I still remember standing at the bus stop the day I got my copy of Oblivion. I had finished University for the day. It was sunny, and uncomfortably warm. In my backpack, among my study supplies, was an unremarkable cardboard box with a disc in it. That cardboard box and disc within contained the PC version of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. The rest of the memories are fuzzy, but I’ll never forget that bus route number or the sense of initial disappointment I felt when I got home later that day.
You see, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion was one of the first few games to be released that demonstrated “downloadable content” as a derided “feature”. The initial piece of content was armour for your horse – but it didn’t actually do all that much to support your horse in its aspirations for continued life.
The game launched in a buggy, broken state, like most Bethesda games happen to do so. It was a month or two before I managed to get my hands on a patch that made it playable, and well, that’s when everything else in my life, including my studies, started to go on a long, long hiatus, as I dedicated less and less effort to them, and more and more time to simply exploring the world of Oblivion.
This game has a soft spot for me, and is my favourite of The Elder Scrolls - its atmosphere, story, and apparently never-ending supply of dungeons are ludicrously inviting and addictive. The quest for loot is a never-ending one, and the fact that you may develop your character in any way you please is one of the cornerstone features of what makes this series so great.
Compared to Morrowind, the combat is far more visceral, with obvious cues in combat to indicate that you, (or your enemy) have suffered damage. There’s an amazing level of freedom in this game. You can join guilds for any class or in game sub-culture you’d like.
There's also the best damn lock picking mini-game ever. (Of any game, ever)
Then, there’s the mods. Like my recent post about Morrowind, I spent several hours researching and arranging visual modifiers and engine stability fixes to get the most of out the game engine, and I’m not disappointed. It’s incredible what modders have done to (tastefully) modernise the visuals.
Then, if you’re not feeling so tasteful, you can also do that too. There’s next to no limits with what you can do with a good modded version of Oblivion. Apparently, it’s harder to mod than Skyrim - but that hasn’t stopped generations of modders.
Anyway, back to the game – I’m playing as an elf who is stealthy, and is probably going to prison more than once for theft, or being caught trying to pick locks. It is slow, meditative role playing, with the world massive, and plenty to do, see, take, pillage and quest toward.
I'll be continuing to play this game for quite some time more!