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| THEY SHOULD HAVE SENT A POET |
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 he Emperor is dead. The world is on the brink of chaos, and hordes of demons are pouring into the wilderness though the gates of Oblivion. Why then am I, as the only hope for the land of Tamriel, hanging out in a tavern? Or carrying out assassinations? Or stealing from poor merchants? Because the way I see it, there are more important matters at hand. Of course, you’re free to disagree and single-mindedly focus on the noble task of saving the world. That’s the real triumph of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; the open-ended, choice-driven gameplay that has defined the series returns, but with an unparalleled depth that puts you at the very center of a living, breathing world. The bar for the next generation of RPGs has just been set.
The moment you step out of the Imperial sewers into the wide open countryside of Cyrodiil, you will likely feel intimidated and overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities. While your options never dwindle, the scope of the game becomes much more manageable as you individually determine which quest chains take priority. Follow the main story if you like, or join a guild, or help citizens in need. While many games have claimed to allow players to “create their own stories,” this is the first time I felt like it was actually happening. Be warned, however, that gamers who cling to the need for linear progression will be left wanting for more specific direction, since it’s entirely possible to have 10 or more quests on the back burner at any one time.
The act of physically carrying out these numerous quests is thankfully just as rewarding as the game’s conceptual basis. The clean, intuitive combat is a great improvement over Morrowind, with hit detection being the only area that seemed occasionally spotty. The d-pad is used to select your hotkeyed weapons and spells (used with the right trigger and bumper, respectively), but this convenience comes at the expense of being able to scroll through your options mid-fight like you could in Morrowind. My biggest complaint about the battles stems from fact that sometimes the game would force me into encounters that I, as a stealthy assassin, didn’t have the skills to win. For example, I had to confront two warriors in a locked crypt. They attacked me as soon as I approached, and the only way I survived was by using a once-per-day summon to distract one of them, killing the other, and then looting the body to get the key. As I fled the crypt and the remaining heavily-armored thug pursued, the city guards showed up and cut him down. Now, one could view this as dynamic, but having the guards kill your enemy is the Oblivion equivalent of having your mommy bail you out. Thankfully, for every moment like this that frustrated me, there were a dozen quests that – at long last – made me proud to be an Xbox 360 owner.
Trying to sum up all of the possibilities and highlights of Oblivion in one page is like summarizing The Lord of the Rings in a single sentence; it’s possible to convey a general idea, but the real joy lies in the minute details. Breaking and entering and stealing. Saving (not killing!) the rats in an old woman’s basement. Desperately seeking a cure for vampirism. Once you start unearthing these tasks, brace yourself for the long haul. Providing you don’t mind blazing your own trail, the content in Oblivion just keeps on coming, and it never gives you any reason to stop playing
-JOE
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As the hours drop away into days, it’s clear just how ambitious Oblivion really is. The ability to craft the character and play experience that you want is unprecedented. Early in the game, I encountered a situation that is representative of the experience as a whole. After emerging from the opening underground area, I began to climb a hill that gave way to a mountain, and at a sufficient height I turned to see miles of landscape laid out before me – ancient ruins, tall trees, and the glistening towers of the Imperial City all beckoned. The enormity of options was overwhelming. It’s a feeling that has yet to go away even now, dozens of hours later. If a stuttering frame rate and long load times are enough to dissuade you from such wonder, you may have missed the point. I’d love to see these small dilemmas addressed, as well as a little more refined combat balancing, but the problems don’t even begin to outweigh the benefits of this, the first next-generation RPG, and the one by which all others will be measured. |
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