Pros: Flawless graphics, Huge world full of adventure, endless gameplay, Game of the Year!
Cons: You could play this game forever, framerate problems, occasional glitch, loading
The Bottom Line: It's worth every penny. The hardcore will love this game to death. This game also welcome the newbies. Infinite gameplay possibilities make Oblivion a must on the Xbox 360.
nkretz's Full Review: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for Xbox 360
This game is Oblivion. Oblivion is the type of game that many gamers get the rare opportunity of finding. It's worth 60 dollars on the store shelf but for many this game will be priceless. 99 percent of the games out there have a definitive ending while Oblivion does not. The scope of this next generation RPG is astounding. I'd pay a dollar to meet the person that thinks they actually "beat" the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. It is a masterpiece of its time and the true killer app on the Xbox 360. You will become a character type of your choosing in a medievil setting. You command your avatar from the first person view and use an astounding array of techniques and abilities to conquer quest after quest in this huge game. It can truly call The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion a next-gen game.
Oblivion has been in the works by the developer Bethesda for quite some time now. 4 years I believe. That amount of time you'd think would be enough to finish a game. Well it's very close but as good as this game is there is still room for polish but after waiting this long no one could stand it any longer. Oblivion is a massive role-playing game where you build your own character, equip him with weapons and magic, and build his stats. This type of game seems to have it's own little cult following but I highly recommend that anyone who likes a good video game go and buy Oblivion. The world you live in is massive and full of dungeons, cities, a wide array or people, and monsters. This game can only truly end when you say it does. The amount of quests you can get at one time is overwhelming but you really only need to concentrate on one at a time.
So how does a game like this start out? Well your character must first be created using the in depth character creation setup. This part alone will blow peoples minds. First you edit all the tiny details in the characters face. This part alone could take up to a half an hour. You are given tons of customization to make the face and hair look just how you want it and you better make it good because you’ll be using this hero for a very long time.
Once you’re done creating your custom characters look you must start out on the real adventure. First you start out in prison. Two guards and the Emperor of Tamriel walk in. His name is Uriel Septim and is breaking you out because he has been having dreams about your character and how you will save the empire from Oblivion. Oblivion is the evil demon like world filled with evil creatures called Daedra. You progress through this dungeon leading out of the prison with the emperor. Along the way you encounter various dark mages and goblins. All of which can be killed using the trusty sword. The opening dungeon provides as a tutorial mission to get used to the game. At the end of the road the emperor is killed and then you can venture out. The good thing is that the game allows you to change your character again just in case you feel that something needs to be tweaked. But from there on it's all permanent.
Right of the bat you notice the game is in first person view. This may seem odd for a massive RPG but it works beautifully and shouldn't be played any other way. If you want you can easily change the view to third person but it makes targeting and combat almost impossible. From this first person view the world seems that much more real and expansive. Also you'll notice the amazing and lush detail in the game world. The rocks and corridors of the dungeon look too good to believe. Also the lighting will amaze you as all light coming from your torch reacts to the surface it shines on it a totally believable way.
Not only does the world look stunning but so do the games characters. The world is filled with over a thousand NPC's or computer controlled characters. Each person has his or her own personal agenda, daily routine, and personality. Yeah that may sound too massive to believe but it's true. You can interact with these characters in many ways. You can receive quests from them, chat with them, or attack them. However this isn't Grand Theft Auto and being bad isn't really an option. Your character alone isn't really all powerful so the town guards will kill you easily if you resist arrest after you've committed a crime. Getting arrested leaves you three options: go to jail, pay a fine, or resist arrest. As I said resisting is very hard and the gaurds will come after you with reckless abandon, so be warned.
So coming out of the dungeon you will walk into the vast world known as Cirodil. The forests in the game are amazing. You see detail in every tree and blade of grass like no other game before it. Honestly of all the graphics in a video game I have witnessed this game takes the cake for the most beautiful environments. As you walk around you can pick up and interact with just about any object. The physics are also incredible in that every item has a real weight like feeling to it. You can pick up and throw stuff too which is fun all on it's own. The main point I must get across to you is that Oblivion reacts, feels, and looks gorgeous. It's worth buying just to see the sights.
Now I will try and convey to reader just what this game world has to offer in game play. Oblivion is a very freeform adventure. You can join different factions, go treasure hunting through dungeons, or simply do the main quest. On top of the main quest you are given at least a hundred side quests all of which reap their own rewards. First is the main quest that most people will want to try first. The point of this journey is to find the lost heir of the throne. It takes you all across the world and into Oblivion gates. These gates lead into the evil world of Oblivion and it's your job to shut them. The main quest gives you something to do and will lead you along the descent story line that goes with it. But trust me you haven't done anything in this game even after you've completed the main quest because there is so much more.
The next sets of quests are those for the factions in Cirodil. They are the guilds, the fighter, mages, thieves, and dark brotherhood. The guilds are excellent way to spend time because you can earn valuable gold or treasure. They each even come with their own little storyline. The best thing about it is that you can be a part of all the guilds at once and do their jobs as you please. The missions are also very wide in variety. You'll be asked to loot caves, kill people, investigate, and retrieve important objects. Eventually the quests run out and when this happens you are awarded the top master of that guild. Once you’re in charge people will listen to you and show you more respect. Most importantly you earn more gold to invest in more powerful weaponry and magic. Even with all the quests you'll have in your journal you won't need to worry about finishing one before the other. The game also has an excellent map to show you where to go. The journal tells you what city you must visit and who you need to talk to. The entire set up is well thought out and works like a charm. Completing quests is also excellent fun because of the things you get to do and the interesting and odd characters you meet. Some people are interested in the good and some in the bad. The game lets you decide how will play these quests and when.
On top the main quests and guild quests are the miscellaneous and free form quests. These are mostly random quests that average people will ask of you. The variety here is also very vast. You can see new things and gain more powerful treasure and loot. Most importantly these people will pay you for your work. Now let me point out to you how much of the game in main quest and how much is side quests. I think the ratio is about 1:8. Yeah really, there are just so many things to do in this game it will blow your mind. The time and effort invested in creating this world and its people really shows.
Now I will explain the game play to the good readers. You can play Oblivion many different ways. You can carry around a sword and heavy armor and slash people to death. You can wear a robe and kill your foes with powerful magic and destructive spells. You can wear some light leather armor and carry around a bow and arrows, using deadly accuracy to achieve your goals. There are these combinations and a deep and complex mixture of all of them. Again the game gives you the choice. Be a brutal warrior a powerful wizard or use a many other combination or fighting type. Oblivion unlike most other games out there doesn’t rely on just the combat engine to be fun to play. Journeying around and collecting things is just as fun. Combat is good but not perfect. The battling in this particular RPG is very much in real time. You pull out your sword, bow, magic, whatever, and get to work. Sword combat works similar to a hack and slash game but with less mindless swinging. Sword attacks will yield a cutting sound upon contacting the enemy and maybe some blood, but the enemy doesn’t always react accordingly. This problem doesn’t really hamper the game too much but combat is more strategy than hack and slash. You could run into a fight simply hammering the right trigger on the 360 controller, but that gets you killed pretty quickly. A good fighter would equip a shield and use the left trigger to put up a good block and then go in for a finishing blow. Sword combat overall is good but not perfect because not all the attention can be focused here alone. I still found it rewarding and satisfying striking down the many fiends I came across. Using magic is different; it’s similar to using a bow and arrow because you play like a first person gunner game. Simply get the aiming cursor on the enemy and fire away. When a magic spell contacts the enemy it's usually quite obvious becuase the spell will explode when it hits. When you shoot a bow and arrow at someone you can kill them and actually go pick the arrows up after the enemy is dead. Oblivion is a very paranoid game and it makes sure that things don't just disappear. This is very different from typical combat but can be just as effective if you work at it. Oblivion offers a huge variety of spells and enchantments to keep a mage happy. All in all game play is solid and you have plenty of control over your adventure.
Elder Scrolls 4 also uses a very new and innovative stat and leveling up system. You get better at doing things by doing them. Getting attacked makes your armor skill go up. Swinging your blade more makes you get better at sword combat. Sneaking around increases your sneak skill. Unlocking locks with lock picks makes you better and picking locks. You get the point, this system works flawlessly and you have about 15 different categories of skills. Simply doing things makes you better at them and it’s that simple. It’s very rewarding and natural too because you will gradually become better and better at stuff and eventually you can level up and pick which major categories you want to add skill points to. Only a next generation game like Oblivion would use a stat system like this one and let me tell you it is cool.
Finally I want to give you info on the last few things about this game. One is the fast travel that lets you zip around the game world without wasting your time. Trust me this place is huge and would take a lifetime to travel across. Cirodil has around 7 cities and hundreds of shrines and dungeons to explore. Endless is the key word about this game. Also for all the people who like to compare platforms the Xbox 360 does a great job of handling a giant game like this. The only problems I found were a frozen game, and the frame rate can be very choppy. A game this massive is bound to come with a few small problems but maybe Bethesda (game developer) will release patches to fix this. PC gamers who deck out their rigs with super technology will play Oblivion with perfect graphics settings and no game slowdowns. I have to warn people though; Oblivion will simply dominate any computer not equipped with a high-end video card and 512 MB of RAM. I have an Xbox 360 and found the graphics to be the same as on the PC but with loading screens and frame rate drops that are annoying but very minor.
Lastly let me explain the sounds of the game because trust me there are a ton of them. Voice acting is great because there are thousands of lines of dialogue and they are recited with real passion each and every time. You never have to read conversations in this game which is a huge bonus! The sound of clanking metal, spell effects, or just bumping into something is all dead on. The developers gave a realistic sound to just about anything that moves, amazing. Finally the score and in game music is excellent, reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings. The music also switches to an intense beat in combat scenarios, so you know when an enemy is nearby. Overall the voice acting, score, and in game clicks and clanks are incredible, and on par with the excellent presentation in the rest of the game.
My point to thee is that if you have the high-end computer or an Xbox 360 please buy this game and be amazed. Oblivion offer well over 100 hours of game play and gives you the adventure of lifetime. Bethesda has been hard at work for 4 years building this massive world and has earned respect like no other game maker. I love Oblivion and the amount of choice I have. Of the entire quest I’ve completed I’ve barely scratched the surface. Don’t hesitate, get out there and buy the Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.
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