Originally planned as a launch title (and already released to a billion awards on PC and 360 last year), Oblivion is one of the most intimidating games you'll ever find. Enormous doesn't even begin to describe its scale as it dwarfs just about every other competitor in the genre. The number of sidequests and customization options is off the charts and the main quest itself is deep and engaging on its own.
Of course, if you've already played The Elder Scrolls on the other platforms, then its description here is a familiar one. That familiarity makes sense given that the game is practically the same adventure its counterparts were in 2006. Indeed, with few exceptions, the content in Oblivion PS3 is nigh-identical to its brethren in every way. Whether you're playing through the Daedric missions, the Faction quests, the Master Training segments, or the brutal Arena challenges, you're getting what's essentially an unchanged experience.
Well okay, it's mostly unchanged...
So what's different? For one, the majority of downloadable content available on PC and Xbox 360 didn't make the deadline. That means that Mehrunes' Razor, the Vile Lair, the Wizard's Tower and other post-release goodies are nowhere to be found (and that includes this month's "Shivering Isles" expansion). There isn't a clear answer as to whether or not users will ever be able to download these add-ons either -- so there's a definite possibility that what you see is what you get.
But what you do get is beyond impressive. Bethesda was generous enough to incorporate its best attachment so far in the form of its 10-hour extra, "Knights of the Nine" and unlike previous iterations, you can accept the mission as soon as you escape the first dungeon. But even without this nifty addition, the PS3 version of Oblivion is still a colossal undertaking. There are well over 250 major points of interest in the province of Cyrodiil, and how the story unfolds is completely up to you. It's in this way that The Elder Scrolls is like a true pen-and-paper RPG as it allows you make your own path and tell your own story.
Despite its multitude of user-defined jumping-off points, though, Oblivion's plot and storyline are still very good. But what makes these bits interesting isn't because of any one central theme or direction. No, the narrative here is appealing because of how Bethesda has taken multiple unrelated scenarios and put them together. On its own, your character's quest to fulfill the Emperor's final wishes to seek out his last heir and close the gates of Oblivion is all fine and good, but when you combine that with the excellent Guild storylines and the dozens and dozens of supporting tales, you get something far more compelling. It goes a long way towards creating a believable and completely autonomous world.
Another attractive element to The Elder Scrolls IV is how user friendly it is. Though the interface may seem a little convoluted at first, its value and mechanical simplicity are apparent by the end of the first hour. Anytime you learn something that could be related to the main quest or otherwise, it's logged in your journal as an easy reminder. If you want to focus on one mission over another, just select it on the screen, mark it "Active," and "Boom!" your compass points you in the right direction. Little things like this make tackling the gargantuan world of Tamriel much less cumbersome. When merged with the very handy "Quick Travel" option (which allows you instantly move between points you've already mapped), the Journal helps give Oblivion the "RPG for Everyone" feel that made it such a hit in the first place.
Oblivion's character creation system doesn't fail to disappoint either. With a horde of different races, the game gives users control of their destiny complete with lizard people, cat women, multiple elf types, and humans of several nationalities. Each classification has their own inherent abilities and tendencies that work well with different occupations too, and finding strong formulas among them is all part of the fun. You can even create your own unique class from scratch if none of the default jobs tickle your fancy, with numerous modifiers that change the way you work.
As deep as the creation feature is, though, it isn't perfect. Some of your character's advancement methods, for example, are handled a little strangely. Because Oblivion grants level-gains based on how often you use skills instead of traditional experience points, you'll need to perform the same action over and over again to improve. This means that if you want to increase your speed rating (which is essential for the thief and similar classes), you'll have to spend a great deal of your time jumping up and down (i.e. thousands upon thousands of times). Not only can this get bothersome and tedious, it also looks pretty ridiculous.
Additionally, making the wrong character choices can come back to bite you in the Greaves. To Oblivion's credit, you can alter any of the creation choices you've made before leaving the first dungeon (the prison sewers), but once you step out those doors you're stuck with whatever alter ego you selected. In other words, be absolutely sure you want to be the guy you are before walking into the light -- otherwise it can end up hurting your game if you aren't.
To make it clear, the above criticisms are minor in the grand scheme of things. Even with its faults, Oblivion's sheer depth and multiple storylines overshadow its technical issues and the battle system in particular is great fun. Entirely action-based and playable from a first-person perspective (you can go third-person as well, but the eyes-on approach works infinitely better), the game's combat is both intuitive and effective. Independent buttons are dedicated to offense and defense, while customizable hot keys allow for quick switches between spells and other beneficial powers (which also have their own keys). This layout lends itself well to Oblivion's fast-paced battles and multiple strategies, and the aggressive AI makes things even more interesting. My only gripe is that you can get caught on objects and other structures when battling in close-quarters, but ultimately, it's no big deal and amusement prevails.
Oblivion's visual and audio muscles are just as notable as its warfare. Among the best looking PlayStation 3 titles released thus far and a step up compared to the Xbox 360 version, The Elder Scrolls IV shows off what time and fine-tuning can really do. The environments are awesome with wild animals and other creatures moving about in every outdoor location type you can think of. The lighting effects too, are nicely done and most village, equipment, and dungeon types have a look unique to their locality or background. Granted, the facial features and lip-synching are a little "off" and there are frequent pop-in problems with the occasional framerate stutter, but for the most part, everything looks great.
Multiplatform users who have been holding out in hopes of getting the "best looking version" should still gravitate towards a pumped-up PC. But, as I mentioned earlier, the PS3 version of Oblivion is a definite technical improvement over the 360 edition. Even if you have the latest Xbox patch installed, this newest port holds an advantage with its quicker loading times (which are almost twice as fast as the 360's), fewer framerate hitches, sharper textures, a better draw distance, and a brighter overall picture. Audibly, you're getting the same game -- which, for those of you who are new to the game, is stacked with an excellent ambient soundtrack and strong voice acting.
And now for some bad news: Oblivion is glitchy. While not on a catastrophic level, it does offer up some multiple bugs and similar problems that can take away from the experience a bit. Just a few of example include voices changing mid-conversation; NPCs dying without being attacked; characters appearing out of nowhere in bizarre places like the roof of your home; occasional collision issues that allow you walk through a floor or wall; and quest flags don't always activate 100% of the time.
If the game were smaller in size or didn't offer the hundred-plus hours of gameplay that it does, these glitches would probably be more harmful. But when considering how much fun and replayability you get out of Oblivion compared to how often the bugs appear, it turns out to be a pretty fair trade.