The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
By Ian Wilson
Monday. Apr 24, 3:42 AM
A sprawling, immense adventure.

In 1992, Bethesda released The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, pleasing fans of the original two games greatly as well as bringing in millions of new players worldwide. The game was very open-ended and avoided all the clichés that make up console RPGs. You don't find spiky-haired heroes with big swords: instead you are just someone who is caught up in a major plot and given almost free reign on how to overcome the situation. I was happy that someone had taken this approach to the RPG genre instead of giving us another game trying to be Final Fantasy. It felt much more like a game inspired by the books that first fueled our love of fantasy.

Skip ahead four years to present day: it's not a big surprise to the fans or myself that Morrowind is still alive and kicking thanks to the huge Mod community. Its share of action has slowed a bit, however, but not due to boredom with the game. The reason is that Oblivion, the fourth game in the series, has hit shelves. I myself finally got to play the Xbox 360 version, and I must admit I am very happy with it. It was worth the wait.

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

You are a prisoner, just like in the previous games. This time you start out in a dank dungeon cell, unsure of why you are there or who you really are. It's time to choose a name, a race, and customize your look. If you played the other games, you should be familiar with all of this, but this time you can spend hours changing your character's face due to the game’s complex mechanics. I didn't notice if there was a way to increase or decrease height or weight, but seeing as you couldn't generate a face yourself in the last game, I'm happy regardless. Once done with that, you choose your class or create one (sorry, you don't get to play 20 questions), then choose your birth sign. Classes and birth signs have been altered since the last game, so don’t expect to be able to have the same kind of play-through as you did previously.

Most people I talked to were turned off by Morrowind for one reason (a reason I find ridiculous): the graphics. I must admit they aren't up to modern standards, but when you take into account the things that the game has to offer, it more than makes up for it in my eyes. Oblivion will not have this problem, as it looks beautiful by any standards. I just wish that Bethesda had spent as much time on the NPCs as I did when creating a face for my character.

One of the first big changes that I noticed in terms of game play was that all weapons now have a single rating. In Morrowind, each weapon had a minimum and maximum damage for each attack. Oblivion gets rid of that altogether, and I must say I like it. No longer will you have to worry about the fact that your Slash isn't as good as your Thrust. Also missing is the Medium Armor: armor is now either Light or Heavy. Another huge change is the menu system, which at first seems confusing but later, after getting used to it, is very helpful. Explaining how it works would take too long, though… you'll just have to trust me.

The second biggest reason people didn't like the last game was the wandering: specifically the "lost" kind of wandering. Traveling, slowly, from place to place wondering if you went the right way and wishing your Stamina wouldn't drain so damn fast. Thankfully, Bethesda has changed this and added an Objective Marker, as well as a compass that has icons on it to lead you. Just follow it and it'll lead you right to where you need to go. Don't feel like making the hike to the next town? Simply click on the town on the map and travel there instantly. What about the dungeon outside of town that you can't click on? Grab a horse! Also, your Stamina does not decrease from running, so if you do feel like hiking, you don't need to rest so much.

Combat has also been greatly improved: now you won't be spending your time getting your ass handed to you by Cave Rats. That's not to say you won't run into trouble now and then, but you won't find yourself dying so much. Over all, Oblivion feels much easier, which – seeing as you'll be playing it for the next 10 years – might not be such a good thing. Of course you could raise the difficulty, but you want to beat it before you are 80, right?

The game is HUGE. Not just in the sense that there is a lot of ground (16 square miles), but that each person you meet has their own personality (not to mention their own voice). It is huge in the sense that it can suit almost any playing style or way of thinking. Hopefully this game will be as Mod friendly as the last game, but even still there is plenty of content already.

Of course there is a downside to everything, and for most this might be enough to cement the series as something they won't ever be able to get into: Oblivion is pretty much the same game as Morrowind. Sure, there are a lot of changes and refinement, but if you didn't like Morrowind, you won't like Oblivion. If you like Morrowind, chances are you aren't reading this right now: you are already lost in another world.
www.elderscrolls.com

Ian Wilson

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