The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Written by Adam Woolcott  on February 15, 2007

Final Glimpse: The top Xbox 360 game of 2006 hits PS3... yeah, I went there, Gears fans

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PlayStation platforms have been for years the home of Japanese Role-Playing Games Ц basically every major game in the genre has shown up on either PS1 or PS2. Now, what's arguably the finest non-Japanese RPG every made, Bethesda's Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is hitting the PlayStation 3 Ц it might be 1 year since the game became such a beloved hit on Xbox 360 and PC, but better late than never, and those who haven't played it on those systems are in for the treat of treats Ц a nearly limitless game with so much to do that it could very well be the only game you buy this year...and still not fully finish it. Right now March is the tentative release, and hopefully it will stay that way; but with an Elder Scrolls game, you never know.

Unlike the previous game, Morrowind, which left inexperienced players without any sort of direction, Oblivion combines the same kind of massive open world (even larger, actually) with a bit more user-friendly setup, including a journal to keep track of quests and the ability to follow an arrow to a destination, and even quick-travel to previously visited locations to save time walking. The best part is the old-school fans who won't like this sort of 'hand-holding' can simply ignore all these things and just wander the province of Cyrodiil and do things their own way... and even the ones who follow the paths can still explore to their hearts content.

Though hidden within the massive scope, the game does have a basic plot that you can follow, where the Emperor is assassinated in front of your eyes and you become the catalyst to a resistance against the creatures of Oblivion, a demonic plane that's usually sealed off by the current ruler. And since he's kinda dead, they get free reign to interfere and attempt to take control of the territory. In reality, the main quest is but a small taste of the game, and if you see fit it's possible to completely ignore it and still get 200+ hours out of the thing. However, unlike Morrowind, where it's actually possible to break the main quest by killing your initial contact, this time around all the 'main' quest characters are invulnerable until they reach a point where they're not needed. Same goes for many unique characters that get tagged as 'hero' NPCs that are the only way to advance a quest.

Oblivion offers tons of character customization Ц choose a race, a job, a sign, and off you go... or you can fully design your own class to suit your style of play Ц admittedly something you won't know until you play a while, making it something for a replay game or just for screwing around, like going around killing shopkeepers and fencing the stuff you take from them. Not that I ever did that or anything. Right now I'm whistling, see? Alas the game doesn't allow for switching of primary skills as you go along, making an otherwise freedom-centric game rigidly linear in this regard. This is why, of course, the game gives you one chance to change your mind once the initial dungeon tutorial is finished. At least you get that.

Generally Oblivion is played like an FPS, since it's a first-person RPG, but with a click of a button it can be taken into 3rd person. It looks a bit funky since the game wasn't designed with it in mind, but for those who don't think an RPG belongs in the 1st dimension, it'll do. Combat is simple enough, and a vastly improved magic system makes it easy to be a mage if you see fit. Like its predecessors, skills improve by using them frequently Ц if you pick locks a lot, your security skill goes up; if you use an axe to bust heads, your blunt skill increases. This is where the various skills come into play Ц main skills allow you to level up, but secondary skills still are very useful since it makes things easier all around. But only primary traits actually matter in terms of leveling up.

For PlayStation 3, you get the exact same thing that appeared on Xbox 360 Ц hundreds of quests, the four main guilds, lots of random dungeons to plunder, and a monstrous world to explore and fight in. The PS3 does get its own exclusive though Ц sorta. While Xbox 360 owners have already experienced the Knights of the Nine questline, they had to pay 800 points for it, and PS3 owners get it as part of the $59.99 asking price. So that counts for something. Knights of the Nine is technically a guild quest, but functions differently than the 4 main guilds, in that you don't advance in rank or have any 'leaders' to report to for quests, at least not in the same fashion as, say, the Dark Brotherhood. Think of it as more of a mini-expansion pack.

As of now, the PS3 won't be getting the other 'plug-in' content that hit 360. Obviously some of it has to do with the PlayStation Store itself, but it's not all that Ц from the horse's mouth at Bethesda, the reason why PS3 owners won't get the joy of spending money on Horse Armor is simply for balance reasons Ц most of the quests are too advanced or powerful for new characters. Being level 1 with access to the Pirates Den or Frostcrag might make it too easy, I guess...and Mehrune's Razor is definitely more of an 'advanced' quest, though it's definitely the best of the collection. Maybe down the line once the game has been out a while we'll see it. Thankfully, the real expansion pack, Shivering Isles will be hitting PS3, but it's not coming at the same time as the PC/360 versions, but will hit before the year is out. And no, it won't come with Oblivion itself...it would be nice but getting a $10 mini-expansion is as much goodwill as you should expect.

Other PS3 improvements are superficial, like visual enhancements (better draw distance and quicker rendering, mostly) and use of the PS3's built-in HDD for speeding up loads Ц no more wandering the countryside and seeing loading screens, occasional frame-rate hiccups, and crazy pop-up in weird places, hopefully. It was already amazing looking on Xbox 360, so expecting much more isn't really fair, save for maybe fixing up some of the impossibly creepy faces on some of the characters. Motion sensing is out, which isn't a surprise given the game has few instances where it could be used (short of being able to pull it back to block an attack or something), and it's doubtful any resolutions over 1080i (if that) will be used Ц so no 1080p native. It would probably grind the game to a halt anyway.