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March 28, 2006
Living in Oblivion
I wasn't sure what to think when I finally picked up my copy of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for the Xbox 360. This game has been long awaited and exceedingly well hyped up to the 3/21/06 launch date. While I was pretty sure it would be a good game, it was the Oblivion game guide from Brady Games that stopped me from opening the box for a day. The game guide is over 300 pages long. And it isn't just one of those guides that replicate what's in the Bethesda manual-no, it actually tells you to read the manual and come back! The guide has detailed maps, notes on each dungeon, and incredibly detailed stats on all races. Without their suggestions on character creation, I doubt that I could have come up with a Pure War Wizard (a High Elf with Destruction and Melee combat skills).
How's the game? It's fun, addicting, and totally open-ended with tons of choices to play the game the way that you decide. The graphics show off a world that is lush, beautiful, and dangerous. The gameplay is much like Diablo crossed with a First Person Shooter (if you choose that mode instead of third person). You see through your character's eyes, swinging swords and casting spells at your enemies. When you walk through a dimly lit dungeon, you can carry a torch and instantly swap it for a weapon when trouble arrives. When people say this game probably has over 100 hours, if not 200 hours, they are not kidding. The minute you escape from the dungeons and start walking around, there are dungeons, caves, and mini-quests everywhere. I keep trying to get to Imperial City and I stumble across another dungeon filled with loot. There's a place nearby that has some vampires that I might want to see, too. This is just in the first area; there are probably hundreds of dungeons you can trek through. I'm still a newbie at Elder Scrolls, so little things like the compass markers or leveling up were mysteries, but I've learned the details in the documentation and the message boards. Only one thing has been irritating, and that's the lock picking mini-game. You'll come across locked rooms or chests that will be important to open. The lock pick screen shows up, and you must lock each tumbler in place by flipping it up and pressing the A button before it can flop down. I broke many picks and resorted to reloading the saved game until I could get it right.
At my slow pace, I could probably play Oblivion until the end of year and not be finished. There's so much to learn and many places to visit-hopefully it won't interfere with my work too much. If I had one game to take with me on a deserted island, this would be it! Nuff said.
