As it stands, Skyrim's leveling system is a great example of how, sometimes, less is more. The seventh generation of consoles brought with them a focus on downloadable content or DLC. This DLC is a miniature Elder Scrolls game that takes dozens of hours to beat, taking place on Sheogorath's plane of madness.
Many consider it the best DLC ever released period, and it's easy to see why after playing it. Bethesda systematically addressed every single issue Oblivion had while taking the game's absurd elements to a whole new level. Credit to The Beyond Skyrim mod for the photo, a mod that fans can check out here. Skyrim also has a fantastic selection of downloadable content, most of which is thanks to the passionate modding community.
Xbox and PlayStation users can download mods to alter their experience, ranging from turning all dragons into trains to adding a recreation of Oblivion's Bruma into Skyrim. Nearly every issue a player has with Skyrim can be fixed with a few mods. And considering how powerful the Creation Kit is, it's no surprise that Skyrim has some of the most feature-rich mods ever made.
Fans frequently joke that modding Skyrim is more enjoyable than playing it, which isn't far from the truth. The amount of freedom modding grants players is unparalleled, turning Skyrim from a sandbox for RPG systems into a sandbox for player modifications. Even console players can partake in modding thanks to the Special Edition version of Skyrim.
For as many issues as the Skyrim: Special Edition has, allowing console players to mod their game is a game-changer for the industry that needs to be implemented into more titles. By all accounts, Oblivion is the buggiest Elder Scrolls game made since Daggerfall. Radiant AI, a system that gave NPCs schedules and allowed them to react to world events dynamically, would frequently break and result in hilarious NPC interactions.
Oblivion's scaling system is also fundamentally broken; poor bandits would wear full sets of Daedric gear at higher levels. Yet fans rarely hold these elements against the game. The game's overall tone evokes a strange mix of nostalgia and hopefulness. For a game that focuses on a demonic invasion, it understands it's a video game.
Oblivion embraces that with silly NPC interactions and crazy quest premises that would feel inappropriate in other games. Oblivion has many issues, but the game's incredible quests and nostalgic tone are the main reasons why so many Oblivion fans love this game, quirks and all. The draw of most Elder Scrolls games is to live another life.
Every title since Arena has tried to further this goal. Daggerfall let players own property and go to court over laws they broke, Morrowind let players explore a fully-detailed 3D representation of Vvardenfell, Oblivion created Radiant AI as an attempt to mimic realistic behavior, and Skyrim focused on creating an infinite number of radiant quests for players to complete.
That final point seems out of place considering the herculean feats of past games, but it still contributes towards the ultimate goal of living another life. Players can enter a town, find a quest to do, loot a dungeon they haven't seen before, capture some fish or insects while traveling, then return home to read one of the game's many books.
It doesn't live up to Daggerfall's level of intense immersion, but Skyrim is arguably the closest game to reaching that point while simultaneously being the most accessible title in the franchise. Morrowind , for all of its strengths, had lackluster dungeons and NPCs that spouted the same encyclopedia entries to players.
Oblivion has such terrible AI that it has been made fun of to death by the community. Skyrim has some jokes about repetitive dialogue and bugs , sure, but that's a far cry from the immersion-breaking issues of previous entries. That unique blend of power fantasy and immersion is the main draw for many Skyrim players, a niche that hasn't been filled by any other title since. Oblivion has some of the best side quests any RPG fan could experience.
While its main story can be somewhat boring, the quests for guilds and random NPCs can turn into miniature campaigns that grant some of the most memorable experiences out of any single-player RPG. There's also a complete HD remaster for the game - courtesy of the particularly dedicated modder Levi - which tacks on two brand new zones in the game which are apparently comparable in size and detail to Cyrodiil itself.
Some new gameplay features such as duel wielding and faster horses also come included. Mods such as these continue to breathe new life into this already-beautifully-alive classic, and fans are seemingly in no mood to put a stop to it any time soon. Last but certainly not least, the game's cult status as being a fertile source of memes and overall hilarity of course must be mentioned.
Whether we're talking about the game's ridiculous character creation tool, its infamously nonsensical NPC dialogues, or its somewhat lacking AI mechanics, Oblivion is rife with all kinds of glorious absurdities. The great thing about these absurdities is that they actually just make us love it with that much more zeal, and even those who are ambivalent towards the game can surely appreciate the slew of "real-life Oblivion NPC conversation" videos which populate YouTube.
For most of us, however, Oblivion is a classic, timeless, immensely flawed but utterly breathtaking masterpiece of a game that will no doubt stay nestled close to our hearts for the rest of our gaming lives. As it should. Neuroscience student and massive nerd, currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Research interests include how neuroscience and user experience in video games interact with each other. News and feature writer for TheGamer. Other interests include anime and everything Japanese, fitness, and cats.
Helped me decide 1. Had useful details 2. Read my mind 1. Parent of a year-old Written by mrh73 August 21, Setting the record straight! Oblivion is an excellent, absorbing, expansive game, that will enthrall any child or adult interested in a swords-and-sorcery type world. It won numerous Game-of-the-Year awards in , and was one of the major games that caused people to upgrade their original Xbox to the Xbox Although the graphics have aged a bit, it's still very pretty to look at, and the gameplay is still captivating.
It should be noted that it was originally rated T, and I have the PC game box to prove it, as I've been playing it off and on since its original release. The actual game content that you buy in the store PC or console is still a T-rated game!!! There are 5 aspects to Oblivion's rating label that I'll address: 1 Blood and Gore - if your child has seen the Indiana Jones or Lord of the Rings movies, they've seen gorier stuff than this.
There will be a bit of blood on your sword after a battle that soon fades away. There are cartoonish-looking corpses and zombies strewn about some dungeons if you want more realistic ones, look to the game's sequel, Skyrim. Nothing terribly egregious.
No f-bombs, s-bombs, or G-d's. When there is any mild cursing, it's usually contextually appropriate, related to a pretty intense occurrence in the game. You can strip dead bodies down to their drab, unflattering underwear when you loot them for armor, which might elicit a giggle or two the first time your son sees it, but it quickly becomes a non-issue.
There are a few sporadic instances of double-entendre a line of dialogue or two, and a book , but if your pre-teen understands it, then you've got other problems than what's in Oblivion. It will likely sail over their heads. Oblivion is no more corrupting from this standpoint than a stroll through the grocery aisle.
Yes, there are alcohol bottles everywhere in the game, but it just blends in with all the other useless detritus you see on shelves and tables e. One town specializes in making wine, complete with vineyards outside the town walls, but no one is seen drinking it. All the alcohol is in plain, non-descript, brown beer, mead, ale or purple bottles wine , and you derive no net benefit from drinking it, so what's the point?
You can't get drunk and stagger around, and other than a temporary numerical change in your stats, you won't notice any difference in your character. There is one character in the game you might meet who does slur his words and act drunk, well, because he is; but, your quest to reunite him with his long-lost twin brother results in him changing his ways and going sober.
What's so bad about that? I suppose you could wander around picking flowers for hours on end and never raise an angry hand to anything or anyone if you wanted to. Even at its most violent, it's still much less violent than any first-person shooter. And there are consequences for getting out of line and attacking innocent people. My son tried becoming the town bully He soon got his comeuppance from the town guard.
In short, Oblivion is pretty tame as far as mature content goes, compared to other RPG's. It's also much less dark than either its predecessor Morrowind or its sequel Skyrim , and as such, is probably the most approachable of the Elder Scrolls games for kids. The warning label should really just say, "Obsessive-compulsives approach with extreme caution. This title contains: Positive role models. Helped me decide 2. Had useful details 1. Adult Written by 1raptor March 1, The worst this game gets is some ripped up zombie critters that have gaping holes in their flesh, but to be honest it's not as bad as it sounds.
The only thing else is sometimes stupid-looking blood that gets on weapons and ground etc, etc. In terms of anything else, "hell" and damn" were the only language, wine is drinkable and has negative affects, and sex is just silly. Without mods, there isn't any. This game is easily the best of the elder scrolls, even better than the follow-up, skyrim, and while many may insist skyrim is superior in every way, when really it's only technically "better" is in graphics, and even then it's not as pretty.
Had useful details. Read my mind. Parent of an infant and 3-year-old Written by kcgunesq January 18, Great game, with a few considerations for pre-tweens. The optional "Dark Brotherhood" quest line is the darkest part of the game and really adds little overall. Except for DB, players characters can play rather virtuously. Violence is not especially graphic. Although alcohol is available, it is not glamorized or prominent. There is very little reason to drink it in the game and it has negative consequences.
One can easily complete the entire game without drinking, as far as I recall. Alcohol only enters the game in that players may find bottles of wine or beer and it can be sold along with other found items to merchants for money.
Although most characters can be stripped to underwear, this is only possible on NPC and only after they are "dead". It is not provocative or lurid. It occurs as a process of taking the armor or clothing. Language is overall, quite mild. Positive Messages. Helped me decide. Adult Written by Oblivion lover July 30, Positive role models. Parent of a 5, 12, and year-old Written by Chris T. January 1, Amazing, only game better is ESV. Oblivion still holds up well 12 years later, and holds a really important place in my heart.
It has a smart main story and hundreds of side quests and is still a very graphically beautiful game. There is mild violence with a tiny bit of blood and characters and animals can be killed.
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