The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The Good
Everything about this game is lovable. Bethesda has kicked it up so much. The environments are as beautiful as the character's themselves. They cleared up the fog that was forever looming in Morrowind and now you can plop up on top of a mountain and just see what you can see. The combat system is wonderful. You can hit,block,fireball and hit again. The NPCs are now voiced, so your not just talking to a mute person with paper and pencil writing their conversations. And the new mastery of your skills is incredible. New moves to learn and skills to master make this game a perfect gaming experience. Also, the addition of a compass make traveling easy, so now your not running around in circles look for a cave that's miles away from you. And the ability to ride a horse does make traveling faster.

The Bad
The only things I didn't like about Oblivion are many common problems, I guess. First, all of the characters are voiced by the same people. So you talk to a guard with a really deep voice then you go talk to a midget with the same voice. Second, the story line could have been more plentiful. You play a few very simple missions and you win. These are the only problems I see.

The Bottom Line
A must have for any and every RPG fan boy/girl. Once again Bethesda knocks us dead.

The Good
First of all, the graphics are breathtaking. Superb lighting effects, great 3D models, impressive textures. Second of all, the voice acting is just right, transporting you in the virtual world of Tamriel. The next game of the Elder Scrolls series keeps the races and classes from the previous versions, and adds great features such as horseback riding (present in Daggerfall, but removed from Morrowind) and an active cross-hair showing the health of the NPC (or monster), the possible actions with the NPC, and if it's OK to use an object or not (it turns red when you look at an object that's the property of an other NPC). The new combat system is just great, with the option of manually blocking an attack, and being able to cast a spell even if you have weapons / shields equipped. The story (with it's flaws) is perfectly integrated in the world of Tamriel and there's loads of books and scrolls that add to the Elder Scrolls lore.

The Bad
The bad things... The leveling system is a great idea, but it still allows you to turn your character into a "jack-of-all-trades". I mean there's actually no problem for your orcish character to sneak around pickpocketing people and braking into the NPC's houses, or to become a heavy armored, axe wielding wood elf. The requirements for this game are rather high, meaning that you need a high end system to play it. (Kind of restrictive, huh?) The story: You were a prisoner back in Morrowind. Come on, can't you guys come up with another setting for the start of the game?

The Bottom Line
This is like the ultimate single player RPG. If you enjoyed the previous Elder Scrolls titles, you should play this game. As for all of the game's problems, they'll surely be solved by the massive Elder Scrolls community through mods, just like the previous title, Morrowind.

The Good
The graphics were insane (but there is a downside to it... possibly)

the music score to this game is insane it fits perfectly with the game.

The beginning of the game had an actual... for a lack of a better word... introduction to the controls. unlike Morrowind that basically said "well pick up the knife... press R to attack... well you broke the law... good luck with that" while oblivion gives an explanation and a through walkthrough of everything you will do before you are released into the world.

The quests are very fun to do and when you finally finish them you (sometimes) feel like you actually did something very good.

Combat is good but will get better as you progress in the game.

Horses are cool to ride on and the fast travel system is very good (WAY better than paying some guy and a bug to take you to a city that is still just as far away from where your supposed to be... damn morrowind... why do i keep playing that?)

a whole lot of factions make the game very fun and will keep you busy for... at least 48 hours straight ... don't get any funny ideas your 360 will just freeze like mine does but that might be from different reasons.

very good lay out of controls. but if you make the jump of morrowind to oblivion... just as a heads up the controls are different.

The Bad
graphics are way too good... it sometimes made my xbox 360 freeze (this may be because i played around six hours straight, or the fact that i just got the game and the system at the same time)

also the story line seemed extremely short... i won't spoil anything for you but in the end it just seems like you went a long way to almost nothing.

Sometimes quests are just real b.s. and are there to piss you off... or require a patch (don't drop the ring of burden... WHAT EVER YOU DO DON"T DROP IT UNTIL THEY TELL YOU... IT DOESN"T COME BACK!).

no horse combat

no creatures like in Morrowind (i just like comparing the two games even though they are on two different sides of the world the fact is this make the game more in depth and shows how different the worlds of each uhh province are).

Oblivion gates... i really hate them ... just as a little tip you don't need to close any that you pass in the world you could just complete the story line and they will all just close.

The Bottom Line
very good ... don't play it too long or else ... well lets just say "good-bye" to your social life ... and everything else!