The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The reputation of Oblivion is as ambiguous as can be. While professional reviewers were very positive about the fourth installment in the Elder Scrolls series, the game has since developed somewhat of a dubious reputation among gamers, particularly hardcore RPG fans. According to the latter group, the RPG elements lacked depth, with especially the unbalanced levelling system being subject to criticism. As a result, Oblivion turned into one of the best examples of where the professional reviewers on one side and the gamers on the other are heavily divided on the quality of a game. So with the release of The Elder Scrolls IV being half a decade ago, can we finally decide who was right? Unexcitingly, both the fans and the faultfinders of the game have a point: Oblivion may not be the best RPG out there, but it is does have its merits.

One of the primary sources of irritation on behalf of the critics is the story. While Oblivion's plot is functional and not bad by video game standards, it does leave quite a few things to wish for, especially when you consider that RPGs tend to rely on story and character development more than other video game genres. The game starts just before disaster strikes in the province of Cyrodiil (which is part of the empire of Tamriel). You play as your own character, customisable in race, appearance and abilities. During a slightly awkward jailbreak, you meet Tamriel's emperor, who, right before dying, sends you on a mission to deliver a magical amulet to a long-lost relative. Of course, this simple task quickly develops into a quest to save the world from the forces of evil.

This fantastical pulp by the numbers may not be very exciting, but the province of Cyrodiil, in which the game takes place, is interesting in many ways. The game world is mostly covered in forests and meadows, with lots of towns, dungeons, shrines and other points of interest being scattered across the entire province. Some have complained that the areas look to similar, and while it is definitely true that there could have been more variation in terms of terrain and landscapes, Cyrodiil is a believable fantasy setting with its dense forests, beautiful vistas and pittoresque villages. The atmosphere that Oblivion's universe breathes is elevated even more by a fantastic soundtrack: With many excellent classical compositions, the melancholic medieval vibe that Oblivion tries to evoke is further established.

When you enter Cyrodiil after the game's prologue, you are free to do whatever you want. While the most logical step would be to simply follow the storyline, it's also possible to start running errands for one of the game's various guilds or random individuals in need of help. In whatever order you decide to explore the game, there's well over a 100 hours of gameplay if you want to see everything that the game has to offer.

Fortunately, Oblivion does not just provide quantity, but quality as well. There are many memorable missions and quest lines, each of them different in length and focus, ranging from simple fetch quests to the exposure of complex conspiracies. Additionally, quests can often be completed in various ways. Not only will you frequently be presented with moral choices, but you can also decide on your own playing style, which will of course depend on the abilities of your character. You can choose to sneak past your opponents or to smash your way to your objective like a savage brute. Sometimes you will even unlock additional rewards if you complete a mission in a certain way, for example without killing anyone.

And with that, we have already stumbled upon what makes Oblivion a great game. It's not because of the RPG elements, because with its weak story and unbalanced levelling system (attributing skill points wrongly may create ridiculous difficulty perks), Oblivion is barely even passable in that regard. Instead, Oblivion provides a rich, creative and diverse sandbox experience that plays very much like an action adventure, yet harbours a lot more depth.

The main attraction of Oblivion's design is without a doubt its freedom. When you can experience over 50 hours of worthwhile content without even touching the main storyline, you know you're dealing with something special.

Meanwhile, the solid gameplay makes sure that many of the activities you can partake in, live up to their potential. The combat mechanics are a tad simplistic, but are fair and quite satisfying. It never gets old to beat random grunts senseless with one of the game's numerous weapons, all the while keeping an eye on your defence by timing your attacks and raising your shield when your adversary attempts to counterattack. Sneak freaks will also be able to get their fix, with the stealth mechanics being simple yet very effective. The AI nearly always plays by the rules, and a lot of missions offer plenty of opportunity to sneak up on enemies, or to avoid the confrontation altogether.

Even when played as a sandbox action-adventure game, though, Oblivion does have its fair share of problems, some of which are hard to swallow. The most striking problem is the game's striking instability. There are tons and tons of bugs in the game, even after the latest patch. While most of them are minor glitches that are easy to resolve, there are a few bugs that can potentially ruin your entire game. And with a lengthy game such as Oblivion, that's the last thing you would want to happen.

Another complaint lies in the undeniable genericalness of some parts of this game. The dungeons in particular look uncannily similar in terms of layout. Their straightforward design, moreover, makes it seem like many of them were randomly generated. The worst thing is that it is necessary to visit the dungeons from time to time if you want to find a specific item or complete a certain mission. Unfortunately, even the Oblivion gates, portals to an infernal realm that have to be entered and subsequently closed down during various storyline missions, suffer from the same repetitive design. This effectively turns the later phases of the main storyline into a monotonous chore that is sure to even bore the most dedicated dungeon crawlers to death.

It's pretty much a given, though, that a game with over a 100 hours worth of gameplay will have some boring moments, and it cannot be denied that the vast majority of Oblivion's content is absolutely worth experiencing, even 5 years after its release. When compared to other Role-Playing Games, Oblivion might seem weak due to the RPG elements of this game being fairly simple and, at times, unbalanced. When perceived as a sandbox action-adventure game, though, there are few titles more rewarding than Oblivion. The possibilities are near endless, the content is overwhelming and the gameplay just remains interesting throughout the whole experience.

As such, it may actually be fairer to compare Oblivion to, say, the Grand Theft Auto series than hardcore RPGs. While this observation may seem farfetched, the core design of Oblivion, particularly its mission structure and open-endedness, doesn't differ much from modern sandbox games, even if Oblivion's medieval fantasy setting highly contrasts the urban grittiness of franchises such as GTA and Saint's Row. With this in mind, the fairly usual RPG elements can also be perceived as an additional layer of depth that the aforementioned games lack. In the end, this doesn't just make Oblivion a sandbox game, but a damn fine sandbox game at that.

Jesse Dolman, NoobFeed