The first thing you need to know about Skyrim is that its big. Real big. With practically millions of different things to do in the game, from going on quests, buying a house, becoming a werewolf (you heard me), and easily one of the highlights of the game: Killing Dragons. These are just a few of the possible things to do in Skyrim and is the games true appeal: you can literally do as you please. Of course there is a main storyline in which to follow and once finished you do essentially "win the game" so to speak. However in reality you cannot ever actually complete Skyrim. There will always be a new quest to do, a new spell to learn, a new village in need of rescuing from a fire breathing Dragon... You get the picture. Skyrims beauty is it allows the player to pave their own path through the game at their own pace, so neither player will play the same way as someone else who plays the game. With its open world style of gameplay, theres always new enemies to kill and fortresses to conquer, and in my year long experience of owning the game I have never once got bored of playing.
A big positive is also the combat system. Unlike most RPGs, the games combat is much more "hack and slash" style than a tactical or turn based style. Some more traditional RPG players may see this is a negative, but I feel it gives the game a real edge and makes the fights much more action packed and exicting. Added to the whole variety of weapons avaliable to use, from swords to bows to spells to massive hammers, combat always feels fresh and rewarding.
If you dont own Skyrim yet and are debating as to whether to get it or not, get a copy. Beleive the hype, Skyrim is one of the best RPGs avaliable on the market.