63 replies to this topic

[Grunker]

This is part of an article in a Danish magazine:

As you enter the world of Oblivion, you better make sure you're in for some serious addiction. This is, put simply, one of the most brilliant experiences I have ever had. The surroundings, the freedom, the story; everything lives up to my expectations. And I am not a fanboy; Morrorwind had some real problems; the environment was boring, the dialogue (or should I say monologue?) made me sleepy and the combat was annoying. These are all things that have changed in Oblivion.

I am not trying to sound like a commercial, but it's hard not to with this game: This is simply the best computer RPG ever made!

Plus sides: Great surroundings, great dialogue, great adventures, great combat.

Minus sides: Now I don't have any time to play World of Warcraft.

I give it five stars, 10 out of 10, an A+, whatever you want me to.

Is it really THAT good guys and gals?

I'm still thinking about whether I should waste money on it or not, because I really hated Morrorwind.

[the bigg]

If Bethseda payed enough money to the magazine, they could have written up any shit they wanted. An Italian newspaper wrote that, with the release of Windows Vista, we finally enter in the era of serious informatics.

[Luke]

Well. My favourite magazine gave it a 94 and I've never disagreed with them.
I got the game to and it is simply amazing. I didn't like Morrowind either, but I thought what the hell, it's not like I'm poor so I'll buy it and try it out. Never regretted it ever since. (Got it wednesday.)

[Black Mage]

Is it really THAT good guys and gals?

No. It's not my type of game however, so you might as well try it and make up your own mind. I'd wait for a price drop if I were you though, there's no point in paying full price for a game that you're skeptical of that'll be widely available for a very long time.

[Archmage Silver]

Well, in my opinion it's really one of the best RPGs ever! It's absolutely fantastic once you get in it, hunting vampires in the sewers and betting on arena fights and all that...

[Grunker]

My biggest concern is this:

Morrorwind wasn't my type of game because of two things, and only two things:

1) There was no dialogue (as the writer stated, it was more like a monologue)

2) I like having a red thread to follow during the course of the game. It doesn't have to be an arrow painted on my screen saying: "GO THERE. DO THAT." but just a little something so I'm not totally lost in the immense surroundings.

If Oblivion indeed has these things, I'm certainly going to buy it no matter the price, money is not an issue. However, if it's completely like Morrorwind (where I had to wander five thousand miles (yes, I didn't know about the strider-thingy) to get to a place where I don't even know what to do), and if I'm only going to play it for five minutes and then burn it and piss in the ashes, then I'm not going to buy it because I hate completely wasting money.

So what I'm asking is if there's a better dialogue, and if there's something to keep your interest and having you hooked on the game. If there is, I'm going to buy it without thinking more of it.

And about the authentity of the article: I'm most certain the didn't bribe the magazine because:

1) I live in Denmark. No matter what they do, the game is not going to reap money here.

2) The magazine that the article is from is called Ekstra Bladet. If any magazine in Denmark is independent it's that magazine.

3) The critic who wrote the article works freelance, and is widely known for his wits and independency.

EDIT: Well that and it's not really a magazine, but a newspaper.

Edited by Grunker, 26 March 2006 - 12:57 PM.

[Archmage Silver]

My biggest concern is this:

Morrorwind wasn't my type of game because of two things, and only two things:

1) There was no dialogue (as the writer stated, it was more like a monologue)

2) I like having a red thread to follow during the course of the game. It doesn't have to be an arrow painted on my screen saying: "GO THERE. DO THAT." but just a little something so I'm not totally lost in the immense surroundings.

If Oblivion indeed has these things, I'm certainly going to buy it no matter the price, money is not an issue. However, if it's completely like Morrorwind (where I had to wander five thousand miles (yes, I didn't know about the strider-thingy) to get to a place where I don't even know what to do), and if I'm only going to play it for five minutes and then burn it and piss in the ashes, then I'm not going to buy it because I hate completely wasting money.

So what I'm asking is if there's a better dialogue, and if there's something to keep your interest and having you hooked on the game. If there is, I'm going to buy it without thinking more of it.

And about the authentity of the article: I'm most certain the didn't bribe the magazine because:

1) I live in Denmark. No matter what they do, the game is not going to reap money here.

2) The magazine that the article is from is called Ekstra Bladet. If any magazine in Denmark is independent it's that magazine.

3) The critic who wrote the article works freelance, and is widely known for his wits and independency.

EDIT: Well that and it's not really a magazine, but a newspaper.

1) The dialogue has been re-done, and now we have all the npc dialogue voiced and it feels really much more like normal dialogue rather than the branch style. You get to choose questions and say things like "They're all dead." etc...

2) Oblivion's main quest is really something that you notice, as it affects the people in the world directly with the daedra attacking etc. And now the quest log is nice and tidied up, plus we have the quest compass to guide us to the necessary places.

And don't forget fast travel! All the cities and their districts are available from the beginning and you can always fast travel to important places you've been to before.

[Black Mage]

So what I'm asking is if there's a better dialogue, and if there's something to keep your interest and having you hooked on the game. If there is, I'm going to buy it without thinking more of it.

If you can stomach the intelligence drain, you might want to drop by the ES forums and read some of the comments. There's some fair praise and analytical criticism there, it just tends to get buried under the overwhelming fanboyism.

[Celestine]

I'm interested in getting this game as well. I'm not fond of Morrowind but I get the impression that Oblivion's different from Morrowind. Since money's not an issue right now, I might grab a copy of it.

[Tom]

I'm a fanboy, but I must say that I honestly think Oblivion is an excellent game. About your concerns Grunker, the dialog is pretty similar, although you dont just select an option and get a monologue. One option might lead to you questioning further, etc. Of course there are the monologue options still, like asking for information about the town, any rumours etc, but all of the dialog options unique to a particular NPC are branched. And its all fully voiced as well.

Like Archmage Silver said, the main storyline is much more defined, although there are no time limitations placed on you. So you are free to wander wherever you like and do whatever you like, which to some people may be seen as a negative aspect. Thats just the way the game is, and the way all the Elder Scrolls games have been. If you want a storyline you follow the main quest, if you want to immerse yourself in the world you can choose to do any one of the myriad of little quests in each town, or simply explore.

You may or may not know this, but they brought back the 'quick travel' feature from Daggerfall, which they left out in Morrowind. What this means is that you can travel instantly to any of the major cities on the map just by clicking on them and selecting fast travel. You can also fast travel to any ruins/small towns/landmarks that you've uncovered, but these are only on you map once you've visited them.

[NiGHTMARE]

Those people who hated walking such huge distances in Morrowind have another bonus besides the quick travel feature (which is really just a more convenient version of MW's siltstriders/mage's guild teleporters): horses!

Edited by NiGHTMARE, 27 March 2006 - 12:35 AM.

[Meira]

I know that in Obvilion you can customise you character's face, but does that freedom extend below that? I really, really hated Morrowind's ridiculously idea of female body. What I've seen in Obvilion this has been extended to the males too (all screenies of topless male characters look like Hulk Hogan IMO), but that's rather irrelevant to me. I was hoping that you could maybe adjust your character's bust and hip size in Obvilion? Please?

[Ilmatar]

My biggest concern is this:

Morrorwind wasn't my type of game because of two things, and only two things:

1) There was no dialogue (as the writer stated, it was more like a monologue)

2) I like having a red thread to follow during the course of the game. It doesn't have to be an arrow painted on my screen saying: "GO THERE. DO THAT." but just a little something so I'm not totally lost in the immense surroundings.

1) The dialogue has been re-done, and now we have all the npc dialogue voiced and it feels really much more like normal dialogue rather than the branch style. You get to choose questions and say things like "They're all dead." etc...

2) Oblivion's main quest is really something that you notice, as it affects the people in the world directly with the daedra attacking etc. And now the quest log is nice and tidied up, plus we have the quest compass to guide us to the necessary places.

And don't forget fast travel! All the cities and their districts are available from the beginning and you can always fast travel to important places you've been to before.

I don't mind if the plot isn't that visible, I especially loved Morrowind because there was no red thread from beginning to the end. But that sounds wicked. CAN'T WAIT till French final exams are over. Now it really is settled, I'm so going to buy it, without a doubt. Btw, is there anything else cool and nice or even USEFUL than the coin in the CE pack?

[NiGHTMARE]

There's a bonus "making of" DVD, plus a 112 page book with background, history, etc related to the world in which Oblivion takes place.

Edited by NiGHTMARE, 27 March 2006 - 01:09 AM.

[Ilmatar]

There's a bonus "making of" DVD, plus a 112 page book with background, history, etc related to the world in which Oblivion takes place.

Hmm well, the book sounds nice. I'll see what my budget looks like and maybe I'll buy the CE pack on Wednesday. Thanks for the info.

[Tom]

I was hoping that you could maybe adjust your character's bust and hip size in Obvilion? Please?

Just the face, unfortunately. I'm sure there will be mods which alter the bodies at some stage in the future though.

[Archmage Silver]

There's a bonus "making of" DVD, plus a 112 page book with background, history, etc related to the world in which Oblivion takes place.

Hmm well, the book sounds nice. I'll see what my budget looks like and maybe I'll buy the CE pack on Wednesday. Thanks for the info.

Plus the packaging is a lot more like the one Morrowind has... the normal version packaging seems too pale. I would say it's really something worth buying!

I was hoping that you could maybe adjust your character's bust and hip size in Obvilion? Please?

Just the face, unfortunately. I'm sure there will be mods which alter the bodies at some stage in the future though.

Yep, it's just the face, but the amount of things you can tweak is humongous! The body can't be edited at the moment due to clothing issues, i.e. clipping.

[Grunker]

it just tends to get buried under the overwhelming fanboyism.

Which is why I came here instead

I'm a fanboy, but I must say that I honestly think Oblivion is an excellent game. About your concerns Grunker, the dialog is pretty similar, although you dont just select an option and get a monologue. One option might lead to you questioning further, etc. Of course there are the monologue options still, like asking for information about the town, any rumours etc, but all of the dialog options unique to a particular NPC are branched. And its all fully voiced as well.

It?s not what I?m looking for, but it doesn?t sound as bad as Morrorwind, which incidently became too Might&Magic for me.

You may or may not know this, but they brought back the 'quick travel' feature from Daggerfall, which they left out in Morrowind. What this means is that you can travel instantly to any of the major cities on the map just by clicking on them and selecting fast travel. You can also fast travel to any ruins/small towns/landmarks that you've uncovered, but these are only on you map once you've visited them.

Now this is some of the stuff that could really make me change my mind about the game. This tilts me in the direction of buying it.

horses!

Which looked pretty cool in the screenshots by the way

Ah, what the hell. I know I'm going to buy it just out of curiosity anyway. Thanks for your all your feedback!

[Tom]

Ah, what the hell. I know I'm going to buy it just out of curiosity anyway. Thanks for your all your feedback!

Good choice.

*Calls off the hit men*