Heres the story, I was browsing around the boards cause today is payday and Im trying to determine what to run out and play obsessively this weekend. I came to the realization that somehow we have managed to survive without a review forum or thread, which is a triumph to itself in a way. So I will be attempting, in an effort to test my own objective journalistic skills and inform my community, to create an objective review series of threads. Im trying to start this process early before my game library outpaces my nonlaziness

Im hoping these threads not only inform but help to generate discussion about the games review/genre, hopefully without the non helpful "THis game rules/suxors!". These type of replies dont help cause your fellow members have no idea why it "rules/suxors".

"I think this game rules because of the depth of character customization makes it so you can BE that character"
"This game suxors because I think the control scheme was created for an 8 thumbed monkey. Way to many button presses to do the simplest things."

These are much better, cause they give a reason WHY and use "I" statements which lets people know these are opinions, but informed ones. I have faith that anyone who wants to post responses to these threads has the ability for intelligent non inflammitory posts and can benefit the rest of us with their insight

So without any further ado...on to the reviews!

Game: Elder Scrolls IV:Oblivion
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: First-Person RPG
Released: 03/20/07
ESRB Rating: M
Players: 1

Game Objective\Goal: The good old save the kingdom, save the entire world. The emperor is dead, its up to you to find his heir and save the world of Ciirydl from utter destruction from the forces of darkness lurking in Oblivion. Create your character and develop them as you journey through the huge world that lies before you on your quest.

The Objective Section of the review
------
Gameplay: Well considering how you can pretty much do almost anything you can think of in the world created for you the gameplay is pretty damn exspansive. You can choose to be a sword swinging powerhouse, a finger wiggler death dealer, a stabbity rogue, a conjourer of beasts, or pretty much anything you want to make. The character customization is probably the deepest I've ever seen in a console RPG port, as Oblivion is orginally a damn good PC title. There is a staggering array of things to do in this game aside from the main storyline. I have frequently found myself spending hours just raising my ability to use alchemy or doing a side quest to get a fully furnished house (see if you can find out what im talking about;) ).

The storyline missions feel pretty epic in scope as many times your character is charged with the task of single handedly combating some horrifying evil thereby saving the town/region/guild/world. The missions difficulty will sometimes be directly affected by what skills you choose to give your character. A finger wiggler might have a bit of trouble with enemies that like to get up close and personal, a basher might be at a disadvantage fighting a group of sharpshooting rogues. Thankfully Oblivion always gives you a way to master any challenge, though sometimes it may take a bit of time and energy searching and planning your attack. A ravine can be used as a chokepoint with a bit of manuevering and taunting or searching through a spell book will reveal a summonable monster to do your bidding and bust some faces.

There are hundreds of places to explore and treasure hunt scattered over the enormous world. Fortunately Bethesda remembered to give us a way to quickly get across the huge world through the convient usage of map travel. Opening up the map and selecting a certain location gives you the option to warp there, which is very believable in the setting of the game. This allows the huge world to be an assest rather than a hinderance. Populating this map is a fair selection of outposts, villages, forts, caves, ruins, holes in the ground, gateways to death. Many places have their own selection of quests for advancing your character or finding some "l33t l3wt".

Doing quests for different NPCs,which are numerous, can shift your reputation in that area/region influencing how other NPCs will react to your deeds and presence. The area where you earned your reputation is directly affected by it, giving you access to new areas, NPCs, or quests. The reputation system isnt perfect as you can be the bloodthirsty dark leader of the assassin cult and the hero of Ciirydil, but given the scope of this game its easily overlooked. It seems Bethesda used the paradigm many of us use in our own lives, a new location means a place to reinvent yourself.

Spread across the world are the Gates of Oblivion which are responsible for much of the approaching evil and destruction. Throughout the storyline missions, you will be given the chance to venture forth to attempt to turn the tide of vile influence by attempting to seal these gates by journeying into the realm of Oblivion itself. Some of the beasties and baddies you'll find inside will amaze you as you sit on the edge of your seat testing your mettle against these overlords of destruction, any way you can.

In terms of gameplay, well Oblivion, pretty much lets you play the game however you damn well please doing whatever you damn well want to.

Controls: In a game so big and expansive the controls had better be able to keep everything flowing smoothly. Oblivion manages to do this pretty well, not perfectly, but pretty well. The game does seem to suffer a bit from not being designed with the standard keyboard and mouse layout, as I sometimes found that I really wanted to have hotkeys to perform some standard actions I used alot. Good thing that a shortcut menu was included. By pressing on the shoulder button, a shortcut menu pops up with actions you have mapped to a key press. With the shortcut menu open when you press the button corresponding to the slot you want the action is instantly performed without having to navigate through a selection of menus.

Movement controls are the standard First person console controls, left analog for movement, right analog for view point. The d-pad is used for shortcuts and hotkeys, the buttons handle the standard attack, jump, engage etc. The shoulder buttons are used to bring up menus, guard, and modify the actions of other buttons. The controls have enough versatility without being overly complex, which allows them to become intuitive very fast and easily.

The game can be switched from 1st to 3rd person depending on the player preferences. This lets the FPS fan adapt to the game quickly as well as allow the more traditional RPG player to equally adapt to the game. Melee players may be more comfortable in FP mode where spell casters may find that 3rd person allows them a better FOV and targeting.

I found that the melee combat takes a little getting used to as its not as percise as a strict FPS, but its not so alien as to make it unplayable. With a little repetition sword usage becomes second nature as you get used to remembering to hold the guard buttons and the power attack button. Sword combat quickly becomes exciting as you duel rather than just hack and slash, as the enemies will remember to guard as well. The spell controls are pretty straight forward, center a target in your view and let your spell fly by pressing the approiate hotkey you've set.

The controls translate pretty well from the PC version to the PS3 port, even though I would have liked to have a few extra keys to set to some actions I did alot outside of combat.
------

Graphics: -- The graphics in this game are simply amazing. There are plenty of breathtaking vistas. The world has so much detail in it that it becomes vibrant and alive. Ive found myself staring at a mountain range or a lake for a few moments just watching the detail. The PS3 makes prime use of its gfx engine in this game. Everything is rendered crisp and sharp.

The lighting is done very well and serves to set the mood nicely. I am glad that the developers took into account how lights can affect an enviroment. Creepy places are made even creepier by low lighting, meadows look inviting with their warm open light, and danger can mean the glint of light off an arrow as it flies from the dark shadow. The shadow effects in this game are very well done. Every object that obstructs light casts a dynamic shadow. Moving objects have shadows rendered on the fly creating a very immersive and believable world.

NPC and character animations are smooth and with a stunning amount of options/animations. I have sometimes stopped in the middle of the town when I've seen to NPC's dynamically engage each other in conversation, complete with body language and facial features. Excellent quality even if there is a set number of unique encounters. I am referenceing what occurs after watching for a while, you'll notice the same type/character enter the shop/area and progress along the dialouge tree. If you are simply playing through the game and not observing you may not even notice this event, which serves as an achievement to the graphical design as the NPCs mesh very well with the setting and background.

I have yet to notice any graphical items which have taken away from my gameplay experience. The menus are very well constructed graphically by keeping in theme with the world.

The graphics in the PS3 port of Oblivion look far better than they do on my PC version, however this may be due to specs. But still the graphics rank at the top of the next-gen titles.
------

Sound: If I had a 5.1 system I probably would get alot more enjoyment out of this game. The soundtrack is amazing, and thats not doing it justice on my stereo TV speakers. The musical score is engaging and does a great job of deeping the experience. Each town and location seems to have a musical personality as what you are hearing seems to match the idea in your head of how the place SHOULD sound.

The sound effects are equally constructed. Hitting an enemies sword during their guard attempt sounds exactly like it should, making the sound of hitting their flesh sound even more satisfying. The spell sound effects do a great job of sounding mystical and powerful. They are also very varied so that summoning a skeleton sounds nothing like lighting that advancing wolf on fire.

The sound is powerful enough for you to feel a sense of dread when it cuts out or starts to play something sinister.

------

Length\Replayability: Is not an issue in this game. If you are expecting to pick this game up and beat it in a weekend I suggest inventing a time stopping device. This game is huge. You can easily spend 3 hours simply creating potions and poisons to put on your sword or sell. The storyline missions alone will take you a good 40-60 hours of game time and thats if you are rushing through.

The sidequests in this game are upwards into the high hundreds. One town alone can hold an entire afternoon to midnight worth of questing. There are tons of places to explore and adventure through. Just leaving the gate and walking a few feet/miles can find you a new chain of quests. I am of the belief that one should really beat a game first before using a strategy guide, but in this game Ive consulted a guide to make sure Ive got all the quests I can before moving to a new region because there are simply that many.

With the incredible character customization and development, there are hundreds of ways to replay this game. Playing the game as one type of character is completely different from attempting to go through it as one with differing traits and play style.

This game is probably the best offline solo MMO you can play. It is simply that long/rich. You can play for 4 weeks straight and still not find everything the game has to offer, which is great because you are always finding something new to do.


-------


Objective Summary: Oblivion is one of the biggest and most immersive single player games ever created with thousands of things to do and thousands of ways to do them. Of course it also looks and sounds damn good doing it too.

=====RESERVED POST SLOT====

That all to long opion section of the review
------
Fun:
Recommendation:
Similar games:

=====RESERVED POST SLOT====

First off. Holy crap thats a long review. I havent read the whole thing yet, but I will. Glad to see you take the time to write the review and its most welcomed here.