As far as I know, TES games are not direct sequels. I'm just wondering if the experience itself is worth it. Keep in mind a few things:  

• I'll be playing it on the 360 
• I played Oblivion a few years ago but never got past the first dungeon area, the combat felt like it was just click to swing sword without any fun abilities.
• I just recently fell in love with RPG's
• One of my favourite RPG's in recent memory is  DA: Origins

TES and Dragon Age have totally different control schemes. Dragon Age is turn-based (though it's done in a fashion it looks real-time). Skyrim will probably have the same type of combat Oblivion has, completely real-time. If you didn't like it in the first place, you could try replaying it to see if now you do, but don't expect miracles. Chances are you won't like Skyrim either. I always find much more enjoyable to play a spellcaster or archer class in Oblivion than the archetypical sword-and-shield warrior, but that's just me.
 
Also, playing it on PC is a much different (and better) experience than playing it on 360, so go for that you can. 
 
Edit: 700th post! I feel like Batman.

Oblivion is a quality gaming experience, but some part of that comes from tailoring your expectations. Expect some bugs and NPC weirdness, and maybe the occasional physics freak-out or pathfinding failure.

" @JoeyRavn: congrats, and thanks for the reply, my friend said he saw Oblivion for only $10 at EB so, hey it's worth a shot, and like I said I've become more interested in RPG's lately.  One more question though, While I can live with not that great combat as long as the other parts of the game redeem it, does the combat get much better than "click to swing sword"? "

I think the swordplay in Oblivion is better than most RPGs. There's no dice rolling; if you're standing close enough, you'll hit. Of course, your attack might be blocked. The 360 version plays surprisingly well, and the only thing you're really missing from the PC version is the construction set.
 
If you decide to level up your melee combat skill (either Blade, Blunt or Hand-to-Hand), you'll get a few attacks that can disarm, knock down or paralyze enemies, but there's always a chance it won't work. You get similar benefits from leveling all skills, though magic skills only give access to more potent spells.
 
The biggest flaw in Oblivion is that the stats of the creature are based on your level. That's fine for the first 30 levels, but after level 30 the creatures don't change anymore and they can get pretty resilient at level 50+. You stop leveling when all your class skills or attributes are maxed, but most enemies are fairly powerful by then.

Oblivion is an amazing game and I think you should give it another chance.

Oblivion is an awesome experience. Many of my mates didn't even touch the main quest and spent a lazy 100 hours in the game having loads of fun. There is plenty to do with side quests and the guild stuff is amazing. I would definitely recommend getting the PC version (if possible) because there are an endless amount of mods out there to better the experience ie. fix the enemy levelling (the oblivion zones are so damn hard without it), update graphics textures and all kinds of cool things.

Hmmm, hard to say.
 
If you have some patience and time to get right into it you will probably enjoy it.  Otherwise it might feel a little dated. The main story isnt especially gripping after the first few missions. the appeal is really in the open world freedom and the ability to go and do whatever you like.

The combat does wear thin, if you do decide to give it a go i would recommend playing as a magic class to give you some variety with the combat.

If you're planning on just using swords and you didn't like it before, you probably won't like it now. 
 
That said, magic is really where it's at in Oblivion. With spells and alchemy, you can pretty much artificially give yourself mastery over both the martial and magical skills, max out your stats, etc. etc. 
 
And besides that, blowing shit up is awesome. And that's exactly what you do with spells.

The best advice for really enjoying Oblivion is just ignoring the main quest line, and just go do want you want to do.

I love Oblivion, I think im gonna cry.
*Controls feelings*
Anyways, I recently continued my old save game and had a blast playing it. Went to Cheydinhal, shot an arrow at an orc, who got attacked by three guards, who then started fighting with each other and then killed each other, while i stood and watched.
Then I went to talk to one of the guards and he said "Stop right there criminal scum!"
I love oblivion :'*

" The best advice for really enjoying Oblivion is just ignoring the main quest line, and just go do want you want to do. "

Play Two Worlds 2 it's better than Oblivion.

It takes a while to get to the point where your guy/girl is powerful enough for it not to be sort of a bit of a trudge through it.

Sure, I mean TES games are very self contained when it comes to story, so you won't be getting nothing that will set up skyrim for you, but it is still a good game that will give you dozens of hours of gameplay so, I don't see why  you shouldn't.
 
@Shadow said:

" It takes a while to get to the point where your guy/girl is powerful enough for it not to be sort of a bit of a trudge through it. "

"

Play Two Worlds 2 it's better than Oblivion.

"

"As far as I know, TES games are not direct sequels. I'm just wondering if the experience itself is worth it. Keep in mind a few things:  

• I'll be playing it on the 360 
• I played Oblivion a few years ago but never got past the first dungeon area, the combat felt like it was just click to swing sword without any fun abilities.
• I just recently fell in love with RPG's
• One of my favourite RPG's in recent memory is  DA: Origins

 
For that matter I guess, does it seem like I would enjoy Skyrim? I know it's early to ask a question like this but you guy's might be able to help me out a bit.

"

• No!
  * Oblivion without mods? That would make it even worse. 
  *Yeah, good call the first time. 
  *Well I hardly even consider Oblivion to be an RPG. 
  * Then go play Knights of the Old Republic insted.
   
  Yes, I don't like Oblivion that much (will still probably check out Skyrim though).
  

Heroes of Might and Magic has a very interesting combat scheme. I hope Skyrim has combat a bit more dynamic.

If you have the patience for it play Morrowind instead

The thing about the TES games is that they are kinda of sequels.  They actually follow the story of Patrick Stuart.  I think they all take place with in a few years of each other.  The first game taking place about 35 years before Oblivion with Daggerfall and and Morrowind in between.  But Skyrim takes place after all that shit 200 years after.

I think Oblivion is still a great game and so is Morrowind.

Oblivion is great, but don't be expecting a great narrative and such after coming off a bioware game. Make your own fun and murder someone ASAP so you can do the Dark Brotherhood Quest line. I'd also recommend doing the Shivering Isles.

" @JoeyRavn: congrats, and thanks for the reply, my friend said he saw Oblivion for only $10 at EB so, hey it's worth a shot, and like I said I've become more interested in RPG's lately.  One more question though, While I can live with not that great combat as long as the other parts of the game redeem it, does the combat get much better than "click to swing sword"? "

yes go and buy it from gamestop for like 15 bucks. the hundreds of hours are definitely worth the monies and you will get a much better feel for skyrim I think.

" @Jason_Bourne said:

"As far as I know, TES games are not direct sequels. I'm just wondering if the experience itself is worth it. Keep in mind a few things:  

• I'll be playing it on the 360 
• I played Oblivion a few years ago but never got past the first dungeon area, the combat felt like it was just click to swing sword without any fun abilities.
• I just recently fell in love with RPG's
• One of my favourite RPG's in recent memory is  DA: Origins

 
For that matter I guess, does it seem like I would enjoy Skyrim? I know it's early to ask a question like this but you guy's might be able to help me out a bit.

"

• No!
  * Oblivion without mods? That would make it even worse. 
  *Yeah, good call the first time. 
  *Well I hardly even consider Oblivion to be an RPG. 
  * Then go play Knights of the Old Republic insted.
   
  Yes, I don't like Oblivion that much (will still probably check out Skyrim though).
  

"

If your looking for a nice 80 hour medieval swords and magic title, Oblivion is perfect.

Oblivion aged but its still a great rpg. Play it, but stick to the main storyline, otherwise you'll get lost and never finish it, like most people I know.

I played through Oblivion for the first time around 2 months ago on 360 and had a great time, got about 50 hours of fun before I decided I was done with it.

" Oblivion aged but its still a great rpg. Play it, but stick to the main storyline, otherwise you'll get lost and never finish it, like most people I know. "

Oblivion is a very, very sloppy game. It has many, many flaws, be them myriad technical hitches, bland combat and a pretty terrible main questline. However, if you can look past those flaws, you'll find a fun RPG. It's all about how much you're willing to put into it. As far as combat goes, just find something that works for you, or, if you really don't want to deal with it, just move the difficulty way down.

If you think the melee combat is boring, try being a mage. There are plenty of different spells to keep it interesting. Try the paralysis, invisibility, destruction, and conjuration spells. You'll eventually be able to create your own.

At this point I wouldn't recommend anyone go back and play Oblivion, since Skyrim is so close to coming out. 

Yes! If can pick it up for less then $10 (you should be able to if you look) then it is definitely worth your time

" @ToxikPandaKoi: Sure.

To begin with I would say that the most important aspect of a "real rpg" is the ability to role play. To create a character that is defined by dialog and actions, not by picking a race or a class. And when you consider the non-existent story and character progression in Oblivion (seriously, Diablo has a more engaging story), then that status is something I consider impossible to achieve. Oblivion to me is a dungeon crawler (and a broken one at that) more like Diablo and Torchlight and there is no way I would consider any of them "real rpgs". Same thing with most "j-rpgs" that are nothing more than action adventures.

Generally I think the rpg term is used way to casually when people try to define games. Just because a game has rpg elements doesn't make it an rpg, and a  first person game with guns shouldn't automatically be considered a shooter. Deus Ex is a real rpg, (not the hybrid it is often described as) it has shooter elements, but it's not the defining characteristic of the game, even if you use guns a lot. Oblivion is not a real rpg, even if you can create a class, do quests and have "dialogs" (not really). 

If someone  state that they like rpgs like Dragon Age: Origins (as the TS did), why recommend a game like Oblivion? The only thing they have in common are the fantasy setting. However, if you are looking for a slightly broken action adventure, then you might be on to something.

"

No.

I don't think you would like Skyrim or Oblivion if you didn't like Oblivion's combat. Oblivion is my favorite game of all time and I would love it if everyone everywhere played it, but if you couldn't get past the starter dungeon because you hated the combat,  you should definitely skip Oblivion and definitely not buy Skyrim. If you like DA, just play older Bioware games (I'd recommend Neverwinter Nights. Get it at GOG.com).

" Oblivion aged but its still a great rpg. Play it, but stick to the main storyline, otherwise you'll get lost and never finish it, like most people I know. "

@harmonican Ah I see, I thought you were trying to define what an RPG should mean to everybody. Glad I didn't post the longwinded response I had initially written up.