One of the games I looked forward to the most in 2006 was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It's just like what the back of the box describes it as, plus much more. Four years in the making, it surpasses its predecessor, Morrowind, by a mile. It is obvious that four years making this game weren't wasted.Oblivion continues the firm tradition of the Elder Scrolls series - open-ended make-your-own-choice gameplay. In other words, you are free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. Whether it be a rampage in the city, doing the Main Quest, or just exploring the countryside and taking in sights.
If you take the path exploring, you'll be exploring for a long time. Sixteen square miles of countryside and cities. That 16 is not including water and underground locations. Dungeon-roamers, there's plenty for you, too! Hundreds of dungeons are scattered around Cyrodiil for you to find, explore and loot. Shipwrecks, deserted cabins, terrorised villages - Oblivion has something for everyone. Unlike Morrowind, the game guides you through a tutorial stage where you get to learn the ropes of combat, magic and whatnot. In the Morrowind days, the game dumped you in a perilous situation without giving you an introduction whatsoever. The most (or one of the most) notable features of Oblivion are the brilliant graphics. When you step out from the tutorial to the wide world, the first thing that hits you is the amount of land and forest the game renders.
NPCs are also well-rendered. Effects like fireballs are as good as the rest of the graphics. The game makes sure that an arrow flying through the air can bury itself in wood (if it needs to), not bounce off. Sound in Oblivion, where not being as spectacular as the rest of the game, is an achievement nonetheless. Exploration, town and dungeon music incorporate well, however, once an enemy enters your area, the music dramatically changes. This can be disturbing for some players, who are not used to subtle turnarounds in background music. Voice acting for NPCs are fine, however, it suffers from bugs like the presence of sound, with the mouth not moving, or vice versa. Battle effects are well-synchronised, with every metallic clang in the right place. In short, Oblivion isn't a game you should rent - buying would make much more sense. It has more value if you could spend more time playing it - with hundreds of dungeons to loot, with seven cities to purchase a house in, and a compelling Main Quest plus four factions, the fourth game in the Elder Scrolls series is bound to keep you coming back for more even after a year.
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2 comments:
While I agree this game is entertaining and beautiful graphically I think Morrowind was far better. What I like about Morrowind is the fact that it feels like a totally different world, alot of what you see is alien and unsual. Oblivion is a dumbed down version of Morrowind with a pretty coat of paint. While Oblivion is technically larger than Morrowind with the addition of fast traveling and increased speed it seems much smaller. Morrowind also has far more quests and features. In the transition from Morrowind to Oblivion major skills were lost such as enchanting. They also removed all of the middle road weapon and armor skills that allowed greater customization. Another thing I dislike about Oblivion is the fact that you can complete the main quest in less than two hours before level five. Where as in Morrowind you need to be atleast level 25 and had spend a good 30 hours of gameplay to finish your final goal. Overall they're both good games, and it comes down to what you value more. If you care only about graphics and beating the game quickly then Oblivion is your choice. Though if you value greater customability, and a longer, deeper game then Morrowind is for you.
I love Oblivion. It was everything I wanted out of Morrowind. It's less RPG oriented and more action oriented. I still play Oblivion ever since I bought it on release day.
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