The Elder Scrolls Online: Can it be a Competent Successor to Skyrim?

That's the very question posed by GamingBolt in this opinion piece for The Elder Scrolls Online that inevitably arrives at the conclusion that ZeniMax and Bethesda are "staying true" to the single player RPG series and are taking gamers' lofty expectations "very seriously". I think I'll wait for beta testing before I draw the same conclusion:
Luckily for us, ZeniMax has made this game a labor of love that they have, so far from what we've seen put a boatload of time into it. Elder Scrolls Online is going to have all the same classes we've enjoyed throughout the series.

The setting of the game also takes place about a thousand years before Skyrim, so all those ruined cities, villages and those old Dwemer will be pretty lively this time around. ZeniMax is also paying very close attention to all the lore of the Elder Scrolls universe. They really have to with this particular title, people aren't going to accept some half-baked online spin-off. ZeniMax knows this and they are taking it very seriously.

They are certainly doing their very best to bring the full, single player experience from games like Oblivion and Skyrim. There is going to be plenty of sneaking, pick-pocketing and lock-picking too. So there is definitely more to this game than just grinding your way to the top and hoping that we've got some friends to play with along the way. The world is certainly complicated too, with three factions all vying for the Emperor's ruby throne there is going to be no lack of players the fight with as you explore the world. As big as Tamriel already is based on what has be released this far it is just going to keep getting bigger as the developers over at Zenimax unlock more areas in updates and expansions.

Staying true to the Elder Scrolls series, there will still be plenty of small but interesting quests to send players out into the world, either together or by themselves. The player can choose to be a part of the Fighters, Assassin's, Mage's guild and many more. While the player may pick a class to start in, just like the single player games, you will have your choice of what skills and abilities you focus on. So there are plenty of options to make your character different, even if your friends decide to play the same class.