CNN.com - Review: 'Oblivion' will blow you away

By Marc Saltzman
Gannett News Service

"The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" is a groundbreaking fantasy role-playing game.

A word of warning to those who pick up the latest "Elder Scrolls" fantasy role-playing game: Don't bother making plans until, say, June. "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" is so huge, it could take up to 500 hours just to see and do everything in the game, says its creator, Bethesda Softworks.

As with its popular predecessors, "Oblivion" is an ambitious single-player RPG epic that lets you create a hero from scratch -- by first selecting from a countless selection of physical attributes, skills and races -- before exploring open-ended cities, dank dungeons and heavily forested areas.

While interacting with more than a thousand characters, many of whom will give you quests to fulfill, you will sharpen your skills over time as you battle a plethora of vicious foes, including giant poisonous rats, ax-wielding skeletons and colossal ogres.

The story begins as you escort the emperor of Tamriel (voiced by actor Patrick Stewart of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "X-Men" fame) through a labyrinth of underground caverns -- then evil goblins kill him. Before he dies, however, he asks that you find the lost heir to the throne and help protect the land from the demons released from a hell-like plane called Oblivion.

You can play the game from either a first- or third-person perspective. The former lets you see these worlds through the eyes of the main character; the latter view, while less immersive, allows you to see your character at all times, as well as what may be lurking behind you.

You can choose to specialize in hand-to-hand melee combat, range attacks (such as using a bow and arrow) or spell-casting -- or a combination of all three.

You can accept most missions in any order you like, plus you can also join one of the many guilds (Mages Guild, Thieves Guild, etc.), each of which unlocks even more objectives.

Other RPG mainstays found in "Oblivion" include picking locks, finding treasure chests and picking up items to store in your inventory -- such as better weapons, stronger armor, healing potions and food -- but if you're overencumbered, you won't be able to move your character and will be forced to dispose of heavier possessions.

Graphically speaking, "Oblivion" is a treat for the eyes on both the PC and Microsoft Xbox 360 versions.

From the lifelike towns and rural areas to the creepy enemies and special magic effects, the game easily outshines its predecessors, 1994's "Arena," 1996's "Daggerfall" and 2002's "Morrowind."

Another visual delight is the game's real-life physics, such as seeing a store sign sway back and forth after you shoot an arrow into it, and then being able to remove the arrow to reuse it later.

The only unimpressive effect is the character lip-synching that doesn't seem to match their words, but it hardly dampens the otherwise awe-inspiring experience. "Oblivion" features more than 60,000 lines of spoken dialogue.

As if this mammoth game wasn't big enough, Bethesda Softworks has made its "Elder Scrolls Construction Set" available as a download from the company's Web site, allowing PC gamers to create and share their very own worlds.

"Oblivion" successfully straddles quantity and quality; this groundbreaking fantasy RPG not only offers a huge game world in which to live in for months on end, but it also proves to be one of the finest role-playing games ever crafted.

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