Oblivion is one of the most immersive, gorgeous, and incredible games you will ever play. Ever.
The Elder Scrolls has been around for over ten years, and I have played it ever since Arena came out on computer, even though I was very young. The Elder Scrolls series was one of the first experiences I ever had with gaming, and it really caught my attention. I played for hours. When Morrowind came out, I got it for the PC merely six hours after release. I have played it for a grand total of about 600 hours. Oblivion is probably one of my most anticipated games of all time, and it certainly does not disappoint.
GAMEPLAY: To say that the gameplay has improved since Morrowind is a major understatement. So many gameplay features have been enhanced or completely redone in a fabulous way. I'm sure many people have heard this before, but Oblivion's combat system is miles ahead of Morrowind. It really feels like you are in the middle of a tense, dangerous battle, wielding a giant, deadly sword and bashing it into your opponent's face. The main quest is compelling and fun, and stepping into Oblivion (Hell) is just amazing. The amount of freedom is unbelievable. You can invest in shops, explore over 200 dungeouns, buy houses, ride horses, the possibilities are endless. The province in which this game takes place is bigger than the city in which I live. All non-player characters have incredible AI and show a variety of emotions and do so many things. NPCs have dynamic conversations, sleep, eat, read, play...it's really incredible. My personal favorite thing in Oblivion is to fight in the arena. In the world of Tamriel, the arena is essentially the same as the Colusseum in Rome. You go in and you fight people to the death. If you come out alive, you get paid. It's great fun. Oblivion is one of the most fun games I will ever play. Of that I am sure.
GRAPHICS: The Xbox 360 launch was a bit slow, with games that didn't really show off the power of the 360, but Oblivion changes that. The graphics are nearly perfect. Environments are absolutely beatiful, with trees and grass blowing in the wind, birds and bugs chirping about, deer galloping through the woods, and hugh cities with giant towers made out of stone. Water ripples and reflects stunningly. NPCs and enemies look astounding, with incredible attention paid to every detail. One of the most impressive things about the graphics is the character creation system. Seriously...you get as many choices as in a sports game. Every little detail on your character's face can be changed in a realistic way. Blood splatters on the ground, rag dolling effects are beatiful, and the fires of Oblivion gleam and shimmer. The only problems with the graphics are that trees in the distance occasionally pop on and off screen, and the frame rate occasionally drops, but these are very miniscule problems. Other than that, Oblivion has awesome, incredible, beautiful graphics.
SOUND: I can never say much about the audio, as it doesn't concern me too much. But anyways, I see nothing much to complain about with Oblivion. All NPCs really speak during conversations (with some excellent lip syncing I might add), swords clang and slash satisfyingly through armor and flesh, birds chirp, wind blows, it's all pretty much flawless. The only problem is that, very rarely, you will not hear an NPC speaking, although you will be able to read the subtitles at the bottom of the screen.
VALUE: This game will never get boring. 16 square miles, that's how big this game is. 16 square miles! And all of it is teeming with life and loot and enemies for your enjoyment. There are hundreds of dungeons and quests, thousands of NPCs, and at least 1000 hours of gameplay waiting for you inside this Oblivion CD....what a game!
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion is a fantastic, huge, gorgeous, unbelievably fun game that raises the bar for RPGs, and for all games. I would say that I can't wait to see what Bethesda does next, but I can wait; I've got Oblivion!!!!