The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- Page 2

The Good News

The sleek, smart combat controls. We were particularly pleased to see that Bethesda included an option to boost the Xbox 360's analog stick sensitivity. As a whole, Oblivion's controls are smartly laid out, giving the game a fluid, precise feel not unlike that of Halo 2. It takes a bit of practice, but once you get the mechanics down, is very viscerally satisfying. We also like how weapons, blocking (whether by shield, sword, or torch), and magic all worked together to form one nuanced combat system. You can soften an enemy up with fireballs, then drive a mallet into his face for the coup de grace. This makes for far more active, interesting character builds: melee-and-magic characters are not only possible in Oblivion, they're powerful.

Whether you specialize in melee or magic, combat feels ferocious (PC)

The vast, awe-inspiring outdoor environments. At one point, we hiked to the top of a nearby summit to take a look at the surrounding mountains. We hopped from boulder to builder, and scaled a steep incline, before we reached the top of the mountain. A jaw-dropping view awaited us: what we saw was a limitless expanse of mountain ranges, not unlike the view you'd see in rural Pennsylvania, Vermont, or northern California. Miles away, we could make out mountains that were dotted with scores of swaying trees. We carefully worked our way around the perimeter of the cliffs. Ten minutes later, we had made considerable progress--our original vantage point was now a tiny point on the horizon, far above us.

The characters. Legitimate thespian Patrick Stewart shines brightly in the his role as the Emperor, but it was the townsfolk who really grabbed our hearts. The people of Bruma, the first town in the game, seemed like good people, not just cardboard cutouts trudging through computer space. We didn't just listen to their plights, we sympathized; we actually wanted to help the innkeeper track down her missing husband, because we believed her grief and wanted to help. When's the last time you felt that way in a game? Superior voice acting and realistic facial animations (characters scowl, plead, and hem and haw) combine to give the NPCs moving performances.

The quests. Some of the adventures (we only played a few) show flash and inspiration from the game designers. In one quest, we ventured inside a magic oil painting to track down a missing painter. The sky, the ground, the rocks, everything was composed out of oil paint and brush strokes. Even the tree leaves were made from thick dabs of oil paint. It was an incredibly creative and novel approach for a quest, and if the final game has more moments like this, it's destined for greatness.

The character creation options. Simply phenomenal. Aside from the character builder, the advancement choices are staggering in detail. Your basic stats include strength, willpower, intelligence, agility, speed, endurance, personality, and luck. Your skills are also expansive, and include: Armorer (helps you maintain weapons), Athletics (run, swim, and recover fatigue faster), Alchemy (allows you to create potions and mix ingredients you find in the wilderness), Acrobatics (powerful jumps and reduced falling damage), Marksman (bow and arrow abilities), Mercantile (buying and selling items), Security (lockpicks), Sneak (pickpocketing, stealth), Speechcraft (NPCs like the smooth talkers).

You could spend hours tweaking your character's minute facial details (PC)

The character classes. Actually choosing your class comes an hour or more into the game, which is helpful because you've tried many of the core gameplay elements--combat, stealth, magic--by that point. Oblivion comes with 21 classes in all, ranging from Knights and Rogues and Scouts to more eclectic fare, such as Spellswords, Witchhunters, Assassins, and Battlemages. You can even create a custom class if you don't want to feel restricted. We made a new class (a "Warlock") that mastered in Conjuration, Destruction, heavy melee and armor skills. One thing's for sure: with all this content, Oblivion will warrant at least several playthroughs.

Conclusions

It's interesting that Oblivion is getting criticism from the blogosphere--it's clearly a showcase game for the Xbox 360, and no amount of draw-in is going to change that. The game feels like a real winner, and it's precisely the kind of title the Xbox 360 needs.

Judging by our hands-on experiences with Oblivion, the future is looking bright for Xbox 360 owners. Perhaps our biggest compliment about Oblivion is the fact that it doesn't feel much like an RPG: the combat system is robust enough to give the game more visceral energy than most dedicated action titles. That, or maybe we're just suckers for hacking zombies to pieces with huge rusty Bastard Swords.

The outdoor environments are stunning--it really does look this good (PC)

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