Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Oblivion is another RPG in the long running Elder Scrolls series. Morrowind, which was the last installment in this series, was out for the original Xbox and got mixed feelings from many console gamers. Although the game was extremely long in its’ single-player campaign; many felt it was not very novice friendly and it often required too much time for you to really enjoy it. This was a very important step for Bethesda, as they took everything they learned from Morrowind and made those extra adjustments for Oblivion.

Oblivion is an extremely long game, but more important than its length is its content. An overwhelming amount of quests, guilds, and other exploration points have been put into Oblivion; giving this game one of the longest single player experiences to date. When you think about it, the game’s massiveness is overwhelming at first but it caters for the casual players very nicely, and can even provide a great experience for those that have either never played RPG’s before nor never liked them.

The basic concepts of an RPG are still here; you pick a character from a big variety, you assign a class for him and you go on with your life in the world of Oblivion. The major three classes that you can focus on are between a typical Warrior that uses sword fighting, a Sneaky warrior which let’s you use sneak tactics like hiding in shadows and even becoming invisible, or a typical Magician using magic and spells. The great thing about Oblivion is that you can be a mixture of all three. You can create your own class and choose what skills you want to focus on. By using your major skills, your character will be able to level up and become a more effective warrior with higher powers.

Then there is the exploration part of an RPG. You are in the empire of Cyrodiil and there are many cities for you to explore. In these cities you can visit people’s homes, the city castles, the markets and different shops and much, much more. Talking to people will lead you to quests and finding treasures based on rumors they have heard. You are provided with a map in which you can travel from one major city to another by a click of a button; or if you feel like exploring the world, you can simply take a horse and ride around the huge and beautiful landscape.

Combat in the new Elder Scrolls game is excellently done. It resembles Condemned: Criminal Origins, as you have a block button and a strike button. It is this basic melee type system that you will be using most of the time. Of course while you are fighting you can use your spells and destructive skills at the same time. You also have the option of using a Bow and Arrow to kill people in stealth from a distance. The combat system of Oblivion is a great way to keep the non-RPG crowd interested; it makes the game seem like a great action FPS at times.

The only small downfall of Oblivion in the gameplay field is the feeling of redundancy from time to time. Destroying Oblivion gates and other tasks will have you feeling like you are just doing that same thing over and over; for example, the Arena quests can get extremely repetitive as you will be doing the same thing 30 times in a row. Still, it is very easy to overlook this since you know there’s a reward at the end of it all.

The controls are smooth and only take a minute to get used to. The default sensitivity is good and the mapping is good for the most part. The trigger buttons are designated for block and attack. The shoulder buttons act as your magic attacks. The B button will bring up your inventory/map/player level/spells/potions select screen. I did find it a bit odd that the developers set the Y button as the jump button but again, no biggie. Horse riding parts controlled with ease as well and controlling this game was an overall pleasant experience.