For all those who completed it, Morrowind was a hugely memorable game. The pause between Morrowind and the latest installment of the Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion, was surrounded with questions: Will Oblivion be good enough to equal or surpass Morrowind? Will the character development be half as decent as Morrowind's? Will the game world be as varied and exciting as Morrowind? We would like to say that yes, this game supercedes its predecessor in every way, and even people who've never played an RPG would love to indulge in the fabulous game.
With the Elder Scrolls series, it's always been about the great world that you will have the urge to explore. The world's variety is amazing: snow-topped mountains, to green flowery valleys, to great cities, to sun-drenched coasts, to vineyards.... the list continues on and on, and they're all intricately detailed. It's mostly: if you can see it, you can get there. Feeling adventurous? Just ask around and you'll soon be hunting trolls in caves and retrieving kidnapped treasures. Feeling weary? Go out there and gallop your horse into the wilderness, and spend some time near a waterfall. Want a bit of rest? Buy a house and go read some books in a cozy sofa. The possibilities are infinite. The world is so immersive you won't want to leave your PC for a long while.
One of the genius concepts of the game is that you can play through the game in whatever style you want: you can play as a warrior and slash your way through the game, play as a mage and learn spells from the many colleges of magic, or play as a thief and sneak silently to steal and assassinate... the game excels in all the styles it tackles.
Before starting the game, you have to customize and name your character. All aspects of the character's face are customizable, and there are many races to choose from. Each race has its separate special abilities and spells. The game starts out brilliantly: You are a prisoner in the imperial prison. Moving closer to your cell's bar, you notice a dark elf in the prison cell across yours. He starts to insult you, before the imperial guard, or the blades, along with the emperor, open up your cell door. The Blades say that all the emperor's sons are dead, and that he's to escape through a secret door in your cell. Just then, the emperor says he recognized you, and that he saw you in his dreams. He says that you have been chosen by the gods to save the land of Tamriel from the hordes of Oblivion, the other world. He grants you your freedom, and you are to continue through the sewers to the outside world, to greet the sunshine. As you progress through this first level, you are greeted by some tips, and some questions that will determine your class and character for the whole game.
The game world is very large, spanning more than 16 miles squared. There are 8 cities in total (not counting Kevatch), all surrounded by lush scenery. There is also the parallel world, Oblivion, which you will foray into regularly. You can travel around on foot, mounted on a horse, which can be purchased from stables outside the cities, or just use the fast travel feature (click on a city icon or a visited area icon and you'll travel there instantly). This saves a lot of time taken to wander around, but sometimes you do feel the urge to travel horseback to admire the scenery.
The main quest is gripping, and will take about 20 hours to complete. But Oblivion isn't about the main quest: It's about all the side quests you can do and the exploration and fun that you can. You can join different guilds, completing missions in order to advance through the ranks up to becoming the leader of the guild. The most noticeable of those is the Dark Brotherhood, a murder society. This guild's missions are so good and enjoyable could have been translated into a separate game. One of the aspects I liked about this guild is how you join it: Kill someone. Anyone. You get a message that says you are being watched. The next time you sleep in a safe place, you are awakened by a hooded, mysterious figure, who asks if you would like to join the Dark Brotherhood. This is a sequence that surprises you, and that's what Oblivion is good at: It always has more surprises in the bag.
The gameplay is infinitely varied, as pointed out in Paragraph 2. The genius that separates this game from other RPG's is its leveling up system. You don't level up by killing generic enemies and gaining experience points, but instead, you have to increase your major skills, which are unique to your class. Interacting with NPC's is entertaining as well, with functions such as bribing and persuasion needed to force some information out of people who don't like you. Persuasion is similar to a mini-game, and Bethesda has done a good job on this. All characters are unique, except for town guard, which are normally generic according to their city. The characters are detailed, though not the most realistic looking.
One of the features Bethesda was particularly proud of is Radiant AI. This allows NPC's to initiate conversation between each other and interact depending on the events occurring around the world. This feature is mostly carried out meticulously, but we noticed some strange conversations going on:
"Good Day."
"Hello."
"I've heard Oblivion Gates are opening outside the cities."
"Definitely."
"Goodbye."
On to the next issue: Graphics. This is where Oblivion shines, and fades out everything else. They can be summed up in one simple word: breathtaking. When you get out of the sewers for the first time, and see the grass swaying with the winds, the water glittering and shining under the sun, the awesome ruins across the river, you will be astonished. The environments are varied and detailed, and will not disappoint anyone. There's a price to pay though: You will need the suitable rig in order to handle the game at full settings. 2-year old PC's definitely won't be able to cope with Oblivion, so most PC players will probably need to upgrade in order to experience Oblivion as it should be experienced.
Oblivion is great to experience, but it will also last. The side quests and all the exploration you will do will take the lifespan up to 50 hours, if not more, and many people would want to replay the game with another class in order to get a different experience. There are also the mods that add new areas and quests, apart from the official plugins that are being released by Bethesda regularly, which extend the lifespan even beyond the 50 hours.
Overall, Oblivion is one of the greatest games released in the past year or two, and is an amazing experience to the senses. No one whatsoever should miss out on this epic. Great work Bethesda, this was really well worth the wait.
By CodeName_88
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