Whitemithrandir's OBLIVION REVIEW LOLZ 77/100

[whitemithrandir]

And, oh, btw, even without playing Oblivion; I *know* it sucks.

Idiots.

R00fles! Even without playing Dragon Age I *know* it sucks.

Moron.

 

[Volourn]

Then don't buy DA. No loss for me.

Moron.

R00fles!

 

[whitemithrandir]

Then don't buy DA. No loss for me.

Moron.

R00fles!

R00fles!

I'm going to trash DA on every forum I can find but secretly pre-order it months before its release.

Asshole.

 

[Xi]

It all boils down to time. There's not enough time to properly assess a huge game(Which most RPGs are), so reviewers are forced to write impressions of games based on the surface of their experience. It shocks me that most games receive high ratings. Rarely do you see games in say the 60%(Or mid-range) even though a lot of games are mediocre.(Proof of the industry I guess)

Giving Oblivion a 77/100 as an RPG sounds about right. I think the only qualms I have with some of the reviews is that they fail to realize that OB is an Action/RPG. Why are people surprised that the game has a lot of combat? All TES games have(Excluding Morrowind mainly because it's combat was utter shit).

So, that rating sounds about right when gauging it as an RPG. As an action RPG, the low 90's doesn't sound bad. Perfect score though? Hell no.

In an industry where most games receive 80-95% low 90's is only slightly above average really. Which seems to be the consensus of the poll that was taken(though not many votes were cast).

 

[Vault Dweller]

"NWN got top scores, and a year later most of those reviewers have openly stated that the game was dull, uninspiring, and, well, crap"

Bullshit.

At worst, they said they it wasn't as perfect as they claimed. In fact, the one place that said they overrated it later compalined that the toolset wasn't as good as they thought; but the OC was still great (to them).

Oh really?

http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3751

The 60-hour campaign included with "NWN" isn't superfluous. It's long, bold, and features the kind of slick storytelling BioWare is known for. You can create any character race and class you like and immediately you're immersed in the story line.

A year later:

Lame. Dull. These are words that come to mind when we think of the single-player adventure released with the original "Neverwinter Nights" title.

lol

 

[Volourn]

One does not equal 'most'[.

You lose, again.

Not to mention, all three of those reviews you shared are from DIFFERENT reviewers. Not the same one. Dumbass.

Nice attempt at trickery though.



"R00fles!

I'm going to trash DA on every forum I can find but secretly pre-order it months before its release.

Asshole."

Ok then. That's your choice.

I cna safely say I didn't preorder Oblivion nor am i buying it until it's $20 or so KANADIAN.

 

[HardCode]

"NWN got top scores, and a year later most of those reviewers have openly stated that the game was dull, uninspiring, and, well, crap"

Bullshit.

At worst, they said they it wasn't as perfect as they claimed. In fact, the one place that said they overrated it later compalined that the toolset wasn't as good as they thought; but the OC was still great (to them).

Oh really?

http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=3751

The 60-hour campaign included with "NWN" isn't superfluous. It's long, bold, and features the kind of slick storytelling BioWare is known for. You can create any character race and class you like and immediately you're immersed in the story line.

A year later:

Lame. Dull. These are words that come to mind when we think of the single-player adventure released with the original "Neverwinter Nights" title.

lol

pwned

 

[DarkUnderlord]

What? A review of Oblivion that doesn't give it 100% 5 stars or 10/10? Why, I'm shocked!

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=305385

There. That's my post on the official forums. Feel free to leave feedback there, as I think discussion will get one-sided here really, really fast.

I think that's a bit unfair. Your review is the first I've read that even took RPG aspects into consideration. Every other review is playing it like an FPS. "OMFG Great graphics 100% bbq!". That's my gripe. I've always personally maintained that Oblivion will be a fun game and is a fun game but come on, the number of reviews that just ignore everything and give the game 10/10 despite it's problems is asking a bit much.

Once again, excellent review. It covered what I wanted to hear and actually judge Oblvion without getting caught up in the hype.

By the way, this review needs much more attention.

 

[Daigoji_Gai]

What? A review of Oblivion that doesn't give it 100% 5 stars or 10/10? Why, I'm shocked!

I agree with the quality of the review, but don't you think you are being a little melodramatic about the positive reviews out there? Some people like the game without a media buyout conspiracy. Just an opinion, tis all, like yours, hopefully equally respected.

 

[bryce777]

That's the most fucked up 'organization' for a review, ever.

PS what did Guildenstern think of it?

 

[kingcomrade]

You must acknowledge that games like Torment and Fallout are rare and one of a kind... they set standards so high that it is hard, but not impossible, to meet and surpass.

That's rediculous. First of all, you can't create a double standard and just ignore FO and PST because they make whichever game look bad by comparison. People should strive to create games with the interesting plots and settings and characters. I haven't read a single one of these reviews yet where the NPCs are described as anything other than mindless morons. The summary of Oblivion's plot and quests usually has a (rofl?) tag somewhere in the mix, and the setting is generic fantasy. Just how hard can it possibly be to create systems that don't suck, especially when you have the five or so extreme examples of awesomeness and then two dozen or so examples of things that suck? When there are so many sources of inspiration in both literature and other genres of gaming?
I say it isn't.

The statement quoted above doesn't even qualify as a rationalization, it's an excuse. PS:T and Fallout aren't godly, they weren't made by super geniuses, they were made by a team of creative people who did a little bit of planning and forethought.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

What? A review of Oblivion that doesn't give it 100% 5 stars or 10/10? Why, I'm shocked!

I agree with the quality of the review, but don't you think you are being a little melodramatic about the positive reviews out there?

Nope.

Some people like the game without a media buyout conspiracy.

Except the gaming media have an awful tendency to 100% anything that's been hyped to buggery only to later "umm" and "err" over it (think Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Black and White etc..). Seriously, the only real reviews you get anymore are ones that aren't made by people in "the industry".

 

[OverrideB1]

You can not, and it is ridiculous to do this, set Torment or Fallout as the only game that receives a 100% - like you identified, the creation of these games, the time when they were created, and the people behind them were unique for their time

Why not?

Since we're both pretty much agreed that Fallout and Torment are rare and (almost) unique exemplars, why not give them 100% and everything else lesser marks? These (along with DF) should be the bench-marks by which we judge all other offerings in the RPG-genre. Since there is nothing, currently, that comes close -- these are the games that RPG developers should be striving to emulate.

The joy of bench-marks is that you can always set a new bench-mark if something better comes along...

 

[franc kaos]

I'm pretty sure [SHIFT] left click deletes spells, it certainly removes things from your inventory.

Bit distressed that MSFD wasn't quite forthcoming about quests being completely linear. Though, with that

'procedurally generated garbage'

not even being considered it was kind'a obvious you, again, wouldn't be able to pick and choose a quest, or fail one, and continue anyway.

After some 15 hours of playing, only done 4 quests and in the middle of the Chorol castle investigation which I was hoping might have a non violent solution - have the person arrested, report it, take a bribe etc. How hard would those options have been to incorporate?

One last thing, the points awarded for the mod?? There's also a mod for smaller text, more items showing and larger map on the UI, an (un?)levelling mod, etc, that should help the score out... maybe?

 

[Volourn]

As for the Fallout, and PST talk...

PST is friggin' overrated.

And FO, while one of the best games ever, is not without its faults.

On top of this, no game is perfect. None. Zilch. Nadda.

No game is worth 5/5, 10/10, 100/100, 5*, or whatever other bogus rating system you use.

Not one game.


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:D

 

[whitemithrandir]

That's the most fucked up 'organization' for a review, ever.

PS what did Guildenstern think of it?

Alright ALRIGHT, I know the layout is crude (gimme a break, I wrote it on a POS laptop riding in a rickety bus hobbling along at 20 mph in stop & go traffic).

I'll polish it up a bit, maybe remove a few typos here and there, and reword some of the points to make it more um... presentable, k?

No game is worth 5/5, 10/10, 100/100, 5*, or whatever other bogus rating system you use.

You're always 10/10 in my heart Volo-poo

 

[Volourn]

I should politely point out so I'm not 200% negative in this thread that the actual review is fine. You go over things you like and dislike about the game in an interetsing manner. That's all one should ask with a review.



:idea:

 

[kris]

Damn so even Oblivion isn't really a true RPG? sigh I just ordered my copy now...

What Oblivion does offer, IMHO, is a PnP experience. It is a sandbox, where if you suspend disbelief, accept the world and try to live out that character's life you will find a rewarding experience.

Oblivion is nowhere near a PnP experience as for the ones I had. Oblivion is about "what should I do?", not "How should I do it?".

 

[Nog Robbin]

Interesting review - covered pretty much what I expected to hear, but nicely presented and with sufficient detail. That's the plus points anyway

Now... the negatives (well, there had to be some)
I don't think it's fair to award a high score for story line of whatever if it really isn't that great. Just because other games on the market achieve no better doesn't mean better can not be achieved. If you have something better available (even in the past), and as far as you are concerned that warrants your top mark available, you have to award a lower score to the thing you are currently reviewing. You could make a comment that it's no worse than a lot of other current stuff - but to award full or nearly full marks simply because not much else recently is much cop is a little weak.

I also find it hard to believe you increased the score because a mod is already available! A game should be reviewed as it is supplied - not with gamer created mods included, especially if those mods are to fix faults with the game as supplied. Sure, it's nice that mods can do this, but it's still an oversight in the original game.

Anyway, still a good review, and still pretty much sums up what I'd expected from OB - a fun and relatively engaging dungeon/wilderness exploration/adventure/dungeon hack, but with little real RPG value. Fun in it's way, without really challenging the genre or the players ability to think.

 

[The_Pope]

I'd say a games capability as a modding platform (not the mods available, just how effective the mod tools are) is important and should be factored into the score. If a game makes it easy for people to make mods, thats a plus. If a game provides enough freedom to modders to allow for things like this: http://www.blackcatgames.com/swarm/news rather than limiting them to minor changes then that should be mentioned in reviews.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

Borland C++ Builder 6 Profesional

Look! You can make your own games! It's entirely moddable! Give it a high score!

 

[The_Pope]

Are you trying to say modders don't matter, and that games which help them shouldn't be given praise for doing so? Good modding tools are a feature. Good features should be taken into account when writing reviews.

 

[Data4]

Are you trying to say modders don't matter, and that games which help them shouldn't be given praise for doing so? Good modding tools are a feature. Good features should be taken into account when writing reviews.

A game is a game is a game. 99.9% of the people who buy Oblivion won't be modding it. Considering Bethesda didn't even include a copy of the CS on the DVD, I doubt a vast majority of the people who bought Oblivion even knows that mods are/will be available. Out-of-box experience is the only thing applicable for a review, IMHO. If a reviewer wants to give honorable mention to modding tools, that's one thing, but the game-- as originally designed-- should not be judged on potential.

-D4

 

[Nog Robbin]

Are you trying to say modders don't matter, and that games which help them shouldn't be given praise for doing so? Good modding tools are a feature. Good features should be taken into account when writing reviews.

Of course it should be mentioned - but maybe as an aside. It expands the game, but the mods aren't supplied with the game (in fact, the CS isn't even supplied with the game now, you have to download it). It's a good aspect, but doesn't really raise the overall gaming experience of the game being reviewed - it adds to it (or even in many cases fixes it!). However, just because mods can fix issues and make improvements doesn't mean the game warrants a higher score. If that was the case you could argue that some mods are utter shite and therefore the game should be marked down accordingly.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

If a reviewer wants to give honorable mention to modding tools, that's one thing, but the game-- as originally designed-- should not be judged on potential.

-D4

Post of the month. Make that post of the month for as long as that idiotic trend lasts.