Oblivion First Impressions

[Cantousent]

Ah, the irony. He's eating the brains of a creature that traditionally eats the brains of him.

[metadigital]

That's one of the barbaric practises that the Attic Greeks warned against (e.g. Trojan War) ...

[Cantousent]

So what do you say, meta? Think it's worth the money or not?

[Meshugger]

Ok, time for my impressions.

 

- System: Xbox360 TurboDiesel and tractioncontrol

- Length played: Just got out of the sewers.

 

The Good

 

- Graphics(duh!)

- The story is better than Morrowind

- Patric Stewart

- Character customization

- You can make your own class. Mine: Hitikiri Battosai

 

The bad

 

- No actual roleplaying....yet

- Animations

 

The Ugly

 

- I can't rename my saves?!

- Art design

- Load times between areas

 

Verdict so far: Beatiful trees, seems like an interesting adventuregame with sandbox-options. No "OMG! OMG! BEST GAEM EVAR!"-feeling yet.

[metadigital]

So what do you say, meta?  Think it's worth the money or not?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's not relesaed in Britain until tomorrow ... so I have no opinion.

 

It seems like a good game ... I am one of those who gave up on Morrowind after playing it for about fifty hours, so I am not sure where I fall with Oblivion ... I'm not playing much at the moment.

 

As the main story arc is (from all reports) better, and the progress along it is (also apparently) more "fun", then I can't see why I wouldn't buy it. Not sure if I'll pre-order tonight or not, though.

 

[Shadowstrider]

[...]I am one of those who gave up on Morrowind after playing it for about fifty hours[...]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

At 50 hours, I don't think you're really giving up on a game...

[Musopticon?]

If you're going for 100% playthrough, then yeah 50 isn't anywhere near the finish line. Morrowind was a huge game. But enough semantics, 50 hours should be enough bang for anyone's buck.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

If you're going for 100% playthrough, then yeah 50 isn't anywhere near the finish line. Morrowind was a huge game. But enough semantics, 50 hours should be enough bang for anyone's buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well it's not just time. But also satisfaction.

[Lyric Suite]

If you're going for 100% playthrough, then yeah 50 isn't anywhere near the finish line. Morrowind was a huge game. But enough semantics, 50 hours should be enough bang for anyone's buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I distress, it's what happens in those 50 hours that matters, and Morrowind was just filled with so many of those cutsy time sinks...

[Musopticon?]

True that.

[metadigital]

[...]I am one of those who gave up on Morrowind after playing it for about fifty hours[...]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At 50 hours, I don't think you're really giving up on a game...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm nothing if not stubborn.

 

I hadn't progressed very far into the main story arc (just managed to get to the Wizard Keep isthmus half-way up on the eastern side), and I was totally sick of trying to, so whatever title you want to give that feeling, that's what I felt.

 

I just despaired at messing around on pointless sidequests until the dude gave me another clue for the main geas.

[Cantousent]

If you're going for 100% playthrough, then yeah 50 isn't anywhere near the finish line. Morrowind was a huge game. But enough semantics, 50 hours should be enough bang for anyone's buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well it's not just time. But also satisfaction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If you continue to play a game for 50 hours without it satisfying you in some way, you're quite stupid.

[Musopticon?]

Isn't "committed" or perhaps "dedicated" a better word.

 

Most of us are, afterall, quite hungry fo rpgs.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

If you continue to play a game for 50 hours without it satisfying you in some way, you're quite stupid.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well Morrowind is a big game so you expect some build up. I played it for a weekend and "broke" the game by exploring. At which point I shelved it.

[metadigital]

If you're going for 100% playthrough, then yeah 50 isn't anywhere near the finish line. Morrowind was a huge game. But enough semantics, 50 hours should be enough bang for anyone's buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well it's not just time. But also satisfaction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you continue to play a game for 50 hours without it satisfying you in some way, you're quite stupid.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sticks and stones, Eldar.

 

I kept playing because Morrowind perfected the art of "anticipation", meaning I kept expecting something really really good and worthwhile to happen. When I decided that nothing on the game's discovery curve was worth the time I had already sunk into playing it (and after I had wandered around because I was VERY impatient to accelerate the main quest), I uninstalled it.

[Cantousent]

See, you're not stupid. It was the anticipation that made it all worthwhile! heh heh

 

I have to admit that was irritated by the scale of Morrowind. ...But I did get a lot of hours out of it. I mean a lot of hours. Most of it was tedious and I started bypassing all the side stuff and just going for the main quests to end the damned thing.

[Musopticon?]

I remember having my Alteration, Medium Armor and Long Blades skill at the max, playing a wizar/mage dude who had the best stuff money possible when it came to armor and paraphelia. Suddenly I realised, that all I did was beat diseased fauna and teleport to nearby temples for restoration, recall and purge the nearest dwarven ruin. Rinse and repeat. I quit.

[metadigital]

I eventually operated the cheat code and gave my PC endless coin ... just to get all the glass armour (HOW MUCH?) and try to get to the end, in a last ditch effort to salvage something from the game.

 

Edit:

Don't forget it took about six hours to complete the mushroomm quest.

Edited March 24, 2006 by metadigital

[mkreku]

I'm having problems in Oblivion. I'm at a point where the only thing attacking me in the wilderness are trolls, fire atronach's and really heavily armoured bandits (think tanks!) and I can't beat any of them! I must have done something horribly wrong in the earlier parts of the game. I have mithril armour (light armour), lots of magic equipment (strength ring, speed amulet, health cuirass) and what I imagine a good weapon (a katana of some kind) but even though I am journeyman or above in most (if not all) of my combat skills, I stand no chance. They hit right through my shield, breaking my equipment in no time and attack in droves. So basically I'm running for dear life, trying to avoid the now numerous Oblivion portals that have popped up everywhere. Not that much fun.

 

I did find a couple of great sidequests, however. One was called "A Brotherhood Betrayed" or something, where I was supposed to solve a murder. It was cool.

 

Another one had me trying to lure information about a dug-down treasure from a prisoner. I actually had to be thrown in jail for that one, which was kind of neat.

 

A problem that's still present in Oblivion is that the rewards for everything you do never matches the amount of effort you've put in. Sometimes you find a cave of some kind and you fight your way through hordes of really tough monsters, only to find a very locked chest at the end. Anticipation builds as you try to pick the lock and when you finally do.. you find 29 gold.

 

I'm enjoying the game a lot anyhow right now. Much better than Morrowind, but it doesn't feel like either Morrowind or Daggerfall. Odd.

[metadigital]

I would say that there is little chance that the game is unbalanced: especially as the monsters scale to your level. Perhaps you are avoiding some potent tactic in your battle strategy? Perhaps you are meant to run away, so that you can't just wander aimlessly around the map (and break the flow of the narrative)?

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I'm having problems in Oblivion. I'm at a point where the only thing attacking me in the wilderness are trolls, fire atronach's and really heavily armoured bandits (think tanks!) and I can't beat any of them! I must have done something horribly wrong in the earlier parts of the game. I have mithril armour (light armour), lots of magic equipment (strength ring, speed amulet, health cuirass) and what I imagine a good weapon (a katana of some kind) but even though I am journeyman or above in most (if not all) of my combat skills, I stand no chance. They hit right through my shield, breaking my equipment in no time and attack in droves. So basically I'm running for dear life, trying to avoid the now numerous Oblivion portals that have popped up everywhere. Not that much fun.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sounds like they made travel less boring

[Pidesco]

I'd like to remind people that everyone(including me) liked Morrowind at first. Lets hope the same thing doesn't happen with Oblivion.

[Kaftan Barlast]

It took me just an hour of playing Morrowind to realise its major faults. Now Ive been playing Oblivion all evening and to my great surpise I find that I am enjoying it. I am however, getting exactly the same vibe I got off playing Gothic2 which wasa classic case of realising halfway through that youre actually wasting your time playing a rotten game.

 

 

My only major complaint, and its no small one, is that combat is not fun. You dont have the fun tactical play of a real CRPG and you dont have the precise twitch gaming of a good FPS. What you have is a system thats all about buttonmashing by clicking like mad on the left and right mousebuttons until the enemy is dead. Its not fun, its not good, its just a boring grind.

[Noceur]

Oh well at least it's not a friend called Bit :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Don't copy that floppy!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Welcome to the end of the computer age! BWHA HAH HAH HAAH!!!

 

Anyway, this is a really silly question, but does the water ripple when you swim/walk in it like in Morrowind? I haven't actually seen anyone comment on this.

[metadigital]

Wow, you're right! That is a really silly question!