DraQ
Arcane
I don't think there are good RPGs when you think about it.
Tribunal, then?
Actually, as one of the most vocal pre-release haters I can say that Skyrim isn't half bad.
Sure, it has some outrageous shit - no spellmakers, spell effects cut, a lot of linearity in dungeons, no attributes, no chargen (so you're forced to start as JoAT-lite), no repair, bad weapon/armour material progression and lore, very bad pacing in the questlines and quite a bit of derpy writing too, dragons being a bit of cliffracers 2.0 (which is a bit of a personal insult for me) - but that's not all that is to it.
World, general ambience and use of graphics is much closer to MW than OB, races look distinct from each other and have Morrowindish look to them rather than looking like multicoloured cancerous tumours, NPC dialogue generally doesn't make you want to hit the interlocutor in the face with daedric warhammer (apart from guards), there is strife present in the world, there are distinct racial groups that make sense rather than everything being homogenized together (you have Khajiiti trade caravans, Argonian communities of dock workers, Orcs isolating themselves in tribal strongholds, Dunmer refugees from Morrowind and so on), world is generally darker and less derpy, most of dungeons have at least some unique accents making them memorable, there are a lot of interesting overland locations, crime system is fractured into individual holds and more refined than anything after Daggerfall, plus there are numerous random events to liven things up.
Mechanically, outrageous simplifications and dumbing down aside, Beth has finally managed to dodge late game de-specialization with their perk system and no leveling of magicka/health/stamina unless specifically invested into. The wielding system is surprisingly clever and similar to what I was proposing after Oblivion hit the fan(s), although it could use some refinement, magic system has actually inclined in few places - wards, runes, concentration spells, having to raise actual corpses with necromancy), there are some anti-grind measures in place for some skills (context checking), scaling is far less pronounced, and some weapon and armour styles are mostly placed in a way that makes sense in universe (Thalmor using elven armour, Orcs having some finely crafted orcish gear in their strongholds, dwarven stuff being often found in Dwemer ruins and so on).
It's not Morrowind, it's much less of an RPG than it should, some outtakes are just facepalm worthy given how well would they mesh with the game if they were left in (spellmaker, extra spell effects, repair, mysticism, attributes, etc.) but not only is it easily the best TES since OB (which doesn't cut it, because with only OB to compete with it would be hard for it to not be the best TES since Morrowind), but it's actually fun and enjoyable game. It also gives some hope for both TES and cRPGs in general in the future, because it's pretty evident that despite commercial success of OB, Beth got scared of pissed off MW fans and that they are still searching, albeit in a very clumsy and haphazard manner that breaks shit more often than it fixes it, for ways to improve the games, not just the profits.
Actually, I'm pretty happy with there being optional DLCs crafted specifically to milk simsfags. Anything that sequesters them and keeps them away from the rest of us is a good move.
I haven't played Dawnguard, but I fear it will become de-facto obligatory for modding reasons.
I was so proud of her when she declared: "Mama, Dragon Age 2 ist die größte Scheisse die ich je gesehen habe."
for that.
