Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (First Impressions) Review: RPG Video Game Reviews for Playstation, Bethesda Softworks

Video Game Review: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (First Impressions)

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Title: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (First Impressions)
Publisher: Bethesda Game Studios
Developer: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: RPG
Platform: Playstation
Reviewed by: Krista

Overall Rating:

Story:

My Rating:

Elder Scrolls is an immersive RPG that allows you to build a character, interact with the world, and go on quests. It is based on the original game for PS2 with an additional quest. This was my first look at any game in the Elder Scrolls series.

When the game opens, you are locked in a prison cell. The Emperor and his guardsmen have just been attacked and flee through your cell and into the secret passage that leads to the sewers below. For whatever reason, they trust you and invite you along. You then battle rats and other baddies, watch as the Emperor is slain, and are given your first quest - to seek out the Emperor's heir and deliver an amulet (that will presumably save the world from chaos).

While that's the overarching storyline, the main point of the game is to tell your own story. There's no linearity to the storyline, meaning you can go to any point in the world and build your character as you'd like (kind of like Fable, but with far more options). You can choose from a variety of character types - humans, multiple elf types, cat people, etc - and build up your characters attributes as you'd like. There are a ton of side quests to do and the world is enormous.

Gameplay:

My Rating:

I didn't get very far into the game, but from what I saw (and from my friend's explanation - he's put 70 hours in so far), there is a ridiculous number of things you can do. The point is to build up a character, and from the very beginning, the sheer level of customization available to you is incredible.

I spent 1.5 hours just designing my character's face. You actually get to adjust your character to exactly what you want him to look like. I don't just mean color of hair and eyes, but there are a number of options where you can set details like the shape of his brows, the tilt of his chin, the size of his forehead, and at least 100 other features. You are able to sculpt your character's face in real time with various sliders so you can make him (or her) look exactly as you'd like.

When the game opens, you wander through your first dungeon and learn the ropes. Here, you get to experiment with weapons, start using alchemy, and learn to fight. Since I chose a wood elf, my character was good at using a bow and a sword, so I spent much the time trying to get good at aiming and firing the bow. There's no auto-targeting, so you have to be extremely good at moving the camera to the exact point where you want (there is a cursor to show you where you'll fire) and then let go.

The environment is extremely detailed and there are all sorts of drops lying on the ground that you can find. You can also look into barrels and crates for goodies, pick locks of various chests lying around and find herbs to be used in alchemy.

Once you become familiar with the basic controls, you realize how user friendly they've made the game to be. Everything is logged into a journal, so you can select the quest you'd like to focus on and it points you in the right direction. This is extremely helpful when you start racking up quests to complete.

The character type you choose at the beginning has certain characteristics and abilities that make it more suited to one type of activity over another. As a wood elf, my character was quick, but didn't have the brute strength of say, one of the Nordic human types. It's up to you whether you want to focus on your character's strengths or spend lots of time building their weaknesses, but the initial traits of your character stick with you throughout the game.

Leveling in the game comes from repeating movements over and over, rather than the traditional killing things for experience points. You gain acrobatic ability from running and jumping through your environment. You enhance your alchemy skills by trying to make various potions and poisons. You improve your blade skills by killing things with your blade.

Graphics:

My Rating:

The in-game graphics are amazing in high def. As this was my first experience with a PS3 and an HDTV, I examined everything I could find and marveled at the textures and movements. Shadows move with your character. You can hit things with arrows and they react (for instance, hit a well bucket and the bucket swings back and forth). Real time play is as detailed as watching cut scenes from PS2 games. And the dungeons and towns all have their own unique look and feel.

Attention Span:

My Rating:

With so much to do, I can see how you can put in countless hours. My friend has put in 70+ hours into once character he built over the last 3 weeks and he's still addicted - and not even close to finishing the main story quest.