The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for Xbox 360

It is important that I preface my review with the foundation of my argument. Very simply, the game is huge, it is beautiful, it is infinitely replayable, but even the X-Box 360 lacks the power needed for this game.

More than once has my game frozen at the most inopportune of times (specifically during action sequences), and the loading times are notoriously frustrating. Even more frustrating, unlike its predecessor, Morrowind, you will have to endure loading times during what should be fluid gameplay. What I mean is that instead of loading sequences being limited to exiting and entering buildings/caves, you now experience some while simply walking around the world. One thing that the game boasts is an immersive experience that, depending on how much effort you put into it, actually makes you feel like you are the character you are playing as. Hence, it's a role-playing game. But there is nothing less immersive than being sucked out of the experience by loading sequences, a reminder that you are, in fact, only playing a video game.

My argument, then, is whether or not this game should be held accountable to the shortcomings of the X-Box 360. While some may feel that the quality of the game itself should not be downplayed simply because Microsoft's $400 machine is unable to handle it, but the fact remains: it was made for the machine, and it should therefore be playable on it. How playable it is is up to the developers--they decided to sacrifice performance for graphics.

Having said that, I want to make it clear that this is the best-made game I have ever played. The time you spend on this game, while huge in comparison to other games, is infinitesimal (very small) compared to the amount of time the developers must have spent making this game. Absolutely every detail has been attended to. The physics system is frighteningly familiar (i.e. realistic), the textures are wonderful and everywhere, the voice acting reinforces the formula already mastered in Morrowind, and I cannot stress enough how replayable the game actually is. If you own an X-Box 360, then there is absolutely no reason not to get this game (unless you are weary of spending too much time sitting in front of a TV). If you do not own an X-Box 360, it may be worthwhile to at least investigate the options of buying one, with this game to christen the 360's arrival to your living room.

Game Dynamics
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Having played Morrowind (the prequel) for probably a total of 200 hours and never having finished the game (I did not feel the need to in order to experience the game), and having played this game for a less impressive time, though not by much, one major difference has become obvious. A certain element of freedom was removed in order to extend the playability of the game. In Morrowind, there was so much freedom inherent in the game that loopholes, almost literally, grew on trees. For example, if you were good enough at "Mercantile skill" (buying and selling items), you would be able to buy an item from a seller only to sell it back to him at a higher price. Furthermore, there were exploits, achieved without "cheating", that practically allowed you to become invincible (via enchanting items with money attained easily by ways similar to the method above). Also, with the possibility of some spells like Levitate (flying around), you could get to places very early on that you were not supposed to get to until later on. Consequently, you would be able to attain extremely strong items within hours of starting. What happened, however, is that being so overpowered, one could easily lose interest. There was no challenge. Oblivion, in turn, went to almost extreme measures to avoid this path.

What exactly did they do? Now, you will have a hard time getting a merchant to sell you anything at a price better than twice what they'll buy it for. They removed the spell of levitation, and now, in fact, you can no longer wear as many accessories and armor as you were able to in Morrowind (to avoid overpowering combinations). Consequently, however, these remedies arrive at the cost of customizability/freedom.

More controversial, however, involves Bethesda's attempt to keep the game from getting too easy. As you level up, the world does as well. Every creature, as well as all NPC s, becomes stronger. You can see where they were coming from, then, right? This way, the game is always challenging and engaging. But what also happens is that you sometimes feel that you aren't making any progress. No matter how much time you spend leveling up etc. you find that you are no further ahead, in comparison to everyone else, than you were before. Well, that's because you aren't. Is this a bad thing? Personally, I don't think so. But some may. Though if you are even considering buying this game, do not let this deter your decision.

Gameplay
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Vastly improved from Morrowind is the fighting system. It's more fluid (except for during stress-induced loading scenes), more interactive, and more skill-involved. Instead of choosing one of three different types of swings, one that is singled out as best, Oblivion revamped the system to be faster and more demanding. Now you must actively use your shield by pressing the L shoulder trigger. In Morrowind, based on your Shield skill, you would block randomly. In Oblivion your swings are much closer in time intervals. It actually feels and looks like you are stringing together a combo of attacks. Finally, and most importantly, is that the contact system was dealt with very carefully. It became very precise and less random. You can actually dodge attacks by moving back just that much more, only to inch forward and strike back. All of this together amounts to a very exciting fighting system.

In addition to sword to sword (or axe/mace), the archery system has become better. It is now actually a viable character specialty. In Morrowind, unless you "luckily" got hold of the best bow and arrows, being an archer equated to signing your deathwish. Or, more appropriately, simply it would mean choosing a character that you wouldn't stick with for very long. In Oblivion, however, getting better at archery does more than just improve accuracy (as it did in Morrowind). Now, it adds effects such as knocking your targets down, or paralyzing them. Magic is essentially the same in both games, and in neither one does it really lack in the department of viability as a character or fun.

The most important change, at least in my opinion, comes in two parts. First, the world is huge, and consequently would make travel very inconvenient and potentially hazardous to the game's fun-factor. In Morrowind you were able to travel around via various means of transportations such as boats, teleporters, and large insects that carry riders on their backs. In Oblivion, you can simply choose a location on your map and you are sent their instantly. In one respect, this speeds up the game immensely (which even with this feature is a long game). On the other hand, however, you tend to explore the world a lot less, which at least to me was one of the better parts of my experience playing Morrowind. Still, it is your choice whether you use this option or not, and you certainly shouldn't hold it against the game for providing the option to use it or not, but it is still something that must be brought up.

Secondly, all your mission objectives are pointed to pretty clearly on your compass. This makes a lot of playing the game simply following an arrow on your screen from point a to point b, and perhaps later on to point c. In between a and b you may find a fight, and between b and c you may not. But this system allows for very little problem solving yourself. Again, it shortens the total time required to play immensely, but at the same time it reduces the thinking element of the game, at least somewhat.

On the slower side of the game, you have a plethora of options. There are literally hundreds of pages worth of books strewn about the world. Some directly beneficial, some only beneficial to having fun. You can visit a tavern and sit down. You can order from a range of different ales, or meads, or wines of different vintages. Each resulting in something different, usually a mixture of positive benefits along with the intoxicating effects of alcohol reenacted by a lowering of stats. You can take missions from people, or even just explore a city full of independently living people (and I use the term "living" in an active sense. They aren't only 'living', but they are walking around according to their individual schedule. At noon, perhaps, they will walk to the tavern, then at 1 they return to work in the fields until dinner. And finally they return to their home to bed. All of this, while inconsequential to the ultimate story and the status of your character, combines perfectly to draw you into an experience reminiscent of what you'd expect in Lord of the Rings or neo-medieval fantasy.

Graphics
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If it was not for the fact that the in-game graphics caused absurd loading times, I would say they were perfect. If you take the time to look closely at objects, you will notice an example of perfect texturing. The leaves of trees and the blades of grass are all individually rendered, providing a mesmerizing experience all in all. If you are clumsy in a house, you can even knock over objects which not only fall according to the direction they were pushed, but also they land very realistically (depending on which side they landed on). It is obvious that Bethesda paid a lot of attention to detail. A lot. A lot.

People's mouths move perfectly to what they say, and everyone looks different. In fact, prior to starting the quest, you can customize every detail of your character's face. And I mean every detail. From the ratio from the eyes to nose and nose to mouth, to the convexity of your chin, you can choose exactly how your character looks.

Most incredible, though the hardest to enjoy, it the general world map. It's fascinating. You can trot by horse or by foot down a path in a forest, or you can make your own path. Either way, you'll walk through a world that comes straight from a fantasy setting. Well, it is one, but you feel like it's real, if not because the game is so good at drawing your attention, then because the graphics are just that good. The only downfall is that the world map seems to be the most problematic of the situations. It is there that you will experience the worst loading times while walking around and if you are really unlucky, a frozen game/dirty disc error.

Sound
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It is a fact that half of the game content, at least in megabytes (well, gigabytes), compromises the audio files. This is because almost every single character in the game has an individually recorded voice along with a list of things to say depending on the situation (whether or not that person likes your or not, or on what is happening in the world at the time etc.). Furthermore, you can actually hear NPC's talk to each other. And I mean coherent conversations that can either be important to your task at hand or completely as irrelevant as discussing dinner or breakfast. But either way, it is just another variable in the equation to further draw you into the game and make the experience as real and as personal as possible.

And like always, the music is amazing.

Overall
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Personally, I would not have minded if the X Box 360 came out with Morrowind and then Oblivion come out with whatever console is released next. As long as we get an experience free of those horrible loading times. As I pointed out before, I played Morrowind for around 200 hours (I'm not necessarily proud of this number, though admittedly not embarrassed) without beating the game. This is because I played the game for the experience. But there is no turn-off worse than having to endure a loading screen after every building you enter/exit. And hopefully this hypothetical load-free Oblivion would be available on the next system. But the X-Box 360 just is not ready for it. Having said that, I have been told that a powerful (-enough) computer can handle the game pretty well, but that is something I lack, and I plan on lacking for a while (after spending my savings on a 360), so I cannot comment further on that. That, and this review is for the 360 version, so how it plays on the computer is irrelevant.

That aside, if you can deal with the loading times, either through patience or raw-endurance of will, then this game will be your perfect 10. Loading times aside, I cannot pinpoint any part of the game that I would consider a flaw. There are some 'controversial' points of the game, but each one was carefully calculated by the developers, and in a game of this magnitude, you cannot expect every facet to adhere to your personal vision.

But with the loading times, not that a score is as important as what makes the score--the review--I give Oblivion a 9/10, even though after all is said, this is by far the best game I've ever played.