By Sam Coles:
We all have those games that are close to are heart
where you can revisit it over and over and not get bored of it. The Elder
Scrolls IV: Oblivion is one of those games for me which introduced me to a
living breathing world that carried on even when I turned the console off. I
always get a lot of flak when I say I prefer this game over Skyrim and to be
honest Oblivion as an RPG is better with its mechanics and world.
Oblivion takes place in the province of Cyrodiil
which is the capital of Tamriel where once again in Elder Scrolls fashion
you’ve been arrested for an unknown crime. It’s not long before you’re released
by the emperor himself where he leaves the fate of Tamriel in your hands as he
gives you the Amulet of Kings which only people who are part of the Septum
family can wear.
You start off creating a class and you can pick from
readymade classes or you can do the smart thing and create your own because you
can tweak skills and attributes to your liking. I like this because you can
make the world your own and you feel that you make an impact in the game
because you can do anything you want which you don’t get that freedom in Skyrim
because they use “play it your way” card which is an illusion of freedom and
doesn’t let you customised your character the way you want.
After you’ve created your character you’re released
into the world and you can do anything you want. Wanted to completely ignore
the main quest and go and explore the local village and grab a beer with the
locals while reading books about the region? You can! Want to join a guild such
as the Thieves, Mage or Fighters and earn extra coins in the skills you
specialise in? You can! That’s what I love about Oblivion it doesn’t lead you
on a set path it just goes “Here is a world for you to explore go nuts”. Skyrim
did have an element of that but I didn’t feel the epic wonder in Skyrim like I
did in the previous game it lacked something. There is so much to do in this
game at your own pace and the great thing is your skills will constantly
increase even little things like your acrobatic skills will increase because
you like jumping a lot which then decreases your fall damage.
This game is beautiful considering that this year
the game is 10 years old, the character models look a bit off, but the world itself
still shines with varied and mysterious locations coupled with awe inspiring
architecture like churches and town halls. It just reminds me when I go cycling
in the middle of nowhere and stumble upon small villages with medieval churches
where I then go to the local pub and catch my breath with a pint of the local
ale.
The music is worth taking note Jeremy Soule came
back to do the music for the fourth game as he did the music for Morrowind and
the score can be haunting to relaxing the hairs on the back of your neck will
stand up.
The only problem that I have with this game is that
frame rate can dip here and there I played this on the PS3 and it’s far
superior to the Xbox 360 and yes I have both before you start. The PS3 version
has better textures, draw distance and frame rate.
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is the game I can go back
to if I need to cheer myself up or if I want to go exploring in an interactive
world. If you haven’t played this I would highly recommend picking it up, but
if you can get it on the PC.
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