By : S. E. Hartle
The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion, may be the largest scale game ever produced on any game console, and nearly every aspect of the XBOX 360 version seemed honed to perfection while its limited competition pushed one inadequate title after another. Although you cannot find a new copy for much less than $49.99, it is a bargain at double that price.
With two expansions released via Microsoft’s online Marketplace, Bethesda Softwork’s astounding world of Cyrodil, where the majority of your heroic exploits will mature, is literally a lifetime for your created character, and for you if you have the time.
I personally logged more than 400 hours now, and there are still side quests, storylines and areas left unexplored. Try and log that in any game, on any console without suffering mind-numbing repetition.
From the moment the game begins and you choose your gender, race and class, you begin a whirlwind of events that unfold upon the assassination of the land’s emperor, leaving you with a seemingly impossible quest of saving the world and finding a new heir to the throne. Fate has chosen you regardless of your past or your plans.
You choose your own path; tamper with magic, pound your enemies with hammers and muscle, master the art of sword and shield or disappear into the night and attack without admonition. You can steal, eat, fight, hide, sleep, work, run, swim and even die. Your character is alive in a fantasy land and your dreams become reality as you choose your path to be a hero and save your fellow man, or stray your course and fend off law from city to city while bidding evil in your wake.
Cyrodil is built from dozens of small towns and large cities, each with their own distinct differences, spread out over a massive map entwined with caves, castles, ruins and monsters all at your disposal. Conquer and command respect, or ignore and just exist like the hundreds of non-player characters roaming the land. Every character is an individual with their own personality and business in life. Some will like you, some will not, and even some will just plain ignore you.
You can follow the main plotline, which leads you into the epic immortal battle of good versus evil, or drift the land gaining experience, strength and items that will make your eventual destiny a little easier to subgugate.
Oblivion’s few drawbacks are derived mainly in the long-loading screens, due to the absorbent amount of information being processed and the lack of online action. Although Bethesda and Microsoft offer several bonuses to the online enthusiast including two bonus plotlines and multiple new areas to explore, but they aren’t free. Each online option carries its own price in Microsoft points, but as goes the game, they are all worth their weight in cost.
Days go by as decisions are made and areas explored, just as time passes in life, so it does in Cyrodil and it is your choice to do as you please, as long as you are willing to suffer, or maybe savor, the consequence.
Behind the sheer magnitude of the land around you, the unmatched beauty and detail of the landscape is nothing short of breathtaking. Bethesda’s Cyrodil fabricates multi-colored sunsets, murky darkness lit up with brilliant stars reflecting over a shimmering lake, sense-jarring thunderstorms and a host of brilliantly designed landscapes, not to mention the uniquely designed towns, architectural devices and the countless idiosyncratic creatures that live among them.
As hackneyed, well-worn and clichéd as it goes, Webster’s Dictionary defines the word, bargain, as “a profitable transaction.” Although the utter enormity of this game may scare off several gaming demographics, the cult of RPG cohorts will plummet instantly in love.
I spent $64.99 on the game, $19.99 on the nearly 400-page official Xbox 360 game guide, about $35.00 on downloadable supplementary gist, and another $19.99 on a 175-page additional content game guide.
That’s more than $140.00 for a single game. What a bargain.
Bargain Bin Game Rating :
Any Price — 10 out of 10
Bargain Bin Videogames 