Way back in 2002, Bethesda took the Xbox and PC by storm with The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, a huge open-world RPG where players could do anything they wanted. When Game Informer Magazine announced The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for Xbox 360 and PC, the world got its first look at the next generation of gaming. Nearly two years later, the well respected developer has once again taken the spotlight and created a whole new world just waiting for players to explore.
There is a wealth of history through all of the Elder Scrolls games that many may not know going into Oblivion. Events like the return of Dagoth Ur or the long standing reign of Uriel Septim, the Emperor, through all of the previous titles are very cool insights to how deep the world really is. Every Elder Scrolls game is set in the same world of Tamriel but on different continents or provinces. While separate locations and storylines fill each entry, the games have often boasted interesting ties to each other. Playing through all of the Elder Scrolls games is a great history lesson but is not required to understand Oblivion’s story. There is however, a very cool feeling associated with walking past two chatting NPCs and hearing them talk about something that happened in Morrowind. Knowing you were there to see it for yourself just adds to the immersion factor of the game.
When beginning a new game, right away players are prompted to choose the race, face, hair and skin of their character. In any other game this would be a simple three or four option menu but Oblivion takes what players are used to for character creation and fills it to the brim. Your options are nearly endless with the very large amount of sliders that control the shape of your face, various tints of your skin and even the length of your hair. There is also a random face generator if the task of creating a face that you will almost never look at anyways is too overwhelming.
The ten races from Morrowind return, including Dark Elves, Nords, Argonians and more. Each race has separate strengths and weaknesses that will effect how the game is played. The lizard-like Argonians can breathe under water indefinitely. The High Elves are very strong with magic yet they are also very weak when defending from it. The list goes on and just deciding what you want to be is a task in itself. The birth signs also return giving players even more options to alter their character. Each sign will give you a bonus in some area like speed or strength, but some carry penalties in the wake of the bonus. Last but not least to round out your new adventurer is the character class. There is a huge list of preset classes to choose from, or you can make your own. At the end of the hour-long character creation and tutorial, I came out with a Dark Elf named Gnarly McRad who was born under the Warrior sign and has a custom class called a Face Puncher.
Emerging from the sewer and stepping out into the country side is like first bearing witness to an inspirational work of art. As you pan around, the enormous world becomes more apparent and just looking at the hills in the distance fuels the need to run to them and frolic. The detail on the trees, grass, rocks and pretty much everything else in the entire game world is outstanding. So long as you’re in Oblivion, you may as well delete the word repetition from your vocabulary. The visuals are more than just next-gen, they are like a tasty eye treat. Pretty much every visual technical buzz word is used here and not just in minor ways. Walking through the forest, shadows are cast in realistic ways from the sun shining through the trees. Even the offset of a helmet worn by a guard will cast a shadow on his face. The draw distance is also quite impressive, but there’s still some pop-up from time to time. It’s a small dilemma, and no where near enough to hurt the overall experience. Any draw distance problems are easily forgotten when you rise to a high enough vantage point to look out across Cyrodill. An entire book could be written about how pretty this game is and how Bethesda went out of their way to add the smallest details. But, simply put, it’s gorgeous.
Playing Oblivion on some simple TV speakers should be a federal offense. The Dolby Digital sound is so immersive that one could close their eyes and just fall asleep when it starts raining in game. Hearing NPC conversations behind you as you’re looking around for the local blacksmith is just one of those small nuances that few games have achieved. Oblivion has a very rich soundtrack that also screams high quality. The opening sequence alone gives you the same shivers that went down your spine the first time you saw Lord of the Rings in the theater. The music is more that just a soundtrack, however. It also acts as a radar of sorts. When you are being chased or an enemy has targeted you, the music will change and a very low-key but unmistakable theme begins. Once you’re used to it, the theme becomes the anthem of battle and every time it is heard, a sword should be drawn.
The beginning of the main story of Oblivion follows Emperor Uriel Spetim in his final hours of life. Voiced appropriately by Patrick Stewart, Septim will give you your general quest – shut the gates of Oblivion. The plane in which the evil Daedra come from, Oblivion is the setting of some of the games most dangerous quests and is a fiery, evil world where even the plants will attack. The main quest is very deep but just a small part of the big picture. Like in previous Elder Scrolls games, the player has the choice.
If you have no interest in the main story right away, run off and become a contract killer for the Assassins Guild or seek the honor of climbing the ranks of the Fighters Guild. There are so many options right from the get-go that it would seem overwhelming. Oblivion excels at presenting you different options at every turn. Just talking to a guard in one of the towns will give you plenty of info to help decide what to do. Along the way, a very large amount of one-time side quests will be presented to you by the NPCs. The level at which Oblivion is on in terms of open ended gameplay is so hard to compare to other games that it is easily a new benchmark.
One of the things that fans were excited about for Oblivion was the new Radiant AI system. This “brain” governs the actions of the NPC’s daily lives. They must eat, sleep, work and in more than a few cases get into some trouble. One of the issues with Morrowind and most other games is that the NPCs just stand around and look at you –killing whatever immersion factor you were working. In Oblivion, the NPCs will walk around the city, go into the shops, stop and chat with each other and even just sit on their front porch. And although the system is not without some balance issues, it came out pretty well. Killing NPCs will be considered murder unless they attack first. If one happens to accidentally pick a house lock and run their blade through one of the main characters while they are sleeping, they will be rendered unconscious instead of completely ruining the game’s storyline.
The version of Oblivion that we played was on the Xbox 360 but the game is also gracing the PC. If you are a Morrowind or FPS veteran, the controls will be very easy to pick up. Everything feels tight with a good comfort level. Left stick to move, right stick to look. The R trigger attacks and the Y button jumps. Added is a new block ability. In Morrowind blocking was automatic based on your skill. Now the block is a manual action added to spice up the combat and it works well. Fighting is very fun and action-packed. Also changed is the spell casting system. No longer will you have to put your weapon away, you can now cast a spell at any time using the Right bumper. The D-Pad also sports a new feature, the hot keys. You can hot key any item or non passive spell for quick selection, whether it’s a torch for light or a spell for healing.
One noticeable problem in the game is a player’s ability to interact with objects in the game. Yes, stealing is illegal but it would seem that the NPCs can see through walls and just “know” when something has been taken. Also just picking something up and throwing it two feet is also highly illegal. The guards seem to know when a crime has been committed. It’s not just with one guard, but all guards know when you are in trouble so fleeing to a new town is useless. The two other problems with the game that are loading times and frame rate stutters. Although the frame-rate tends to drop at complete random times, it really never gets to the point of a chug. Loading is about on par with the Morrowind on the Xbox. Going into a house takes a few seconds but jumping from one point of the map to the other can take quite some time. It really is a small price to pay for the overall experience you’ll have with this game.
In the end, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is nothing short of amazing. The next-gen technology of the Xbox 360 has once again been proven with a huge game that features all of the bells and whistles while still harnessing total creativity. Oblivion is one of the biggest game worlds we have yet to experience and anytime spent in it is time well spent. Anyone attempting to follow up with another truly next generation RPG will have their work cut out for them.
[Submitted by RogueWolf]
There is a wealth of history through all of the Elder Scrolls games that many may not know going into Oblivion. Events like the return of Dagoth Ur or the long standing reign of Uriel Septim, the Emperor, through all of the previous titles are very cool insights to how deep the world really is. Every Elder Scrolls game is set in the same world of Tamriel but on different continents or provinces. While separate locations and storylines fill each entry, the games have often boasted interesting ties to each other. Playing through all of the Elder Scrolls games is a great history lesson but is not required to understand Oblivion’s story. There is however, a very cool feeling associated with walking past two chatting NPCs and hearing them talk about something that happened in Morrowind. Knowing you were there to see it for yourself just adds to the immersion factor of the game.
When beginning a new game, right away players are prompted to choose the race, face, hair and skin of their character. In any other game this would be a simple three or four option menu but Oblivion takes what players are used to for character creation and fills it to the brim. Your options are nearly endless with the very large amount of sliders that control the shape of your face, various tints of your skin and even the length of your hair. There is also a random face generator if the task of creating a face that you will almost never look at anyways is too overwhelming.
The ten races from Morrowind return, including Dark Elves, Nords, Argonians and more. Each race has separate strengths and weaknesses that will effect how the game is played. The lizard-like Argonians can breathe under water indefinitely. The High Elves are very strong with magic yet they are also very weak when defending from it. The list goes on and just deciding what you want to be is a task in itself. The birth signs also return giving players even more options to alter their character. Each sign will give you a bonus in some area like speed or strength, but some carry penalties in the wake of the bonus. Last but not least to round out your new adventurer is the character class. There is a huge list of preset classes to choose from, or you can make your own. At the end of the hour-long character creation and tutorial, I came out with a Dark Elf named Gnarly McRad who was born under the Warrior sign and has a custom class called a Face Puncher.
Emerging from the sewer and stepping out into the country side is like first bearing witness to an inspirational work of art. As you pan around, the enormous world becomes more apparent and just looking at the hills in the distance fuels the need to run to them and frolic. The detail on the trees, grass, rocks and pretty much everything else in the entire game world is outstanding. So long as you’re in Oblivion, you may as well delete the word repetition from your vocabulary. The visuals are more than just next-gen, they are like a tasty eye treat. Pretty much every visual technical buzz word is used here and not just in minor ways. Walking through the forest, shadows are cast in realistic ways from the sun shining through the trees. Even the offset of a helmet worn by a guard will cast a shadow on his face. The draw distance is also quite impressive, but there’s still some pop-up from time to time. It’s a small dilemma, and no where near enough to hurt the overall experience. Any draw distance problems are easily forgotten when you rise to a high enough vantage point to look out across Cyrodill. An entire book could be written about how pretty this game is and how Bethesda went out of their way to add the smallest details. But, simply put, it’s gorgeous.
Playing Oblivion on some simple TV speakers should be a federal offense. The Dolby Digital sound is so immersive that one could close their eyes and just fall asleep when it starts raining in game. Hearing NPC conversations behind you as you’re looking around for the local blacksmith is just one of those small nuances that few games have achieved. Oblivion has a very rich soundtrack that also screams high quality. The opening sequence alone gives you the same shivers that went down your spine the first time you saw Lord of the Rings in the theater. The music is more that just a soundtrack, however. It also acts as a radar of sorts. When you are being chased or an enemy has targeted you, the music will change and a very low-key but unmistakable theme begins. Once you’re used to it, the theme becomes the anthem of battle and every time it is heard, a sword should be drawn.
The beginning of the main story of Oblivion follows Emperor Uriel Spetim in his final hours of life. Voiced appropriately by Patrick Stewart, Septim will give you your general quest – shut the gates of Oblivion. The plane in which the evil Daedra come from, Oblivion is the setting of some of the games most dangerous quests and is a fiery, evil world where even the plants will attack. The main quest is very deep but just a small part of the big picture. Like in previous Elder Scrolls games, the player has the choice.
If you have no interest in the main story right away, run off and become a contract killer for the Assassins Guild or seek the honor of climbing the ranks of the Fighters Guild. There are so many options right from the get-go that it would seem overwhelming. Oblivion excels at presenting you different options at every turn. Just talking to a guard in one of the towns will give you plenty of info to help decide what to do. Along the way, a very large amount of one-time side quests will be presented to you by the NPCs. The level at which Oblivion is on in terms of open ended gameplay is so hard to compare to other games that it is easily a new benchmark.
One of the things that fans were excited about for Oblivion was the new Radiant AI system. This “brain” governs the actions of the NPC’s daily lives. They must eat, sleep, work and in more than a few cases get into some trouble. One of the issues with Morrowind and most other games is that the NPCs just stand around and look at you –killing whatever immersion factor you were working. In Oblivion, the NPCs will walk around the city, go into the shops, stop and chat with each other and even just sit on their front porch. And although the system is not without some balance issues, it came out pretty well. Killing NPCs will be considered murder unless they attack first. If one happens to accidentally pick a house lock and run their blade through one of the main characters while they are sleeping, they will be rendered unconscious instead of completely ruining the game’s storyline.
The version of Oblivion that we played was on the Xbox 360 but the game is also gracing the PC. If you are a Morrowind or FPS veteran, the controls will be very easy to pick up. Everything feels tight with a good comfort level. Left stick to move, right stick to look. The R trigger attacks and the Y button jumps. Added is a new block ability. In Morrowind blocking was automatic based on your skill. Now the block is a manual action added to spice up the combat and it works well. Fighting is very fun and action-packed. Also changed is the spell casting system. No longer will you have to put your weapon away, you can now cast a spell at any time using the Right bumper. The D-Pad also sports a new feature, the hot keys. You can hot key any item or non passive spell for quick selection, whether it’s a torch for light or a spell for healing.
One noticeable problem in the game is a player’s ability to interact with objects in the game. Yes, stealing is illegal but it would seem that the NPCs can see through walls and just “know” when something has been taken. Also just picking something up and throwing it two feet is also highly illegal. The guards seem to know when a crime has been committed. It’s not just with one guard, but all guards know when you are in trouble so fleeing to a new town is useless. The two other problems with the game that are loading times and frame rate stutters. Although the frame-rate tends to drop at complete random times, it really never gets to the point of a chug. Loading is about on par with the Morrowind on the Xbox. Going into a house takes a few seconds but jumping from one point of the map to the other can take quite some time. It really is a small price to pay for the overall experience you’ll have with this game.
In the end, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is nothing short of amazing. The next-gen technology of the Xbox 360 has once again been proven with a huge game that features all of the bells and whistles while still harnessing total creativity. Oblivion is one of the biggest game worlds we have yet to experience and anytime spent in it is time well spent. Anyone attempting to follow up with another truly next generation RPG will have their work cut out for them.
[Submitted by RogueWolf]