Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Collector's Edition (DVD-ROM)

List Price: $39.99 Discount Price: $36.95

Features:

• Live another life in a whole new world -- gamers can create and play any character they can imagine, from the noble warrior to the sinister assassin to the wizened sorcerer
• First-person melee and magic systems bring first person role-playing to a new level of intensity
• The groundbreaking new Radiant AI system gives Oblivion's characters full 24/7 schedules and the ability to make their own choices based on the world around them
• Features over 1,000 non-player characters who come to life like never before -- facial animations, lip-synching, full speech, even unscripted conversations with each other
• The enormous world of Oblivion is open, giving you short challenges and open-ended gameplay -- everything from fighting bandits to mixing potions

Accessories:
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- Revised & Expanded (Xbox360, PC) (Prima Official Game Guide)	PC Gamer (1-year)	The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine	Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

Customer Reviews:

Great for exploring, but kind of soulless [Posted on 2007-12-17]
While I agree with most everything that's being said (ie the game has tons to explore; the graphics are great, but you need a good computer; it takes forever to do everything) I do have one complaint: there aren't really any characters. Sure I guess Martin's almost a character, but he's kind of boring. Uriel was boring too. Everyone else, though, just seems the same. You go to a different town, but see all the same people. No one has a personality. What I wouldn't give for a Minsc and Boo.

Also, after closing tons of Oblivion gates, I got so bored with them I started to see how quickly I could run through them; whether I could run through them without getting hit; whether I could run through them, not get hit and get all the treasure, etc. The gates are so tedious.

Yeah, there's tons to do, but after a while you just don't care anymore.

Hours and hours and hours and... yes, more hours of gameplay and fun. [Posted on 2008-01-02]
First of all, let me just state that I started off in the Elder Scrolls series with the Game of the Year edition of Morrowind. I loved that game, but felt that there wasn't a whole lot of replay in it. Maybe it was the way I played it, but I felt like I did everything the first time through. However, before that I've played and loved many PC RPGS and Console RPGs, but I've never spent as much time in any game as I have in the world of Cyrodil from TES IV: Oblivion.

Currently, between all of my different characters, I've spent over 300 hours playing this game. Since I purchased the expansion pack, The Shivering Isles, I can already tell that I'll be hitting 400 before I'm done.

The best thing about this game is that there are so many ways to play it. You can roleplay it, which is what I do, and if you do this then the possibilities are huge. It doesn't force you one way or the other. So far, I've played a Robin Hood-style Fighter/Thief type that steals from the rich and gives to the poor, a cold-blood assassin who's only motivations are greed and power, and a kind-hearted mage who only wants to strengthen her magic power and use it to make the world a better place. Of course, you can do some similar role-playing or you could be go the "munchkin" route and just do everything in the game with one character! The game doesn't force you either way...

The story, and I won't repeat it here as it's been stated enough, is interesting enough on it's own, but is easily the weakest part of the game. This is okay as I really didn't want to feel rushed into following the main quest and just wanted to get myself prepared for it. Going into Oblivion gate after Oblivion gate does get old after a while, but you really don't HAVE to do that many if you don't want to. Again, it's up to you to decide what you want to do in this game.

One of my biggest complaints about Morrowind was walking from place to place. Yes, it's great to see the scenery and check out some places off the beaten path, but once you've gone the same route once or twice, it just gets old. It did have a mode of transportation, but it didn't go everywhere and I found myself walking around the same areas entirely too much. I'm a guy that doesn't have more than 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours a day to play a game so spending so much time walking and not getting anything done can get boring.

With Oblivion, there is an option to Fast Travel to anywhere you've already been! This method is perfect for me as I can walk to the destination, see what I want to see on the way there, and then if I need to go back just click on it on the map and I'm there! Time does pass when you're fast traveling so it isn't like teleportation in the game world. It just keeps you from the monotony of travel. Keep in mind though, that if you do like traveling from place to place over and over again that you don't HAVE to use Fast Travel.

The gameplay is excellent! You can sneak, fight, run, jump, make potions/poisons, pick locks, blast off hundreds of spells (and make your own), collect weapons and items and display them in the many houses you can purchase, and partake in numerous quests.

The level-up system is one of the the best things about the game. The more you use your skills then the better you get at them. The skills that you choose for your primary skills are the ones that will cause you to level up the more you use them. If you want to be a better acrobat, then jump around everywhere you go. If you want to be an athlete then run and swim as much as you can! If you want to the quietest and sneakiest assassin or thief around, then you'd better sneak around everywhere so that you get better at it. That's the way it works and it makes a lot of sense to me instead of just leveling up by bashing monsters to death.

There's so much good about the game that I could go on and on, but my main point would be this:

If you want a game that will entertain you for hours and you want an open adventure where you can do just about whatever you want then you'll want to get Oblivion as soon as possible!

Pros:
-Open-ended game, do whatever you want
-great leveling system
-hours upon hours of gameplay potential
-be good, evil, or anything in between
-entertaining main story, but even more entertaining guild storylines and sidequests

Cons:
-System Requirements were and still are kind of high.
-main storyline is pretty short and can get tedious
-some people may not like the open-ended nature of the game and may want more direction

The most unbelievable experience ever! [Posted on 2008-02-25]
I built a new system just for this game. I couldn't believe the graphics quality of this game. After a few hours of walking thru the terrain you notice the grass waving and the trees swaying in the breeze. The birds singing and then BANG a huge creature comes at you and wants you dead. You pull out your Mehrunes Razor and slice him up, if possible. After a hard day you retire to Frogspire and chill out with a Shadowbanish Wine.
This game is the greatest game I've ever played. OK its really the only game I've ever really totally engorged.
I am running at 60 frames a second and I'm glad I spent the extra money on the video card. The quests, no matter which one you play, either the Main or the sides are a blast. The people you meet are cool. Go into the Imperial city and compete in the Arena. Then become part of the Dark Brotherhood. Learn Alchemy and Spellcasting.
Its a never ending journey to finally get the Amulet of Kings and restore the Dragonsfire and close the Oblivion Gates forever.
This is going to be a long journey, well worth the money for the expansion sets too. (Knight of the Nine and Shivering Isles)
Hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

Oblivion and the player [Posted on 2008-07-24]
I have played this game in the amount of thousand of hours since I bought it well more than a year ago, and I am still playing it. No single game can please everyone, and it may very well bore some people, but Oblivion has provided me with a game that can be kept on playing. On the computer, there is a very easy way to adapt it to your own way. You add mods. They really thought about the player in this way, there is nothing to stop you from creating your own mods to make this game better. I have over a hundred mods, and it has improved the game for my enjoyment beyond any game before or after could ever do. So many computer games have been coming to the shelves broken and unplayer, and so many more that require high-speed internet to play and payment for every month, and I live where there is no high-speed. So those broken games only cost money and disappointment. Oblivion may crash once in a while, but with computers, even notepad can crash once in a while, there are too many factors involved, but mostly, Oblivion has very very few quarks. I enjoy Oblivon on a 22" high-definition wide screen monitor, and at 1680 by 1050 it looks amazing. Indeed for the best graphics you need a really good computer, but if you have the good computer you are not left with oldish graphics as some other games. It does require some effort to get this game to run on VISTA, but it can be done and it works great. I would recommend this game to anyone who likes RPGs or Shooters. The dialouge may be a little limited, but there are limits, and they pushed them farther than so many other games. And if you would like it better, then just hunt up some mods and you can make it into the game of your dreams. You are only as limited as your own imagination and hard work.

The best single player RPG IMHO [Posted on 2008-09-29]
What set this RPG apart from many others was it's vast open world with highly realistic graphics, coupled with a simple yet effective combat system. There's tonnes of places to visit and a lot of different weapons, armor, magical items and other tomes.

I often stray away from the main plot to engage in little side adventures, either with the sub plots provided in the game itself or I just ride off into the lands and encounter places at random. That's what I like about the game, you are not tied, you can go wherever you like! I'll even go out on deer hunting trips to sharpen up my bowmanship!

I would like to see a Middle Earth style oblivion game with Orcs, goblins etc. That would be awesome!

Finally, there's no limited activation nonsense with this game. If you are looking for an RPG that doesn't have draconian DRM, this is a great buy right now ;-)

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