Technically, this isn’t a review since I haven’t finished the game yet, but I’ve logged enough hours to make some observations. Once I get around to completing the main storyline, I’ll be back with some final thoughts.
First, the gripes, in no particular order:
- Enemy encounters are scaled based on your level. In other words, at level 2 you’ll be facing clumsy bandits with barely a shirt for armor. At level 20, you’ll be facing bandits decked out in Elven chainmail, or Ebony armor wielding enchanted weapons. When I reach a higher level, I’d like to feel like I’m actually stronger, not like I still have to earn that bandit loot. Leveled encounters are a great idea, but the current implementation feels like a cheap method of difficulty balance.
- The physics implementation, while a fun addition, is just a little sloppy. I can bump into a table and send things flying, but a banner hanging in the middle of a castle entrance hall stops me short. It’s minor, but I know Havok is capable of more.
- Armor has been simplified a bit. In Morrowind you could give your character a shirt and pants and slide armor over those. You could then cover that with a robe if you felt like it. It’s an inconsequential gripe, but this is a roleplaying game, folks. Sometimes I just like to get into character. Yeah, I’m a geek, I know.
- Bethesda plans on releasing extra plugins to add things like horse armor and extra quests for a small fee. Is it really worth it? I understand these things take development time and resources, but with the kind of mod community the Elder Scrolls series has, charging for mods (whether they’re “professionally made” or not) seems a little ridiculous. Admittedly, that’s not going to stop me from using them, but it seems a little counterproductive when those resources could be put elsewhere, like toward an expansion.
Now, for the high points, also in no particular order:
- The character creation is streamlined and integrated directly into the story as an introduction. Morrowind’s character creation was also part of the game, but it still felt like a series of questions to be answered before you could actually start playing. In Oblivion, you’re in the story right from the start, with character-related questions cropping up as you go. Moreover, the options you get for customizing your character’s look now are incredibly in depth. You literally have full control over your character’s entire facial structure, so you can create the perfect hero.
- Combat has been updated to make use of the physics system. Now, as long as you can actually make contact, you’re guaranteed a hit. Your stats just define what sort of damage you can do and will allow you to perform more useful moves like disarming your opponent. I’ve heard people say it’s still like Morrowind, where you could run up and just wail on an enemy, but I think they’re not taking full advantage of the system.
- Gone are the senseless fetching quests (so far, at least) that feel more like busy work to add gameplay hours. Each quest has an actual purpose, so you’re actually questing instead of just running errands.
- While the animations might sometimes seem a little stiff, there’s much more detail to them. The movement of the cat-like Khajiit’s ears as they talk to you, the way your character will slowly draw a blade from its sheath if you’re sneaking, and the flexing of your legs after a jump are just a few examples of small details that help to better immerse you.
- Magic actually feels like an asset now. Magicka (mana) regenerates, so your Wisdom and Intelligence focused mage doesn’t need to be burdened by restoration items just to be effective. Moreover, there’s no need to switch between combat and casting modes, so you never feel like you’re off guard.
- The game world itself is beautiful, whether you’re wandering in a forest or in a snow storm further north. Morrowind’s graphical trick was pixel-shaded water. Oblivion’s trick is forests, and they’re very well done using SpeedTree technology. Add Bethesda’s Radiant AI to the aesthetics and you have a living world that actually starts to matter instead of just being a backdrop for some monster-bashing.
- The game is stable. I don’t know about everyone else, but I have it running on two computers with completely different hardware configurations and driver sets and it runs just great. Bethesda has something of an instability track record, with Morrowind having some issues, and Daggerfall before that being very buggy. I’m impressed at how well Oblivion performs.
Those are the most prominent points I can think of at the moment. Overall, it’s been an excellent game experience so far, and I’d highly recommend picking up a copy.
