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PS3 | RPG | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Boxart for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion 5 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 5.00
  • SOUND: 4.25
  • CONTROL: 4.25
  • FUN FACTOR 4.75
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.8
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.7
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3)

Review by George Jones | 05/07/2007 | 11:32:15 AM PST

One of the best RPGs of all time comes to the PS3 and as impossible as it sounds, it's gotten better.

Is there anything left to be said about Bethesda's epic Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion? With all the praise that's already been heaped upon the Xbox 360 and PC versions, you wouldn't think so, but there is one thing that needs to be said: Now that the PS3 version of the game has been release, it is quite possible that, only one year into the current generation of next-gen consoles, we have already witnessed the finest American role-playing game that will ever exist on these systems.

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RPG, American-style

With Oblivion, publisher and developer Bethesda has achieved complete and utter mastery of the American RPG, a style of gaming that, at its very best, enthusiastically embraces the Dungeons & Dragons archetype with no winks, nods, or other forms of irony. Fighting orcs, trolls, and worse with swords and sorcery and attempting to save the world from savage darkness was no laughing matter in Tolkien's world. What a welcome relief, then, to find an RPG that establishes the same level of earnest gravitas.

Oblivion hews closely to this fantasy RPG archetype. A group of powerful renegades have assassinated the king and stolen a powerful artifact in an effort to unleash Armageddon on the universe. You get quickly swept into the epic struggle. Along the way you gain access to magical items and weapons beyond your wildest dreams. And fight the monsters of your nightmares.

It's not the kind of description that will have non-RPG fans clamoring to play. Yet just about anyone who spends any time in this world will become hopelessly hooked. The cause is threefold. First the game is able to constantly generate an ideal blend of danger, excitement, discovery, and fun. Second, it's one of those rare games that fully immerses you into your character as well the game universe.

Most importantly and most powerfully, however: The completely open-ended nature of this experience creates a very real sense of infinite possibilities. Rest assured that the way you play through Oblivion will differ completely from just about everyone else. You can cast magic. You can fight sword fights. You can collect herbs and concoct potions. You can thieve and steal your way from location to location. You can become a vampire. And so on, and so on, and so on.


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