Addicting Gameplay in It's Purest Form
Overview
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, made by Bethesda Softworks is an action RPG set mainly in the world in Tamriel. You play as a prisoner who gets caught up in the middle of an assassination attempt on the king. What the character looks like, it's strengths, weaknesses, and other traits are all made by the player. The game is not on a true set course so the player can decide what they wish to do and when to do it. People who have enjoyed previous Elder Scrolls games should enjoy this one as well.
Gameplay
For a person who had never played a game like Oblivion, it was quite overwhelming at first but one I got the hang of it, the game became a lot more interesting. Oblivion controls like a first-person game but is an RPG. It can be played in third-person but is less engrossing and is more difficult. The gameplay itself is great for the most part though it does get a bit easier than it should have been. I tried each of the three classes and found that the warrior class overpowered the other classes, especially the stealth classes. Difficulty is mostly spot-on. The higher the level your character is, the more difficult and more powerful your foes become though it seems that this stops once your character becomes strong enough. Character stats, as expected, play a significant role in how your character plays. What makes this even more noticable is the fact you can get the strongest weapons and armor by level 20.
There are a large number of things to do in Oblivion from fighting in the arena to being what is essentially a botanist. This game lasts an incredibly long time; my first character is at around 150 hours and my second is at about 40. You seldom will not have a quest on the go or something to do. The quests can be interesting but at times too repetitive. Many missions involve killing a particular character or collecting an object which can get old. The main storyline has some of the more interesting missions but it only lasts about 15-20 hours if you work from start to finish. Unlike the next topic, gameplay in Oblivion is fun and engaging.
Visuals/ Graphics
By far Oblivion's weakest point, the stock graphics themselves are nice, but anything turned passed medium induces chugging. It can be running smooth but as soon as you see a deer, a slideshow starts playing. It gets so bad that it can make the game much harder. With enough tweaking, you can get this game running smooth but it should have been that way from launch.
The actual visuals themselves are mostly spectacular, which bring the next issue up to the plate. The biggest problem with the graphics for Oblivion is the forests, plains and all areas surrounding cities. They bog down the average system and make it painful to go in those areas. Couple that with the issues with animals and non-human enemies and it makes the forest areas of Oblivion not only hard to watch, but not fun because you're always waiting for areas to load so you do not have to watch one frame for a few seconds before it moves to the next. With some pre-release fixing, this game could have run much smoother and could have looked just as good.
Audio
The music of Oblivion is amazing. It sets the mood and moves with the game. It keeps things interesting and never feels out of place. The sound effects likewise are perfectly suited for the gameplay. Nothing feels like it should be somewhere else and it rarely gets repetitive. On the topic of repetitiveness, lets discuss the voice-overs. The voice-overs themselves are actually quite good but the same voice is used for all of the genders of a certain race. For example, all of the Nord males seem to sound quite similar and can at times sound the same. It is seldom noticable but can be quite apparent if you hear two people of the same race talking in the streets. The audio of Oblivion is definetely a strong point.
Conclusion
Oblivion is the perfect game for a person who wants a game that will not just last them a long time, but also keep them interested throughout the whole experience. With all of the different thing you can do and all of the interesting characters you can meet, it is definitely worth it to pick up this game if your computer can run it and you aren't afraid to do a bit of tweaking and modifying to get the game to run smoothly.
Pros:
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, made by Bethesda Softworks is an action RPG set mainly in the world in Tamriel. You play as a prisoner who gets caught up in the middle of an assassination attempt on the king. What the character looks like, it's strengths, weaknesses, and other traits are all made by the player. The game is not on a true set course so the player can decide what they wish to do and when to do it. People who have enjoyed previous Elder Scrolls games should enjoy this one as well.
Gameplay
For a person who had never played a game like Oblivion, it was quite overwhelming at first but one I got the hang of it, the game became a lot more interesting. Oblivion controls like a first-person game but is an RPG. It can be played in third-person but is less engrossing and is more difficult. The gameplay itself is great for the most part though it does get a bit easier than it should have been. I tried each of the three classes and found that the warrior class overpowered the other classes, especially the stealth classes. Difficulty is mostly spot-on. The higher the level your character is, the more difficult and more powerful your foes become though it seems that this stops once your character becomes strong enough. Character stats, as expected, play a significant role in how your character plays. What makes this even more noticable is the fact you can get the strongest weapons and armor by level 20.
There are a large number of things to do in Oblivion from fighting in the arena to being what is essentially a botanist. This game lasts an incredibly long time; my first character is at around 150 hours and my second is at about 40. You seldom will not have a quest on the go or something to do. The quests can be interesting but at times too repetitive. Many missions involve killing a particular character or collecting an object which can get old. The main storyline has some of the more interesting missions but it only lasts about 15-20 hours if you work from start to finish. Unlike the next topic, gameplay in Oblivion is fun and engaging.
Visuals/ Graphics
By far Oblivion's weakest point, the stock graphics themselves are nice, but anything turned passed medium induces chugging. It can be running smooth but as soon as you see a deer, a slideshow starts playing. It gets so bad that it can make the game much harder. With enough tweaking, you can get this game running smooth but it should have been that way from launch.
The actual visuals themselves are mostly spectacular, which bring the next issue up to the plate. The biggest problem with the graphics for Oblivion is the forests, plains and all areas surrounding cities. They bog down the average system and make it painful to go in those areas. Couple that with the issues with animals and non-human enemies and it makes the forest areas of Oblivion not only hard to watch, but not fun because you're always waiting for areas to load so you do not have to watch one frame for a few seconds before it moves to the next. With some pre-release fixing, this game could have run much smoother and could have looked just as good.
Audio
The music of Oblivion is amazing. It sets the mood and moves with the game. It keeps things interesting and never feels out of place. The sound effects likewise are perfectly suited for the gameplay. Nothing feels like it should be somewhere else and it rarely gets repetitive. On the topic of repetitiveness, lets discuss the voice-overs. The voice-overs themselves are actually quite good but the same voice is used for all of the genders of a certain race. For example, all of the Nord males seem to sound quite similar and can at times sound the same. It is seldom noticable but can be quite apparent if you hear two people of the same race talking in the streets. The audio of Oblivion is definetely a strong point.
Conclusion
Oblivion is the perfect game for a person who wants a game that will not just last them a long time, but also keep them interested throughout the whole experience. With all of the different thing you can do and all of the interesting characters you can meet, it is definitely worth it to pick up this game if your computer can run it and you aren't afraid to do a bit of tweaking and modifying to get the game to run smoothly.
Pros:
- Engaging gameplay
- Great visuals*
- Lasts over 100 hours
- Highly modable
- Addicting
- Dark Brotherhood (Need I say more)
- *Major graphical hiccups
- Slightly repetitive
- Mods needed for it to reach it's prime
- Not enough unique voices
- Addicting (yes it fits into both, once you start Oblivion you will not see the light of day for months)
