribute points per level, simply a choice of HP, MP, or Stamina (determines frequency of power moves in combat, running, carry weight). then, you get a perk at each level among all the skill categories (not really dumbed down). No leveling from fighting--only from increasing he level of each skill class. And in that, it appears to me that skill class level does nothing, on its own, to improve those skill classes--it simply grants you access to better perks within that class. This bothers me somewhat...
However, I rather welcome ditching the attribute points and making this a bit simpler. The game is already deep and complex mechanically, and this helps to keep you moving on. This is one of those aspects of TES games that always gave me some tremendous anxiety. To the point where I simply quit.
Anyway, I think many fans of TES that complain about Oblivion being dumbed down, will be greatly annoyed by the leveling system, and certainly the inventory. FOr someone like me, however, it has actually made the game playable (well, except for the inventory and game interface). Hopefully some of these things will get patched and updated (completely boggles my mind that there is no Bethesda fix for the broken weapon hotkeys--this Q menu for "favorites" that they use is indeed an abortion of design. considering that you essentially need to put all of your shouts, and several different weapon types in there--the fact that hot keys are broken, you constantly access this to re-equip a shield or off-hand weapon) Only one shout equiped at a time...bleh.
I did have to re-map shouts to the C key, as the Z key is, well, terrible. I don't have a 6th finger protruding from the palm of my left hand. Maybe the designer at Bethesda in charge of this does, but making z the default for that makes no sense. And, of course, mapping it to a new key, I find serious lag in getting my shout to work...in battle of course.
SO yes: AWESOME GAME, a bit buggy and clunky, but certainly worth it.