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

"Double the Fun."

The Elder Scrolls series of RPGs has always been known for its large, free roaming worlds. The latest edition in the Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion, is no exception. The Game of the Year edition comes prepackaged with the "expansion pack" of Oblivion, known as Shivering Isles. The GOTY edition is essentially the original game, bundled with the additional content on an extra disk.

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, places the character in the role of a nameless prisoner in the Imperial City prison. The emperor and his bodyguards suddenly appear in front of your cell one day, and the guards unlock the door and barge inside. The order you to stay back, and the emperor and his guards disappear into a secret passageway that was apparently hidden inside of one of your prison cell walls. Of course, the player doesn't listen, and decides to pursue the emperor through the sewer, battling mysterious enemies along the way. When the player finally meets up with the emperor, he entrusts the player with an important task, one that could change the future of the world. With this new task, the player leaves the area, finds the sewers, and escapes into the outside world. The player's adventures into the universe of the Elder Scrolls 4 has begun.

When the game first starts out, the player is prompted to create a character for use. The player can choose from a variety of fictional races that exist in the universe. There are multiple skin tones, hair colours, and facial features to choose from. When the character is satisfied with the appearance of their character, they are asked to choose a birth sign (Which gives the character a special ability they can use), as well as some character traits that influence the stats of the character. As with most of the Elder Scrolls games, Oblivion works on a sandbox system. The player can explore any part of the world they want, go anywhere, and do anything. The player can integrate with local citizens of towns, explore abandoned tombs and caves, or join various guilds and clubs. The player can increase their reputation as a hero and good Samaritan, or ensure that local populace fear their name. The player controls movement with the left analog stick, and the camera is controlled with the right analog stick. Like other Elder Scrolls games, Oblivion is primarily made for play in the first person view mode. If the player clicks down on the right analog stick, the game switches to a third person perspective. Clicking down on the left analog stick makes the player character go into a crouch. The right trigger makes the player attack with an equipped weapon, or to draw a weapon if none is equipped. Holding down the right trigger will make the player perform a more powerful attack. The left trigger will make the player block with their weapon, or a shield, if one is equipped. The X button allows the player to draw and put away any weapons that they have equipped on their character. The Y button allows the player to jump. The A button allows the character to interact with objects in the environment, including opening and closing doors, talking to characters, activating buttons and switches, as well as taking or stealing items from the background. The B button allows the player to bring up their menu. In this menu, players can see what they currently have in their inventory, such as weapons, clothes, and miscellaneous objects. In this menu, players can also check their map, which can be viewed in either a global style, or a more zoomed in style such as specifically just a certain area or building. The player can also read their journal when in this menu. The player character automatically writes down any important events that happens to them, involving any quests or events that the player might encounter. The journal can be used to find out what the player needs to do again in each quest in order to progress. Missions and quests given to the player include standard fetching tasks, killing people, solving puzzles and finding certain characters in places that no one else dare go. What's the incentive to go on these dangerous quests? The game operates on currency system. Players are often rewarded with gold for performing tasks, and the gold can be used to buy items, houses, and equipment.

Oblivion is the most visually appearing Elder Scrolls yet. The game features a lot of extremely detailed surfaces. Some of the most graphically appealing things in Oblivion include ancient ruins and water effects. The water in the game was clearly the subject of much attention when the designers were making the game. Water ripples, splashes, and reflects light extremely well, making large landscapes that include lakes and streams very pleasant to look at. The ruins have some fantastic wall textures that make the player really feel like they are exploring the long lost ruins of some ancient civilizations, one that spent a lot of time engraving patterns and artwork into their work. As most of the game is usually played in first person, special attention was given to objects that are viewed in first person, such as engraved swords, torches, bows, and armor gloves. These are quite pleasing to look at, which will make players want to find some items to use just to see the special effects and the textures that each one has to offer.

Oblivion's main theme is actually a reused Elder Scroll's theme redone with some trumpets and a larger band, to give it a more "epic" feel. Players will experience a large variety of sounds, including the clashing of various weapons, the casting and effects of various magic spells, as well as dialogue. Oblivion boosts a lot of dialogue from the characters the players can interact with. While players will start hearing repeats of dialogue in the same voice, saying the same thing after a long time, there is enough speech to keep players listening to most non player characters.

Oblivion is a very large and long game. Aside from the main story quest, the player can also join the Fighter's Guild, the Mage's Guild, the Thieves Guild, as well as several religious groups. In addition to these "organized" quests, the player can also roam around the world and talk to people, discovering many side missions that can be undertaken by the player for various rewards. The Shivering Isles expansion adds many more hours of gameplay. The expansions adds a portal in the middle of the wilderness, that when activated by the player, takes the character to another realm of reality. The player travels through the realm, uncovering mysterious and solving problems, just like back in the normal realm, with a few added twists. The expansion is recommended for higher level characters, as the enemies are much more dangerous and require a bit more skill to defeat. The replayability of this game is almost limitless, making the GOTY edition a worthy purchase for any RPG fan, or otherwise. Due to Oblivion's non-traditional gameplay, the game is not catered only to the traditional role playing crowd, but should appeal to a larger audience. The Elder Scrolls IV: The Game of the Year Edition, should be an addition to any gamer's collection.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/03/08

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