I've been waiting for Oblivion since a few months before the Xbox 360 was released. Back then I read an early preview about how good it was and how unbelievable the graphics and gameplay were going to be. The game was supposed to be ready for the launch date, but it wasn't quite ready so they pushed it back a few months. The extra time certainly paid off.
This game is utterly gorgeous. Easily the best graphics I've ever seen on a console and is right there with the top PC games. When I first escaped the prison and got into the outside word, I had to stop and stare at the screen. Breathtaking, especially on this. People in the gaming community have been asking what will be the first “must-have” game for the 360. PGR3 is close, and I loves me some PGR3, but Oblivion is it.
Not only is the game beautiful, but the gameplay is top shelf (many times games have one or the other but not both). Even though the game is literally limitless with possibilities, the controls are surprisingly simple. And speaking of limitless possibilities, the game is the biggest console game I've ever played. It's so open-ended it's insane. Absolutely enormous. It reminds me of the old Ultima VII games for the PC (which along with Ninja Gaiden on the original Nintendo were my favorite games of all time). An amazingly vast world of places to go, people to talk to, and quests to finish. Oblivion takes that and multiplies it by 1,000%. It's apparent that the Oblivion game developers took full advantage of the power of the Xbox 360.
I could go on and on, but it's something you have to see to believe. Literally. But one warning: it's very consuming and addicting. You get sucked in and the next thing you know 3 hours have passed and all you did was explore a piece of the countryside. I love it.
Other links:
- Rory's post
- Gamespot review
- IGN review
Print | posted on Sunday, April 02, 2006 9:31 AM