Xbox 360 gamers have been waiting for a certain RPG to come out since it was delayed from being an Xbox 360 launch title. Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion is on the most wanted list for many gamers. Being a much anticipated title and being delayed, Oblivion has a lot to live up to. And with that in mind, Oblivion is a great game but has some minor shortcomings.
I'm sure most are wondering what the negatives are about Oblivion so we'll get that out of the way first. Most people are probably going to get a little annoyed with all of the loading that takes place in Oblivion. Sometimes you'll get a short loading screen but some of the long ones can really break up the gameplay. When outside a town and traveling there isn't a natural place to allow for a load screen so the sections will load as you go. With this there is a brief hiccup. When I was riding a horse at one point this got annoying as it happened more frequently and had to use the automatic travel shortcut by going to the map and pressing on the destination. Now I really wouldn't be as bothered if I didn't run into another problem that the loading would've hopefully helped.
The framerate doesn't hold up in the game at all times. It's not something that is a problem all of the time but I have encountered a few times where I couldn't wait for it to return to normal. Another thing is that the enemies are like robots set on search and kill. If you steal from someone and they spot you, they'll chase you till you enter a town causing a loading screen. Reach a rock by going to the side of an area and jumping up, they'll just walk mindlessly straight into the wall as you shoot arrows into them. I found playing in first person view to be the best, even if I wanted third person, but when hitting an enemy with a sword you don't get the sense that you connected with the hit. Oblivion is also the first Xbox 360 game to crash on me (several times, actually).
Graphically, Elder Scrolls IV looks very nice. The world is huge with the towns being spaced apart from each other. Apparently this is due to a small population as the towns aren't crowded with NPCs either. There is a lot of variation and effects that will impress you. My only complaint would be the lack of damage shown to objects and armor. The sound in the game matches the look of Oblivion. An impressive amount of voice-overs prevent hearing the same people doing different character voices.
What the game really goes for is depth. Character customization really takes off. Choose gender and then from several races and classes, and then further customize your head. Customizing your character's body is lacking, however. And being an RPG, you will be customizing your character throughout the game. There are plenty of apparel items that can be found or stolen. If you want to excel in sword fighting, then swinging a sword will increase your sword stats. Raise your restoration spell power by healing yourself with it multiple times if you have the magic spell available and it will eventually raise in level. As you progress you will also have the chance to join a guild. Doing so will open up new quest opportunities and advantages. There are also plenty of side missions that can be found by talking to people walking around. There really is so much to do in the game that no one can call it short.
The game itself plays out nicely. I was planning to play through mostly in third person perspective but first person actually works better. As I mentioned when fighting, however, something is missing when you hit an enemy with melee weapon where it doesn't seem like you actually connected with the hit. I also though it was better to be in third person while riding a horse. The control setup really works out well. You are able to assign your most used spells, weapons, potions to a direction on the d-pad including diagonals. This way you can change between a melee and ranged weapon on the fly without having to go through the menu. It's fairly easy to get used to the setup and is very intuitive.
In the end, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a great choice for Xbox 360 gamers. There are some minor issues that will hamper the gameplay slightly but don't let that push you away that much. The game doesn't really invent anything new for the genre but the important thing is that it's a great experience and worth playing. The game does at least show that next-gen games are looking promising.
