On your way towards the snow-capped mountains, the openness of Oblivion is suddenly revealed. There are virtually no restrictions on your freedom to explore the environment. Green and forested with lakes, rivers and waterfalls, the land of Cyrodil is breath-taking. The changing weather patterns and shifting between the cycles of day and night really bring the world to life. Towns and cities each have their own character and atmosphere which really adds to the pleasure of exploring new and different areas. There will be caves and ruins by the hundreds to discover, all of them filled with treasure and trolls.
During your adventures there are NPC’s of every dimension possible to assist from anything like clearing out warring goblin tribes on farms, to finding a painter who has been lost inside his own painting, literally.
These side quests offer plenty of opportunity to fight a variety of enemies and gain experience by using your characters abilities. Although there is an option to play the game from a third person view, the action is designed to be from a first person perspective which, when being hacked and slashed from all directions, really creates the violent feel of battle.
Along the journey you will be accompanied by an epic musical score. Like the beautiful art design with each tree and grassy knoll having been lovingly placed, the music has been crafted to evoke in the player a sense of the grandiose, enhancing the experience every step of the way. Shifting from a sombre melody when playing in the dark dungeons to a pumping, angry march when surrounded by enemies, the music is filled with the emotional cues usually associated with blockbuster movies.
And just like a great film, this game will draw you into its world. Unlike a film however, Oblivion can be experienced for literally hundreds of hours. Loaded with thousands of items, armour and weapons, just keeping your character geared up in the best stuff will keep you busy. With the ability to create your own weapons and spells you are able to explore a plethora of different tactical and fighting styles extending the life span of the game at the very least to a second play through using a different character build.
If by some chance you are an RPG fan and have still not played this game, I would suggest going out right now and getting the game of the year edition which is packed with all the DLC and two expansion packs. This should keep you busy until the eleventh of November this year when Elder scrolls V: Skyrim is released.
Last Updated: April 19, 2011
