Oblivion The Let's Rant and Rave About Oblivion Thread

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
"Of course, they may not care. I wouldn't."

I guess it's a good thing that you're not a game designer:)
RPG design is moving in a direction which I like and hardcore "fans" don't, so it's kind of a moot point. :)
 
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"Oh you will be surprised at many things once you play it, guarnteed."

Do you mean Oblivion? I've had it installed for months, I've just never started a serious game. I've probably played through the catacombs 9-10 times, but other than checking out some of the area around the first city, I haven't done much else.


"since Obscuro changes almost everything."

"Nothing really worng with ooo but it changes core pricipal (i.e. gameplay) on all levels"

Now I definitely know I won't be using it.
 
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RPG design is moving in a direction which I like and hardcore "fans" don't, so it's kind of a moot point. :)

And what direction is that? That's a very broad generalization you're making there. RPG's are part of a genre that isn't following any particular trend right now.

Unless you consider getting easier and dumbed-down a trend.
 
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So glad you asked! But let's pursue this digression in another thread. I don't want to mar the perfect hatred here.
 
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But the hatred in this thread isn't perfect! Not everybody participating in the discussion is an Oblivion-basher. Criticizing unloved features of a game you like is hardly hatred, it's criticism. And there'll always be a feature to discuss... I for my part haven't seen the perfect game yet.
 
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Isn't there enough discussion about Oblivion at RPG Codex? :)

I finished the main and thieves' guild quests back in June, and I haven't been back to it since. I don't think I'm the only one who's done the same.
 
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There might be 'discussion' there, but we have to at least offer our readers the same opportunity!! :)
 
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Yeah and besides he was trying to keep most of the criticism in one thread. :)

Though, since many review sites actually mention oblivion in comparision to all RPGs now, some of us disagree with the reviewing benchmark and find it difficult not to say the "o" in a thread where the article actually starts the debate. ;)
 
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The bad thingh is that games that sell are considered a "standard" in German ganing mags.

Any game thast does not comply to that "standard" is ... well, not necessarily "bad", but it just doesn't comply with the standard, if you know what I mean. ;)

Or to put it the other way round : To say that a game does not comply to a "standard" is an *very* subtle way to say it is bad, because it *is* not "part" of the "standard". ;)

I must admit that this sounds quite far-fetched, but I do have kind of a sense to often detect subtle meanings in formulations. ;)
 
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I'm giving Oblivion another chance.

I got seriously bored with it when it first came out; the game balance/challenge issues were so severe that it got old fast. Well, pretty fast -- I did put tens of hours into it, which is more than most games take to finish. There was just no sense of progression or consequence in it, so I gave up. Also it gave what I thought was my pretty good video card the heebie-jeebies.

I've since upgraded my video card to something even nastier (GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB, if somebody cares), and Oscuro has been hard at work... so I re-installed it, dropped in OOO, and got going.

I'm just out the gate and I like it a lot more already. I'm getting my ass handed to me by bandits, since click-spamming with the short sword no longer works, which is as it should be, and I almost got et by a swordfish on my first swim. We'll see how it pans out later, but it does look like Oscuro may have turned it into something that's actually challenging and rewarding in the meantime.

Oh, and that mean new card of mine runs it smooth as butter at 1920 x 1200 even outdoors. Nyah nyah. It's also quieter with the stock cooler than my old one was with the Zalman VF700Cu cooler on it. I know 3 C's isn't chickenfeed, but it's one fine card for the price.

(I also made a conscious decision not to min-max or exploit: I picked a stock class matching the way I want to play, and intend to stick to it. If it turns out to be fun, great, if not, it's back to the ol' bookshelf with it.)
 
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I got Oblivion as a present and spend a few hundred bucks on a brand new video card (and power supply) only to play it for the first week or two.

I've started several games since and never get too far before moving on to some other game. It's highly polished, has amazing graphics, nice dungeons and of course lots of quests. And the combat system is improved from Morrowind.

But the way it throws you into the story is far from believeable - that and having the same handful of actors doing the voices for all the NPCs in the game really throws the immersion off and having several voices for ONE NPC? It's just ridiculous. Another big offender is the lack of dialogue options - you get a few responses, none of which changes anything in the story, leaving roleplaying a bit too much to the imagination.

Add the other little things like level scaling, a non-intuitive and non-customizable interface and it just feels like Morrowind Lite.
 
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Get some mods, they allow you to change the interface etc!!
 
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Honestly, I really liked Oblivion and spent many hours addicted to it. It's not perfect, and I certainly agree with and understand many of the complaints... but overall, I guess the total is greater than the sum of its parts.

I've probably played better games, but I had fun with Oblivion and that's what's important.
 
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Heh today i lauched oblivion...its been months.. To put long story short I created a mage character. My main goal is to stay away from swords and armours..-Just rely on my staff and magic skills. I also found this great unarmored mod..a must for any mage player.. Heh like many other mods... Unmodded oblvion is rubbish.

I'm trying hard to give oblvion another chance...Last time I got bored shutting down those oblvion gates...this time i won't go near MArtin :p
 
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I always loved oblivion. As usual i stay clear of discussion boards of a Hyped game so i didn't know about "leveled" creature when i played through it. Now that i know i can think of it sometimes, but it doesn't bother me. Getting back to Oblivion buying Shivering Isle is interesting.

As Corwin said (i think), its a good game and a bad rpg, it says it for me too.

I am not a RPG type of guy, or a simulator friend, or a... i just want to have me self illusioned into another world. May it be in World Word II doing scavenger hunting in my Submarine. Might it be me trying to solve a mysterious quest involving Moses, or trying to solve the problems of myth drannor. Its seldom the mechanics thats problem for me. Illusion of a living world is enough and if am not aware of a particular bug, a deliberate design decision, or developer cutting corners, well. Then the game is good.
 
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Oblivion certainly isn't perfect but it is a hell of a lot better than 90% of the games we get these days which are either bug riddled or uninspired eye candy with no substance.
 
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uninspired eye candy with no substance.

Yes, Oblivion is inspired eye candy with no substance.

:D

(this is the 'trash Oblivion' thread, you know ... so whether or not I agree with you is immaterial ;) )
 
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Of all the gaming disappointments I had in 2006 Oblivion kinda stands out. The others (Sid Meiers Railroads, Medieval 2 Total War, Gothic 3, Neverwinter Nights 2) were bugfests and sometimes instances of developers biting off more than they could chew.

Oblivion wasnt. It might well be the most bug-free version 1.0 I've played this century. It looks as good as any of the others listed on my PC, and unlike any of the other games mentioned I get a smooth experience at maxed out settings. Unlike the others its not a "nice try"...

Yet I hate it more than any of the others (possibly except for Railroads). Bethsofts concept has strayed too far from my ideal RPG to be interesting. Presentation and things like AI schedules are vast improvements, but the multitude of quests and the choices to be made that I had in past TES games were removed.
 
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Bethsofts concept has strayed too far from my ideal RPG to be interesting.



But... but... the critics rave!

Quandary: 5/5
The quests available in Oblivion are the best I have played in any RPG. They contain many twists and are often more convoluted than they first appear.

Games Radar: 10/10
...this doesn't even touch on the enjoyable mini-games, including lock-picking, stealth action and persuasion. They don't feel like filler.

Yahoo! Games: 5/5
But the painstaking attention to detail, outstanding worldcrafting, and inspired AI make it a huge improvement [over Morrowind]

Gamespot: 93/100
The game's fine-tuned challenge is achieved in part because the enemies you'll encounter out in the world will get stronger as you do, though in practice, this doesn't come across nearly as contrived as it sounds. Growing more powerful in this game feels suitably rewarding, as it should in any role-playing game.

Worthplaying: 9.8/10
Oblivion is one of the best packages of the past several years, with no element even average; everything is as close to perfect as can be expected.

Gamershell: 9.8/10
The quests in Oblivion are probably the best in any RPG to date. Due to the huge environment and the excellent AI, the quests can finally involve a lot more than "Go to the swamp. Kill 20 lizards, and bring me their hides."

ActionTrip: 94/100
In many ways, [Bethesda] have once again revolutionized gaming as we know it.

Boomtown: 10/10
That’s about the exact moment I truly realised the sort of game Oblivion is... A masterpiece. One of the best ever made.
Also in the same review:
...your indoctrination into the Arcane Academy is a chore,
...becoming a vampire is about the single most annoying thing in Oblivion
[the plane of] Oblivion itself actually sucks.
Jeremy Soule’s score [is] almost exactly the same as Morrowind’s.
The Radiant AI is anything but...
The levelling-up system is rather clunky too.
...the "Loading Area" signs suck.
 
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...this doesn't even touch on the enjoyable mini-games, including lock-picking, stealth action and persuasion. They don't feel like filler.

LOL I'm speechless!

The quests in Oblivion are probably the best in any RPG to date. Due to the huge environment and the ]excellent AI, the quests can finally involve a lot more than "Go to the swamp. Kill 20 lizards, and bring me their hides."

I want the same stuff he was smoking!
 
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