The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition

"Save the World from Oblivion"

Never in my whole life have I played such an immersive and addicting game. Oblivion has it all: graphics, storyline, sound, gameplay, and replayability; all at a level that blows the mind away.

The province of Cyrodiil is such a massive continent that exploring it would be a game in itself. Ruins, caves, and towns litter the beautiful landscape and each are filled with helpful allies or challenging enemies. Sometimes, you are even left with the option of exploring another dimension which gives you more time to gawk at the impressive scenery. The game is also in first person so appreciating the environment is easy. As well, you can ignore exploring the continent without having a negative impact on gameplay.

The story behind Oblivion is amazing as well. All around the continent you can find books that flesh out the history of Cyrodiil and the surrounding continents. This creates a believable world that sucks you only deeper into it. The story behind the main quest involves saving the Empire but this ends up being dwarfed by the huge amount of other quests that you can do instead. Joining the Fighter's Guild and fighting for the greater good or helping a crazy man stalk people are just a couple things that you can do.

When it comes to gameplay it can at times become extremely difficult. I have more than once been mauled by a bear while travelling on a road to Cheydinhal which an be very frustrating. The combat is still entertaining however as you have to constantly atler your strategies for the kind of enemy you're fighting. There are also mini-games that add to the gameplay. The speechcraft skill involves spinning a wheel to see how you influence the person and the security skill involves moving the lock's tumblers manually.

The kind of character you play as will determine what your gameplay experience is like. You can play as a pre-made class or you can create a class for yourself. When creating your character class, you have a choice of selecting a core setting of stealth, combat, or magic. This will set the stage for selecting what kind of skills you want as your major skills. These skills will range from Light Armor to Blade but will form the core of what your character will be. On top of that, you also have to worry about your attributes (Strength, Speed, Luck, etc) which will influence your character progression.

To wrap it up, this game is enormous. IGN has said that there was over 200 hours of gameplay in the original and the Game of the Year edition has both of its expansion. I would wager that this would bring the gameplay hours up to 300. This time is only for one character. With all the character options you can try, you may be looking at potential gameplay hours in the thousands. Go on, give it a try. You might just find it more addictive than World of Warcraft.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/08

Game Release: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (US, 09/10/07)