The sequel to my favorite game of all time, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Oblivion does not disappoint ...much. Some things changed for the better, but, if it's not broken, don't fix it. Please.
Guild Quests. We went from 40 quests per guild in Morrowind to 8 or 9 in Oblivion. Sure, they wanted them to be more story-like, and for those quests I applaud the designers. But the Thieves Guild needs some "Hey go steal this book from this person's house," The Fighters Guild needs more "Fulfill this contract, apprehend this criminal," and the Dark Brotherhood needs more "Kill this random person." It would be simple to add a few in between quests like this without involving a whole lot of story. The story based quests that are in here though, are great. Each piece is part of a greater whole making the entire rising through the
The Dark Brotherhood
is a playable guild in Oblivion!
ranks one complete story instead of just seeming like your character all of a sudden decided to take over the guild.
Combat System. Muchly improved. The blocking and different attacks are great. I found it difficult to completely eliminate people with sneaking on the higher difficulty setting of combat. A swift hit to the back of an unarmed, unsuspecting target should eliminate them. Maybe I was just doing it wrong?
The World. I have no complaints here. Never have I seen such beauty in a game. Every blade of grass, every flower, even walls are beautiful. I had to study the hilt of every weapon I picked up, the way the light shimmered over it. The world is also decently sized. At first glance it didn't appear huge, but it contains many
dungeons and cities as well. The quick travel while being extremely convenient seems cheap. Once you've been to a location you can go to the overworld map and "quick travel" there with just a few passing game hours.
Leveling. Enemies level up with you. Horrible idea for a Morrowind. Not only will enemies level up but the weaker ones will begin to disappear. As you play, soon the scamps and daedroth disappear. Not only that, but why worry about stealing and hording money when you can just level up until bandits start carrying glass armor and then cash in those spoils?
People. Characters in Oblivion will meet each other on the street and engage in conversation. They have facial expressions that match their mood. Designing a character can take forever because there are so many
You
can see every individual flower, leaf and blade of grass.
Landscapes vary from the darkest dungeons to the highest mountains to small streams in grassy meadows.
options, like three slider bars to determine chin shape alone! The level of detail is incredible. The citizens have schedules, things they do, shops they run, all on a time table that move with day and night.
Storage. One major thing I wish for this series is that the storage in houses would get more complex and actually let you place things on shelves or tables instead of launching it haphazzardly. Things seem to disappear when you get too many of them piled up in a storage chest. It's difficult for me to play the Elder Scrolls game without being a packrat. I want to collect one of everything. Especially books. I love having a massive library. Give me bookshelves I can place things on.
Story. The main quest branch of Morrowind is very enticing, full of great cinematics, suspense and plot
With Patrick Stewart voice acting you can't go wrong, except when he has a bit part. Sad to have him go so quickly.
I know overall it sounds like I've complained a lot about Oblivion. There are a ton of side quests from the locals, tons of dungeons, ruins and forts to explore, tons of books and weapons to obtain, potions to mix, spells to create, etc. Don't get me wrong it's a beautiful game and I love it. It just has a harder time being critiqued and perhaps I'm a bit unfair with Morrowind being my favorite game. With 50+ hours of content and expansions on the way.
Necromancers
stalk in the darkest of dwellings.