User Reviews (1 - 11 of 26)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Simply Amazing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: March 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is, in a word, stunning. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion comes to you in only a way that the next generation of gaming can deliver: the visuals are crystal clear, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking, and the depth of the game is mind-boggling.

In case you haven't yet heard, Oblivion has what could be considered the best graphics of any video game. Ever. Period. And if you own an HDTV, prepare to be shocked. I have an HDTV that supports this game in 720p resolution (I had to buy a VGA cable since the composite made my picture too dark), but regardless of the step down from 1080i, the graphics don't suffer a bit. Every time I take my first step into the world, I'm convinced that I'm actually traversing dense forests, navigating a musty cave filled with bandits, or sneaking into someone's house to nab a few price-worthy items.

On that note, I have yet to play a game as immersive as Oblivion. The impeccable combination of graphics, sound, and lighting make the world of Tamriel come alive in ways previous generations of consoles could never hope of achieving. A real-time weather and clock/calendar system only further the level of realism. You can tell a storm is coming as the clouds move faster overhead and the sky begins to darken. The storm rages for hours (in game time) and as the clouds eventually dissipate, a lush sky full of stars and a bright moon appears. Such attention to detail makes for an unprecedented gaming experience that shouldn't be overlooked.

And what of the combat and storyline, the things that REALLY matter in an RPG? Everything you've come to expect of the Elder Scrolls series is there, and it comes in spades. Massive improvements have been made to the lackluster combat system of Morrowind, and the inventory is now easier to use than ever. The story is gripping, kicking off to a riveting start within the first 10 minutes of play. This game grabs you from the beginning and never lets go.

And should you not feel like following the main storyline, why not indulge yourself in the almost countless number of side quests? With four guilds to join, each with their own separate story line (and keep in mind that you can join as many guilds as you'd like), you will never have a lack of activity in the world of Tamriel. Even then, if joining a guild isn't your thing, why not just set out and explore to your heart's content? The province of Cyrodiil is full of caves, forts, and bandit hideouts for you to raid. Some of these are massive underground lairs which can take up to a full hour to thoroughly pilfer. All this being said, if you find yourself playing Oblivion and say "I have nothing to do in this game", you're wrong.

All in all, this is one of THE BEST video games I have ever played. Minor bugs, such as low-res textures in the background, and sometimes long loading times, do nothing to mar the experience this game offers. If you have an Xbox 360 (or a PC capable of handling the processing load), stop reading this review and head to the store immediately. I'm serious. Go.

This game will eat your soul

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: March 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Outstanding. This is a profound improvement upon Morrowind in almost every way while retaining the great artistic and cerebral qualities that made it a game of the year title in the first place. Also, this version had been created with a console audience in mind- the menues and controls are optimized for a controller friendly experience. It will still take a minute to become comfortable with but that is more due to the enormous anount of options than anything. Physics have been implemented as well and the result is a much more realistic and immersive experience- you can pick up objects, drag bodies, and even use arrows to set off traps. From time to time the game tends to skip a frame while loading and you will notice some pop up of objects(a mile or two in the distance). These minor issues really have no significant impact on the overall experience when you take into account the tremendous scope and viewable area of the game. If you have a 360 and have ever been fond of RPGs this is a great investment. Be warned though: this game will eat your soul.

WOW

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: July 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by saying that I'm usually not an adventure/RPG kind of gamer. I enjoy my shooters and action games. But this game looked so amazing that I simply couldn't pass it up (well, that and a lack of any other good XBox 360 games). But I was amazed when I popped it into my 360 and started playing.

Compared to Morrowind, this game is soooo much better. It's not as big, but then again, I thought that Morrowind was too big. There's still a good number of towns and plenty of places that have yet to be found, so it leaves the player with lots and lots of space to explore. The quests are also much better than in Morrowind. I felt that they were more...managable. Not quite as long, but much more fun. But the real place were this game excels was fighting. I remember being so frusterated playing Morrowind because I wasn't able to hit people with a sword. In this game, the fighting has been improved dramatically.

This game is also a piece of eye candy. The graffics are beautiful. And one of my favorite features of the game is the addition of horses. They allow you to traverse the country side in a much more timely manner.

Pick this game up today. You won't be disappointed. I've been playing for months now and still am nowhere close to being done. It's one of the best games I've ever played.

This game isn't out!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 21 / 44
Date: December 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The game isn't out, no you don't own it, you didn't win it in a contest. You are a complete tool for writing a review for a game that hasn't been released yet. Oh and by the way you cousin's friend's uncle doesn't work for the company and that didn't give you the game before it came out. you are an idiot!

Wow. This game is amazing.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is absolutely amazing. I got it after playing through Call of Duty 2 and Ghost Recon and have been playing it during most of my free time. I now have played a little over 50 hours, but still have not even come close to completing the main quest. There are over thousands of NPC's and hundreds of side quests. You can be everything from an alchemist exploring the wilderness for new ingredients, a warrior skilled with a blade, or even a mage trained in destruction magic. You can buy a house in the city and invest in shops, or join murderous guilds, or simply enjoy the amazing landscapes. The quests are far from expected, there are the standard explore dungeons quests, to the unexpected quests such as joining The Dark Brotherhood and swapping a powerful warlord's medicine with poison, or to faking an elf's death in order to save him. Whatever you choose there are endless options of things to do. I highly recommend this game, although it does require some thinking and is not for someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of time.

For What It's Worth

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 14
Date: April 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Xbox 360
$399

Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion
$59

Shoot a bandit in the face to make him fly 20 feet backwards...
Priceless.

Coming out March 19, 2006

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 19
Date: February 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

To clear things up, the game doesn't come out until Mar 19, 2006.

Your social life is over

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion- Circa 2006

GOOD:
- This game literally has a huge world (and you can explore every inch of it), it rivals that of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA: SA's entire world not just one city). For Example, if you went into the woods in the game and did not use a map you world get just as lost as you would in a real-world forest with no map.
- Hundreds of quests (really big and really small) to perform you can skip any you want or do them all, plus you deicide the outcome weather it be good or bad.
- Interact with NPC's, there are literally hundreds of them and they are all voiced acted and display emotions on there faces.
- A very life like world in which Police chase thieves, wives nag husbands and wolves prowl the woods looking for prey.
- Do just about anything you can think of like steal (anything), save people form gangs, fight in arena's, hunt animals, sail ships, become a vampire (pretty cool) or just hang back and do almost nothing the choice is yours.

BAD:
- This game may be way to hard for most casual gamers.
- The loading in this game is can get annoying, this game will load often and some loads (not all) take a long time. The hard drive cuts down on some loading, but it's still a pain.
- Some of the character animations especially those of your character are a little sloppy (but in 1st person you cannot see your own animations so it's not so much a problem)
- The Hit Detection (or hit boxes) sometimes doesn't work well.
- While the world is huge it's also mostly wooded forest area, which can be a little bland after a while.
- Morality seem to play little in the game in terms of your characters development, you can do evil/good act but will not really be considered evil/good in the same way that you see in Fable or Jade Empire. In the end it's more realistic but a little underwhelming.

IF IT FITS YOUR TASTE:
- A first person Swords and Sorcery RPG (Click in the left thumb stick to toggle third person mode).
- The games theme is very much close to that of the Lord of the Rings books or movie trilogy, by Peter Jackson, other similarities are found in the tabletop RPG Dungeons and Dragons.
- This is a do as you please type of RPG (like Fable or Jade Empire), this not anything like Final Fantasy, you pick the quest and you choose the outcome, that said there is little to no character identity outside of your deeds and don't expect a party of other characters who tag a long like in most other RPG's (like Final Fantasy).

GAME ITS MOST ASSOCATED TOO:
- Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Fable: The Lost Chapters
- Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
- Thief III: Deadly Shadow

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
- There is downloadable content missions/quests and areas for this game out on PC and Xbox-Live. Examples being horse Armor, Spell Tomes, The Wizard's Tower, The Thieves Den, Vile Lair, The Knights of the Nine, and The Shivering Isles just to name a few.
- The Special Limited Edition (Xbox-360) comes with a bonus disc, which has a lengthy behind the scenes documentary, also on the disc you can view concept art work for the game, plus the limited edition comes with a small book on the history and people of the Elder Scrolls world and you get a real-to-life coin from this games world.
- The world in the game if measured in real-world miles would be about 16 miles not including underground areas like caves, crypts, basements, and bunkers, also most areas in the alternate-dimension of Oblivion are immeasurable due to the fact that they are randomly generated and huge.
- All Elder Scrolls games are first Person (the other Elder Scrolls games besides Elder Scrolls III where on the PC).
- In the game (at the main city) you will see a poster for a gladiator type of fighting arena called Arena, the poster is the same picture found on the box art for Elder Scrolls first game called Elder Scrolls: Arena.

The best real time RPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

When I first loaded this in my 360 i was amazed by the startup movie. This game has every weapon and spell you could think of. It also has great landscapes and amazing NPCs. I have had this game since it came out and since then i've been hooked on it.

Unecessarily gorey...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 32
Date: April 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

We bought our 360 specifically to play this game. There is absolutely no denying that the graphics in this game are the most astounding for any game to date. The ultra "customizability" of your character is unbelievable. You can almost get your character to look like you! (if that's what you want).

It was also very clever that the opening sequence of the game serves as a tutorial for people who have never played (without being tedious for people who already know how to play). It was also a really bright idea to add a second chance to completely change your character before exiting the sewers into the main game.

There is no end to the praise I could heap upon the graphics in this game. I also really liked that, unlike the old morrowind, the plants, animals, etc. were real world items now, as opposed to being made up plants like "hackle-lo leaf" or "kanet flowers". Now you pick things like mugwort, st. john's wort, lavendar, morning glories, etc. The animals I have seen so far are butterflies, deer, sheep, wolves, and horses. I even heard meadowlarks in the meadows.

All these changes are magnificent. My complaints concern the Plane of Oblivion found through the Oblivion Gates. I understand that these places are the domain of dark lords of destruction and chaos, but there is absolutely nothing left to the imagination in the depiction of these realms. The landscape is a melange of broken, tormented, structures surrounded by boiling lava with a crimson smoke sky overhead. This isn't so bad, but everywhere you look there are spikes on everything; the buildings, bridges, turrets, monuments...I didn't even necessarily have a problem with that. But the end of each spike is covered in red...not only does this not really make sense, but it makes everything looking like it is dripping blood...absolutely everywhere. What really made me ill, however, is the dungeons themselves. The oblivion gate I went through was outside the city of Kvetch. The rooms had names like "Blood Feast", "Corridors of Dark Salvation", "Rending Rooms", etc. There were these utterly macabre things called Blood Fountains (pretty self-explanatory). In the towers there were naked corpses suspended from the ceilings. Their bodies were flayed and mutilated (including mutilated genitals); worse, you can search the corpses and take their bones and any gold they had on them (begging the question of where exactly a corpse hides gold?). Given that the graphics in this game are highly detailed, the corpses didn't leave much to the imagination. In those same towers, there was a lift with spikes located at the bottom of the tower and a metalwork grate at the top of the tower. This life is for smashing the suspended corpses into the grate at the top of the tower. I didn't actually see this happen, fortunately, because the lift switch was too damaged to operate. But of the 15 other Oblivion gates you have to go into in this game, chances are one of those lifts is working and it will show the corpses being mashed...

In the untainted world of Tamriel, your character often searches barrels and crates for any treasure that may be inside. On the planes of Oblivion, their version of crates are called "The Punished". They are these odd tripod structures with what looks like a huge pulsating, flayed, heart hanging in the center of the tripod.

I found the extreme level of gore on the Plane of Oblivion to be intolerable. I don't care what anyone says, but immersing yourself in such macabre surroundings can NOT be healthy, most especially for young people (Game is rated for teens). Why why why did they have to do this? The original morrowind was bad enough with "corpus meat", etc. but this makes the old morrowind look friendly.

Now I am hard pressed to justify spending hours playing this and I am super disappointed. I hope some parents/people will take notice of this review and perhaps consider renting this game before shelling out 70 bucks for it.

Review Page: 1 2 3 Next 

Actions