Oblivion : Have you played it ?

[eXo]

Im aware of how highly acclaimed this game is on all levels, however i have managed to avoid it up until now my overwhelming urge to increase my gaming collection.

Has driven me to come to you guys for a more reliable, and hopfully an unbiased opinion before i shell out $30 bucks.

[RuneLateralus]

I loved it. Great game and there was so much to do in it. And it contains a very nice combat system too. It was the first great next-gen RPG.

Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $30 to get the Game of the Year Edition. You will probably spend the money on the downloads (which, except for the horse armor, add something nice) so it would be better to just get all of them at once (unless you are getting for PS3, then you are kinda stuck). And Shivering Isles is great in a messed up sort of way (Sheogorath is nuts).



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: RuneLateralus on 2007-12-20 18:35 ]</font>

[eXo]

Yea i was thinking of getting the PS3 version ! I read that it comes with the nights of nine or something like but /shrug.

[RuneLateralus]

Nights of the Nine was the first Expansion that adds some new quests. But it is only a fraction of what Shivering Isles offers. But that is the only DL content that comes with the PS3. No mage's tower. No Thief's Den. No Mehrune's Razor. Nothing.

And with the PS3, if you want that stuff, you will have to rebuy the game. Just save yourself the money buying only one copy instead of two.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: RuneLateralus on 2007-12-20 18:41 ]</font>

[eXo]

So does the $60 have more content or should i reroll, X360 or the PC version ign said that the PS3 version was better then the 360 on load times etc. thats why i was going for that version.

[Sord]

I need to get this game myself, spent several hours on it at my friends house. I thought the game was great, a good succesor to Morrowind (which I do own for PC and probably have more hours on than any other game.) I really want to play that expansion, my cousin has it, but he's a state away ;(

[RuneLateralus]

On 2007-12-20 18:46, eXo wrote:
So does the $60 have more content or should i reroll, X360 or the PC version ign said that the PS3 version was better then the 360 on load times etc. thats why i was going for that version.



The 360 patch fixed some of the load time issues. But if you are set on getting the PS3 version, get the $60 version. It has all the DL content, Nights of the Nine, and Shivering Isles.

PC version, however has mods, just to throw that out there.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: RuneLateralus on 2007-12-20 18:51 ]</font>

[kizu]

i like the rpg aspect of it. the combat is nice too. i suggest a 360 version since you can get oblivon, nights of the nine, and shivering isles all in one box for $60. pretty sure you can't do that for the ps3 version.

[eXo]

Thank you both so much the reviews that i read didnt explain the content portion of the game. However now i understand the differiences as the GOTY has the x-pac & extra Dl content which is all that the review should have said in the first place. lol

[Sinue_v2]

PC version, however has mods, just to throw that out there.

This should be the biggest bonus of all. If your PC can play Oblivion fairly decently, then do so. The (free) user created content for Obilvion gives you access to a constantly growing library of weapons, modifications, quests, dungeons, skins, etc. Some of the ones I'm most fond of are Rin's Beauty packs, Dual-Wield Katanas, enhanced weather/water effects, enhanced item placement, homesteads/forts, spells, familiars, etc. There's one, I can't remember it's name, but it adjusts the ages of many non-crucial NPCs down so that they actually look pretty good - rather than ragged and wrinkly old women.

Just be careful, because some modifications will unbalance the game. I recall one called Black Cats Jewelry Shop which I downloaded for the Mephala statues. (My character was a Morag Tong assassin sent to infiltrate the Black Hand and "Sever it's fingers"... and the Morag Tong worship Mephala so...). However those Daedra Statues were extremely expensive. So I robbed the place blind. Ended up making something over like 10 Million Septims in a single raid, enough to pretty much BUY the entirety of Cyrodill.

[Sord]

On 2007-12-20 20:45, Sinue_v2 wrote:

PC version, however has mods, just to throw that out there.

This should be the biggest bonus of all. If your PC can play Oblivion fairly decently, then do so. The (free) user created content for Obilvion gives you access to a constantly growing library of weapons, modifications, quests, dungeons, skins, etc. Some of the ones I'm most fond of are Rin's Beauty packs, Dual-Wield Katanas, enhanced weather/water effects, enhanced item placement, homesteads/forts, spells, familiars, etc. There's one, I can't remember it's name, but it adjusts the ages of many non-crucial NPCs down so that they actually look pretty good - rather than ragged and wrinkly old women.

Just be careful, because some modifications will unbalance the game. I recall one called Black Cats Jewelry Shop which I downloaded for the Mephala statues. (My character was a Morag Tong assassin sent to infiltrate the Black Hand and "Sever it's fingers"... and the Morag Tong worship Mephala so...). However those Daedra Statues were extremely expensive. So I robbed the place blind. Ended up making something over like 10 Million Septims in a single raid, enough to pretty much BUY the entirety of Cyrodill.


How good are the public mods for Oblivion PC? I know when Morrowind mods started coming out, it was like a whole new freaking game. Added hours and hours more time to my overall playing. Haven't checked the minimum requirements for Oblivion though, would suck if I couldn't meet them. Though I would think I would, at worst, meet the minimum.

[astuarlen]

Played it for a little while, didn't much like it. The outdoor scenery was pretty nice, but the rest of the environments struck me as rather drab and very much similar from place to place.
Didn't care for the combat system, either, and I barely remember any of the quests. Why didn't I enjoy combat? I was either completely dominating everything in sight or getting pummelled--but mostly the former; there never seemed to be difficult-but-rewarding-so-I'm-having-fun situations. And I personally prefer that character stats/skills bear most of the responsibility in determining how you do in RPGs when it comes to combat, not player skills. The scaling world business turned me off (yes, I realize you can download mods to take care of this, but honestly I ended up spending more time looking for mods to improve gameplay than playing in the end, which finally convinced me that try as I might, I was NOT enjoying myself). Overall, I felt very uninspired and completely disinterested. But that's just me, and obviously lots of other people enjoyed it. I guess it all depends on what kind of game experiences you enjoy.
So that's my honest opinion, though it's not unbiased.

[Rubius-sama]

I would steer clear of the PC version. The ease of console commands to cheat yourself out of tough situations will ruin the game for you, which means you won't get the experience the designers intended. Statistically, PC gamers enjoyed Oblivion a lot less than console gamers (they gave it lower ratings, on average) and I think having convenient console commands may have played a role. Also, most of Oblivion's sales came from console versions.

If you have the discipline to refrain from using cheats then more power to you.

[Sord]

while I do enjoy the game, I will admit that at least the melee combat is rather lacking. It's mostly just swing block swing block etc. There is some skill as to which strike you used (based on your movement I think) but it's annoying to bother with. Regardless, I've always favored more roguish classes. Shooting bows from the shadows and sneaking up to and stabbing people in the back. So it's not really an issue for me at all. As such, I love to explore the caves and dark dungeons. Though I outright hate the oblivion areas, wind up doing a lot of hit and run type tactics with bows or spells. Then again, I'm not a warrior or anything so I guess that's kind of expected, but everything is so damn red I can barely sneak around. Regardless, you can still get so strong to the point of being able to beat down nearly everything given time. Granted, you can do that in a lot of RPGs if your willing to spend time, you just spend a lot less in Oblivion. I went through one set of faction quests (Black Hand) in two days and by the time I had beaten it and had all the nice little rewards, the main story line was a cinch, as was the galdiator Arena.

Also, as with Morrowind, I rather enjoyed the console cheats after I had already beaten all the major things I wanted to do. It's just nice every now and then to don some kickass sword and armor, flip on the god mode cheat, and run through town killing anything and everyone you see. Don't bother saving of course, but it's fun for some short term amusement. Then there was that huge spell with maxed out radius and every element plus poison I had made. Think I named it Nuclear Armageddon or something. Used some long lasting levitation spell, and then fly around bombing major towns/cities with it. Though I did eventually run out of victims other than the guards. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

The console can be used for some extra fun, just has to be done right (at least with Morrowind, I don't think Oblivion would be much diffrent though.)



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sord on 2007-12-21 00:00 ]</font>

[Raine_Loire]

On 2007-12-20 21:06, Sord wrote:

On 2007-12-20 20:45, Sinue_v2 wrote:

PC version, however has mods, just to throw that out there.

This should be the biggest bonus of all. If your PC can play Oblivion fairly decently, then do so. The (free) user created content for Obilvion gives you access to a constantly growing library of weapons, modifications, quests, dungeons, skins, etc. Some of the ones I'm most fond of are Rin's Beauty packs, Dual-Wield Katanas, enhanced weather/water effects, enhanced item placement, homesteads/forts, spells, familiars, etc. There's one, I can't remember it's name, but it adjusts the ages of many non-crucial NPCs down so that they actually look pretty good - rather than ragged and wrinkly old women.

Just be careful, because some modifications will unbalance the game. I recall one called Black Cats Jewelry Shop which I downloaded for the Mephala statues. (My character was a Morag Tong assassin sent to infiltrate the Black Hand and "Sever it's fingers"... and the Morag Tong worship Mephala so...). However those Daedra Statues were extremely expensive. So I robbed the place blind. Ended up making something over like 10 Million Septims in a single raid, enough to pretty much BUY the entirety of Cyrodill.


How good are the public mods for Oblivion PC? I know when Morrowind mods started coming out, it was like a whole new freaking game. Added hours and hours more time to my overall playing. Haven't checked the minimum requirements for Oblivion though, would suck if I couldn't meet them. Though I would think I would, at worst, meet the minimum.



Well, there's a mod that makes your character completely nekkid... not drawn but photos (there's drawn as well). Hmm... there are a lot of different character types to play with, and umm... oh right, the quest you can get a mistress in who hangs in your house and sleeps in your bed with you...

IDK, I loooved oblivion for 360, when I beat it, I had a hard time picking up another rpg for a while, it's like seeing a really hot naked guy then going back to your husband afterwards, if you know what I mean... I was THRILLED with the expansions, just for an excuse to play. I've beaten the crap out of it.

But even with teh boobiez, I couldn't really get into the computer version...

[amtalx]

This game almost ruined my life. I think I've said enough.

[Solstis]

I only still run Oblivion because of the console cheats. I would never have had the patience to finish that Mage's Guild quest line otherwise.

I don't so much care for the action as much as the narratives. Like to explore them all to the end, fights and stuff are just scenery for me.

[Sinue_v2]

How good are the public mods for Oblivion PC?

Depends on who makes them. You can sort out the good stuff from the crap by hanging around the fansites and seeing what they recommend. Speaking of which, the Kvatch Rebuilt mod is pretty good - as it gives you a whole new town to explore with new quests. A new Arena too (Kvatch was the only other town besides the Imperial City to have an Arena).

And speaking of Morrowind, there's supposedly a project underway to remake Morrowind using the Oblivion engine. The graphics are slightly improved, but the biggest bonus is Oblivion's combat system.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Sinue/1197285756_fullres.jpg
(MorrOblivion Mod)

And speaking of which, the combat system is nothing special and it's very easy to beat the system. Stack up with items that reflect damage or magic. Pick the Atranoch sign. And stack up with items that give chameleon. If you can get near 100% in any or all of these areas, you're pretty much untouchable. But for an added bonus, get a cheap enchanted bow (makes all arrows count as magic arrows, even if the weapon's magic charge is depleted). Increase your sneak and marksman skill. You can sit back and headshot enemies from across the room without much trouble. You can just walk through an area filled with powerful enemies and kill them all without actually engaging in combat once. If you get the Shivering Isles expansion, Amber and Madness arrows are powerful and free so long as you can find some ore for them (which is easy).

Oh, and if you're concerned with the mouse and keyboard setup, you can always just buy a used wired 360 controller and the XBCD drivers to custom map your buttons. Which actually works out really well considering Oblivion was developed with consoles in mind.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sinue_v2 on 2007-12-21 20:27 ]</font>

[Blitzkommando]

Oblivion was a good game to play through but, well, I just kind of grew bored with it. It was pretty and whatnot, and ran great, but it just... was flat to me and the gameplay while good wasn't enough to save it. I'll go back to it every so often but I don't play it all that much anymore. I will admit that the PC mods made it worth playing more than the vanilla game.

[SubstanceD]

It's an okay game. I haven't played my copy much. Too much freedom of choice, I like my games to be a bit ( okay alot ) more linear. Because of the games structure there never really seems to be any urgency to the main quest. That's kinda why the game has been sitting on my shelf for almost a year while I have moved on to other 360 games.

[Sord]

On 2007-12-21 20:25, Sinue_v2 wrote:

How good are the public mods for Oblivion PC?
And speaking of Morrowind, there's supposedly a project underway to remake Morrowind using the Oblivion engine. The graphics are slightly improved, but the biggest bonus is Oblivion's combat system.

First I've heard of that. Definitly have to keep my eyes open for that. Been awhile since I lurked the fan sites of modders, looks like I may have to do another round. Awesome.

Though that might be a bit, because I just got Bioshock as an early christmas gift today, huzzah!

[omegapirate2k]

Get the PC version if your computer can handle it.

The mods for it all over the web will be guaranteed to extend your enjoyment of the game dramatically.

[Jife_Jifremok]

The fates don't want me to finish the main quest, or even get much done at anything. Whether it be the need to wipe the hard drive, other games upstaging Oblivion or just plain not having much time to get to play it, every time I try and play it, something takes me out of it and I have to start over next time I'm at it.

I have my ups and downs in that game. I like adventuring around, completing quests and getting distracted by the occasional dungeon I come across during my journeys. The whole "La la la la la I'm running around adventuring, and when I save this pitiful continent I will bring everyone to my knees" thing keeps me motivated, but I've found a lot of problems getting in the way of my enjoyment.

The combat system itself feels rather bland. Just slice slice slice, or block and wait until the enemy attacks my shield and stumbles then attack. Having to move around to do different attacks feels horribly primitive (if it was built with consoles in mind, why can't I just use an analog stick to attack?) Hopefully a mod can make that more fun. Some enemies had too much HP; I found myself adjusting the difficulty slider all the way down sometimes just so they would frickin' DIE. The forced shifting from first-person to third-person every time I get knocked down (which is also very annoying) or mount/dismount a horse was jarring, immersion-breaking and simply reeks of laziness (hopefully a mod can fix that). The fact that plants and mushrooms wouldn't disappear after harvesting them made alchemy a bitch (until I found a mod to fix it). The leveling system made me all too worried about gimping myself if I don't micromanage every fucking thing I do...whether or not I should jump around like a retard everywhere I go to level up my acrobatics, how much time I should spend just blocking attacks, etc (until I found a mod to make stats level up along with their respective skills). The sweet-talking minigame got old, FAST. There's just so much going against it...there's only barely enough to keep me coming back only for the fates to fuck me up again and make me start over...though each time I do, I find more mods to better fine-tune the experience...