GameSpy gives Oblivion 80%
GameSpy gives Oblivion 80%
Review - posted by Vault Dweller on Tue 28 March 2006, 17:31:53
Tags: Bethesda Softworks; The Elder Scrolls IV: OblivionGameSpy has boldy gone where no mainstream game site has gone before - GameSpy openly stated that Oblivion aint perfect and gave it 80% score to prove it, noting technical issues, logical inconsistencies, and AI limitations.
The truth is, however, that this expansive, beautiful world often implies an experience that isn't fully there. Even if you hold up your end of the bargain by playing the hero, the supporting cast often fails to live up to the game's ambition of a realistic and believable world. When you jump up onto a rock, and an enemy is unable to reach you but continues to attack that rock no matter how many arrows you stick in, you'll recognize them for what they are: crazy killer robots without thoughts or feelings.How Radiant.
Along the same lines, sometimes the equations and effects that manipulate the game behind the scenes (which you can view in the form of stats, skill levels, and armor values) leap into the foreground to create strange logic. Oblivion constantly tailors the world to your progress, so you'll never run up against something you can't accomplish by putting in some effort, which means you'll never run into an area where you're "not supposed to go yet." On the other hand, you tend to miss out on the joys of preying upon the weak. Characters are incredibly resistant to cold-blooded murder, even when stabbed in the back with a poisoned blade, and you might find yourself wondering how many blows to the head with a claymore one imp could possibly take.
Adding to the list of things that just don't feel right: the failure of glass windows or baubles to shatter under any circumstances; the failure of weapons to do visible damage to any part of the environment; and the failure of arrows to stick into juicy watermelons or ripe apples is annoying as well. These might not sound like overwhelming issues, but the closer graphics and physics come to reality, the more out of place small inconsistencies become.Especially when physics and realism were used as a tramp card.
Finally, there are technical issues that may be impossible to dismiss...Judging by many other reviews, it's not as hard as you think.
The truth is, however, that this expansive, beautiful world often implies an experience that isn't fully there. Even if you hold up your end of the bargain by playing the hero, the supporting cast often fails to live up to the game's ambition of a realistic and believable world. When you jump up onto a rock, and an enemy is unable to reach you but continues to attack that rock no matter how many arrows you stick in, you'll recognize them for what they are: crazy killer robots without thoughts or feelings.
Along the same lines, sometimes the equations and effects that manipulate the game behind the scenes (which you can view in the form of stats, skill levels, and armor values) leap into the foreground to create strange logic. Oblivion constantly tailors the world to your progress, so you'll never run up against something you can't accomplish by putting in some effort, which means you'll never run into an area where you're "not supposed to go yet." On the other hand, you tend to miss out on the joys of preying upon the weak. Characters are incredibly resistant to cold-blooded murder, even when stabbed in the back with a poisoned blade, and you might find yourself wondering how many blows to the head with a claymore one imp could possibly take.
Adding to the list of things that just don't feel right: the failure of glass windows or baubles to shatter under any circumstances; the failure of weapons to do visible damage to any part of the environment; and the failure of arrows to stick into juicy watermelons or ripe apples is annoying as well. These might not sound like overwhelming issues, but the closer graphics and physics come to reality, the more out of place small inconsistencies become.
Finally, there are technical issues that may be impossible to dismiss...
