Elder Scrolls IV:Oblivion – first impressions

Firstly I just want to say that all my thoughts here are based on the XBox 360 version of Oblivion and not the PC. I can’t vouch for any differences and can’t comment on what the PC version is like…. So now on with my thoughts…

Yesterday brought a shiny package from GAME which could only mean one thing. My copy of Elder Scrolls IV:Oblivion had arrived. I’ve been reading so much about this over the past 6 months and was quite disappointed when I found out that this wasn’t going to be a launch title. But yesterday the wait was over, and I opened the Collector’s Edition package with a great sense of anticipation. Extra in the CE version is a 112 page booklet, along with a coin, a map of the land and a DVD with “Extras” on it (basically artwork and a making the game documentary).

So on starting a new game you’re given the face of Uriel Septim (your ruler!!) – voiced by Patrick Stewart – who starts to set the scene. He tells you about what’s been happening and then you cut to a fly around of the city in which you’re currently being held captive. This fly round shows off the power of the 360 with the detail that can be shown, and just how good this looks. To help build the scene the musical score is fantastic. It could easily have been straight from a film and makes the fly-round scene feel very much like it is the introduction to a Hollywood blockbuster.

The fly-round ends with a close-up on a prison cell window, and then you’re inside. The cell looks very damp and dismal. Suddenly a quite voice can be heard. Moving to the cell door you can hear a fellow inmate telling you that there’s only one way out of here, and that’s death. Suddenly Uriel Septim appears as he’s trying to escape the assassins who have killed his sons and who are coming for him next. Fortunately (for you anyway) the secret passage out starts in your cell! Well what are you going to do except follow him and his guards?

Moving into the dungeons starts the tutorial for the game. Here you will learn how to fight, use spells, manage your inventory, and everything else that you will need to play the game. I think I should point out at here that I haven’t finished the escape section yet and so everything is based on my experience in here. The dungeons look fantastic and you really get a sense that they have been hewn from the bedrock under the city. The lighting effects are fantastic and can be used to good effect when it comes to sneaking (more later). There are a variety of creatures for combat practice (the lovable rats and a whole host of goblins) and learning the combat system is fairly straight forward.

You work your way through the dungeons and caverns, taking on various creatures and looting loads of stuff from the corpses (more than you can comfortably carry actually!!). I’m hoping that their is somebody on the outside who wants to buy all this stuff as it’s worth a fortune (at least to me!). The other thing you’ll notice about these caverns is the physics model of the objects. In one section you are given a bow and arrow and a bucket on a rope to practice shooting at. When the arrow hits the bucket it swings freely exactly as you would expect. However when it comes to rest it hangs to one side due to the extra weight of the arrow. As soon as you remove the arrow it swings back to hanging normally. Very impressive stuff.

The main idea of this first section is to start advancing your skills, and the one that has impressed me the most so far is the sneak skill. Drop into sneak mode (press the left stick) and your crosshairs change to an eye. When the eye glows people can detetct you (this happens if you move quickly as they could hear you) and when the eye is dark you’re fairly safe. The eye (and your detectability) also change depending on whether you are stood in the light or in shadows. It brings a new element to an RPG (even for non-stealthy classes!).

So my first impressions. Damn, I’m impressed. I can see that I’m going to lose many hours to this game. It looks incredible, and I’ve also found myself feeling quite nervous about walking round a corner in case there are a group of goblins waiting to slice me into little pieces. The sound is very atmospheric and adds to the immersion within the game.

I have to say that if you don’t own this but do have a 360 then you really are missing out. It is an amazingly captivating game and will swallow many of your hours as you work your way through it. At last there is an RPG on the 360, and it appears that this one will be staying in my collection for a long, long time.