Bad taste... NWN1 and IWD2 are light-years beyond Oblivion in terms of gameplay and quality (excluding graphics of course, which is normal since those games weren't released at the same time as Oblivion).
As much as I dislike Oblivion for being a shallow, dull, generic, "my First RPG" type experience, I really can't agree with NWN and IWD2 being "light years" beyond it.
I would rather play the first 10 hours of Oblivian than NWN. At least I could avoid the retarded MQ and either do the side/faction quests or just roam around "exploring" (as lame as exploring is in a game with such poor level/loot scaling). NWN though was beyond dull and tedious. I just could not believe I was playing a follow up to the brilliant Baldur's Gate II and I was just baffled after the first 2 hours. It was like night and day. The expansion packs at least were decent fun, more so the 2nd one.
As for IWD 2, it was NOT a bad game but i LOVED the first IWD and the sequel didn't have the same "magic".
I think it may have been the pacing and areas like that ice palace (I really hate lever/switch puzzles, so it's probably just me). The quality was there though and it was a good last hurrah for the engine. And I'd rather play it (and have replayed it three times actually, always getting just past that palace to I think a forest area and then putting it aside for whatever reason) than play Oblivion.
But again I don't think it was "light years" above Oblivion.
Don't misunderstand, as a long time CRPG fan I hate Oblivion and I tried playing Fallout 3 and it's just as soulless to me and I think the problem lies most of all with the poor quality of writing and those terrible voice actors Bethesda use. I don't mind a sandbox game with minimal choice and consequence, with a less than stellar story or general gameplay mechanics. I loved Morrowind for its uniquely mysterious atmosphere, the chock full of interesting lore and beautiful art design even if other areas were weak and I had to invest more of my imagination than I normally would to enjoy it.
But the laughable (and poorly voice acted) dialogue turned me off big time in both Oblivion and Fallout 3. It really did sound as if the actors were performing for a class of 2nd graders and overall the game felt like it was written for 13 year olds. It's amazing that a JRPG like Persona 4 which centers around High School students has much more mature and compelling dialogue and situations.
But I can still see how Oblivion received all the praise it did. As others have mentioned, as a first person adventure/RPG console style game (forget it's lineage), it's actually a pretty good game. Not like there are too many of its ilk. It's basically a Fantasy Grand Theft Auto sandbox experience. The physical size of the game, the amount of voice work, the nice graphics, the amount of quests, whether I like the game or not I can see a lot of care went into the game. On top of that it's very accessible and "user friendly". Not a good thing for those who are used to old school, hardcore CRPGs but for the majority of gamers it's a godsend. The type of game you can jump in, play for 20 minutes, have a little fun and pick up later. NOt too taxing. And have a little fun I did for the first 10 hours or so (although I could see the warts right from the beginning with the idiotic way the main quest unfolds).
So of course if you've played Daggerfall you can see how the series was dumbed down a bit for Morrowind and then dumbed down even more for Oblivion. And if you're a hardcore RPG fan who has played most of the "classic" CRPGs then Oblivion in NO WAY lives up or even comes close. It's more adventure game than RPG.
And for every few reviews that heaped nothing but praise on Oblivion I did read one that did mention the huge flaws in the game. Most still managed to score it highly based on the overall experience and I guess I can understand that. I mean, Arcanum has THE worst combat system EVER and overall it's a bit clunky but I still love it and think it's a great experience.
