'Hail good gamer'. Welcome to an experience steeped in history and enchantment. A road that was never easy for Oblivions producers, Bethemos, yet has now ran its length and resulted in an outstanding game. One that will bring the RPG status to the next level, and send Squaresoft running for some of the most realistic trees ever seen.
Without a moment of hesitation, it is the graphics that strike you first. Rendered from the Half-Life program and fuelled to its max using the 360's power, the attention to detail is some of the best seen yet. From the first second a sunset catches the eye of your hero, it is near impossible to resist exploration.
Only seconds pass by before you are crossing a rickety wooden bridge over a reflecting river. It is a momentary distraction from possible conflict with a bandit before his steely axe quickly brings you to your senses. From the start, it's all beautifully done.
Yet, such achievement does not come out of the blue. For over a decade the developers have been creating and renovating the concept of RPG so decisively since their switch of focus back in 1992, that even near bankruptcy failed to throw the idea off. Thanks for us, it didn't
Originally, the Bethesda concept has been to create an RPG where you can go anywhere, and be anyone. Nothing holds truer than in Oblivion. There is a main quest that involves a series of cut scenes, and sometimes scary voice over from Patrick Stewart, yet on the way, there will be many side quests for you to take part in. In fact, the game is so vast, that an estimated 200 hours of gamer time might be needed in order to complete the whole thing.
Maybe a walk in the park for some hard-core gamers, yet this does not take into account the visitation of all the attractions. Such attractions include caves, forts, shrines, ruins, mines, the list goes on. All of which are incredibly addictive by reaping their own specific rewards and treasures. Sometimes vital for some of the beasts you will encounter.
What might strike you about a game of this nature is the sheer awe factor and incredibility of just how much effort has been put in. It is when faced with the challenge of completing Oblivion, that it's clear such an achievement would be a memorable experience. Not unlike some sort of gaming guru gauntlet.
A person of RPG disposition will have to relish this challenge, or it will eat you up and spit you out. The addictive nature of the game, helped by next-generation graphics, intelligent AI, length and openness, will all certainly help. But, the gamer will also need real patience to become a winner.
By definition, of which can be seen as Oblivion's only weak point, the loading time at certain points can be frustrating. It takes a few seconds to enter through most doors, and to venture through fast travel. Not too mention when time spent searching for ingredients becomes like needles in a haystack. For a fantasy world this large, coming down with a disease is never a good thing.
Yet, more can be said for the overall fluency and effort put into the game despite its only drawback. Unless you're a gamer who accepts nothing less than constant action, then this should be played by everyone. Because once you're in, you're in, and wondering exactly where that last two hours of your life went. Then you remember. It was spent fighting off a winged pixie with a double-edged battle axe, before jumping three-storeys into a river and swimming like hell. Who said the middle ages was boring?
