Word of Mouth

Greg Kasavin can't wait for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or Wanda and the Colossus.

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Greg Kasavin
Executive Editor

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

After I dumped something like a hundred hours into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and realized there was still a ton more for me to do in the game, I suddenly felt sorry for the game's developers. On the one hand, they'd created an incredibly big and engrossing role-playing game, while on the other hand, they'd have a hell of a time trying to top that effort.

Early screenshots of Oblivion promise exquisite character detail.

And yet, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is indeed on its way, and hopefully it'll hit before too long (though, needless to say, the good people at Bethesda should take all the time they need to do this one right). One look at the screenshots for the game and the scope and ambition behind the project become apparent. And that scope and ambition are tremendous. We're talking an absolutely huge, open-ended world to explore, but one that's incredibly rich with detail around every corner, and one in which there's an entire population of lifelike characters to interact with in any way you wish. The Elder Scrolls series has always been this sort of fantasy-themed sandbox, and when you get swept up in it all, it can be really amazing.

Looking back on our coverage of Morrowind, it amazes me that the first preview we posted, which was years before the game finally came out, was actually very accurate. Many games that spend years in the making end up being quite different from what was originally intended, but with Morrowind, it's clear the developers stayed very true to the original vision behind the game.

As a result, I must admit I have high hopes for Oblivion, even though I try to retain a healthy skepticism about all upcoming games, no matter how highly anticipated they may be and no matter how good their predecessors were. With Oblivion, I expect the developers at Bethesda will produce an even better game than Morrowind, and that's really why I'm so excited about it; because, as much as I loved Morrowind, there were certain things about it that I thought could have been noticeably better and therefore would have made the game even greater. So I'm hopeful that Oblivion will fulfill this potential, and I'm excited to see how it all pans out...especially since there was a real dry spell for computer role-playing games this past year.

Wanda and the Colossus

All it took was one screenshot and the name "Wanda and the Colossus" to get me very, very interested in this game. The fact that it's being developed by the makers of the artful cult classic ICO is important to me too.

Frankly, ICO is a game I've spent much more time thinking about than actually playing, and I eventually realized that this is a testament to that game's high quality. ICO is an unusual but undeniably inspired game, so the fact that the team behind it still has the creative license to do its thing and can execute on the surreal, original concepts it comes up with is nothing if not a good sign for the gaming industry.

You and a horse versus a stone giant. Sounds like a fair fight.

But whatever. The point is, Wanda and the Colossus looks like it could be a really neat game. In it, you'll play as a young horse rider in a world filled with huge, dangerous stone automatons...and you'll have to fight them for the sake of your deceased love. How does a boy fight a hundred-foot-tall stone giant? Why, he climbs it and starts pounding it. Talk about spunk.

Meanwhile, these huge colossuses...colossi? Whatever. Anyway, the colossi are gonna start trying to smack you down like a bug. It's like some sort of a reverse King Kong or souped-up David and Goliath where you're this tiny little character somehow trying to stop these huge, seemingly unstoppable foes.

Considering how well ICO achieved a huge, breathtaking sense of scale, I just can't wait to see this game in action. I'm sure it'll do a great job of making you feel like this little, insignificant pest...who's capable of bringing down even the biggest opponent.

I have a lot of respect for ICO, even though the game didn't appeal to me sentimentally in the same way it apparently affected some other players. So I like the idea that with this next game, the developers are lending their artistic inspiration to what sounds like a more action-oriented experience. The gameplay seems totally original, and the visual style is unique. The game's also apparently been in the works ever since ICO came out, so it's had plenty of time in the oven already.

ICO is a critics' darling that apparently sold pretty poorly, so Wanda and the Colossus seems like a game that many more people could get behind. To me, it seems to have all the makings of being one of the year's biggest sleepers.