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300 of 334 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's that good. Simply put, best of genre, March 20, 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply put, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is not only the best RPG of the year, but arguably the next step of the RPG's evolution. Think of it this way: 25 years ago Wizardry I was state of the art in all parts of the RPG - graphics, game design, and character build (stolen straight from D&D). That one game changed the way others were built. Today, Oblivion not only has state of the art graphics but also state of the art game design and character build - essentially, the culmination of 25 years of electronic RPG design. The competition has a lot of work to do to catch up, and it is likely many of the features here will be borrowed for other games. This is a clear 5 stars overall, with the only two flaws being like its predecessors the game is simply massive and the controls can be a bit awkward.
For those who never played it, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was a great game and major advancement in the genre. (In a sign of how good it was, 3 years after its release the original collector's edition still sells for near its original cost in the secondary market versus other games which might go for 10% of what you paid for them. Incredible.) More specifically, it really reinvented the RPG genre with skill-based advancement - if you want to be a fighter, kill something with a sword - and open-ended quests.
What is most noticable about Oblivion besides the eye-popping but system straining graphics (anything lower than a high end PC from last year will likely have problems, but the upside is this screams to be played on a 45" LCD monitor at 1920x1080p) is that Bethesda improved upon Morrowind rather than reinventing the wheel. Advancement is still skill-based but in general seems more balanced than before as powerleveling only a few skills will generally just get you fighting stronger mobs. Exploring the world through quests and NPCs remains the focus as it should be, but it also doesn't feel like you have to constantly grind FedEx quests to advance. In other words, the open-ended gameplay - arguably the one weak spot of Morrowind - remains open-ended but more managable. Don't fear, however, as with several hundred quests it's easy to lose yourself. If you're willing to put in the game time towards the rumored 1000 hours, the adding on of some long guild quests and other miscellaneous ones can get you a very, very powerful character, or you can simply try to solve the main quest quickly. It's up to you.
The two downsides are the game is massive in all respects and that while simultaneously designed for Xbox and PC several parts of it feel tilted towards the console. First, the size and lack of direction feel a bit daunting, but more importantly there is a tough learning ramp to figure out the game. For instance, your first couple of characters will probably be rerolled as it's hard to understand how useful all but the most obvious skills work until you use them extensively. Figuring out how to build a character around this based on an hour's worth of gameplay (since you do at least get to rechoose everything after the introduction quest) is asking too much. The open-ended aspect can be scary too; even as early as the the newbie quest there's not a lot of linear direction and the hint levels just drop from there. Walkthroughs for this will be immensely helpful, and in a once-in-a-generation event the Prima Guide is actually worth the money. (One note: given how much Amazon has discounted the Prima Guide, if you're looking to save money, consider combining it along with the non-collector's edition of the game and bypassing the collector's edition entirely. For only a couple of dollars more, you'll substitute the immense help of the Guide over the pretty but not hugely important book included in the latter, and while you're giving up a 'making of' DVD you'll save multiple hours of character design even if you choose to ignore the spoiler walkthroughs.)
Second, the game does feel at times like it was designed for a console. This isn't as bad as something that's a console conversion like GTA:SA where a gamepad is mandatory and the graphics are limited by the conversion. However, numerous features like spell selection, inventory management, and NPC interaction all are console-friendly to such an extent where those used to playing on a PC will probably grumble a bit. (It's a bit odd that this got through beta testing on the PC without someone requesting more than the current 8 programmable hotkeys in total that groan under supporting several hundred spells and abilities.) Far more annoying is that while third-person mode is included and playable, it is essentially impossible to use for ranged combat as only the first-person mode has a crosshair to aim spells and weapons. These are minor but noticable nuisances, especially for a game that is otherwise supremely polished.
Still, it's the best of the genre. Bethesda is to be commended for the design, the production (little things like hiring Patrick Stewart for a brief role as Emperor show the quality), and the difficult decision to delay the game for several months to fix things, where so many companies now push out beta editions as gold just to get the game on the market. 5 stars, and there will be a lot of people who don't get much work done for the next month.
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212 of 239 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the wait, March 21, 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Despite the long wait for the development on this title to finish, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has proved well worth the wait. I haven't had more than 10 hours in the game so far, but already I can say it is less buggy, more intuitive, and just as deep if not deeper than Morrowind.
FYI, I didn't play more than 30 hours into Morrowind, because it kept locking up on my Xbox even though the game wasn't scratched and no other games skipped. Just as background - that was my only Elder Scrolls experience till now.
On my PC (currently with a 6800GT and a 2.6Ghz Athlon 64 with 1 Gig of DDR400), load times between areas are short - maybe 5 to 10 seconds TOPS - and when moving through outside areas loading is non-existent. Definitely much better done than Morrowind.
The graphics are stunning. The auto-detection sets everything for you, and doesn't allow you to make many changes. I'm sure there will be ways to force higher settings on lower cards later on, but the gameplay was smooth and stunningly gorgeous, and I expected no less than that.
Indoor and city textures are best, smoke effects are absolutely amazing - ultra-realistic. Flames are also brilliant. The night sky and moon are a sight to behold, and the vegetation doesn't extend to the horizon, but looks great as it appears, and smoothly fills in as you cross the terrain.
The voice acting and sound effects are done brilliantly. If you have 5.1 surround, it won't be wasted on this title. Patrick Stewart's voice acting work at the beginning is a wonderful and fitting introduction to the quality of this game overall. Bethesda really does seem like the Shakespeare of game developers to me, after only a short time with this game.
Travel has been simplified. Once you hear about a city, you can instantly travel there. Of course, taking the "long way" leads you past all kinds of ruins, harvestable vegetation, random farmhouses, dungeons, caves, and wild animals. So whichever you choose, you're in for a treat.
Inventory space is easily managed, equipping items is quick and simple, and setting hotkeys is also easy, useful, and also necessary.
The tutorial is sufficient, and paced slow enough to allow you to get your brain around each feature as you go through it. However, they do not explain to you how to level up - or if they did I missed it - and I had to find out about travel from a review online. So those two things I think could be introduced more obviously.
Other than that, I found crafting and lockpicking to be enjoyable and useful, and the process of selecting your class/race/etc was well layed out. Character customization options seem literally infinite, and I must have spent 25 minutes designing my character's face. Of course, you can just hit random and skip that if it's not your thing.
As stated, I'm not too far in yet, but it's bigger and better than Morrowind, looks better than just about ANYTHING out there, and they immediately set you off into your first quests and on the road to greatness. On PC you can't run HDR and AA at the same time, but even on a ~$200 card like my 6800GT it looks gorgeous, runs smooth, and I expect someone to figure out how to run both on a PC eventually anyway.
To be quite honest, except for the few items I somehow missed during the tutorial, I can't say enough good things about this game. It's a must-have for any RPG fan.
**** To clarify, because some people are spreading misinformation about this title, it is possible to remap your controls on the PC. Also, F1 through F4 open each of your menus, from character sheet to inventory, spells, accomplishments, etc. As a tech writer by profession, I find it amusing that those who are having a hard time with the controls on PC have simply failed to read the manual, or RTFM as we say in my line of work. Personally, I just started pushing buttons in game and found them all in a matter of minutes. Most can be remapped (I always play eadf instead of wasd), including the spell casting hotkey, and I would be willing to bet that with a little diligence someone will find a way to modify the config file so that the rest of them (F1-F4 I believe are locked) can be remapped.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thinking of buying it? DO IT!, June 26, 2006
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
First, I'd like to be honest... No review can do this game justice, this one included. I would also like to note, I was never a fan of Morrowind. Played it for a few hours, felt lost, and got bored... This game has similar potential to turn you off, BE CAREFUL!
The first thing you must understand is that this game rivals the real world. It's vast. It's beautiful. It's easy to get lost and feel lost. After playing for a few hours I was ready to throw in the towel... Then I found the games true potential. Two hundred hours later... I'm still playing. =)
Let's go point by point (because it's fun):
1) Graphics. Amazing! Trees, flowers, snow, bugs, dust, smoke... It's all here. While a top-end PC isn't required, the game will eat as much power as you have, enhancing every aspect unbelievably! If you on the lower side, do not worry. There is a fully customizable video section allowing you to alter settings to your visual delight. Additionally, there are "Tweak guides" which will help you attain the best performance for your machine (google!). Personally, I fell in the "Medium" category, and was amazed to say the least.
2) Sound. Since this review has to be G-Rated I'm going to put this lightly... I do a lot of gaming in the dark, at night, and to say the least, I've mistaken a few in game sounds to be real around me. My speakers aren't top notch, pretty much the run of the mill Dell 5 speaker setup with a woofer, but I kid you not... You will get startled from time to time. Sound levels adjust beautifully for distance, nature will buzz, doors creek, etc, etc.
3) Voice. Usually this would fit under "Sound" however, I'm sure you'll agree, in this case, it deserves its own category. There are hours of recorded speech by many different people, hundreds of different lines and some very nice dialog.
4) Guilds. There are four different guilds you can join, each with their own fully developed story line. I was entertained for over 60 hours just handling missions from two of the guilds. Your options are: Mages Guild, Dark Brotherhood (Assassins), Thieves Guild, and Fighters Guild. These quests alone feel like their own game. You can participate in all four at once, none, or any combination. Dark Brotherhood/Thieves guild offer stealthy missions, including large scale assassinations and thefts! Completing each, truly feels like beating the game.
5) Guild Storylines. AMAZING! You almost need recovery time the revelations are so profound! The twists so unexpected! More importantly, they're as strong as the main mission, no diluted fillers here... Pure fun.
6) Quests. Many games have the misfortune of turning "quests" into "chores," NOT THE CASE HERE! While many could be classified as "FedEx" types, they're the kind you don't realize are FedEx. You get caught up in the story, or the dungeon, or just the beauty of the world in general. You look forward to quests with a smile, not a scowl! Aside from the main story line and guild missions, quests can be picked up from random people, Inns, guards, etc. Asking about "Rumors" will turn up a bunch of leads easily.
7) OMG I'm Lost! Where should I go??? - You're not lost, look at the map! While many consider this a feature to be a spoiler, I simply love it - MAP MARKERS! Your map is equipped with your quests objectives, you follow the green/red marker which will lead you around. Why do I like it? Because I don't HAVE to use it. Nothing is worse than searching for something that isn't there, or getting lost and fed up with the lack of progress because you can't locate where you should be. Many games use "mystery" as a way of prolonging the game it feels long, when in reality you could have beat it in 6 hours. Oblivion has enough content that you can play marker tag and still have plenty to do, and have plenty of fun.
8) Experience/Leveling. If you've never played the Elder Scrolls series, then you'll be happy to know that you don't need to slay monsters for experience! Nope! In fact, there is no "experience," per se. It's based on your MAJOR SKILLS, which will be touched on more in the next section. As your major skills level (i.e. blade from hitting opponents, or training) you have opportunities for level advancement.
NOTICE: Leveling in this game is NOT like others. Most people believe that reaching the highest level ASAP is a GOOD thing... Not necessarily! Your level determines two things: 1) Your stats, 2) the loot. You can beat the game as level one. Everything is scaled to your level. Levels unlock cool new gear, and the appearance of different monsters (i.e. you won't see bears till level 4ish). Leveling should be done when you are ready, not when it's first available.
9) Character creation. As you might expect, you're giving a bunch of races and classes to choose from. Don't like the 30 predefined classes? Make your own! When you create your character you pick your class, or "Major Skills." Major skills have 2 important functions. 1) They level you, 2) They level faster than minor skills. THAT IS IT. You can get EVERY skill to 100. Yes, you can wield a sword, spells, bow, heavy armor, light armor, sneak, etc all at once. You can be every class at once; it all depends on what you use and how you choose to play.
10) Attacking. This is not a turn-based RPG. This is real time, dodge and swing action. It's a FPRPG (First Person Role Playing Game) so expect the FPS action complete with beautiful spell effects and hand motions. At first, one may find this difficult to adapt to... But once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun!
11) Player Housing. Buy anything from a cozy shack to a luxurious mansion! When purchased, houses come with literally walls and a bed. Rooms of furniture are sold in bundles (i.e. dining room: table, 4 chairs) and are not movable once in place. However, the design is decent at worst. They also come with display cases to show off flashy weapons and gear, or anything that will fit in them! Placing armor on shelves (which can be tedious) looks great, and didn't add any lag for this player (I have stuff ALL OVER).
12) Customizations. DO NOT OVER LOOK!
A) Spells. You can make your own spells, with the requirement that one of that type is in your inventory. Take the basic fire ball, it hits one target and damages them. Okay, so after gaining access to the Arcane University, I can go to the spell alter and alter: Damage, Distance (AoE), and whether it's a touch/target/self spell. Touch spells cost less than target spells, so tinkering between the options affects mana cost and usability.
B) Gear. The most frequent gear you will pick up is vanilla (plain), and allows for enchantment. Using Soul Gems (which trap creature souls) you can add any stat to your armor OR weapon. This includes draining/adding an attribute (strength/int/etc) or skill (blade/bow/sneak/etc), damage attack, health drain, etc, literally every spell available.
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Okay, to be honest, I'm getting tired and there's still a lot I haven't covered, even though this review is hitting four pages single spaced. The point? Buy the game. You can literally hate HALF the game and still LOVE it by the end, there's THAT much to do.
By the end you'll be agreeing... The price on this game compared to others is a STEAL! It's literally a crime that other games cost the same as Oblivion and never even ATTEMPT at covering HALF the depth this game does. It's truly a value, and will keep you busy for many, many hours.
Do enjoy.
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