whitemithrandir
Erudite
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2004
- Messages
- 1,115
77/100 is a B+ after curving.
I would have posted this over at the official forums but their database is telling me I can't, because of some obscure SQL error.
Rosencrantz:
Here's a little background credential about me and my taste in games. I'm 35+ hours into the game, and am what you'd call a pretty old school RPG fan. My favorite game of all time is Planescape: Torment, followed shortly by the Fallouts, then some infinity engine masterpieces like the Baldur's Gates, Icewind Dales, and whatnot, trailing along are hybrids like Deus Ex, System Shocks, and most recently, KOTOR II. I wasn't a big fan of Morrowind. The world was just too deadpan silent for me. There wasn't good interaction between choice and consequence.
This review is going to flow as follows:
I'm going to divide the game up into different catagories. Each catagory will be weighted by a certain number of points, out of 100. I will then make a point, and if it's a positive point, I'll add points based on how positive and how important it is. If it's a negative point, I'll subtract points in the same manner. At the end of the reivew, I'll add up the points and give a final score out of 100. This is the PC version I'm reviewing.
Ready? Let's begin.
GRAPHICS (20/100)
I'll be brutally honest here. I've never been a big fan of graphics. Graphics just aren't important to me in a game, and takes a backseat to gameplay and mechanics. With that said, Oblivion's graphics are absolutely stunning. I really don't know much about antialiasing, ansiotropic filtering, or any of the other stuff that a graphics connoisseur such as yourself may readily tell me. All I know is Oblivion has the best graphics in any game I've seen up to date. The forests look pristine, the valleys majestic, the snow capped peaks serene, and the imperial cities grand. Forgive me for using generic adjectives here, but the point I'm trying to get across is that everything simply looks beautiful and awe-inspiring. (+10)
The loading times are short and hardly noticeable, and I've noticed a bit of caching when it comes to loading previous areas. (+10)
If there's any nitpicking to be done about the graphics, it's that, like Morrowind, the faces look ugly. In fact, I don't understand why, even with such a powerful tool like face gen, Bethesda just can't seem to create good looking faces. It's more of a personal taste than anything else, though. I'm sure there are those of you that find these faces absolutely immaculate. (-2)
Final Score: 18/20
GAMEPLAY (40/100)
This is clearly the core of any game, and I will talk about mechanical stuff such as combat and interface.
High fantasy, the theme Oblivion plays out, is defined by sword, magic, and swashbuckling, or in the case of gameplay, the holy trinity of the Warrior, the Mage, and the Thief. Of course, the first instinct the player has when he picks up his first sword, learns his first spell, or nocks his first arrow, is to find somebody to kill. Oblivion doesn't disappoint in this regard.
There are plenty of enemies to kill, and plenty of opportunity to use your combat abilities. There is a good amount of variety in the types of opponents you'll come across, from goblins to slaughterfish to warriors to wizards. (+5)
The weapons all feel solid, and leaves very little doubt that they are, indeed, made out of weighty solid metal that will cause a good bit of pain, thanks to the excellent sound effects and combat animations (at least in first person mode). Everytime you block an incoming claymore swing, it "dings" off your shield or your blade, and you can feel your body recoil. (+5)
Melee combat is very twitchy, and quite strategic at higher levels. You'll have to think about balancing blocking with using different types of attacks, when the opportunity presents itself. For example, after blocking an enemy blow, you can twitch out a "disarm" combo on your opponent to take advantage of his momentary daze. (+5)
With that said, combat feels too fast. It seems that I can swing that claymore just a little too fast for a mage with 40 strength without much fatigue. The pace is so fast, in fact, that you will often find yourself without the proper reflex to time and deliver strategic attacks. Instead, you'll be in a frenzy of random block-swings that leaves very little in terms of strategy. However, I will not deny those of you readers with faster reflexes may have a different experience. (-3)
Another negative aspect of melee combat is every weapon seem to feel the same. There's no difference between swinging an axe, a mace, or a longsword. The "perks" you get from leveling up your blade skill and your blunt skill are all analogous, making the two very different types of weapons seem very similar. (-5)
Magic in this game is very similar to its predecessor, Morrowind, which isn't neccessarily a bad thing. The spell effects are wonderfully done, and you can still customize and create your own spells, which can get very fun. There's a large variety of spell effects to create with, and the spellmaking process will absolutely delight the creative mage, as the spellcrafting gives almost endless possibilities. You'll never find yourself at a lack of spell variety. (+10)
However, you can't seem to delete spells off your spellbook, making it very very cluttered in the long run. (-2)
Magical combat, however, is somewhat limited and feels too much like a first person shooter. I literally find myself circle strafing the enemy while attempting to lead my target with fireballs, just like my Q3 RA days. Though some might argue this isn't such a bad thing, I think it limits the potential of the game and breaks the immersion somewhat. (-2)
Another aspect of magical combat that's somewhat lacking are the mage duels. Whenever I fight an enemy mage, even an extremely powerful one, should be something epic and strategic, like they were in Baldur's Gate II. The other mage should put up his protections, I should try to strip them, while casting the right spell at the right time. In Oblivion, however, mage vs. mage battles pretty much boil down to Rocket duels in Quake 3. We both try to throw as much crap at each other while strafing madly from side to side trying to dodge each other's fireballs. I can throw up a resist lightning shield and the other mage will make no attempt to strip it, but instead continue to sling lightning attacks at me. (-3)
That said, magical combat is still very satisfying. The fireballs feel solid, and you actually feel your spells carry momentum, as that lightning burst slams your enemy against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. The effects are very well done, and the spells just "feels right". (+3)
Archery is greatly improved from Morrowind, thanks to Havok physics. Arrows bounce realistically off walls, stick out of enemies, and stick soundly to your shield with a solid "thwup". Turning that enemy into a porcupine with your arrows is certainly extremely satisfying, and feels very solid. (+10)
However, arrows just doesn't seem to do enough damage, compared to the sound thwap of a claymore or a fizzling fireball. The fact that it takes half a quiver of arrows just to put down a mountain lion seems a bit excessive and immersion breaking. (-3)
BUT, thankfully, I just found a mod that increases arrow damage to an acceptable level. Huzzah! The game is extremely moddable, which lets the community do a lot of tweaking and modding. However, as this review is about the game that comes right out of the box, this feature will be noted with a slight point shift. (+1)
Oblivion's sneaking model isn't as robust as it could be. The enemies seem all too omniscient for me, and I swear they can sense me through the walls, even when I have 58 points in sneaking, wearing full light armor and padded boots. It gets difficult telling which parts are "shadowy" and which parts will make you stick out like a sore thumb, and sometimes these "zones" seem all too arbitrary. (-3)
That said, there's a lot Oblivion offers to the prospective assasin. For example, the fact that you can coat your weapons and arrows with your own brand of alchemical poison is an excellent and innovative mechanic, and makes backstabbing that guard all the more satisfying. (+3)
You won't feel like Sam Fisher or Garret, but things can get very tense playing as thief, and the game portrays that very well. Bethsoft made huge improvements in the sneaking department over Morrowind, and it further shows the well-roundedness of this game. (+3)
Now that combat's done, let's talk about the user interface.
It. Is. Horrible.
Size 36 font? I feel like I'm in the large print section of my local bookstore, where old ladies with oversized bifocals dwell. Do we really NEED font sizes this big? We're not blind, you know.(-1)
Takes entirely way too many clicks and hotkeys to get where I want, be it my inventory, map, or skill list. (-1)
I can't zoom in on my map? What? (-1)
I can't delete spells? (I already deducted points about this before.)
Only 8 quickspell slots? Even Morrowind had 10. What's up with that? (-1)
What's with the generic item icons? Where's the description for the items? Can't drop quest items? What's with that? They're just cluttering my inventory. At least they don't carry weight. (-1)
Overall however, the gameplay is very enjoyable. The combat may be twitchy, but that's not neccessarily a bad thing, as long as you've the reflexes for it. It's just a different type of combat from what you're used to in an RPG. Combat is challenging and demanding, which makes it all the more satisfying when you win. Havok physics plays a large role, and all in all, in the end, the gameplay just feels fun. (+10)
Final Score: (35/40)
RPG MECHANICS (30/100)
Oblivion is an RPG, after all, and so a big part of it should be about roleplaying, and roleplaying means making choices and seeing the consequences of those choices unfold. This can be done through a myriad of ways, such as techniques in storytelling, character development, the setting, the theme, dialogue, and influence.
The plot, especially the narration and depth of the main actors, is leaps and bouns better than Morrowind, at least, in my opinion. The main plot seems more dynamic and exciting, and the characters involved seem much more fleshed out than the characters in Morrowind's main story. Can the plot, narration, and depth compared to those found in Planescape: Torment or Fallout? Of course not. Can it compare to that found in more recent RPG's like Fable, Dungeon Siege, or Morrowind? Most definitely so. (+10)
The majority of quests still follow the classic objectives of Fed Ex and Hitman, and pretty much involve little more than "Go there, fetch that item, bring it back to me" or "Go there, kill that guy, and report back to me". There is very little in terms of quest variety. There are a few quests about investigation, where you actually have to talk to various people, but since the compass points exactly at the person you have to talk to and "investigation" usually amounts to clicking on the corresponding wiki dialogue, much of the intrigue is gone. (-5)
However, the quests in Oblivion have come a long way since Morrowind. The quests feel more fleshed out, with a better narrative backbone, and gives you, the player, a better sense of exactly why you're doing the quest in the first place. (+7)
The game is still very, very linear. There's no branching points at any of the guild lines, and the quests for the main plot go one after another in a linear sequence, just like Morrowind.This means the player has NO impact on how the story will unfold. There will be no side switching, and for each given plotline, be it for a Guild or the main quest, the player is forced to play through a linear sequence of missions until one and only one ending is reached. Further more, with the exception of a few select quests, there's one and only one way to solve any given quest: by going to the place, beating everything up, and completing your objective. This completely destroys the whole Choice and Consequence deal that should be the backbone of any RPG. It makes the player feel like he's just going along for the ride, with nothing at stake, and no impact whatsoever on the outcome. (-15)
On the other hand, the quests, for the most part, are well designed, and you do have some freedom in how you want to complete a certain dungeon. Don't get me wrong - you WILL have to go down into that dungeon, but how you solve the dungeon is, for the most part, very liberal. You'll sometimes see objectives scattered throughout the dungeon, which you can explore and solve in any order at your leisure. You can also use sneak, magic, or brute force to negotiate any challenges you encounter. (+3)
The character generation is bare, but effective. Face gen is cool, sure, but that's just a cosmetic feature at best. The ability to mix and match your skillset from a large (albeit diminshed since Morrowind) skill pool should be nothing new to the Elder Scrolls fan. You'll certainly notice lack of many skills, and you won't have as much freedom with your character generation as you did in Morrowind (or, for that matter, Daggerfall), but you'll find the seven major skill slots to be generally adequate. (+2)
Unlike Morrowind, when your status and achievements go largely unrecognized by the masses, Oblivion has much better reactions from the NPCs when it comes to how much you've done to save their butts. For example, your subjects will address you by rank. If you're Arch-mage of the mages guild, your apprentices and scholars will address you as "archmage". You can even get your apprentices to follow you around and fight for you. This makes your achievements seem much more solid, and your satisfaction for having done them is accentuated. [+10]
However, don't choose Speechcraft as a major skill. It is, for the most part, totally useless. Combat, by and large, is the overwhelmingly popular way to solve any given quest, and for 99% of the time, the ONLY way to solve any given quest. There's very little room in wartorn Cyrodil for a diplomat. You'd much rather save that Speechcraft slot for a more violent-prone skill. (-3)
The persuasion minigame is also poorly designed and very immersion breaking. I would much prefer a simple "check vs. function(personality, speechcraft)" when it comes to an NPC's disposition. Apparently, in Tamriel, all conversation revolves around boasting, joking, threatening, and admiring. No wonder everybody hates each other. (-3)
The NPCs, like Morrowind, still use the whole wiki-dialogue system, which really doesn't help with making any of them memorable. This time around, however, there are even LESS wiki-options than Morrowind, which doesn't really help either. Most of the NPCs still seem soulless with zero personality what-so-ever. The fact that they walk around and do stuff because of Radiant AI just makes them seem even more robotic and bland. (-3)
However, as badly as the Radiant AI handles NPC-NPC interaction and banter, (I came across two guys who just kept on saying hello to each other for ages), it DOES bring the world alive. The world in Oblivion feels vibrant and alive compared to Morrowind because people ACTUALLY MOVE AROUND, thanks to Radiant AI. Though the effects are by and large cosmetic, as in the NPCs still lack personality, but at least the illusion of a living and breathing world is there, which is much more than can be said for Morrowind. Radiant AI adds that degree of unpredictability to the world, and that, in turn, adds life. This is a major plus in my book. (+10)
Now, you may not be able to roleplay a spear wielding cavalier, a levitating teleportating mage, or a savvy diplomat, one thing you CAN roleplay is a cartographer or a surveyor. (What, not everyone wanted to be astronauts when they were kids.) Oblivion's Cyrodil is HUGE. The landmass is easily larger than Morrowind, with lots of nook and crannies for the player to stumble upon and explore. After all, a large, freeroaming landmass IS the trademark of any TES game, and Oblivion delivers on this front beautifully. Yes, the world may FEEL smaller due to fast travel and horses, but if you actually go out and actively explore, you'll get a much better grasp of how large and varied it really is. (+5)
However, the compass puts a pretty big dent on the satisfication of finding that obscure cave or bandit hideout, as everything in a 3 mile radius is lit up quite succinctly on your compass. What do I do? Post-it. (-2)
The compass DOES have its uses, however. Sometimes, with Radiant AI making certain quest NPC's wander off, the compass takes out much of the frustrating guess work and leads you right to them. (+1)
However, if you're looking for intrigue or a more subtle solution to quests that COULD have taken a bit of wracking brainwork instead of "follow the red arrow", the compass is a big distracting. I wish the devs would have made it toggle-able, but alas, nope. (-1)
The Journal system is also in need of optimization. The quests are collated in chronological order, but sometimes, when you have so many current quests, or need to search for a specific completed quest, a different sorting order (for example, alphabetically) would have been just grand. Unfortunately, no such option is given. Unlike Morrowind, the specific dialogue associated with the quest is NOT SAVED in your journal. I sometimes wish that it were. (-2)
FINAL SCORE: (14/30)
AUDIO (10/100)
Audio is very important in today's video games, where hardware like surround sound and stereo systems are commonplace in everyone's household. Oblivion doesn't fail to deliver on this front.
The theme is immediately recognizable by any Morrowind player. The Oblivion theme is simply the Morrowind theme on steroids. This is good, because I loved the Morrowind theme. (+2)
The voice acting are all excellent, for the most part, and very well done. No complaints there. (+2)
The music is much more varied than in Morrowind. There are many, many more tracks available, whether you're exploring, fighting, or just moping around. (+2)
The sound effects are also spectacular, wether you're hearing the ambient sounds of the night, the clankings of the dungeon bowels, or the clashing of a steel on steel, you'll appreciate how beautiful and solid the sound effects are. [+4]
FINAL SCORE: (10/10)
Extra Credit Bonus, for whoever wrote up that orc in the Dark Brotherhood: +1
FINAL VERDICT
(77/100)
Oblivion is a wonderful action/adventure/exploration game, and not so much a roleplaying game. It's very easy to dive into this game and just have plain, unadulterated FUN, and that, I think, is THE most important part of a game. In that aspect, Oblivion shines as one of the greats.
THE OBLIGATORY FAQ:
Q: Are you being sarcastic?
A: No. Come on, what's with this question? Not everything I write HAS to be sarcastic. I'm allowed to be serious too, sometimes.
Q: Are you an official game reviewer?
A: I've wrote reviews for a bunch of different organizations over the years, but I'm writing this review solely on the basis of my own enjoyment, and will not be submitted to any magazine or gaming site.
Q: How did you determine the weighting on each catagory of your review?
A: Half common sense, half design. I wanted to review Oblivion as a GAME, not as part of a specific genre of games.
Q: Shouldn't Role-playing mechanics be weighed much more, since you know, Oblivion is an RPG and all that?
A: Maybe. I didn't think so. It's clear from the onset that Oblivion wasn't going to cater to the hardcore RPG community, and the goals of the developer are different from those that's to be expected from the makers of a PURE RPG. It's clear that Oblivion is trying to appeal to a wide audience, and is striving to have a conglomeration of features to make the sum much greater than any individual part. I think a good game review should judge the game based on the goals set out by the developers.
Q: LOL There are so many typos in this thread. Did you graduate high school?
A: Sorry about the typos. I'm typing this up on a bus. I'll proof read it when I get home.
Q: Listen up you stupid son of a scamp, your review sucks. YOU SUCK. STOP BEING SUCH A BETHSOFT FANBOY/HATER. OBLIVION IS THE BEST/WORST GAME EVAR!!! IT DESERVES A SCORE OF 1000000/-1000000 LOL!
A: That's not a question, stupid. You think Oblivion deserves a different score, hey, go write your own damn review.
Godot: ...
I would have posted this over at the official forums but their database is telling me I can't, because of some obscure SQL error.
Rosencrantz:
Here's a little background credential about me and my taste in games. I'm 35+ hours into the game, and am what you'd call a pretty old school RPG fan. My favorite game of all time is Planescape: Torment, followed shortly by the Fallouts, then some infinity engine masterpieces like the Baldur's Gates, Icewind Dales, and whatnot, trailing along are hybrids like Deus Ex, System Shocks, and most recently, KOTOR II. I wasn't a big fan of Morrowind. The world was just too deadpan silent for me. There wasn't good interaction between choice and consequence.
This review is going to flow as follows:
I'm going to divide the game up into different catagories. Each catagory will be weighted by a certain number of points, out of 100. I will then make a point, and if it's a positive point, I'll add points based on how positive and how important it is. If it's a negative point, I'll subtract points in the same manner. At the end of the reivew, I'll add up the points and give a final score out of 100. This is the PC version I'm reviewing.
Ready? Let's begin.
GRAPHICS (20/100)
I'll be brutally honest here. I've never been a big fan of graphics. Graphics just aren't important to me in a game, and takes a backseat to gameplay and mechanics. With that said, Oblivion's graphics are absolutely stunning. I really don't know much about antialiasing, ansiotropic filtering, or any of the other stuff that a graphics connoisseur such as yourself may readily tell me. All I know is Oblivion has the best graphics in any game I've seen up to date. The forests look pristine, the valleys majestic, the snow capped peaks serene, and the imperial cities grand. Forgive me for using generic adjectives here, but the point I'm trying to get across is that everything simply looks beautiful and awe-inspiring. (+10)
The loading times are short and hardly noticeable, and I've noticed a bit of caching when it comes to loading previous areas. (+10)
If there's any nitpicking to be done about the graphics, it's that, like Morrowind, the faces look ugly. In fact, I don't understand why, even with such a powerful tool like face gen, Bethesda just can't seem to create good looking faces. It's more of a personal taste than anything else, though. I'm sure there are those of you that find these faces absolutely immaculate. (-2)
Final Score: 18/20
GAMEPLAY (40/100)
This is clearly the core of any game, and I will talk about mechanical stuff such as combat and interface.
High fantasy, the theme Oblivion plays out, is defined by sword, magic, and swashbuckling, or in the case of gameplay, the holy trinity of the Warrior, the Mage, and the Thief. Of course, the first instinct the player has when he picks up his first sword, learns his first spell, or nocks his first arrow, is to find somebody to kill. Oblivion doesn't disappoint in this regard.
There are plenty of enemies to kill, and plenty of opportunity to use your combat abilities. There is a good amount of variety in the types of opponents you'll come across, from goblins to slaughterfish to warriors to wizards. (+5)
The weapons all feel solid, and leaves very little doubt that they are, indeed, made out of weighty solid metal that will cause a good bit of pain, thanks to the excellent sound effects and combat animations (at least in first person mode). Everytime you block an incoming claymore swing, it "dings" off your shield or your blade, and you can feel your body recoil. (+5)
Melee combat is very twitchy, and quite strategic at higher levels. You'll have to think about balancing blocking with using different types of attacks, when the opportunity presents itself. For example, after blocking an enemy blow, you can twitch out a "disarm" combo on your opponent to take advantage of his momentary daze. (+5)
With that said, combat feels too fast. It seems that I can swing that claymore just a little too fast for a mage with 40 strength without much fatigue. The pace is so fast, in fact, that you will often find yourself without the proper reflex to time and deliver strategic attacks. Instead, you'll be in a frenzy of random block-swings that leaves very little in terms of strategy. However, I will not deny those of you readers with faster reflexes may have a different experience. (-3)
Another negative aspect of melee combat is every weapon seem to feel the same. There's no difference between swinging an axe, a mace, or a longsword. The "perks" you get from leveling up your blade skill and your blunt skill are all analogous, making the two very different types of weapons seem very similar. (-5)
Magic in this game is very similar to its predecessor, Morrowind, which isn't neccessarily a bad thing. The spell effects are wonderfully done, and you can still customize and create your own spells, which can get very fun. There's a large variety of spell effects to create with, and the spellmaking process will absolutely delight the creative mage, as the spellcrafting gives almost endless possibilities. You'll never find yourself at a lack of spell variety. (+10)
However, you can't seem to delete spells off your spellbook, making it very very cluttered in the long run. (-2)
Magical combat, however, is somewhat limited and feels too much like a first person shooter. I literally find myself circle strafing the enemy while attempting to lead my target with fireballs, just like my Q3 RA days. Though some might argue this isn't such a bad thing, I think it limits the potential of the game and breaks the immersion somewhat. (-2)
Another aspect of magical combat that's somewhat lacking are the mage duels. Whenever I fight an enemy mage, even an extremely powerful one, should be something epic and strategic, like they were in Baldur's Gate II. The other mage should put up his protections, I should try to strip them, while casting the right spell at the right time. In Oblivion, however, mage vs. mage battles pretty much boil down to Rocket duels in Quake 3. We both try to throw as much crap at each other while strafing madly from side to side trying to dodge each other's fireballs. I can throw up a resist lightning shield and the other mage will make no attempt to strip it, but instead continue to sling lightning attacks at me. (-3)
That said, magical combat is still very satisfying. The fireballs feel solid, and you actually feel your spells carry momentum, as that lightning burst slams your enemy against the wall, knocking the wind out of him. The effects are very well done, and the spells just "feels right". (+3)
Archery is greatly improved from Morrowind, thanks to Havok physics. Arrows bounce realistically off walls, stick out of enemies, and stick soundly to your shield with a solid "thwup". Turning that enemy into a porcupine with your arrows is certainly extremely satisfying, and feels very solid. (+10)
However, arrows just doesn't seem to do enough damage, compared to the sound thwap of a claymore or a fizzling fireball. The fact that it takes half a quiver of arrows just to put down a mountain lion seems a bit excessive and immersion breaking. (-3)
BUT, thankfully, I just found a mod that increases arrow damage to an acceptable level. Huzzah! The game is extremely moddable, which lets the community do a lot of tweaking and modding. However, as this review is about the game that comes right out of the box, this feature will be noted with a slight point shift. (+1)
Oblivion's sneaking model isn't as robust as it could be. The enemies seem all too omniscient for me, and I swear they can sense me through the walls, even when I have 58 points in sneaking, wearing full light armor and padded boots. It gets difficult telling which parts are "shadowy" and which parts will make you stick out like a sore thumb, and sometimes these "zones" seem all too arbitrary. (-3)
That said, there's a lot Oblivion offers to the prospective assasin. For example, the fact that you can coat your weapons and arrows with your own brand of alchemical poison is an excellent and innovative mechanic, and makes backstabbing that guard all the more satisfying. (+3)
You won't feel like Sam Fisher or Garret, but things can get very tense playing as thief, and the game portrays that very well. Bethsoft made huge improvements in the sneaking department over Morrowind, and it further shows the well-roundedness of this game. (+3)
Now that combat's done, let's talk about the user interface.
It. Is. Horrible.
Size 36 font? I feel like I'm in the large print section of my local bookstore, where old ladies with oversized bifocals dwell. Do we really NEED font sizes this big? We're not blind, you know.(-1)
Takes entirely way too many clicks and hotkeys to get where I want, be it my inventory, map, or skill list. (-1)
I can't zoom in on my map? What? (-1)
I can't delete spells? (I already deducted points about this before.)
Only 8 quickspell slots? Even Morrowind had 10. What's up with that? (-1)
What's with the generic item icons? Where's the description for the items? Can't drop quest items? What's with that? They're just cluttering my inventory. At least they don't carry weight. (-1)
Overall however, the gameplay is very enjoyable. The combat may be twitchy, but that's not neccessarily a bad thing, as long as you've the reflexes for it. It's just a different type of combat from what you're used to in an RPG. Combat is challenging and demanding, which makes it all the more satisfying when you win. Havok physics plays a large role, and all in all, in the end, the gameplay just feels fun. (+10)
Final Score: (35/40)
RPG MECHANICS (30/100)
Oblivion is an RPG, after all, and so a big part of it should be about roleplaying, and roleplaying means making choices and seeing the consequences of those choices unfold. This can be done through a myriad of ways, such as techniques in storytelling, character development, the setting, the theme, dialogue, and influence.
The plot, especially the narration and depth of the main actors, is leaps and bouns better than Morrowind, at least, in my opinion. The main plot seems more dynamic and exciting, and the characters involved seem much more fleshed out than the characters in Morrowind's main story. Can the plot, narration, and depth compared to those found in Planescape: Torment or Fallout? Of course not. Can it compare to that found in more recent RPG's like Fable, Dungeon Siege, or Morrowind? Most definitely so. (+10)
The majority of quests still follow the classic objectives of Fed Ex and Hitman, and pretty much involve little more than "Go there, fetch that item, bring it back to me" or "Go there, kill that guy, and report back to me". There is very little in terms of quest variety. There are a few quests about investigation, where you actually have to talk to various people, but since the compass points exactly at the person you have to talk to and "investigation" usually amounts to clicking on the corresponding wiki dialogue, much of the intrigue is gone. (-5)
However, the quests in Oblivion have come a long way since Morrowind. The quests feel more fleshed out, with a better narrative backbone, and gives you, the player, a better sense of exactly why you're doing the quest in the first place. (+7)
The game is still very, very linear. There's no branching points at any of the guild lines, and the quests for the main plot go one after another in a linear sequence, just like Morrowind.This means the player has NO impact on how the story will unfold. There will be no side switching, and for each given plotline, be it for a Guild or the main quest, the player is forced to play through a linear sequence of missions until one and only one ending is reached. Further more, with the exception of a few select quests, there's one and only one way to solve any given quest: by going to the place, beating everything up, and completing your objective. This completely destroys the whole Choice and Consequence deal that should be the backbone of any RPG. It makes the player feel like he's just going along for the ride, with nothing at stake, and no impact whatsoever on the outcome. (-15)
On the other hand, the quests, for the most part, are well designed, and you do have some freedom in how you want to complete a certain dungeon. Don't get me wrong - you WILL have to go down into that dungeon, but how you solve the dungeon is, for the most part, very liberal. You'll sometimes see objectives scattered throughout the dungeon, which you can explore and solve in any order at your leisure. You can also use sneak, magic, or brute force to negotiate any challenges you encounter. (+3)
The character generation is bare, but effective. Face gen is cool, sure, but that's just a cosmetic feature at best. The ability to mix and match your skillset from a large (albeit diminshed since Morrowind) skill pool should be nothing new to the Elder Scrolls fan. You'll certainly notice lack of many skills, and you won't have as much freedom with your character generation as you did in Morrowind (or, for that matter, Daggerfall), but you'll find the seven major skill slots to be generally adequate. (+2)
Unlike Morrowind, when your status and achievements go largely unrecognized by the masses, Oblivion has much better reactions from the NPCs when it comes to how much you've done to save their butts. For example, your subjects will address you by rank. If you're Arch-mage of the mages guild, your apprentices and scholars will address you as "archmage". You can even get your apprentices to follow you around and fight for you. This makes your achievements seem much more solid, and your satisfaction for having done them is accentuated. [+10]
However, don't choose Speechcraft as a major skill. It is, for the most part, totally useless. Combat, by and large, is the overwhelmingly popular way to solve any given quest, and for 99% of the time, the ONLY way to solve any given quest. There's very little room in wartorn Cyrodil for a diplomat. You'd much rather save that Speechcraft slot for a more violent-prone skill. (-3)
The persuasion minigame is also poorly designed and very immersion breaking. I would much prefer a simple "check vs. function(personality, speechcraft)" when it comes to an NPC's disposition. Apparently, in Tamriel, all conversation revolves around boasting, joking, threatening, and admiring. No wonder everybody hates each other. (-3)
The NPCs, like Morrowind, still use the whole wiki-dialogue system, which really doesn't help with making any of them memorable. This time around, however, there are even LESS wiki-options than Morrowind, which doesn't really help either. Most of the NPCs still seem soulless with zero personality what-so-ever. The fact that they walk around and do stuff because of Radiant AI just makes them seem even more robotic and bland. (-3)
However, as badly as the Radiant AI handles NPC-NPC interaction and banter, (I came across two guys who just kept on saying hello to each other for ages), it DOES bring the world alive. The world in Oblivion feels vibrant and alive compared to Morrowind because people ACTUALLY MOVE AROUND, thanks to Radiant AI. Though the effects are by and large cosmetic, as in the NPCs still lack personality, but at least the illusion of a living and breathing world is there, which is much more than can be said for Morrowind. Radiant AI adds that degree of unpredictability to the world, and that, in turn, adds life. This is a major plus in my book. (+10)
Now, you may not be able to roleplay a spear wielding cavalier, a levitating teleportating mage, or a savvy diplomat, one thing you CAN roleplay is a cartographer or a surveyor. (What, not everyone wanted to be astronauts when they were kids.) Oblivion's Cyrodil is HUGE. The landmass is easily larger than Morrowind, with lots of nook and crannies for the player to stumble upon and explore. After all, a large, freeroaming landmass IS the trademark of any TES game, and Oblivion delivers on this front beautifully. Yes, the world may FEEL smaller due to fast travel and horses, but if you actually go out and actively explore, you'll get a much better grasp of how large and varied it really is. (+5)
However, the compass puts a pretty big dent on the satisfication of finding that obscure cave or bandit hideout, as everything in a 3 mile radius is lit up quite succinctly on your compass. What do I do? Post-it. (-2)
The compass DOES have its uses, however. Sometimes, with Radiant AI making certain quest NPC's wander off, the compass takes out much of the frustrating guess work and leads you right to them. (+1)
However, if you're looking for intrigue or a more subtle solution to quests that COULD have taken a bit of wracking brainwork instead of "follow the red arrow", the compass is a big distracting. I wish the devs would have made it toggle-able, but alas, nope. (-1)
The Journal system is also in need of optimization. The quests are collated in chronological order, but sometimes, when you have so many current quests, or need to search for a specific completed quest, a different sorting order (for example, alphabetically) would have been just grand. Unfortunately, no such option is given. Unlike Morrowind, the specific dialogue associated with the quest is NOT SAVED in your journal. I sometimes wish that it were. (-2)
FINAL SCORE: (14/30)
AUDIO (10/100)
Audio is very important in today's video games, where hardware like surround sound and stereo systems are commonplace in everyone's household. Oblivion doesn't fail to deliver on this front.
The theme is immediately recognizable by any Morrowind player. The Oblivion theme is simply the Morrowind theme on steroids. This is good, because I loved the Morrowind theme. (+2)
The voice acting are all excellent, for the most part, and very well done. No complaints there. (+2)
The music is much more varied than in Morrowind. There are many, many more tracks available, whether you're exploring, fighting, or just moping around. (+2)
The sound effects are also spectacular, wether you're hearing the ambient sounds of the night, the clankings of the dungeon bowels, or the clashing of a steel on steel, you'll appreciate how beautiful and solid the sound effects are. [+4]
FINAL SCORE: (10/10)
Extra Credit Bonus, for whoever wrote up that orc in the Dark Brotherhood: +1
FINAL VERDICT
(77/100)
Oblivion is a wonderful action/adventure/exploration game, and not so much a roleplaying game. It's very easy to dive into this game and just have plain, unadulterated FUN, and that, I think, is THE most important part of a game. In that aspect, Oblivion shines as one of the greats.
THE OBLIGATORY FAQ:
Q: Are you being sarcastic?
A: No. Come on, what's with this question? Not everything I write HAS to be sarcastic. I'm allowed to be serious too, sometimes.
Q: Are you an official game reviewer?
A: I've wrote reviews for a bunch of different organizations over the years, but I'm writing this review solely on the basis of my own enjoyment, and will not be submitted to any magazine or gaming site.
Q: How did you determine the weighting on each catagory of your review?
A: Half common sense, half design. I wanted to review Oblivion as a GAME, not as part of a specific genre of games.
Q: Shouldn't Role-playing mechanics be weighed much more, since you know, Oblivion is an RPG and all that?
A: Maybe. I didn't think so. It's clear from the onset that Oblivion wasn't going to cater to the hardcore RPG community, and the goals of the developer are different from those that's to be expected from the makers of a PURE RPG. It's clear that Oblivion is trying to appeal to a wide audience, and is striving to have a conglomeration of features to make the sum much greater than any individual part. I think a good game review should judge the game based on the goals set out by the developers.
Q: LOL There are so many typos in this thread. Did you graduate high school?
A: Sorry about the typos. I'm typing this up on a bus. I'll proof read it when I get home.
Q: Listen up you stupid son of a scamp, your review sucks. YOU SUCK. STOP BEING SUCH A BETHSOFT FANBOY/HATER. OBLIVION IS THE BEST/WORST GAME EVAR!!! IT DESERVES A SCORE OF 1000000/-1000000 LOL!
A: That's not a question, stupid. You think Oblivion deserves a different score, hey, go write your own damn review.
Godot: ...