Okay, let me put it this way: If you like RPGs – any RPG – buy this game. You won’t regret it. If you like deeper FPS (ie. Half-Life 2) – buy this game. You won’t regret it. If you’re any other kind of gamer: seriously ponder getting this game.
Yes, it’s simply that good.
My Rating: 96%
First off, let me just say that I’m not a big fan of traditional RPGs. Their tales simply progress at too slow a pace, and the missions often too arduous and mentally numbing. However, I like the depth of possibilities that such games offer. The tradeoff are Japanese RPGs: a bit of depth, a bit of story, and a good pace.
This was my main problem with Morrowind: I dug all the possibilities, but the gameplay was simply too slow. Plus, what’s the fun in spending 40 minutes cultivating mushrooms for a mage that doesn’t appreciate your efforts?
Enter Oblivion. I can see why fans of Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind might not like this game. After all, it feels more like an action game than anything. Some of the depth was jetissoned as a consequence.
But nonetheless, most of the depth has been retained. You can still design a character however you wish, with endless possibilities on the physical appearance. The way the character develops has been streamlined, though much of the depth remains for Alchemy, Spells and skills. However, most of the micro-management has been taken out. Simply said: the more you use a skill (ie. swords in fights), the better you get. Simple, and it works.
Unlike Morrowind and other RPGs, you start the main quest right away. And what great fun the main missions are. Not to ruin it, but there are bits that felt like an RPG version of Call of Duty. But there’s so much more than the main quest. For instance, I decided to join the Mages Guild.
That alone required travels across all cities, doing missions for each of the local Mages guild to get their recommendation. All of the missions were unique and fun, a far cry from Morrowind. Furthermore, there are countless other quests to be done in each city: from solving murders, to rescuing someone in their dream, to dealing with usurers. All of them original, all of them voice acted.
The graphics are stupendous. There’s an incredible draw distance, great environmental effects (rain, snow storm, night sky), beautiful nature vistas, and stupendous architectural designs for the buildings. The textures sometimes seem to be a bit on the low-res side, but that’s just a minor niggle. The weapons are plentiful and varied, all with unique flavours.
My biggest complaints are the game crashes, which have happened 4 times in 20 hours of play, and the awkward voice play by some of the characters. In an effort to give as much speech variety as possible to players, Bethesda has mixed canned replies. Some of these have irregular tonality, and some conversations don’t follow in too well. That said, the result is still amazing. All these characters dealing with each other simultaneously and in independent fashion.
Another niggle I have is with the sound effects, many of which sound like they were recorded in a garage. Dissapointing, but the overall effect is still amazing.
This game is worth a gander even if you don’t like RPGs. It’s just that good, and worth every penny of the $49US price tag in my opinion. I’ve played 20 hours worth; and I’ve had more fun here than I ever did with Call of Duty 2 or Battlefield 2. And I don’t even like RPGs.