When you reach Riverwood, you are a free man! Freedom unparalleled, similar to its predecessors Oblivion and Fallout 3. However, I assume you mean "linearity" in a deeper form, no? Quest wise and dialogue? I will agree there. Too much "Understood." and "Consider it done.", with no two ways to complete a quest. The RPGness comes down to how you kill a person(lightning bolt or just a bolt to the face) and which quests you take. That doesn't sound very RPGish to me. I miss the expansive dialogue of the Fallout universe. I don't know how they can go from picking 4 different replies to a generic "yes" or a " i dont know..."
This impacted my playing of Oblivion a tad bit, because once you beat the game, you have well, beat the game. Next up, different character style. It seems role playing is the only way to make it seem non- repetitive.
Yes, I do mean in that fashion. Among other reasons as well.
I know we have the freedom to explore, but all of the quests, the character development, character creation, character moral decisions... etc are all very shallow.
Edit: lol nice sig Anthotis.