"As close to perfect as a game can come"

What do you think of when you imagine Elder Scrolls' games? Massively detailed worlds with inhabitants as realistic as themselves? Multiple factions and guilds with a variety of missions for fame and fortune? Or maybe an immersing main storyline that shakes the world and thrusts you into the middle of the turmoil. All of these facets are represented in the Elder Scrolls IV, but what you might not realize is that they delve beyond the imaginable. Crisp graphics, a plethora of weapons, and quite literally over a hundred hours of complete immersion into a new and fascinating realm await. These things, and many more, are what make the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as close to perfection as one can hope.

The game commences with your character locked in a jail cell. After a visit from the King, and the knowledge that you will come to play a larger role than expected in the shaping of the world around you, you are thrust into nearly twenty minutes of linear gameplay to orient you with the fundamentals. After a fairly monumental event occurs, you are given an amulet and thrust into the real world. From here, all options of what to do are yours.

Oblivion plays in a way that allows total control by the user to shape his or her game. If you feel like entirely leaving the main quest and simply wandering the seemingly endless lands of the world, that option lies open. Save the exploration for after the primary story, and the game feels no qualms. With such an open and diverse array of possibilities, the gameplay of Oblivion remains staggering in its vastness. There are three major factions that you may join, take missions from, and gain wealth and prosperity. Ruins, forts and caves abound across the landscape. Cities present range from a swamp-surrounded outpost to a snowy town to a Romanesque metropolis. Weapons, magic, and items handle themselves with ease, and there are a grand variety of each available for collection and use. With many additional quests, the ability of a sneak function, and the option of travel by horseback, Oblivion offers enough for days of enjoyment.

One of the nicest new features in Elder Scrolls is the ability to fast travel. With this function, the player can travel to a previously discovered destination. No real time will pass, but game time will move as if the player had actually made the journey. When a destination arises that has not already been found, the convenience of horseback is realized. The beasts range in price, speed and power, and can be purchased at any major city. They usually lack any real aide in battle, but the hastened movement more than pays for the lack of combat ability. The only major downside to horseback combat is the inability for the player to attack while riding. She must first dismount, a timely process which sometimes proves fatal, and then begin battle. With so many features of a more staggering and difficult nature, it seems odd that the developers would leave out such a realistic and helpful ability as combat by horse. Either way, the equestrian and fast ways of travel are both extremely useful during gameplay.

The factions in Oblivion very closely resemble those of the previous installment in the Elder Scrolls series.The Fighter's Guild, Mage's Guild, and Thieves' Guild all make appearances in the game, but the Dark Brotherhood stands as a new and welcome addition to the playable spectrum of guilds. Where the fighter and mages stand for the general side of good, the thieves' guild and Dark Brotherhood align the player with a more devious persuasion. As in real life, if a player joins and advances in an evil guild, he will accrue points in infamy. In opposition, advancement in good guilds will lend more favorable respect. As a player makes progress in these factions, not only will she begin to hear tales about her exploits, but also she will acquire gold and access to more powerful weapons, magic, and areas.

The shear magnitude of explorable forts, caves, and ruins scattered around the world is a testament to the greatness of this game. It becomes extremely difficult to complete story based missions when you are constantly assaulted by these side areas. No two are the same. The thrill of exploration drives Oblivion, and when tens of hours can be spent on side material alone, the effectiveness of Oblivion's focus on exploratory ordeals comes across very clearly. As with everything in Oblivion, the enemies and loot present in these areas levels with you, so entering one cave at the beginning of the game will produce completely different results in comparison to entering when ten levels stronger.

The leveling system in Oblivion works by increasing a player's major skills. Each character, at the start of the game, chooses which major and minor skills he will have. Unlike minor ones, major increases provide one experience point. At the time when ten are accumulated, the player may level up. This process provides the character with the option to increase different stats such as strength, intelligence, and wisdom. It may sound a little confusing, but it takes very little time before it's second nature. All weapons and magic, along with some miscellaneous attributes such as repairing armor, jumping, and mixing herbs to form potions, are represented by skills. As these skills increase, a player learns new techniques. For example, the higher a character's athletics skill the quicker his fatigue will regenerate while running. What makes this game so amazing is that the player may choose which of these skills she wants for her character, and therefore shape her style of play for the rest of the game.

The cities in the Elder Scrolls IV are amazing. They all have a wide variety of shops, houses and people that the player may utilize for socialization, underhanded deeds, or commerce. A player has the ability to break into someone's house and loot the premises... assuming she isn't caught. The citizens possess a life schedule that they execute during gameplay. Each person spends their days differently, and it only adds to the realism. You may see a farmer working his fields and sleeping throughout the week, but find him in the tavern on weekend nights. It isn't just the stores, houses, and castles that make the towns so amazing, but the people that inhabit them. Everything works together to form an amazing blend of reality and fun that creates such enjoyment from the cities in Oblivion.

There are a many weapons available in Elder Scrolls IV, and they all possess different qualities. All arms fall under two categories: blunt and blade. Blunt consists of weapons like axes and spears, and blades hold swords and daggers. These arms also break down into four subcategories which denote quality and appearance. The only two that add extra benefits are silver and Daedric weapons, for these have the ability to damage spiritual enemies without enchantments. After progressing far enough into the Mage's Guild, a player gains access to enchant his weapons. He may add any spells he knows to the weapon through the use of a soul gem, acquired through exploration or magic, and a varying fee of gold. This ability only adds another set of possibilities to constantly change the gameplay of Oblivion, and fits well with the already massive set of weapon options available.

The magic in the game falls under different schools. Each school gives the player jurisdiction over a set number of spells associated with that particular branch of magic. The spells run off of magic power, the quantity of a player's comes directly from his or her intelligence, and range from very weak to extremely powerful. Also, at the same time a player gains the ability to enchant, he may also create his own spells. By mixing spells and changing their power and duration, a new spell is made. Just like enchanting, spellmaking increases the fun available through the Elder Scrolls IV.

Luckily, the combat system works smoothly and offers both strategy and hack and slash. A difference from this Elder Scrolls and the last is that the player can manually block oncoming attacks. Depending on his blocking skill, he will take differing amounts of damage. But blocking comes with faults. Block too much, and you will likely become staggered and vulnerable to an onslaught of attacks. Attacking also works well, and each hit feels solid. There is no shortage of blood in the game, for only one attack on an enemy leaves your weapon speckled with blood. All this, mixed with the choice of long range weapons and magic, make a very exciting experience with battle.

The sneak skill offers a plethora of fun ways to play the game. By sneaking around, a player can pickpocket other players, move undetected, and perform extra-damaging attacks. Pickpocketing checks a player's sneak skill with the targets sneak skill. The other's contents are displayed on screen. After selecting the one you want, sneak skills are compared between the thief and victim. If successful, the item is yours. If not, the guards are notified. Attributes like weight of the item, value, and quantity all affect the outcome. The ability to move undetected is vital to many missions in the game. Imagine being able to bypass five minutes of useless fighting because you have the ability to walk by in the shadows. But, if fighting suits you, you still have the option of sneaking up to the enemy and performing a sneak attack for multiple damages. The sneak ability serves as an enjoyable and vital part of the Oblivion experience.

You might be wondering about the enemies in the game. There are so many of them that you will likely not encounter all the enemies of a current level class before new ones start appearing. When the character gains levels, the enemies increase in strength as well. At certain levels, new enemies appear and old ones either continue to strengthen or change to similar, more powerful, counterparts. All of the enemies have changing weapons and armor depending on the player's level, and they seem to know what the player is thinking. The artificial intelligence serves as a model for which games should strive. Enemies take into account the player's sneaking abilities, weight of armor, lighting, and weaponry to create an effective battle plan. With adversaries standing as such an integral part of the Elder Scrolls series, it's pleasing to know that they live up to expectations.

Aside from the faction quests, there are a myriad of single missions given by random people throughout the game. While talking with people or by overhearing other's conversation, knowledge of needed tasks becomes known. By pursuing these hints, new side missions are available for completion. Most of these fit the general set of side quests, but one new ability is the purchasing and renovation of property. No longer must you travel to inns to sleep. Oblivion offers intriguing side missions and quests to keep the fun going long after the major quest lines are completed.

The items in Oblivion range from ingredients for alchemy, to already made potions, to keys and scrolls. The herbs and food items used for the alchemical process are found through scavenging. These can be mixed to create potions. Potions are used through the menu screen or by wiring them to a hotkey. Also, poisons can be purchased or made that a player may apply to their weapons to inflict added damage or status ailments to enemies. The items in Oblivion are as varied as the game world itself.

The graphics are awe inspiring. They exemplify what someone hopes their Playstation 3 can produce, and in some ways improve upon the graphics of the game on the XBOX 360. Whether it be dungeons, cities, or outside areas, the graphics bring the world as near to reality as games can hope. Reflections on stone, condensation from rain and fog, and lighting effects all come through brilliantly on the system. The developing detail concentrated on this area remains the most amazing aspect of the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Characters all have accurate facial features for the situation. Charging guards and enemies wear expression of rage or egotism, where friendly townsfolk only smile and share their tales. Weather effects change constantly, and they the visual representations of them are both random and amazing to watch. The water glistens with the sun and reflects the surrounding area very accurately. Oblivion holds nearly no drawbacks in concern to graphics.

It's difficult to explain how happy I was when I realized that all of the conversations in the game were spoken. The realism is only augmented when each character and race has their own voice that changes with the situation. The music in Oblivion resembles the massive feel of the world itself. Powerful symphonic compositions constitute most of the music present, and it all seamlessly blends to form a wonderful background for exploration and battle. Also, casting magic and sounds of metal on metal all have satisfying auditory representations in the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

The replay value of Oblivion remains almost immeasurable. There are simply so many things to do in the game that completing everything in one play through seems impossible. Also, since the enemies level up with you and loot is randomly generated, dungeons and side areas will be different every time you play. Also, with the ability to customize characters and focus on different skills each time, the game always adopts a different feel.

There is so much to do in this game. Explore the world, wander around and treasure hunt for the whole game if you feel like it. There are no limits to the activities one can undertake in Oblivion. So many different weapons, skills, and items offer nearly interminable customization. The developers understood the importance of intriguing gameplay and the need for both brawn and intelligence in life. Oblivion bristles with realism. Go out and buy this game now. The excitement far outweighs the price, and you may soon find yourself clocking in your hundredth hour just waiting for more.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/07