Customer Reviews

BioShock and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Bundle

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't get me wrong -- both of these games on their own are absolutely incredible, five-star games. However, the description here on Amazon claims that this package comes with the Game of the Year edition of Oblivion (which contains Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine). Do not be fooled however -- it does not, it instead contains the original game with neither Shivering Isles nor Knights of the Nine, despite what Amazon's description says. So, imagine my dismay when I received the bundle to give as a birthday present and found it lacking the Shivering Isles disk -- don't make the same mistake!

Bioshock and TES IV: Oblivion are two of the greatest games in a long while. Getting them both at once for a mere $30 is a great deal. Unfortunately, the version of Oblivion included is only the standard edition (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion), rather than the GotY edition (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition), so it does not include the Knights of the Nine or Shivering Isles expansion packs. Oblivion still rocks without these, though. Still a great deal, just less than what it is made out to be.

If you just want Oblivion, I would suggest the GotY edition, or Direct2Drive's or Steams Deluxe GotY edition which includes more DLC. However, there is no better way to get both Bioshock and Oblivion.

Be warned. You will NOT get the Game of the Year Edition of Oblivion. You will get just the original Oblivion game. You will NOT get the Shivering Isles expansion or the Knights of the Nine content.

I liked the original Oblivion game very much and so I ordered this for the additional expansion and content as described. All I got was the original Oblivion game, which I already had! I returned it to Amazon and told them this product was not as described. Today I got a refund for only half of the amount I spent and their description still hasn't been fixed. I bought the real GotY edition over at a competitors website in the meantime and am very satisfied with it. I am very disappointed with Amazon over this issue.

I had bought this game (Bioshock) after playing the second one first (several times). I kept hearing that the first game explained a lot more of the story. However after playing this one (Bioshock) I found out I had already pieced together the majority of the story based on the voice recorded diaries of Bioshock 2. On the upside, for the price I got another award winning game of which I have heard of, I just don't know anything about. Hopefully when I get around to playing the Oblivion game, it doesn't turn out to be a storyline that hasn't been beaten to death over and over. The Bioshock series was a storyline unlike any I've run across in a long time.

Christmas 2010 I bought this set for my nephew and he still has not finished the Oblivion game in the last 4 months. He has played over 250+ hours in college for the Spring semester. I have read here in Amazon that it can last as much as 1,000 hours - I just don't know anywhere to get that much enjoyment for so little money. I just hope his mother will forgive me if his grades are not good.

The Bioshock game seems a little disturbing (harvesting organs), though.

A great cheap gift for the Teens/College kids especially during these tough economic times.

love these games and the bundle deal is a great price like 2 for 1

I bought this just for Oblivion, I haven't played Bioshock at all because I'm wary of the DRM. Oblivion was a fantastic game. I'm a big fan of FPS/RPG games, so that helps, but it's executed well. The skills are improved by their use, which makes sense and makes it fun, but I admit to just sticking a pencil in the keyboard to keep casting a spell and coming back later. Some of the missions leave you wondering what you are supposed to be doing, but the more you play, the more you figure out how the game directs your mission progress.

Two great games one great price. How can you go wrong with two game of the year contenders in one great package?

Buying the combination of these games together seemed like a steal when I first saw it.

Oblivion. As other reviewers have noted, this is the regular version of the game, not the Game of the Year edition which includes the expansions. I was fine purchasing that since I'm just a casual gamer who probably would never get around to the additional content. The open-endedness of the game is astonishing. If you're familiar with the series (I'm a Morrowind fan myself), then you'll feel right at home with Oblivion. Even though the game is beautiful in appearance straight out of the box, there are plenty of graphical mods out there for Oblivion which will really enhance your experience if you have the system to run it. My system is "okay" or "decent," and I can run it on "Very High" settings at 1280x1024 (my monitors maximum resolution unfortunately) without issues. Additionally, I've installed many, many texture packs (namely Qarl's Texture Pack 3: Redimized), and feel that although the game has become far more impressive in appearance, I still don't have any frame rate issues. My only gripes with the game is that the interface seems like it was ported directly from a console. This can be fixed with mods though.

Bioshock. I really wish I could give this game a great review, but I just can't. I haven't even been able to really experience the game for one main reason. Lots of people who are playing the game on either Vista or Windows 7 (x86 OR x64) have issues where the in-game audio stops after the first cut-scene. I'm one of those. Although there are plenty of work-arounds available on the internet, they are not cut and dry solutions that will work for everyone. Namely, they did not work for me. While I'm sure Bioshock is a great game since it's been lauded so highly by big-name reviewers, I just can't offer it the same. It should be noted that my experience is probably in the minority, but that it is a real risk/problem for potential buyers whose computers are running either Windows Vista or 7.
As a note, although one or more of these fixes has seemed to work for a fair number of people out there suffering from the same problem as I have, they failed to work for me. I have tried the following:
1. "Fooling" Windows into thinking that a microphone is plugged in by enabling the Stereo Mixer audio device under the Control Panel.
2. Tweaking the ini file.
3. Patching to the latest available version (which was supposed to correct certain audio issues).
4. Running the game as an administrator.
5. Running the game in compatibility mode (I've tried XP Service Packs 3 and 2).
6. Messing around with the in-game audio options with the hopes that the "perfect mix" would fix the problem.

Ultimately, I have to say that I'm disappointed because I was really looking forward to playing Bioshock. Without any sound, I just don't feel the game is as immersive or intriguing as it should be. If you're planning to play the game on XP, then I would strongly recommend it. If you're playing on Windows 7 or Vista, then be wary. Although it's unlikely you will encounter this issue, it's certainly an unfortunate possibility.

1) Pricing 10/10 - I got this for under $10. Great deal!
2) Game play 10/10 - I've only played "Oblivion" so far, and although it may be 4 years old, it's still great. I'm very impressed with the graphics, the AI, the storyline. I originally bought this package just for the soundtrack - and I'm not disappointed. The music is superior and just what I expected.
3) Performance 9 / 10 - I have a budget machine, so if I have ALL the graphics settings on high, it takes a little long for new areas to load. Medium-high settings still looks great and the load times are short enough that I barely notice.

If you are considering this deal - go ahead and buy it. It doesn't have both expansions, but I bought one for $8.50 recently.