The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This game is the chief selling point for the XBOX 360, and now it's available with the two major expansions included.

If you already own Oblivion (and especially if you've already bought Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles from XBOX Live), DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM.You will be filled with the righteous fanboy rage you see in the one star reviews below.

But if you're new to the 360, this game is a must have.Even the training mode/introduction is amazing, with Patrick Stewart as the voice of the dying King who sends you on your quest.

Highlights of the game and expansions:

OBLIVION:
+The quest story lines are well written, and the tone of guild and side quests varies and makes for a lot of fun (especially Thieves' and Assassins' Guilds)
+Great voice acting from the likes of Sean Bean (Boromir), Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), and Terence Stamp (General Zod/Jorel).
+A more engaging combat system than turn based RPGS, and amazing graphics
+Character customization is more detailed than you could hope for.
+It's a very materialistic game.Looting is great fun, especially at higher levels.
+You get to battle demons in Hell, or whip thieves in caves.There are a lot of varieties of game play.
+The game is absolutely huge.
-You will find the leveling system infuriating about 20 hours into the game.All of your enemies level up with you; so, your best options are to avoid leveling up entirely (which limits your selection of weapons and armor), or to be obsessive about controlled leveling, which takes a lot of the fun out of the game.
-There's no clear sense of "fair play" in the game.You can create a set of chameleon armor that will let you walk through the whole game unnoticed and kill whomever you wish.Once you can do that, how much worse is duplicating items using inventory tricks?You really set your own level of difficulty in how you play, but I find that takes away more than it adds.
-There are really no branching quest lines in the game, and nothing you do affects the story line.Why can't I take control of the Mythic Dawn or Necromancers?
-There aren't really any race or gender specific quests in the game.Why isn't there some sort of elf society in the game that affects the storyline for an elf character?

While I have problems with it (comparing it to KOTOR, as I do all things), I haven't found a better 360 game yet.

KNIGHTS OF THE NINE
+A new guild!They should release more expansions like this.
+You can lower your infamy to 0 by making a pilgrimage.
+If you have a crusader fantasy, this expansion is for you.
+You get some cool items, if you're willing to stay infamy free.
-The quest line is pretty short.

Basically, this is a good early game quest line to take on, but it's not as big as the other guilds.

SHIVERING ISLES
+This takes place in the realm of the demonic prince of madness.Where Oblivion involves lush, realistic landscapes and scary forays into Hell, Shivering Isles has lots of bizarre, beautiful, surreal images.It's a much different design concept, and worth it for a change of pace.
+The quests are especially ingenious.
+The quest line is long enough to make it interesting.
-Despite what you may see advertised, there's still very little in way of branching quest lines.Really, the only things that differ are when you get certain items and what greater powers you have access to.

This is a really great expansion, and can help you build skills early in the game.And you can become the demon prince of madness, so that's cool.

In short, this is the best game for 360, and one of the best RPG's on the market.It does have its limitations and frustrations, but it will give you about 80 more hours of fun than Bioshock (which is also really cool).

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Product Description:
Oblivion Game of the Year edition presents one of the best RPGs of all time like never before. Step inside the most richly detailed and vibrant game-world ever created. With a powerful combination of freeform gameplay and unprecedented graphics, you can unravel the main quest at your own pace or explore the vast world and find your own challenges. Also included in the Game of the Year edition are Knights of the Nine and the Shivering Isles expansion, adding new and unique quests and content to the already massive world of Oblivion. See why critics called Oblivion the Best Game of 2006.

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