Let’s say one thing first—this game rocks. A lot. But it’s
not perfect, so don’t believe everything the fan boys tell you.
Anyone who has read one of the countless reviews on the interweb about
Oblivion knows how the game starts. In classic Elder Scrolls style you begin in prison (you never find out why you were there—personally I like to think my character was imprisoned for stealing ye olde pantaloons from someone’s washing line). In here you create your character—race, age and visual style. This bit of the game could have a review all to itself. Let’s just say that there’s no way two people are ever making the same character. You can actually have a go at making yourself if you feel like it; the face customisation is that damn good.
Once you’re done, the game starts with some nice racial abuse from another inmate—in my case, about my wife (he was a dark elf like me—I think if you’re another race he’ll taunt you about the way you look or smell etc). This is just one example of how the AI will react to you based on various things like your race, your age, what you’re wearing, etc.
Before long the Emperor of Tamriel (that’s the Tolkien-esque world you live in) turns up with his bodyguards, The Blades, trying to escape some assassins who’ve killed his three kids, leaving him heirless. The old geezer is voiced by Patrick “I’m not Picard” Stewart. Basically he springs you from jail because he thinks you’re destined to save the world yada yada yada. You’ll spend about an hour crawling around the sewers and dungeons of the prison as a tutorial. At the end of it, the game works out which character class your style of play matches most and suggests it to you. You’re free to ignore this and pick whatever you like.
After this you emerge into the real world, and you’ll want to be sitting down for that. The first time you lay eyes on the world of Tamriel (the province of Cyrodiil to be precise) you’ll either freak out as your frame rate hits single figures, or wet yourself in glee at how pretty it all is. More on the system requirements later.
Once out and about, you can either take up the main quest which the Emperor has given you, or just head off and find your own way. I did some other stuff first before going after the main quest, but basically it’s up to you. You don’t even need to do the main quest at all if you don’t feel like it.
Everything in this game, from the enemies to the loot, is linked to your character’s level so the quests should be challenging whenever you decide to do them. The Guilds are probably the best way to learn the game, they never send you in over your head without warning. The main quest is also excellent.
The Good Stuff:
The Graphics: Even on my modest system, this is the best looking game I’ve ever seen. Ever! I’ve spent ages just walking around looking at the scenery, watching the trees sway in the wind and the waterfalls crash onto rocks. Whip out a torch in a dark cave and marvel at the slick looking walls and the fungi growing everywhere. Just beautiful—I can’t even imagine what it must be like on max settings!
The AI: The much vaunted ‘Radiant AI’ makes its debut. The idea is simple—give every creature and NPC a list of daily goals, then let them figure out how to achieve them in real time. So an NPC who owns a store might have goals of ‘go to work’, ‘eat at noon’, ‘eat again at 8pm’, ‘close up shop at 9pm’, ‘go for a drink’ etc and the NPC will work out what to eat and where to sit down etc on its own. It’s quite fun to go into a tavern around 8pm and watch all the townsfolk come in for a pint after work. At which point you could head off to rob their unattended shops, if you had the lock picking skills for it … The AI is, on the whole, excellent. It’s
very interactive and the first time you meet another traveller on the road, or go into a tomb to rob it and find someone else already doing the same thing, is memorable. But it’s not all gravy here. The AI does occasionally do very stupid things, like crossing your line of fire during a fight. But it’s still a massive improvement over previous games—the AI now has goals beyond ‘stopping you from winning’.
The Combat: this is a
serious step up from Morrowind. Gone are the behind-the-scenes dice rolls that work out whether you ‘hit’. If you see your weapon connect, you hit them. The skills and attributes you have determine how much damage you do, but you fight in real time and with real physics. You can swing your weapon in different ways, powering up for heavier hits if you see an opening, and blocking enemy hits. Blocking—finally a game does it right! There’s a real satisfaction in charging up a hill at a goblin, shield raised, and hearing the ‘thud’ of arrows hitting your shield. You reach the top, smash the enemy, then switch into 3rd person view to see three arrows lodged in your shield. Of course, the enemy does it as well.
Magic: Another win here. The system is a little dumbed down from Morrowind though—fewer spell effects for starters. But it works much better in combat now, whether you're using a staff or your hands. Hitting enemies with powerful fireballs makes them fly backwards like dead wood, and the whole system just feels more tangible.
The Bad Stuff: The Map: Oh God, do I hate the new map system! And the inventory while we’re on it. Morrowind had this nailed, but it’s all changed now. So many clicks to find something you need! And the map can’t be pinned to the screen like in Morrowind (at least as far as I know). This is annoying to say the least, but the new compass system is good for keeping you on track (if you set a quest to be ‘active’ you get a little marker telling you where to go next throughout it).
Balance: Loot is a problem at lower levels. The idea was good—by linking it to your level you stop a level 1 character chancing across a sword that makes the rest of the game a walk in the park. But it means you’re stuck wading through rats and goblins to find 5 gold for hours until you start to get decent gear. I was still using the leather armour I picked up in the tutorial when I’d been playing for five hours!
Frame Rate: this game
is playable on lower end machines, but going from inside to outside areas, and outside to Oblivion, presents major changes in the frame rate. Unless you want to switch settings every time you change location you’re forced to keep the ‘outside’ settings which are always going to be lower.
That’s about it. This has been a bit longer than I had hoped, but this game is so massive it’s hard to keep any review brief. I haven’t even had time to discuss horse riding, owning property or the way your reputation precedes you in cities, and those are some of the best bits. If your system meets the minimum spec for this game, I suggest trying it first if you can. If you hit recommended, then buy this game immediately and see to your affairs—you won’t be leaving the house for days. My unshaven face can testify to that.
Score 9/10 - It only misses a full 10 because you need such a beastly rig to see all the best goodies!
Min Spec:
- Windows XP
- 512MB System RAM
- 2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
- 128MB Direct3D compatible video card
- and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
- 8x DVD-ROM drive
- 4.6 GB free hard disk space
- DirectX 9.0c (included)
- DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
- Keyboard, Mouse
Rec Spec:
- 3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
- 1 GB System RAM
- ATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card
Oblivion Homepage
