Oblivion is a deceptively huge time sink that players will find difficult to pull away from as long as there are skills to learn, rewards to earn, and stones left unturned. Yet most will easily live with the shortcomings to bask in the beautiful vistas and the diverse cities, delve into the hundreds of engaging quests, and tinker with different races and character builds. There are short but frequent loading times, the enemy list is rather small, the third-person viewpoint isn't entirely functional, and the combat engine is a tad too simplistic - pull the trigger to swing a sword, pull another to block with a shield - when compared to most action games. Unlike most role-playing games, the encounters automatically adjust along with the player's level, providing an appropriate challenge each step of the way while gradually introducing new enemies, items, and treasures.Īlas, Oblivion is not perfect. Players can decide to rob people or help them, enlist in different guilds, buy and furnish houses, compete in a gladiatorial arena, create potions and spells, or skulk through death as a vampire. Combat now relies on actual player performance instead of transparent dice rolls, and quest locations are clearly marked on the in-game map. Consider the ambitious AI a work in progress, however, as many characters seem content to stare at walls for hours on end, engage in repetitive dialogue, and disappear in front of doors.Īmong Oblivion's improvements to the series is a fast travel system that instantly transports players to each of the major cities as well as locales discovered while exploring. This variety makes the world far more dynamic and appealing.

Guards will patrol the streets, innkeepers will converse with patrons, and characters will follow daily routines. Instead of static townsfolk, the game introduces 'radiant AI' with generally interesting results. Oblivion streamlines many of Morrowind's quirks and complexities while still retaining its open-ended charm. The developers at Bethesda have endured a rocky history, with the second game seeing more patches than John Goodman's inner tube, and the third installment coming across as too big for its leather-stitched britches. For its first appearance on Xbox 360, the game has taken a more console-friendly approach that will likely garner the series its widest audience to date. The underlying play style is the same as in previous installments, with real-time, action-oriented combat a vast world to explore on foot or on horseback and the freedom to do just about anything an intrepid adventurer, creative conjurer, or underhanded assassin would desire. The Elder Scrolls saga makes its fervently anticipated Xbox 360 debut as an addictive, visually striking role-playing game that addresses many of the complaints leveled at the series as a whole.

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