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Developer: Bethesda
Publisher: 2K Games
Genre: RPG
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 20 Mar 06
User Rating
9.7 (11 votes) -
- Bethesda fulfills the hopes of fans with this truly epic RPG, laced with genuinely jaw-dropping next-gen visuals and the customary deep and satisfying gameplay.
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Overview
For everyone that has been paying any attention to the game industry in the year of 2006, you will know already that March showed more big name releases than any other month yet this year. I would really be surprised if anyone tried to argue against that point, because of all the amazing blockbuster titles that have been released in the month. One of the most highly anticipated titles out of the month of March was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the Xbox 360, which tries to take the previous success of Morrowind and make another immersive game. So can Bethesda Softworks live up to the great challenge? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
The first game of the Elder Scrolls series that I had the chance to check out was the previous game The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. It was in this game that you received an epic RPG that was completely open-ended and allowed you to make the decisions that you wanted to when you wanted to. That sort of freedom was still rather new then, so the game became wildly popular and was very successful. Now with Oblivion there has been a lot of hype in regards to the game being released for the Xbox 360, and whether the move to the next generation console would have a profound impact on the series. So is this just Morrowind with a new title, or is this really an even better experience?
So let's first talk about the beginning of the game, which of course is where you get to create your character. This being a very influential and important part of the game, so be prepared to spend a bit of time really tweaking your character to your liking. What is so great about the character creation is that you really get to customize your character in everyway imaginable. The likelihood of you and your friend's characters being even somewhat similar are probably pretty unlikely.
Alright now your character is created, and you will find him starting off locked in a prison for a reason that you really don't understand. You will then be out of the prison, and the story of the game takes off from there. I have to say that I was a little underwhelmed at first with the game's story, but things did pick up as you continue on in the experience. The story is told at a pace, which keeps you interested, but at the same time it doesn't try to throw too much out at you. The story develops and becomes more and more interesting as you go along.
So let's talk about the gameplay, which is just so massive I could never even cover half of what you could do in the game in this review. So instead, I will do my best to hit some of the key aspects. First off, the game can be played in either first person or a third person perspective, something that sounds good on paper but in reality it is kind of a pain. The reason I say this is because to me the 3rd Person perspective (like in Morrowind) just doesn't work all that well. The game just doesn't flow right when you are in that perspective, where as the 1st person perspective is more intuitive but feels like they still had a slight bit more work to do to perfect it.
The combat in the game is really good and is very different depending on what type of character you are playing as. But having created a few characters (for review purposes) I found that whether you're a warrior or a magician, you will find the controls to be pretty good towards combat. This is definitely a good thing, considering there is going to be a lot of combat to find in this game, and you will see this right from the onset of the game.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a game that manages to do a lot of things right and a few things wrong. Something I should mention is just the grand scale of this game, which really is an impressive feat. At times I found myself just amazed out how vast of a universe Bethesda created for Oblivion. I remember in the first hour of play just running through huge open fields, just amazed at what they had created. The game gives a lot of these amazing memories that the series has been known for. The game has some technical issues, but those are overshadowed by the game's ability to give you one of the first true next-generation experiences. The gameplay of this game is deep; it has an insane amount of replay value, and is just a very enjoyable experience.
Graphics
Visually, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a mix of breathtaking and minor glitches, which is really how the game goes throughout the whole experience. Starting with the bad in Oblivion is a lot of the technical glitches that can be found throughout the game. These glitches come in the environments and even sometimes in the animation, which does bring down the level of quality just a bit. But on the total flip side of that, you have the rest of Oblivion, which is just a downright beautiful game. The environments in the game are expansive and highly detailed, and the character models are detailed and unique. I would have to say that Oblivion is one of the few games on the 360 that I have just put my controller down and just stared at how beautiful the game looks.
Fun Factor
For those of you out there who didn't enjoy the previous game Morrowind, and thought Oblivion might change your mind about the series, I am here to inform you this is not a game that will do that. This is a game that was built around the conception that you thought Morrowind was a great game. Oblivion in my opinion is a bit more challenging then Morrowind and is definitely quite a bit deeper. Some of the best times in the game is not so much when you are diving into the story, but when you jump into the side missions and let those take you away. This is a game that easily could be in your 360 till we are yelling "Happy New Year" in 2007.
Overall
I am happy to report to all the skeptics who thought Bethesda might be releasing a poor rendition of Morrowind, that in Oblivion that is not the case. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a great action RPG that takes place is one of the most beautiful environments gamers have ever laid eyes on. If you like what Bethesda did with the Morrowind (like millions of gamers did), then you are going to love what they managed to do on the 360 with Oblivion.
- Gameplay
9.0 - Graphics
9.0 - Fun Factor
9.0 - Overall
9.0
