Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review - PC

9

Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 10
Audio: 9
Innovation: 5

Preview after preview. High-res screenshot after high-res screenshot. Trailer after trailer. It has finally arrived. The fourth game in the Elder Scrolls series: Oblivion. Bethesda have, once again, extended what is capable in a PC game with an extremely beautiful, compelling and entertaining RPG.

Gameplay

The Elder Scrolls (TES) has a long winding history, one that fans have come to appreciate and debate upon through the magic of the Internet. Ahem. If, however, you're like me and are new to the experience, Oblivion provides it's own story based in TES world. While I'm sure that knowledge of the past games is helpful in understanding the world, it isn't nessecary to enjoy this title.

You begin the game as a nameless (as always) prisoner. A short while later, the Emperor Uriel Septim arrives, and you learn that assassins are out for his blood. It just so happens that the jail cell you're in contains a secret passage that the Emperor and his guards use to escape. From here, you're charged with following the troop which, essentially, drags you through a tutorial/combat phase, where you learn various skills. Shortly after, the Emperor is assassinated but before he does, he gives you the Amulet of Kings and charges you with delivering it to an official.

And so begins your journey through the world of Tamriel. You later learn that as a result of the Emperor's assassination, the gates to Oblivion (a dark netherworld that runs parallel to Tamriel) have opened in multiple places, sparking an invasion. It is now up to you to continue the quest, or, in true RPG fashion, engage in a multitude of side quests.

You can think of this game as a FP/RPG. The game can be played in first or third person depending on the player's preference. Combat is delivered in real-time with a combination of keyboard and mouse movements, depending on the weapon. For example, using the first person mode, you can pull out a bow, string an arrow, aim, and fire. Rather than employing the use of turn based combat, which slows down the action, the use of real-time combat heightens the sensation of being in an actual fight.

The variety of weapons is large, ranging from small, blunt daggers, to huge broadswords, to magical (cyptors). As well as this, you also have access to spells and potions, which is fairly standard fare for RPGs. However, Oblivion gives the player the freedom to concoct their own potions out of anything they come across in the natural world. It's elements like this that adds to the longevity of this title. This is also seen in aspects such as character creation. There are a multitude of ways to play this game, depending on the character you create at the start. If like me, you hastily choose roles that sound good at first, you may find leveling up difficult, especially when trying to specialise in combat and magic at the same time.

There's a huge sense (continued next page)