Thia Halmades
Apr 9th, '06, 07:39 AM
I honestly didn't expect to get a lot out of this game. I've been playing The Elder Scolls series of games since 1990; all of them had two things in common. They were cutting edge for their time, and they're buggy as all get out. I played (and did quite well) in Morrowind (TES III) for a long time on my Xbox, but it never quite held my attention as much as it could have. Little bugs, faulty saves, and a reptitive combat system held the game back from greatness. While certainly nothing of that magnitude had been seen on the Xbox before, it was still a flawed gem.
Enter Oblivion. Using truly next-gen graphics, where every single stone is detailed and textured, the light glints off your weapon in real time, and, being pushed by the processing power of the 360 rarely hitches, the game, on the surface, shows tremendous promise. Only when you start getting into the game itself does that promise truly begin to deliver.
Character creation - the heart & soul of a game like this - is a hybrid of classic HERO mindset and level-based mechanics. Instead of gaining levels as you gain XP, you gain levels as you improve the core skills of your class. And, you may create that class yourself - simply pick the seven skills that best describe what you want to do, and go forward with them. There are three groups of skills - combat, magic & stealth, and a multitude of races to choose from. At the outset of the game, you're given access to the face generator, possibly one of the coolest pieces of software ever put in an RPG. Arnold Schwarzeneggar? Done. James Earl Jones? Done. Freaky lizard dude? Well, done. With a full array of standard weapons & spells, it's easy to design a character you can enjoy.
My Druid is effectively specializing in light armor, blunt weapons, destruction, restoration & conjuration magicks. I have a few other tricks, but those are the defining elements that make me, "me" in this game. And, with the entire story told from the first person, and every single line of dialogue spoken, it's very easy to get pulled into this world and feel as though you're a part of it. You're introduced to the overplot early, but are under no obligation to complete it. You can create a thief, and have no moral obligation to steal or not steal, as you may see fit. You may join the assassins guild. Or the mages guild. You can became Famous, Infamous, or a Vampire. All of these options exist in Tamriel.
But that's just the goal of the design - and it succeeds admirably; it overwhelms you with options. Even if you found something you didn't enjoy, you could still, reasonably, go find something else. I originally created "me" - Thia Halmades - in this game, but it took three character concepts to settle on - and begin enjoying - playing my Druid concept. The game encourages number crunching, certainly, but it attempts to balance everything out. You can play a glib-tongue merchant, a plate-wearing tank or (as I do) a sizzling caster beyond compare.
Your character will grow; you'll engage in those plot lines you find interesting and resolve them your satisfaction, or not. You can make mistakes, and it's a credit to the game that you feel involved enough to either reload (as I've done a few times) or think "Hmm. That's not something I would have thought this character would do, but let's roll with it."
It's been said that everything is better with an epic soundtrack, reminiscent of the sword & sorcery, high-fantasy films this game emulates. Yet magic is so commonplace that it never feels out of place, and that's nearly impossible to do. It never feels tacked on - it's integral to everything in the game and how people think and react to you. They do all of that through Bethesda's new "Radiant AI."
Here's a word: Impressive. Here's another: Remarkable. Here's a whole sentence: I didn't think I would see a day when AI reacted this consistently and intelligently.
They taught it how to talk. You may interact with it, and read the facial expressions of the characters to get a guage for how they react to certain jokes and gestures. They taught it how to fight, using its own tactics and maximizing its strengths. Looking for holes & openings in defenses. They taught it to haggle, to chit-chat among themselves, and to go about their daily routines. As in, you can watch someone all day as they get up, go to work, work, eat, go back to work, and go home. It's all there, and it all happens in real time, all over Tamriel.
In Morrowind, if you walked into a shop, you could go into the merchant's basement, or private quarters, and they wouldn't bat an eyelash. Now they follow you - possibly at the expense of whatever might be downstairs, but they follow you. They no longer want you robbing them blind. However, as I noted, this is at the expense of whatever's downstairs - to which nothing happens. Ever. The whole world is really built for you.
Which is huge, yet accessible. The map is massive, but at long last they've brought back "Fast Travel" from the first game, where you simply point to a place you've been and go. No more looking for a ride or a teleportation point, you simply GO. Dungeons are designed to keep pace with - and challenge - you, the player. Magick is rewarding enough that almost everyone will use it to some extent. There's a whole alchemy system built into the game on top of everything else.
Are there flaws? It can still be a tad repetitive. Spending 200 hours in front of your TV trying to see the whole thing might wear on people who prefer immediacy over depth. But the game is beautifully designed, beautifully lit and extremely well executed. There are flaws. It can get LONELY out there in the big wide world, where often all you have are people in specific places, and occassionally NPCs wandering around, but mostly it's you, monsters and the plot. Is that bad? Not necessarily, but if you're more accustomed to commanding a party of adventurers, then this is a bit of a shock.
Is it worth it? Absolutely, even with the flaws I see and I'm sure there are more a hundred hours later, the game is very much *worth it.* Easily recommended.
Graphical Prowess: 18- (Superb)
Depth/Replayability: 16- (Excellent)
Sound/Music: 15- (Very Good. Voices can get repetitive, and the soundtrack is occassionally loopingly frustrating, but overall, it's a huge step forward and for a game this size, remarkable).
Gameplay: 16- (Excellent. Many things once obfuscatory were made intuitive. Poisons and potions are easily used, spells are easily assigned to a hotwheel on the d-pad. They thought of almost everything).
Personal Slant: 17- (Remarkable. This is the most fun I've had with an Elder Scroll game since the original in 1990.)
Overall: Superheroic, bordering on Cosmically Powerful Hero.
Enter Oblivion. Using truly next-gen graphics, where every single stone is detailed and textured, the light glints off your weapon in real time, and, being pushed by the processing power of the 360 rarely hitches, the game, on the surface, shows tremendous promise. Only when you start getting into the game itself does that promise truly begin to deliver.
Character creation - the heart & soul of a game like this - is a hybrid of classic HERO mindset and level-based mechanics. Instead of gaining levels as you gain XP, you gain levels as you improve the core skills of your class. And, you may create that class yourself - simply pick the seven skills that best describe what you want to do, and go forward with them. There are three groups of skills - combat, magic & stealth, and a multitude of races to choose from. At the outset of the game, you're given access to the face generator, possibly one of the coolest pieces of software ever put in an RPG. Arnold Schwarzeneggar? Done. James Earl Jones? Done. Freaky lizard dude? Well, done. With a full array of standard weapons & spells, it's easy to design a character you can enjoy.
My Druid is effectively specializing in light armor, blunt weapons, destruction, restoration & conjuration magicks. I have a few other tricks, but those are the defining elements that make me, "me" in this game. And, with the entire story told from the first person, and every single line of dialogue spoken, it's very easy to get pulled into this world and feel as though you're a part of it. You're introduced to the overplot early, but are under no obligation to complete it. You can create a thief, and have no moral obligation to steal or not steal, as you may see fit. You may join the assassins guild. Or the mages guild. You can became Famous, Infamous, or a Vampire. All of these options exist in Tamriel.
But that's just the goal of the design - and it succeeds admirably; it overwhelms you with options. Even if you found something you didn't enjoy, you could still, reasonably, go find something else. I originally created "me" - Thia Halmades - in this game, but it took three character concepts to settle on - and begin enjoying - playing my Druid concept. The game encourages number crunching, certainly, but it attempts to balance everything out. You can play a glib-tongue merchant, a plate-wearing tank or (as I do) a sizzling caster beyond compare.
Your character will grow; you'll engage in those plot lines you find interesting and resolve them your satisfaction, or not. You can make mistakes, and it's a credit to the game that you feel involved enough to either reload (as I've done a few times) or think "Hmm. That's not something I would have thought this character would do, but let's roll with it."
It's been said that everything is better with an epic soundtrack, reminiscent of the sword & sorcery, high-fantasy films this game emulates. Yet magic is so commonplace that it never feels out of place, and that's nearly impossible to do. It never feels tacked on - it's integral to everything in the game and how people think and react to you. They do all of that through Bethesda's new "Radiant AI."
Here's a word: Impressive. Here's another: Remarkable. Here's a whole sentence: I didn't think I would see a day when AI reacted this consistently and intelligently.
They taught it how to talk. You may interact with it, and read the facial expressions of the characters to get a guage for how they react to certain jokes and gestures. They taught it how to fight, using its own tactics and maximizing its strengths. Looking for holes & openings in defenses. They taught it to haggle, to chit-chat among themselves, and to go about their daily routines. As in, you can watch someone all day as they get up, go to work, work, eat, go back to work, and go home. It's all there, and it all happens in real time, all over Tamriel.
In Morrowind, if you walked into a shop, you could go into the merchant's basement, or private quarters, and they wouldn't bat an eyelash. Now they follow you - possibly at the expense of whatever might be downstairs, but they follow you. They no longer want you robbing them blind. However, as I noted, this is at the expense of whatever's downstairs - to which nothing happens. Ever. The whole world is really built for you.
Which is huge, yet accessible. The map is massive, but at long last they've brought back "Fast Travel" from the first game, where you simply point to a place you've been and go. No more looking for a ride or a teleportation point, you simply GO. Dungeons are designed to keep pace with - and challenge - you, the player. Magick is rewarding enough that almost everyone will use it to some extent. There's a whole alchemy system built into the game on top of everything else.
Are there flaws? It can still be a tad repetitive. Spending 200 hours in front of your TV trying to see the whole thing might wear on people who prefer immediacy over depth. But the game is beautifully designed, beautifully lit and extremely well executed. There are flaws. It can get LONELY out there in the big wide world, where often all you have are people in specific places, and occassionally NPCs wandering around, but mostly it's you, monsters and the plot. Is that bad? Not necessarily, but if you're more accustomed to commanding a party of adventurers, then this is a bit of a shock.
Is it worth it? Absolutely, even with the flaws I see and I'm sure there are more a hundred hours later, the game is very much *worth it.* Easily recommended.
Graphical Prowess: 18- (Superb)
Depth/Replayability: 16- (Excellent)
Sound/Music: 15- (Very Good. Voices can get repetitive, and the soundtrack is occassionally loopingly frustrating, but overall, it's a huge step forward and for a game this size, remarkable).
Gameplay: 16- (Excellent. Many things once obfuscatory were made intuitive. Poisons and potions are easily used, spells are easily assigned to a hotwheel on the d-pad. They thought of almost everything).
Personal Slant: 17- (Remarkable. This is the most fun I've had with an Elder Scroll game since the original in 1990.)
Overall: Superheroic, bordering on Cosmically Powerful Hero.