Okay, now it is time for Oblivion to be judged by yours truly. Now many people criticized me for reviewing over the package contents of Dungeons and Dragons Online so I won't do that this time, but I will indeed say that DVDs rule. I just don't get it why Publishers are still using antiquated storage devices such as CD ROMs for computer games and applications. They are like the 8 Track tapes of today. If you do not have a DVD ROM on your computer spend the bloody $40 USD and upgrade already!
With the opening cinematic which shows the title of the game, in case you forgotten during the time of installing and playing it, to the point of character creation I was certain that we were going to get such a graphic treat. As with Morrowind you get to pick your race and choose how you look like, but it was far more intricate than any single player game I have played. Frankly it was far more intricate than any online game I have played, MMO or otherwise. The one major weakness the game does have is no multiplayer. Sure you can make ia rather unique character but you can't show him/her off.
The first introductory adventure in the prison was a decent tutorial on how to play the game while not sacrificing the story elements. However I wish there was a way to turn off the tutorial hints. Also there is no way to skip through the tutorial to go right tot he end to just pick class and sign. Yes the game still uses the loose class system and Star Sign of Morrowind but that is an aspect of the setting and gives the character a bit more uniqueness in the game world.
You have your initial quest once outside of the sewer grates and have a whole world before you which you can practically go anywhere. This open ended freedom is also a trademark of the The Elder Scrolls and if you didn't like it in Morrowind, Daggerfall, or Arena, you will more than likely not like it here. In my first footsteps into this world I went back tot he capital city for I had a bunch of cheap loot and nothing worth having.
When I reached the city I was amazed by how empty it looked, but with what people was there the Radiant AI system was busy making them go about their business which I do like. However the voice acting and the lines reminded me so much of the B Style movies of yesteryear which often showed up on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. There are points that they just make me pause and cringe.
The conversation system is a hybrid of the style used in Morrowind and in more traditional CRPGs such as Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic. With everyone being voiced the replies were succinct and to the point. A great improvement over Morrowind's system, however I have came across that many of the voices sound exactly a like. I would be talking to a begger in Chorrol about rumors and if he gives me the same response as the merchant in the Imperial Capital he is using the same sound file. Understandable for Bethesda to reuse material like this but it does hurt the immersion factor.
Combat is most definitely real time and it is more based on the player's skill with the mouse than the character's skill with a sword. The to hit chance is squarely based on if oyu make a hit on your target instead of making a roll off your skill. Instead the skill governs how effective the hit is in relation to the weapon used. While this makes the game a tad less in the CRPG department it does increase its graphical realism.
Some aspects of the game is very annoying however. One being the lock picking system. For those who are the old timers here might remember a game called Hillsfar, an action oriented DnD game based in the Forgotten Realms back in the day of the Commode 64 and the 186/286 PCs. It is very twitch-like and can be very aggravating, and expensive, if you don't time it right. If you don't, you will break a lock pick. Thank goodness there is a auto-pick option for those who don't have solid manual dexterity.
That is pretty much it. It is a solid enough title that imrpoves nearly all the weaknesses of Morrowind, and introduces a couple of new ones like that damn lock picking. Grrrr...
The d20 die roll comes up with a 16.
