Retrospect: The Elder Scrolls 4 Oblivion.

With the announcement of the much-anticipated Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, I felt that this was the appropriate time to pick holes in the previous incarnation, well maybe not pick holes, but certainly identify the problems that need rectifying in Skyrim. There can be little to no criticism of the Beauty of Oblivion, Feralden was an incredibly vivid and vast creation, and the overwhelming expansive landscapes were at times stunning, almost as though every blade of grass is woven by the gods themselves. But it’s when you reach cities and interact with the people of Feraldon that the beauty of Oblivion dissipates.

The people of Feralden were let’s face it, as hideous as Ann Widdecombe’s backside, (though I wouldn’t want to get close enough to confirm this comparison), but putting the appearance of the vulgar characters to one side, the interaction that you

had with the people also felt rather mundane, almost like communicating with robots. A more varied cast of voice talents would also be a major advantage to Skyrim, because to have what appeared to be fewer than 20 different voice actors was a callous mistake, it may be acceptable for a small town, but not for an entire continent, not that the cities themselves ever looked as though they were inhabited by more than a handful of citizens anyway.

The capital of Feralden is known as the imperial city but you soon realise that the imperial city, much like the rest of Feralden, is akin to walking down the high street on Christmas day, totally deserted, where’s the bustling metropolis? Oblivion’s main story was a particularly engaging aspect of the game, continually enticing you to carry on regardless that it were 2am and that you were at work at 6am, but was unfortunately unable to seduce the player to continue to engage in the excruciatingly arduous side quests. One mission in particular had my immensely powerful character protecting rats, come on Bethesda, I’m supposed to be the saviour of Feralden, not a babysitter. Other missions required you to negotiate through never-ending caves just to find a pointless trinket, or in some cases, a book. Seriously, your vanquishing hordes of the undead, ghosts and goblins just to retrieve a book.

Even the most hardened of gamers would struggle to summon enough patience to complete every miscellaneous quest, and close the constant bombar

dment of Oblivion gates that spawn through out your journey. While the first person aspect was a triumph, the third person perspective was an equal failure, it was clunky and the battles were a lumbering mess which never really made the third person perspective a viable option, I mean you’re the hero who escapes from an inescapable cell of the imperial prison , yet you stagger around with as much grace as an intoxicated cow.

Ok, so I may have picked more holes in Oblivion than there is in Swiss cheese, and as malicious as I may have seemed, I am a huge fan of this game. The problem is that when you have played a game as consistently as I have, it’s inevitable that given enough time you will undoubtedly have complaints. But despite my criticisms, be under no doubt that Oblivion is still one of the most deeply captivating RPG’s you are ever likely to play, and with some added improvements to all aspects and graphical updates, I have no reservations that the Elder Scrolls V, will be the most compelling and (dare I say it) perfect RPG.