Customer Reviews

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Outstanding. This is a profound improvement upon Morrowind in almost every way while retaining the great artistic and cerebral qualities that made it a game of the year title in the first place. Also, this version had been created with a console audience in mind- the menues and controls are optimized for a controller friendly experience. It will still take a minute to become comfortable with but that is more due to the enormous anount of options than anything. Physics have been implemented as well and the result is a much more realistic and immersive experience- you can pick up objects, drag bodies, and even use arrows to set off traps. From time to time the game tends to skip a frame while loading and you will notice some pop up of objects(a mile or two in the distance). These minor issues really have no significant impact on the overall experience when you take into account the tremendous scope and viewable area of the game. If you have a 360 and have ever been fond of RPGs this is a great investment. Be warned though: this game will eat your soul.

This game is, in a word, stunning. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion comes to you in only a way that the next generation of gaming can deliver: the visuals are crystal clear, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking, and the depth of the game is mind-boggling.

In case you haven't yet heard, Oblivion has what could be considered the best graphics of any video game. Ever. Period. And if you own an HDTV, prepare to be shocked. I have an HDTV that supports this game in 720p resolution (I had to buy a VGA cable since the composite made my picture too dark), but regardless of the step down from 1080i, the graphics don't suffer a bit. Every time I take my first step into the world, I'm convinced that I'm actually traversing dense forests, navigating a musty cave filled with bandits, or sneaking into someone's house to nab a few price-worthy items.

On that note, I have yet to play a game as immersive as Oblivion. The impeccable combination of graphics, sound, and lighting make the world of Tamriel come alive in ways previous generations of consoles could never hope of achieving. A real-time weather and clock/calendar system only further the level of realism. You can tell a storm is coming as the clouds move faster overhead and the sky begins to darken. The storm rages for hours (in game time) and as the clouds eventually dissipate, a lush sky full of stars and a bright moon appears. Such attention to detail makes for an unprecedented gaming experience that shouldn't be overlooked.

And what of the combat and storyline, the things that REALLY matter in an RPG? Everything you've come to expect of the Elder Scrolls series is there, and it comes in spades. Massive improvements have been made to the lackluster combat system of Morrowind, and the inventory is now easier to use than ever. The story is gripping, kicking off to a riveting start within the first 10 minutes of play. This game grabs you from the beginning and never lets go.

And should you not feel like following the main storyline, why not indulge yourself in the almost countless number of side quests? With four guilds to join, each with their own separate story line (and keep in mind that you can join as many guilds as you'd like), you will never have a lack of activity in the world of Tamriel. Even then, if joining a guild isn't your thing, why not just set out and explore to your heart's content? The province of Cyrodiil is full of caves, forts, and bandit hideouts for you to raid. Some of these are massive underground lairs which can take up to a full hour to thoroughly pilfer. All this being said, if you find yourself playing Oblivion and say "I have nothing to do in this game", you're wrong.

All in all, this is one of THE BEST video games I have ever played. Minor bugs, such as low-res textures in the background, and sometimes long loading times, do nothing to mar the experience this game offers. If you have an Xbox 360 (or a PC capable of handling the processing load), stop reading this review and head to the store immediately. I'm serious. Go.

Let me start by saying that I'm usually not an adventure/RPG kind of gamer. I enjoy my shooters and action games. But this game looked so amazing that I simply couldn't pass it up (well, that and a lack of any other good XBox 360 games). But I was amazed when I popped it into my 360 and started playing.

Compared to Morrowind, this game is soooo much better. It's not as big, but then again, I thought that Morrowind was too big. There's still a good number of towns and plenty of places that have yet to be found, so it leaves the player with lots and lots of space to explore. The quests are also much better than in Morrowind. I felt that they were more...managable. Not quite as long, but much more fun. But the real place were this game excels was fighting. I remember being so frusterated playing Morrowind because I wasn't able to hit people with a sword. In this game, the fighting has been improved dramatically.

This game is also a piece of eye candy. The graffics are beautiful. And one of my favorite features of the game is the addition of horses. They allow you to traverse the country side in a much more timely manner.

Pick this game up today. You won't be disappointed. I've been playing for months now and still am nowhere close to being done. It's one of the best games I've ever played.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion- Circa 2006

GOOD:
- This game literally has a huge world (and you can explore every inch of it), it rivals that of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA: SA's entire world not just one city). For Example, if you went into the woods in the game and did not use a map you world get just as lost as you would in a real-world forest with no map.
- Hundreds of quests (really big and really small) to perform you can skip any you want or do them all, plus you deicide the outcome weather it be good or bad.
- Interact with NPC's, there are literally hundreds of them and they are all voiced acted and display emotions on there faces.
- A very life like world in which Police chase thieves, wives nag husbands and wolves prowl the woods looking for prey.
- Do just about anything you can think of like steal (anything), save people form gangs, fight in arena's, hunt animals, sail ships, become a vampire (pretty cool) or just hang back and do almost nothing the choice is yours.

BAD:
- This game may be way to hard for most casual gamers.
- The loading in this game is can get annoying, this game will load often and some loads (not all) take a long time. The hard drive cuts down on some loading, but it's still a pain.
- Some of the character animations especially those of your character are a little sloppy (but in 1st person you cannot see your own animations so it's not so much a problem)
- The Hit Detection (or hit boxes) sometimes doesn't work well.
- While the world is huge it's also mostly wooded forest area, which can be a little bland after a while.
- Morality seem to play little in the game in terms of your characters development, you can do evil/good act but will not really be considered evil/good in the same way that you see in Fable or Jade Empire. In the end it's more realistic but a little underwhelming.

IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A first person Swords and Sorcery RPG (Click in the left thumb stick to toggle third person mode).
- The games theme is very much close to that of the Lord of the Rings books or movie trilogy, by Peter Jackson, other similarities are found in the tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons.
- This is a do as you please type of RPG (like Fable or Jade Empire), this not anything like Final Fantasy, you pick the quest and you choose the outcome, that said there is little to no character identity outside of your deeds and don't expect a party of other characters who tag a long like in most other RPG's (like Final Fantasy).

GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Fable: The Lost Chapters
- Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
- Thief III: Deadly Shadow

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- There is downloadable content missions/quests and areas for this game out on PC and Xbox-Live. Examples being horse Armor, Spell Tomes, The Wizard's Tower, The Thieves Den, Vile Lair, The Knights of the Nine, and The Shivering Isles just to name a few.
- The Special Limited Edition (Xbox-360) comes with a bonus disc, which has a lengthy behind the scenes documentary, also on the disc you can view concept art work for the game, plus the limited edition comes with a small book on the history and people of the Elder Scrolls world and you get a real-to-life coin from this games world.
- The world in the game if measured in real-world miles would be about 16 miles not including underground areas like caves, crypts, basements, and bunkers, also most areas in the alternate-dimension of Oblivion are immeasurable due to the fact that they are randomly generated and huge.
- All Elder Scrolls games are first Person (the other Elder Scrolls games besides Elder Scrolls III where on the PC).
- In the game (at the main city) you will see a poster for a gladiator type of fighting arena called Arena, the poster is the same picture found on the box art for Elder Scrolls first game called Elder Scrolls: Arena.

This game is amazing you can lose 8 hours like 8 minutes. I have spent about 40 hours on this game and barely scratched the surface. If you like RPG's then this game will shake your foundation. It has sucked me in and I dont see me getting out anytime soon. Just note I am not a gamer. I have barely even played Video games in the past ten years but I recently bought a xbox 360 and this game I am addicted! Buy it you wont regret it.

To start with, yes I am a 40+ woman, who got into gaming when my son's friends weren't online and he wanted to know at least one person on his Halo 3 team. I love FPS and reluctantly tried and really liked Fable II. It was while I was looking over a Fable forum for some tips that I kept running into mentions of Oblivion and how much better it was than Fable.

I found the low-price Game of the Year edition at my local Gamestop and put it in into my xbox. Six months later I am still playing it. My first guy was a warrior and just beat his way through everything with a blade (usually with some wicked enchantment). It was so fun and I never tired of it. Most of the time I found I picked up way more loot than I could carry and had to make like 6 trips out of the dungeon/cave/ruin. I did the main quest right away because I felt the urgency of it, but later wished I would have done it as a higher level character.

I tried a battlemage next who would blast his way through with fire til he ran out of magic, then he'd beat down the last few enemies with whatever weapon he had on hand. Even more fun than before! I became a vampire once by accident and didn't realize that I could go back to an old save, so I started again with a girl elf who made and sold potions and raided some of the ruins.

I love the graphics, the overall feel of Cyrodiil and just how different the different regions are. Sometimes it seems I am running around in rain for a week, but then other times it is just a beautiful world and I find the highest spots to just look over the whole thing. I feel like I have friends in some of the NPCs that I encounter and a favorite (free!) house that I get to as soon as I can and make my home.

The enemies are very different and I like being able to set my difficulty to easy when I'm in a quest where I have to get a NPC that can be killled in the quest out alive, to extra hard where even the lowest level enemy could kill me with a hit or two, but I level up quicker.

I have tried other RPGs but I just love this game, I will always be planning my NEXT character and how I can do things differently next time. Sometimes I wish I could marry like in Fable, but I never spend much time at home, so probably it's better that I can't.

Buy this game, make sure you get the Game of the Year because the Shivering Isles is very interesting! But as everyone mentions, you will have trouble NOT playing it.

Like the title says, Wow. This game is amazing, graphically, and gameplay wise. Yes, graphics don't make the game, but they can help, as in this game.

First off, I'll talk about the graphics. The graphics are amazing, absolutely beautiful. Everytime I walk out of the Imperial City at about noon, I'm amazed by how beautiful everything is. The creators lavished all their skills upon the graphical creation of this game.

Now onto the gameplay. The gameplay is just as excellent. You can choose from many different races, and classes, and you can also create your own class if none of the ones you see fit your liking. Now, I'll admit the level system is a bit off, every time you get ten levels in your major skills, you have to sleep, and then you'll get to choose what skills you wish to put extra points into. Now, there are many guilds you can join, and if you join the Dark Brotherhood, the Assasians guild in the game, and complete enough quests for them, you can become a vampire, which I havn't done yet, but have heard it's awesome. Weapons, there're hundreds of them, from the everyday ordinary ones, to ones that are different, but powerful.

Basically, they've taken Morrowind, and given it a massive makeover and boost to make this absolutely amazing game.

This game is absolutely amazing. I got it after playing through Call of Duty 2 and Ghost Recon and have been playing it during most of my free time. I now have played a little over 50 hours, but still have not even come close to completing the main quest. There are over thousands of NPC's and hundreds of side quests. You can be everything from an alchemist exploring the wilderness for new ingredients, a warrior skilled with a blade, or even a mage trained in destruction magic. You can buy a house in the city and invest in shops, or join murderous guilds, or simply enjoy the amazing landscapes. The quests are far from expected, there are the standard explore dungeons quests, to the unexpected quests such as joining The Dark Brotherhood and swapping a powerful warlord's medicine with poison, or to faking an elf's death in order to save him. Whatever you choose there are endless options of things to do. I highly recommend this game, although it does require some thinking and is not for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of time.

Becasue you will never see them. I have watched my roommate play this game non-stop for 20 hours. he didn't even get up to go to the bathroom or eat. This game is dangerously addictive. Five of my friends each made a charater and thier fates were all different from mine. You pick your own destiny. This just proves how wide open this game really is. The graphics aren't what you would really expect from a next-gen game but they are good enough. You really arent playing it for the visuals anyway(At least you shouldn't be.). The weapons are great. Beat people down with an enchanted warhammer or kill them from far away with the bow and arrow. This game is the GTA of the middle ages. Buyers beware!!!

When i first bought this game i thought it would be ok. The beginning of the game is kind of boring but as you keep playing the game it gets insanely fun. The game is so big it will take you months to beat it so don't worry about buying others games while you play this. This game has so many quests you will never get bored. The main story really gets you into the game and makes you feel like you are part of a movie and the graphics is really good. While you play the game you can play from 1st person camera ( you see from your characters eye ) or 3rd person camera ( you see your character running around ) so it makes it really fun plus you get to choose your race , color , face from different fantasy races we've seen on TVs and read about in books. I highly recommend this game. Go get it !