Review By: dapsycho | Posted: 11/04/2006
Final Word:
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion raises the bar for Console RPGs and action games, it introduces a new level of AI and provides a living world for the player to explore. It is a must get for any Xbox 360 owner!
LIVE
No multiplayer and so on, but it’s LIVE enabled so expect downloadable content. There’s already some Horse Armour on Xbox LIVE’s marketplace and 360 owners can expect at least two more official mods from Beth in the coming weeks, allowing for fresh new content and some areas that were previously locked like the quest to rebuild the Imperial Orrery.
Final Word
Oblivion is a massive game and there’s so much to find, explore and do here that it might appear extremely daunting to the first time gamer, the way the game is designed however is intelligent and well thought out enough to ease in the first timer while appealing to fans of the series. The advances in AI make the world come alive in ways that most other games cannot capture, everything moves on around you in Oblivion and the world cannot be called static.
The controls are fairly simple and require little or no time to learn, once you pick them up navigating the world and the interface becomes second nature, freeing you to concentrate on the quests, combat and exploration.
Oblivion’s game world scales enemies with you, so if you’re level 22 and only just starting the main storyline then you’ll discover that the enemies are all armed with appropriate weapons and armour, loot and goods. This has been a bit of a criticism from some of the fans, but I don’t seem to be as bothered by it than a lot of people – there are always mods for the PC version and perhaps there’ll be some for the 360 version, this option is highly unlikely unless it was a stunning mod.
It is however unfair to mark the game down because of this, Oblivion succeeds in delivering a great experience however you play it and this freedom of choice is what makes the game so special. You can choose the skills you want as your major skills, these will level up quicker than your minor and if you want to rocket through the levels then you ramp up the difficulty slider and pick the skills you’re going to use the most, be prepared for a serious challenge though as the game on even just half-way becomes a lot harder at the higher levels.
It is possible to ignore the main story until you’re a really high level, I know of at least one person that’s level 22 and just gone to the first story objective, they’ve been having fun just exploring the game and doing the side-quests, with various factions to join and faction quests the game should keep you occupied for a long time.
The save system is simple enough, you can save the game in a slot and when you move into a new area the game will auto-save as well, it will also auto-save when you sleep and so on.
It is a Console RPG at its heart but it has broken new ground for the genre and deserves to be in any Xbox 360 owners collection, even if they usually hate this kind of game – there’s something in Oblivion for everyone and the challenge is finding the right game balance for your style of play.
No multiplayer and so on, but it’s LIVE enabled so expect downloadable content. There’s already some Horse Armour on Xbox LIVE’s marketplace and 360 owners can expect at least two more official mods from Beth in the coming weeks, allowing for fresh new content and some areas that were previously locked like the quest to rebuild the Imperial Orrery.
Oblivion is a massive game and there’s so much to find, explore and do here that it might appear extremely daunting to the first time gamer, the way the game is designed however is intelligent and well thought out enough to ease in the first timer while appealing to fans of the series. The advances in AI make the world come alive in ways that most other games cannot capture, everything moves on around you in Oblivion and the world cannot be called static.
The controls are fairly simple and require little or no time to learn, once you pick them up navigating the world and the interface becomes second nature, freeing you to concentrate on the quests, combat and exploration.
Oblivion’s game world scales enemies with you, so if you’re level 22 and only just starting the main storyline then you’ll discover that the enemies are all armed with appropriate weapons and armour, loot and goods. This has been a bit of a criticism from some of the fans, but I don’t seem to be as bothered by it than a lot of people – there are always mods for the PC version and perhaps there’ll be some for the 360 version, this option is highly unlikely unless it was a stunning mod.
It is however unfair to mark the game down because of this, Oblivion succeeds in delivering a great experience however you play it and this freedom of choice is what makes the game so special. You can choose the skills you want as your major skills, these will level up quicker than your minor and if you want to rocket through the levels then you ramp up the difficulty slider and pick the skills you’re going to use the most, be prepared for a serious challenge though as the game on even just half-way becomes a lot harder at the higher levels.
It is possible to ignore the main story until you’re a really high level, I know of at least one person that’s level 22 and just gone to the first story objective, they’ve been having fun just exploring the game and doing the side-quests, with various factions to join and faction quests the game should keep you occupied for a long time.
The save system is simple enough, you can save the game in a slot and when you move into a new area the game will auto-save as well, it will also auto-save when you sleep and so on.
It is a Console RPG at its heart but it has broken new ground for the genre and deserves to be in any Xbox 360 owners collection, even if they usually hate this kind of game – there’s something in Oblivion for everyone and the challenge is finding the right game balance for your style of play.
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