The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

[ari]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Platform: PC and Xbox 360™

ESRB Rating: Teen

Release Date: March 20, 2006





Oblivion is a single-player game that takes place in Tamriel's capital province, Cyrodiil. You are given the task of finding the hidden heir to a throne that sits empty, the previous emperor having been killed by an unknown assassin. With no true Emperor, the gates to Oblivion (the equivalent of hell in the world of Tamriel) open, and demons begin to invade Cyrodiil and attack its people and towns. It's up to you to find the lost heir to the throne and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.



In keeping with the Elder Scrolls tradition, players will have the option to experience the main quest at their own pace, and there will be plenty of opportunities to explore the vast world and make your own way. Numerous factions can be joined, such as the thieves or mages guilds, and each contains its own complete storyline and the chance to rise to the head of the faction and reap further rewards.



Oblivion features a groundbreaking new AI system, called Radiant AI, which gives non-player characters (NPCs) the ability to make their own choices based on the world around them. They'll decide where to eat or who to talk to and what they'll say. They'll sleep, go to church, and even steal items, all based on their individual characteristics. Full facial animations and lip-synching, combined with full speech for all dialog, allows NPCs to come to life like never before.







So, that last paragraph rocked my socks, and I'm also looking forward to the "quick-travel system" being re-implemented, like the original TES games (Arena, Daggerfall). Simple delivery quests are no longer such a pain in the ass! I've played every one of The Elder Scrolls series (even Battlespire! but not Redguard), though I didn't spend as much time on Morrowind as the others, basically due to lack of x-box play time.



I'm debating whether or not I should buy this one. Yeah, I mean actually pay money for it. This is a line of games I've supported in the past, and think I'd like to continue to support BethSoft. The guys over at IGN had good things to say during their hands-on preview (PC article linked, there's an X-Box one here)



Anyone else interested in this game? PC version comes with the same type of editor as morrowind, allowing mods to be made and/or downloaded, plus the ability to download patches for the more-than-likely bug fixes.

[ari]

From an interview with an Executive Producer:

What!!?? No thrown items and crossbows? Hear me out here, because it will let you into our thought process. When we look at characters that like to do ranged combat, they mostly want to use bows and arrows. So instead of doing many types of ranged combat, we decided to stick with bows and arrows -- but -- it's a grand implementation of bows and arrows. You feel the string draw, arrows arc properly, bounce realistically, and stick deep into the right materials. You can see the quiver on your back and type of arrows you have and there are tons of different bows and arrow types. So we trade having several types of ranged combat done in an average way, and get bows done in a grand way.

[hybrid]

damn i would like to get it..but not neccesserly buy it..coz it will cost 300 nis..lol

but i will get it if i wlll work on it hard enough..and if anyone got in archive arena..coz i got daggerfall + morrowind..lol the arena game was the best game i think,with the paralyze..grin.

[zan]

I cant wait till this comes out. Its a fun series. Sucks though thats its only coming out for xbox 360. I havent commited myself to wanting one yet. Guess ill have to snag it for the pc instead for the time being.

[ari]

If you're not sure you want to get it, go read some of the interviews posted on the official site regarding the new magic system, combat (You can cast & fight at same time), the NPC AI I mentioned above, and so much more.

Hybrid - You won't get Arena to run on any semi-modern system, Daggerfall is barely possible. So unless you have a reeeeeal old computer with dos on it good luck

[hybrid]

just for your info ari..daggerfall works pretty well on my p2.4 GHZ &512 ram.:-)

and i run games from arena time as well..it must be my charm to do so..lol coz the new games that came in the last year are soo lagyy it's horrible..rofl

[ari]

Running XP? Because I was able to get daggerfall running after tweaks and following some forum posts, but arena was never a working option for me.

[hybrid]

Xp pro..but it seems i do fuck up somewhere and i can run oldies with no trouble..lol got crying outload,outrun runs smoothly here,nba89..you name it i run it.lol

[ari]

I'll be playing this in 20 hours! /shiver

[ari]

Sunova...none of the 24-hour "Supercenter"-type stores in my area have the game yet, even though it's release date was the 20th, which is 3 hours old now.

Now I'm just hoping Best Buy / Circuit City / etc. will have it in the morning, else I'm going to be greatly dissapointed!