Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Mysterious gates to Oblivion are popping up all over the land, and vicious monsters roam the countryside. The Emperor has been assassinated, and although you don’t know why, he entrusted you with restoring order. You must seek out the heir to the throne and close shut the doors of Oblivion! The story to the game isn’t exactly breathtaking, but it does the job of tying everything together and will more than likely keep your interest. The game offers so much freedom that you’re more than likely going to get distracted from the main quest on many an occasion, but that’s more of a testament to the game’s enjoyable side quests rather than a flaw with the story.

Shortly after making these choices, you’re given the option of changing your mind, so if you don’t do it right the first time, you can correct the error. The more you use your skills, the more powerful with them you will become, and eventually you may move up in skill mastery level, further increasing the skills strength. Increasing the major skills associated with your class will allow you to level up. When you take this all into consideration, you have a lot of options when it comes to customizing your character. Not only can you choose the race, appearance, class, and birthsign, you have full control over how you raise the character’s skills. On top of all this, there are hordes of different items, weapons, and armor to pick up, which can change your character’s skills and appearance.

Oblivion features beautiful graphics, an extreme level of detail, and lots of interaction with your environment. Of course, these are things we’ve come to expect from the series. In exchange for this beauty, you unfortunately will also experience a fair amount of loading while venturing through the lands. Of course, the load times generally don’t last very long, but when you enter some of the cities and have to sit through load screen after load screen, you’ll probably become a bit annoyed. Outside of the cities, however, the game runs smoothly, with very little wait for loading aside from the occasional stutter. The cities are relatively expansive and grand, featuring everything from large palaces to tiny little cottages. Each city has a fairly distinct look and feel to it, which you’ll learn to appreciate as you travel across the entire map. The characters are very detailed, from their facial features to their exotic weapons and armor. Each moves convincingly and interacts with their environment, bringing the world of Oblivion to life. Another thing of beauty in Oblivion is the effects, from the burning of fire to the splashing of water, it’s very impressive. I’m not joking at all when I say you’ll more than likely pause on more than one occasion simply to admire the beauty of the game. One majr annoyance that you will likely encounter in the game are bugs. I’ve run into one that has halted my progress in one of the guilds and I know a few other games that have had similar problems. While you may be one of the lukcy ones who get through the game without these problems, they an cause major frustration when they do pop up!

Honestly, there’s so much to do and explore that the game can be a bit overwhelming! Of course, you don’t HAVE to do it all if you don’t want to. That’s what makes the game so great! If you’re looking for a game with a lot of options and lots of things to do, then you’ll be exceptionally pleased with Oblivion. If you’re looking for more of a story-driven game, you can have that too! Although, I’ll admit, you’re missing out on a lot if you choose to skip all the side stuff and go right for the story. Still, it might not be for everyone. Between the deep customization and the somewhat overwhelming world, Oblivion might be a game best for hardcore RPG fans and fans of the Elder Scrolls series.

I’ll admit, I had more fun playing Oblivion than I’ve had with any game for quite a while. Traveling across the Kingdom, visiting strange new places, slaughtering the entire population of the occasional village, contracting vampirism… it was surely an entertaining experience. Every game has its flaws and Oblivion is no exception to the rule. However, it’s a game that I found enjoyable enough that the flaws were easily overshadowed. If you’re a fan of the series then it’s a no brainer that you should pick this game up. If you haven’t yet experienced the Elder Scrolls series, this is a great place to start!