The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion / Elder Scrolls 4 for Windows

I ve hesitated to review any PC games for a few reasons. One reason is that PC games being software it seems to me there is a level of technical writing required that I try to segregate to my work. I enjoy writing reviews and don t want it to seem like work. Secondly, gaming is a subject of deep passion for many people and much like sportscasters debating the merits of various pitching line ups, gamers can get quite heated when they perceive a slight against their favorite game. Thirdly, writing game reviews is tantamount to me screaming, I m a geek. OK, so I m a geek. Sort of. And here is my first and probably totally insufficient PC game review.

I ve been playing computer games since the days of Zork. It actually caused me to burn up all my mainframe time in my computer lab my freshman year at college. (Who s a geek?) Over the years I ve owned several consoles but gave my last one away before moving to Thailand in . Upon my return I went back to PC games and have been playing them when time permits ever since. My primary interests are in first person shooters (FPS) and role playing games (RPG). My preference is for first person perspective games and games that have a strong story line yet offer some degree of freedom, in other words not totally scripted. Often when I m waiting for the next game to come along I replay favorites I ve already finished. Right now I m waiting for Half Life 2, Episode 2 and replaying Oblivion, having already completed Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles.

The Game

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is the latest chapter in the Elder Scrolls series by Bethesda Softworks and follows the incredibly popular Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Oblivion takes place in Tamriel, the same world as Morrowind, but in the imperial province of Cyrodiil. Oblivion is a role playing game where the player creates a character by choosing the character s race, appearance, and class. The player then sets about to solve any of a number of quests with the ability to roam freely throughout the province of Cyrodiil. The world in which the game takes place is an ancient one, filled with magic and magical creatures. Towns and cities are filled with shops, inns, and the homes of the inhabitants. Interaction with just about any other character in Oblivion is not only possible but often necessary to complete quests.

There are long quests like the Main Quest and the Faction quests and shorter Miscellaneous and Free Form Quests. Along the way the character will gain experience and skill rising up levels through combat and interaction with Non Player Characters (NPC). Gold can be earned and found and used to buy supplies or upgrade equipment. Equipment may also be found on fallen adversaries and in chests during quests. During play you have the ability to decide whether you character becomes good or evil. Every decision you make in Oblivion has an effect on how other characters react to your character. Your character s reputation rises and falls based on whether you choose to good or evil. Your character s reputation affects the disposition level of NPCs and can affect everything from whether the NPC will give your character needed information or how much you pay a merchant for goods and services.

Character Selection

At the start of the game you must make some decisions including choosing a name, a race, class, and to customize your character s appearance. The possibilities are not quite endless but certainly far more than many RGS.

-- Race

Your first decision is to choose a race. Each race has strengths and weakness and can also impact how you are viewed by NPCs. (Yes there is racism in Tamriel.) Some races have special abilities and resistances or weaknesses to various forms of magic. The choices include: Argonian, Breton, Dark Elf, High Elf, Imperial, Khajiit, Nord, Orc, Redguard, and Wood Elf.

-- Appearance

In Oblivion the ability to customize your character s appearance goes way beyond typical RPGs. You can change virtually any facial feature to suit your tastes. You start out with a standard appearance for that race and gender and go from there.

-- Class

As with most RPGs your character s class is his or her profession. Choosing a class will directly affect your characters abilities and the overall feel of the game. The classes are broken down into those favoring combat, stealth, and magic. There are a total of 21 standard classes giving you a wide number of choices without having to make further decisions. Beyond the standard predesigned classes you can even design your own custom class blending skills to create combat-mages, stealthy-fighters, or any other possible combination.

-- Birthsign

The final step in creating your character is to choose a birthsign. A birthsign can give your character skill bonuses, special abilities, and resistance or weakness to magic and disease. Combining the right birthsign with the right race and class can make for a very powerful starting character.

Main Quest (Minor Spoilers)

The game starts with your character locked in a cell in the Imperial Prison on the outskirts of the Imperial City. As a prisoner in the cell next door taunts you a procession of Blades, the Emperor s personal guard, approach escorting none other than the Emperor himself. The party enters your character s cell and while one of the Blades holds your character at swords length the Emperor is escorted through a secret door into a tunnel. As the party leaves the door remains open allowing your character to escape.

The first part of the main quest has your character receiving an amulet from the Emperor just before he is slain by Mythic Dawn assassins. The Emperor gives you a task before he dies, to speak with Jauffre and find the Emperor s only remaining son. From here the quest widens as your character searches for the missing heir and finds that the Mythic Dawn have greater plans than just the death of the Emperor. Ultimately your character will have a major role in determining the outcome of the fight between good and evil and control of the empire.

Faction Quests

Unlike Morrowind there are no house factions. There are only four factions in Oblivion and membership in any one doesn t necessarily conflict with any of the other factions. Your character can be a member of all four factions and with a few exceptions the faction quests don t conflict.

-- Fighters Guild

The Fighters Guild is a primarily good faction which acts as mercenaries to assist citizens of the empire resolve problems for a fee. After your character joins the guild he or she may perform duties and fulfill contracts in exchange for gold and increased ranking within the guild. Along the way you find out that the Fighters guild has competition from the Blackwood Company, a group of competing mercenaries who have no prohibition against committing acts of evil in order to make money. Should you choose to see the quest through you will have to help the Fighters Guild defeat the Blackwood Company. Ultimately your character has the ability to complete the quest and become Guild Master.

-- Mages Guild

Like the Fighter s Guild the Mages Guild performs magical services in return for gold and is a primarily an organization for the side of good. Unlike the Fighters Guild they also play a role in keeping rogue mages and necromancers at bay. Just as with the Fighter s guild your character will perform duties in order to advance through the ranking of the guild. Gold and other items are often received as part of solving the sub-quests. Also like the Fighters Guild you complete this faction quest by becoming the Arch Mage of the guild.

-- Thieves Guild

Unlike the first two factions, the Thieves Guild is not something you can just walk into a guildhall and join. Your character s first task is to find the guild itself. Your character will hear of the Gray Fox in conversation, particularly with beggars at the right disposition level. Once your character has found a contact with the guild he or she will have to prove themselves worthy of being accepted into the guild. Acceptance allows one to take advantage of paying off fines to stay out of jail. Unlike the other guilds your character s duties are really to steal and fence items to acquire enough status to advance within the guild. There are also special duties that must be performed as part of the quest that ultimately will have your character meeting the illusive Gray Fox and ultimately replacing him as Guild Master. The thieves guild is neither good nor evil but the acts your character performs will cause his or her infamy to increase causing NPCs to react differently as the infamy level increases.

-- Dark Brotherhood

The Dark Brotherhood is a purely evil faction that derives their income by assassinating or otherwise harming NPCs. The Brotherhood serves an evil god-like creature Dread Sithis. Like the Thieves Guild your character can t just find the Brotherhood. After committing a murder, which is fairly easy to do by accident, your character will be approached in his or her sleep by Brotherhood speaker Lucion Lachance. Lahcance will offer your character an opportunity to join the Brotherhood by performing a specific assassination. Once in the Brotherhood your character will advance based on duties performed. This particular faction quest is very dark and will be enjoyed by players who enjoy being evil.

Other Quests

There are dozens of other quests in the game. Some like the Vampire Quests and Daedric Quests are linked together. Other quests may be individual tasks that your character picks up in conversation with townspeople and other NPCs. Often a quest topic is overheard when two NPCs are talking. Speaking with one of the NPCs will activate that quest. The sheer number of quests beyond the main and faction quests means that you ll have hours and hours of potential game play.

The Arena

A great way to increase you character s level and gain experience points quickly is to fight in the Arena in the Imperial City. This is also a good way to acquire some gold as well. Both combat and magic characters can take advantage of fighting in the arena, but I would give the edge for newer players to combat based characters.

Houses

Unlike Morrowind your character doesn t build houses in Oblivion but rather buys them. Almost every city has a house available for sale which once purchased can be outfitted with furniture and decorations. Houses make great places to sleep and store items you don t want your character to have to lug around.

Horses

In Oblivion it is possible to purchase horses to speed up travel throughout Tamriel. (There is also fast moving but this requires that your character has already discovered your destination.) There are five varieties of horses, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. At the beginning of the Main Quest you have the opportunity to get a horse from one of the brothers at the Priory.

My Experience

I found Oblivion to be even more addicting than Morrowind. The graphics were fantastic with a sky that looks eerily real and amazing landscapes. Like Morrowind the game play is to a large extent open ended, where you can just keep exploring for hours and hours. Unlike Morrowind the Main Quest and Faction Quests are much more defined. Some people may look at this as making the game too linear but I disagree. I felt that the game allowed for plenty of freedom, yet was easy to follow and complete.

I ve played the game three times now and have played as both good and evil characters, I prefer good. The main and faction quest were all very interesting and well written. My only disappointment is that the Imperial Legion faction does not have a quest in this game, unlike Morrowind.

I m playing the game on a P4 3.0 GHz with XP pro, 3 gigs of ram, and an ATI X800GT video card with 256 megs of ram. Using this system the game has played extremely well and I only encounter issues with choppy playback if I push the limits of the video settings, especially with anti-aliasing.

Normally when I play I like to save solving the main quest for last because I feel a little down once it is solved. In theory you could pretty much play this game for tens of hours, although at some point you will run out of quests. Two expansion packs, Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles, have added hours of more game play. There are also numerous mods available, but I would recommend using them only if you have completed the game or are an experienced game modder.

I highly recommend Oblivion to any RPG fan and even those folks who don t think they like RPGs. It might just change your mind.

Price

I paid $49.99.

System Requirements

Minimum:
Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows XP 64-bit
512MB System RAM
2 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
128MB Direct3D compatible video card
and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
8x DVD-ROM drive
4.6 GB free hard disk space
DirectX 9.0c (included)
DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
Keyboard, Mouse

Recommended:
3 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
1 GB System RAM
ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card