Skyrim may not win here even though it's the best game by far.
By far? LOL.
Skyrim, objectively lacks so many things that should have been in it for it to even compete with casual games that aren't even RPGs, like Assassin's Creed series or Arkham City or what have you.
Also, some will be so jealous that it's an American-made AAA title that they'll vote against it in a pique.
WUT.
That sounds like the kind of thing only an American would think/say.
None of what you posted was fact, it was opinion.
[+] Shitty AI that gets itself killed is not an opinion, it's a fact that can be reproduced by anyone. AI is poor. They do stupid stuff to get themselves killed. They don't even have the basic self-preservation built into them to seek for cover when a dragon comes breathing the entire yard. They fight like stupid and die like stupids. You can't even sneak properly in a dungeon with a follower because the moment your follower sees an enemy, he will go at it even if to run into a mob of the toughest Draugrs or whatever. It's only a fact that the AI is plainly and utterly dumb. It's also incapable of tactics or even simple navigation during combat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3kSmdX9gJA
There isn't even a proper state of alertness to regulate their preparedness. You kill an NPC in a dungeon in front of another one. He seeks an assailant for a while then decides that "it must have been nothing". Well, how about you start walking around a little more alert and prepared against a hostile? Your buddy just died in front of you. Assassin's Creed (to give a contemporary example) series does that far better to a certain degree.
Even Baldur's Gate had better AI, a game 10+ years old. For an AI with
some tactical ability and marvellous navigational abilities in 3D, see Assassin's Creed series. Now if only combat didn't become easier by each instalment.
[+] Physics bugs that randomly kill you for no reason is not an opinion, it's a fact that can be reproduced by anyone. Clutter items that lie around can kill you because you stepped on it or hit on them. I've died simply running through a dungeon and stepping over a piece of bone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiZq_bMYUvk
[+] Severe crashing issues is not an opinion, it's a fact that can be reproduced. There were and still are various bug that can terminate your game. Severity, of course, vary from one system to another but they exist. Some people, like me, are lucky and don't experience any but a lot of people do.
[+] That it's built for hardware that is 4 years out of date is not an opinion, it's a fact. It's built for consoles, after all. And it's practically the same engine since Oblivion and the quality level of game assets haven't gone up by any significant degree. And the tech is so outdated, they can't even do shadows properly.
[+] That the game has mixed texture resolutions leading to poor graphical quality is not an opinion, it's a fact. I don't even need to explain this. It's in plain sight, all the time. If you disagree, that doesn't make it a matter of opinion but a matter of being a moron. Now, whether the game looks pretty in general despite that or not is a matter of opinion but
that is not in dispute here. I personally like it a lot.
[+] That the game has a poorly and inconsitantly paced plot, with questionable quality is, well ok, I guess it could be called an opinion but you'd have to have really low standards to call it that (eg. not enough experience with other good stuff to form a healthy opinion that can hold up to scrutiny) because the way plot advances is really kind of screwed up.
This brings me to conclusion:
I don't argue because my opinion is fact.
Fixed for truth.
R00fles!!
The funniest thing is that a lot of these problems have been present in all Bethesda games since Oblivion (and to some extent, Morrowind). They are using the same tech and they are also inheriting the exact same problems with each game. All those physics bug have been around since Oblivion. AI in their games have always been poor. They have always had a very inconsistent quality of level to their game assets.
Now the only thing I'm wondering is, is this what the RPG Watch is about? Dismissing honest and often factual perspectives because some of you think the author of the piece is "dismissing a game for being an American product" or that "he's a troll from Codex anyway so I don't have to tire my precious brain and, god forbid, put it to some use"?
I think the question I'm really asking is, should those of us from the Codex return the favour some of you're paying us, of generalising and demonising your entire lot on the basis of a few sad little kids?