A review about Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion ... What's to say, a brilliant game in its day. Clearly dated now and out-done in many ways by Elder Scrolls V, Skyrim, but I love the game, glitches and all. There is a lot of game to play in Oblivion, I recommend anyone who has an interest in Skyrim and hasn't experienced Oblivion source a copy and give it a run. You WON'T be disappointed. But be prepared to invest many many months with the game. The story line in Oblivion is on a par with Skyrim, the characters clearly aren't as advanced from a visual perspective, but if you can tolerate that shortcoming there is a powerful game to be played through some lush surroundings and significant caves.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Sorry, fanboys. I'm just going to be honest and give my opinion (even though 47 out of 48 people won't find this review useful). This game had the most splendid visuals I've seen in a game yet. Breath-taking vistas revealed distant curiosities that were not just background: you could actually travel to those places. Water effects reflect sunrises that could only be experienced in an imaginary realm of fantastic beauty. Each tree and rock were of a distinct type and origin, so that no place seems to be contrived due to repeating sprites. Literally, each tree and plant was a real-life species that you could identify because you have likely seen it in the woods. I'm serious; I've never felt so in awe by the beauty of a game. And that's where it ends. The vast beauty I've just mentioned is spent running from hundreds of angry wolves and mindless NPCs that hate you. Most of this expansive environment is wasted space; you get the feeling that you are searching, but never really finding anything. The menus are so convoluted that the learning curve is 5 hours just to figure how to use items efficiently. The controls are not customizable enough, which leads to angry, frustrated reviews because you cant set the stick layout the way you like it. You can't even cycle between weapons without getting a feeling that is somewhat like having a wisdom tooth extracted. Every single hut, house, cave, or cabin you'll enter leads first to a loading screen that seems eternal. Glitchy lagging seems to follow you everywhere, like your Xbox is choking to death. This is also the only game that has ever caused my 360 to freeze up, and it happened at least 10 times. In order to get results from any of the NPC's, you first have to win them over with a repetitive mini-game that makes no sense. Every NPC says the same line again and again. Every NPC says the same line again and again. Every NPC says the same line again and again. The icing on the cake is captain Jean-Luc Picard being used as a gimmick and dying off in the first hour. This game had more potential than any other game I've ever seen. But as for the average gamer, rent first. This game belongs on the shelf beside unopened Gandolf action figures in the bedroom of only the most devout fantasy aficionado. -7/10.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
The Elder Scrolls IV is a perfect example of what the Xbox360 will be able to do even though at times the game can suffer from major glitches (glitches so bad you may not be able to complete some quests). The game is beautiful and the 16 square miles you can cover in the game is mind-boggling. Dungeon diving can be repetitive sometimes but you can find some pretty great things down there. What the game brings to the table cannot be defined as a simple RPG. There are so many elements stealth, action, 1st person shooting, 3rd person slashing (could use some work on the stiffness of the camera and the player), horseriding (would be great to see them use "GUN's" horseriding engine), character building, and tactical squad game all rolled into one huge epic of a game. These elements will keep you playing well over 100 hours. Using magic is also a key element and the graphic effects are oh so pretty. You can become a vampire if you like (would be great to see a werewolf download). So many things can keep you busy in this land where things go on 24/7. People have jobs to do and places to go. And downloadable content has several things to keep you playing even longer. Just be careful what you buy. Not everything is worth the money (horse armor, spell tomes). This is a game that must not be passed up. IT is a MUST play. 5/5 Not really worth paying much extra to get this version but the coin is a nice touch.Read full review
First off, the score is a bit high. The one I gave it is anyways, but I can't pick 4.5 or 4.6 so I rounded up. This game is PRETTY. No doubt about it. Whether you're playing in high-def or not, this game is absolutely beautiful. The colors are vibrant, the jaggies are slim to none, the weapons look great, the people look great... the only thing that might be considered bad is the flat textures such as hair on a wolf or a creature in that vein, but overall this game is very pretty. The sound in the game is real good too. Especially if you have a surround-sound capable stereo. The sound will draw you in if you let it, which some games don't anymore. This game will, as it has to me. The gameplay is great if not just a bit repetitive. Talk to people, get side quests and complete them. Kill enemies, get items. Level up. This a real-time RPG at heart, with action and light puzzle-solving to complement it. At its' core, though, it's a really compelling RPG. The Collector's Edition comes with a nice bevy of extra's, including a book on Morrowind, a Making of DVD documentary, way nicer packaging than the regular, a Septim coin which is Morrowind's currency, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. If you're not a traditional RPG fan, this is not a traditional RPG. Some of the other elements may draw you in. Some may not. This is definitely worth a try and if you let it take you in, you will not regret the purchase.Read full review
You could spend hundreds of hours playing this game, without even playing the main quest! Definitely worth at least giving the game a try.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The Good * Huge, lavishly detailed world offers tremendous amount of action and adventure * Main mechanics like combat, stealth, and magic are fun and well designed * Impressive artificial intelligence and hundreds of believable characters * Outstanding symphonic score, as well as excellent voice acting and sound effects * Tremendous replay value, plus gorgeous graphics to make it easy on the eyes. The Bad * Frequent though fairly brief loading times * You might run into some technical issues with performance. This is a rare and remarkable achievement--a huge, open-ended, complex, detailed role-playing game that's fun to play and a pleasure to behold. Oblivion not only delivers everything that earned the Elder Scrolls series the devoted loyalty of a huge following of fans, but also significantly improves on the weaknesses of its 2002 predecessor, Morrowind. Morrowind earned recognition for being one of the best role-playing games in years, but the immersive and long-lasting experience it provided wasn't for everyone. Oblivion is hands-down better, so much so that even those who'd normally have no interest in a role-playing game should find it hard to resist getting swept up in this big, beautiful, meticulously crafted world. Morrowind was a tough act to follow, but Oblivion isn't just better--it's a lot better. The Elder Scrolls series is known for its sheer size and depth. These are games that you could lose yourself in, spending hours exploring a fantasy world, traveling for miles, or just looking for minutiae, such as rare plants or hidden treasure. Oblivion lives up to this pedigree, putting you into a massive, cohesive, highly immersive world. You get to create your own character--the possibilities for customization seem limitless--and then explore the world as you will. There's a compelling main quest for you to follow, which takes about 40 hours to finish the first time through, but the majority of the game's content is peripheral to that main quest. You can root out evil in hidden dungeons, join and climb the ranks in a number of different guilds, visit all the different towns and try to solve everybody's problems, compete in a long series of gladiatorial battles to the death, break into someone's home and rob them in their sleep, get caught and face the consequences, contract a disease that leads to vampirism and then try to find a cure, buy a house, steal a horse, invest in your favorite shop, and, if you can believe it, there's much more. So the breadth of content is as remarkable as ever, but the most important thing is this: The many types of gameplay in Oblivion are well-designed and deeply satisfying, even when taken on their own. That's the main difference between this game and Morrowind. This may be a role-playing game, but you could play it like a pure action game, or like a stealth game, or like an adventure game, and it'd still be at least as good as, if not better than, games that are specialized in these regards. Oblivion does a great job of quickly introducing you to all these different aspects of play, successfully engaging you rather than overwhelming you. You see the world through your character's eyes, but a behind-the-back perspective is also available. Initially you just pick a name, race, and gender for your character, and the game opens with you stuck in a dungeon cell, being taunted by a fellow inmate. Overall Rating: An 11/10Read full review
Oblivion is so immersive that at times, I literally didn't even realize I was playing a videogame. There is so much to do in so many ways that to do everything would take you 200 hours. The most fun is ranking up in the different guilds. My favorites were the Thieves Guild, where you steal, and the Dark Brotherhood, where you assassinate a whole lot of people. The game is unique in practically every aspect. You really can't compare the game to anything else (other than the prequel maybe). Highs: Graphics are astounding, Endless amount of FUN things to do, free-roaming medieval gameplay is a plus, decently balanced combat/stealth/magic system, fantastic production values, loads of additional content, will suck your lifeforce. Lows: About a 5 hour learning curve for people unfamiliar with the franchise, Loading is frequent and will cause your 360 to hang up, like, a lot, about 80 hours into the game you realize it's going to be repetitive, very short main quest, could have better utilized Xbox Live in some way other than for downloading content, will suck your lifeforce. Surprise Bonus: You can be a vampire?! Wow... Collector's Edition Surprise Bonus: A COIN!!!! ZOMG!!! And Finally: If you like action games that pull you in and refuse to let go, I can't think of anything better to play.Read full review
Amazing title. Collectors edition is great for true fans of the series!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is the reason why I became a bigger fan of the Xbox 360. I borrowed this game from my friend who has now passed away back in the Summer of 2006. This game consumed the entire season. I would be playing this for about 17 Hours a day it seems. Time would pass so quickly when playing this game, that's how fun it was. I just recently bought the Collector's Edition since I wanted to own the extra goodies, plus the packaging looks really nice. This remains one of my favorite games on the Xbox 360 just for the fact it still is much fun to play and the nostalgic factor of playing it in the Summer of 2006 when there wasn't much going on then.
Not as good as Morrowind, but a must for the starvation of needing more. Would have liked it better if I could have downloaded my Morrowind character onto this game. Next time I would like to see more of a storyline and less worry about having the highest gaming graphics demands. It was a disservice to the longstanding Elder scroll fans, to require so many people who bought it for PC to have to go out and completely by new hardware for there systems. However, fans out there, just get a 360 system instead of butchering your PC. With that in mind, on a good note, I will say the game is better than most, and if you are single, it will occupy all of your spare time!
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