Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition
by Bethesda
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Video Game Reviews of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition
Customer Review: As much fun on PS3 as it was on PC
Summary: 5 Stars
I played Oblivion extensively on the PC when it first came out, but when I recently bought a Sony Play Station 3 for the primary purpose of playing Blu-ray discs, I decided to try Oblivion out on the new platform. While I loved the game before, I was always frustrated that I was never able to play the game on my computer on the highest video settings. Plus, playing the game meant sitting at my computer, something that I already was doing to excess.
So, I've been liberated from my desk chair and resituated in my easy chair and instead of playing on a small computer monitor with lowered video settings I'm playing on a 46 inch high def screen with a 1080 resolution. Visually, the game is simply stunning in high def. It was gorgeous even on lowered settings, but maxed out it is just delightful to look at. I have never, ever played console games before, so this was my first experience with the PS3 control. I found none of it intuitive or familiar. By the time my first character hit level 10, however, I had pretty much mastered every aspect of the control.
Apart from the graphics and the control, this is pretty much the same game I enjoyed so much on the PC. This is both a good and bad thing. It is good because this is one of the best games I've ever played. I have played extensively both Asheron's Call and World of Warcraft, and loved the enormous size of both games, while also deploring a lot of the irritating people who pollute online games. Oblivion has something of the same size and enormity an MMRPG, without the irritating people. Personally, I don't play games as a social activity, so the absence of people to play with isn't a negative at all.
The one huge change from my PC experience is that I played only the first game expansion and not the Shivering Isles addition. Wow! It is a huge addition to the original game. Not only do you get new quests, you get an entire new realm to explore. Visually Dementia and especially Mania bring a strikingly different addition to the original game. I'm still exploring the new world (I've finished the first dozen or so quests in the expansion, but still have many, many to go -- how many I've yet to discover).
I mentioned that you also get the negatives found in the original PC game. This is the tendency of many of the quests to break. Every time I've played a character in the game, I've run into a broken quest. On the PC you get fixes (either official or otherwise) that correct the problems. So far I've been unable to find fixes for the PS3 version. The broken quests can vary from game to game. One time I played the corpse that I was supposed to discover in a dungeon simply wasn't there. I had done that quest before with a different character and knew precisely how to finish the quest, but on the spot where the corpse was supposed to be was nothing (the green arrow on my screen pointed to an empty spot). In the game that I am playing right now on the PS3, the witch that cures my vampirism won't acknowledge the presence of Bloodgrass in my inventory. I've tried Bloodgrass both from shops and from the plains of Oblivion, but to no avail. So, I've been forced to play the game as a vampire. In the Shivering Isles add on you meet a character named Big Head who gives you a quest. But after learning of the quest I ran a few steps to the north, exploring the town when I got the message that Big Head was dead and the quest cancelled. His corpse remains there right in the middle of town. I also have a wonderful ring that I received as a reward for a quest completed that I am neither able to equip nor sell.
Despite these flaws, this is a great, great game. I loved it on the PC and I love it on the PS3.
I thought I would take a second and share one hint to newcomers to the game. From the very beginning, emphasis raising your Alchemy, but do not specialize in it. Go to every shop that sells alchemical ingredients and buy all of them. You can then sell back the potions that you make. If you keep doing this you will quickly make enough money to buy houses in all of the cities in all of the towns offering a residence. You will also get some great potions that you can use in combat. I don't recommend specializing because it will cause your character to level as you raise your alchemy skill. It is important to level through your combat skills so that you won't constantly get killed. As you level you fight tougher and tougher opponents, but if you are leveling through non-combat skills you will not be able to fight as well as creatures on your same level. You'll find that even if you don't specialize in alchemy, it will probably be the first skill you max out.
All in all, a great game regardless of platform. My only complaint are those broken quests. And if your first love in gaming is RPGs, this is your only really great option on a PS3. I don't like racing games or 3D shooters, so this could be the last PS3 game I buy in a long, long time.
Customer Review: Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
I really liked this game. It was was awesome being able to choose to be good or evil. The game of the year edition is massive. I have played it for a month on and off and still have a ton of the game left to explore and complete. This is one of those games you will buy and not have to buy another game for quite some time (in other words a money saver!)Customer Review: Wow...
Summary: 5 Stars
I've played the PC version, and had some problems with installing the expansions. Finally, I gave up and decided to break down and pick up a PS3, and this game. When they arrived, I set everything up, and I'm not looking back! This is a great port. I haven't noticed any serious glitches, the sound and graphics are OUTSTANDING! This is a must have for any RPG fans that own a PS3!Customer Review: Game of the Year
Summary: 5 Stars
This game is by far one of the best games that I have ever played. The scenery in the game is magnificent. The game play is very good and fluent. Everything about this game says AWESOME. There are however a few glitches in the game that I am sure you can fix by finding a patch online. Everything has a flaw somewhere though. I would recommend this game to anyone who loves a good RPG. There are Hundreds of Quests, Items, Spells, Dungeons, Monsters. The possibilities in this game are endless. This is the RPGers mega-grand-daddy. Customer Review: Astounding
Summary: 5 Stars
Oblivion is just about everything an RPG should be. The character creation and leveling system, the weapons and magic, the dungeons and outer world map, the limitless open environment, and the ridiculous graphics all contribute to what is easily the best RPG package I have ever played.
Your character awakes in a lonely prison cell, soon to be dead and forgotten, when the Emperor of all Tamriel appears at your cell door, secretly fleeing from an unknown assassin. Escaping from your cell on the heels of the Emperor and his personal guards, The Blades, you are immediately swept into the story of defending the lands from a secret cult of Deadra Worshippers with the goal of world domination.
Your character is fully customizable. At the start of your adventure, you choose your sex, race, birth-sign, profession, skills, specialties, and appearance (body type, face, skin, an extremely detailed process). Once you exit the tunnels hidden beneath your prison cell (a process which guides you through an interactive tutorial to familiarize you with the controls), you enter a virtual world with what could be the most freedom any video game has offered before. After gaping at the astounding graphics of the world map (I have not played the 360 version, but based on screenshots I have seen, the PS3 release is by far the better of the two), your choices are truly limitless.
Perhaps you wander immediately into the Ayleid Ruins across the lake, seeking your fortune in the dark, ancient fortress beneath. Or maybe venture into the Imperial City to make friends (and enemies) or obtain valuable goods and information. Join the Fighter's Guild for some rewarding side quests, or if the arcane is your specialty the Mage's Guild also awaits. If stealth is your forte, perhaps you will have what it takes to find the Thieves Guild instead, or maybe you will even be welcomed into the inner circles of the Dark Brotherhood of assassins. Be a valiant hero, a silent killer, a powerful sorcerer, an agile thief, or all or none of the above. The choice is yours.
For Elder Scrolls veterans, leveling your character is nothing new, but to the newcomer it is a unique and detailed process. Unlike the standard RPG, there are no Experience Points that accumulate toward a magic number that results in a level up. Instead, you improve your individual skills by using them successfully. Cast a fire spell that hits its intended target, and you gain a little experience at Destruction Magic. Damage your adversary with a short sword, and your Blade skills improve. Create a potion out of raw ingredients, your Alchemy skill improves. Improve a skill enough, and the skill itself will go up a level. Level-up any combination of your favorite skills ten times, and your character goes up a level. But if you don't use a particular skill, it will never improve, perhaps to the detriment of your overall attributes.
Interact with hundreds of characters, creatures, and monsters scattered throughout dozens of locales, from large cities, small villages, and roadside inns, to dank caverns, crumbling fortresses, and ancient ruins hidden away in snow-capped mountains, thick forests, and even demon-filled Netherworlds. Enemies and artifacts encountered throughout the world level along with your character so you never have too much of an advantage, or too weak an enchantment. Background characters banter about current events and local news. Word of your accomplishments spreads across the continent as your fame (of infamy) increases. The level of detail that found its way into the game is impeccable.
The only element this game lacks (that fans of say, the Final Fantasy franchise, will miss) is an enthralling story. While there is indeed a main plot and ultimate goal for your character, Oblivion lacks the emotion and humanity of strong story that become the focal point of many other RPGs. This leads to more a systematic style of game-play, simply progressing for the sake of progress, rather than playing to develop an underlying story. In effect, the game sacrifices a gripping story and a bit of fun for your freedom to play it out however you want. If you are looking for pure game-play without the distraction of a story, then this truly is the perfect game. But if you are looking for a game with an interactive story, it may not be for you.
This is the ultimate gamer's RPG, addictive, challenging, and visually stunning. This Game of the Year edition includes two built-in expansion packs, previously available only as separate downloads, and is worth the extra money if this sound likes the game for you.