Summary
Total immersion
The Good
I've never played any of the previous
Elder Scrolls games; even
Morrowind is still sitting on my game shelf, waiting to be explored. I will probably not play the first two games because of my low tolerance to early 3D graphics. So I can't comment on how "Oblivion" compares with its predecessors.
Another comparison I won't be making is between "Oblivion" and modern story-driven RPGs, such as for example
Knights of the Old Republic games. I think it is important to understand that those are two different types of RPGs. "Knights of the Old Republic" and other games of
BioWare tradition are focused on detailed characterization and quality story-telling. "Oblivion", on the other hand, is a game that emphasizes exploration, discovery, freedom. In fact, both traditions go back to
Ultima; but the first one is based mostly on
Ultima VII Part Two: Serpent Isle, the prototype of today's story-driven Western RPG, while the second originates in earlier Ultimas.
I've asked myself this question: is it possible to have a game with
both interesting story and characters on one hand, and physically immersive, vast world on the other? So far, I haven't been able to find such a game. Some name the
Gothic series; but frankly, the story and the characters in those (admittedly excellent) games take a definite backseat compared to interaction and exploration, just like in "Oblivion". I think that for the time being, RPGs will stay divided into those two streams for a while: tight story lines set in small worlds without much interaction; or great immersive worlds bundled with generic stories. But since
Final Fantasy XII proved that even a Japanese RPG can take steps towards the great purpose of uniting different kinds of RPGs, I have hopes that both Western RPG sub-genres will also learn from each other in a future.
So "Oblivion" is not about characters and story; the story serves just as a frame, a guideline to the world. In fact, the story of "Oblivion" is not bad. It is too short and too simple, but there is something in it that makes it slightly more interesting than another "frame" story. Maybe it seems so because it is set in such a detailed, believable world. With all this background information you receive about the world, you might really care for the fate of the Emperor's son and for your country. I also liked the way the story started, the way the hero, just a nameless prisoner, got trusted with protecting the royal dynasty and became involved in a large conspiracy that threatens the entire land.
A lot of people complained about uninteresting NPCs and boring quests in
Morrowind I can't comment on that since I haven't played that game yet; but "Oblivion" does a very good job in giving you all kinds of interesting side-quests. We are not talking
Jade Empire here, but the quest certainly go beyond "kill this guy, fetch that item" kind of thing. The best thing about those quests is that in many cases you'll be faced with moral choices and will have to take decisions. You can play the game following almost any kind of alignment, obeying the law blindly, killing everyone just for the sake of it, joining evil organizations to gain power, simply following your heart, and so on. Actually, some of the situations that arise during those side-quests are more interesting than the main story itself.
It's true that the main plot is nothing special, but in a way, there is still a great story in "Oblivion". This story is the incredibly detailed information about the fictional world the game takes place in. "Oblivion" follows the great
Ultima tradition here. Dialogues contain tons and tons of information about the world. Just like in Ultima games, there are books everywhere. I love reading books in games. That's something that makes a game so rich and charming. I always like it when developers dedicate their time and skills to something that could have been simply left out. For example, I read with a great pleasure a story about a thief who had to sleep with the ugly wife of the person he was robbing in order to escape. It was just a book I found in one of the many stores. It has absolutely no significance to the story. But it is so well-written, with wonderful style and humor, that I realized once again that in order to truly enjoy "Oblivion", you have to explore its world, not just to follow the frame story that allows you to complete the game.
"Size doesn't matter", say some people. Well, it does in this case. I know that the world of "Oblivion" is supposedly smaller than the worlds of the previous Elder Scrolls games, but trust me, it is still bigger than in nearly every modern RPG that comes to my mind. And of course, it is continuous, like in
Ultima VI and its followers, not just a world map connected by dots or a bunch of screens. And you are free to explore this world in any way you like. I'll never forget the feeling I had when I emerged from the first, tutorial dungeon into the open wilderness. It was an amazing sensation. The world was lying in front of me, open in all directions. I could go wherever I please. It was simply overwhelming. And it remains so for a very, very long time. Because no matter how much exploration you've been doing, there will surely still be places you haven't visited. In every corner of the world of "Oblivion" there is something to discover and something to do. Villages, caves, settlements, castles - so many of them are not marked on the map, you can simply discover them.
It's not a huge bland world, as some people say. It's a huge fascinating world. Even though the scenery is traditional medieval fantasy, there is enough variety in that scenery that will prompt you to travel more and to discover more. I honestly don't recall another game world that was such a joy to travel through, except maybe
Ultima IX, that great pioneer of immersive 3D worlds.
Some people say they don't care for graphics. I agree with that in the sense that I'm also able to enjoy a game despite its average graphics. Graphics are not the first priority in my list. But to say that they don't matter at all would mean to ignore a cardinal aspect of game design. Graphics in a game are art, just like its other components. Great graphics have a value of their own, just like a great story or a superbly designed gameplay system. "Oblivion" has great graphics. Amazing, beautiful, wonderful graphics. This is the most beautiful game I've ever seen. It is a joy to behold. The pleasure I had while looking at those graphics was nearly
sensual.
And they are so much more than just eye-candy. The world is so detailed, there so many objects everywhere, each room is stuffed will all kinds of things, not just important items like potions or alike, but candles, apples, quills, plates, mugs - regular household items. And you can interact with all that in a way I haven't yet seen in a game. The stuff you can do in "Oblivion" is simply awe-inspiring. Once again, it's the Ultima tradition brought to its logical conclusion. There is a "grab" action in Oblivion that allows you to drag things in any direction, much like in "Ultima IX", but of course with a more realistic physics system. It feels great to push tables and to see how things fall off it. I know this is just fooling around, but that's one of the things I like doing most in games! And I really like games that allow me to do that.
Needless to say that you can also jump, climb, sneak, swim, and generally do whatever you like in the world of "Oblivion". The gameplay here is heavily shifted towards action adventure. But of course, it is also a RPG, and believe me, there are so many roles to play here, that you will be overwhelmed. Alone the character creation is almost like a mini-game of its own. You can literally create your own character. Not just pick one of the several available pre-made once, but create his face and body. You can even adjust things like nose shape and the color of eyebrows - with a little patience, you can make the hero of "Oblivion" look like yourself.
But that's only the beginning, because there are also several races to choose from - including some cool ones, like the lizard-like Argonians, not just generic dwarves and elves. Then there are tons of character classes and abilities, so you'll probably be addicted to the game already when you create your character. There are plenty of spells, and you can also make some of your own. You can play as a thief - there is a physical stealth element in the game. And even though I didn't like the weird scaling leveling system so much, I absolutely loved the fact that you develop your skills simply by using them repeatedly (like in
Final Fantasy II or
Quest for Glory games). This is a simple idea that makes the gameplay so addictive, and in many cases very rewarding, because you feel you really
did something, not just fought many monsters and miraculously became stronger overnight.
The graphics and the physical interaction make the game extremely addictive. The atmosphere of "Oblivion" is one of the most intense ones I've ever encountered in a game. Once you enter this world, you don't want to leave it. And one of the greatest contributions to this is the wonderful
music. I don't think there is a need to introduce
Jeremy Soule to anyone who pays attention to music in video games. Much like the graphics, the music here is a very sensual experience. Sure, you could call it "generic fantasy orchestral track", and that is indeed the genre it belongs to, but it's the choice of melody, the harmonies, the detailed orchestration that make the difference. The combination of beautiful graphics and beautiful music make "Oblivion" a worthy experience even if you don't do anything in it, just walk around, looking and listening.
Lastly, I want to comment on the difficulty level. There is a difficulty slider in the game options (just like in
Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition) that allows you to choose between many difficulty levels, not just easy, normal, and hard. I really like it when the game lets
you decide how hard it should be. I wish every game had this feature. In "Oblivion", you can literally have what some might call "exploration mode". The lowest difficulty levels allows you to kill most foes in one or two hits (except guards and some powerful NPCs). On the high difficulty levels, the game becomes extremely hard.
The Bad
The more ambitious a game is, the more visible its flaws are to a naked eye. No one thinks that something is wrong with an NPC who says the same lines over and over again if this NPC also doesn't move and doesn't generally seem to have a life. But once an NPC actually walks around, reacts to your actions, talks to other people, etc., you just expect more from him, and it seems unnatural when he begins repeating himself, blurting out generic lines, and so on. Often an "Oblivion" NPC will shout at you angrily when you pass by him, but will immediately talk to you in a most pleasant voice if you select a conversation topic.
Same applies to the AI of the NPCs. There is a whole complex system of crime and punishment: you can't just go around and take everything you want, like in most games. Problem is, sometimes they just go over the top with it. Guards seem to have eyes everywhere; they magically find out that I've stolen something from the innkeeper even if the innkeeper was the only one in the room with me, and wasn't even looking when I committed the crime. And it is really necessary to call the guards because of a stolen apple?..
With all the wonderful interaction you can do in "Oblivion", you can't for some reason break things. You can push and throw things around, but you can't break a crate or a barrel. At least I had no success doing so. I repeatedly hit a barrel with a huge mace, and it looked like it was going to break, but it didn't, it remained intact all the time. This detracted from the realism of the interaction.
There are also a lot of gameplay-related flaws. The most controversial aspect of the gameplay is the leveling system. I'm not sure I liked the fact enemies leveled up with you. I always love this feeling in RPGs when you grow strong and then go to some place with enemies who seemed so tough before and just whack them in two hits (
Gothic was great in that). Well, you can't do that in "Oblivion", so leveling up is nearly pointless. In fact, it would even be more advisable to choose a class with non-combat main skills, and then simply work on combat skills; this way, you'll grow stronger, but your level with still remain officially low. That's almost the only way to feel stronger than your enemies in the game.
The story is, as I said, just a frame. It's very short, simple, and doesn't really have any twists. The most interesting part, the search for the missing Emperor's son, was over way too soon. Pretty soon you learn everything about your antagonists, and from that point on it becomes the usual hunt for items required to defeat the bad guys.
More disappointing is the lack of really interesting characters. This is the biggest weakness of the game. In fact, some of the unimportant characters in the game are more interesting than those who play an active role in the story! It is as if they just picked some of their NPCs and assigned to them roles in the main quest. So much could have been done with Martin's character, or with the villain of the story; but they turned out bland and generic.
The Bottom Line
+ Amazingly beautiful
+ So much to explore
+ Huge, detailed, immersive world
+ Heart-warming music
+ Cool physics
- So-so story and characters
- Many small flaws
On this rare occasion, I'll side with "professional" review sites against many RPG fans who, in my humble opinion, overlook the big picture while being too busy nitpicking on the game. This is not
Planescape: Torment; nor was it supposed to be similar to it. The game does not see its objective in depicting interesting characters and crafting masterful dialogues. What it wants is to create a beautiful, sensual, detailed, fascinating world, letting the player do whatever he wants in it. Every player has his own priorities in games; but it is impossible to deny that "Oblivion" succeeds in what it tried to achieve. Take this game for what it is: a wonderful journey full of beauty and adventure. "Oblivion" is the epitome of exploration in video games, and of a nearly physical immersion into a game's world.
