More Oblivion Impressions

Played some more Oblivion over the weekend, and here's what I've discovered, both good and bad.

The good:

The world is huge. I'm really not the explorer type, as I'd rather be doing something than wandering around, but when I do get the chance to wander around, it's very cool. The developers could have taken the easy way out and populated the world with flat terrain, boring landmarks, and a few bits of foliage reused again and again. But they didn't. The terrain is incredibly varied from area to area, there are different types of trees and plants (the latter of which you can harvest and create all sorts of different potions with), and wild deer, boar, and other animals. The architecture inside cities is just amazing, too. The capital is the most spectacular, because it's obviously the richest city, but there are wonders to marvel at in other cities, too.

Quests are fun. Especially the guild quests. I'm a member of both the thieves guild and the assassin's guild, and both have provided me with excellent opportunities to wreak havoc. Stealing stuff? Killing people? And getting away with it? Brilliant.

It's an old school RPG. Epic. Spell-slinging and sword-slashing. Save the kingdom, all that good stuff.

The bad:

When you play within the game's rules, you can have a lot of fun. But those rules don't necessarily make sense. For example, I get a mission from the thieves guild to steal some wizard's staff. I do the deed, and realize that's one damn expensive staff. The guild just wanted it stolen to teach the guards a lesson, though, so I figure they don't need it, I'll just fence it and walk away with the cash. But wait: "You cannot remove quest items from your inventory." Who says? The game? I'm not playing a game, my name is Victor Jarvis, and I'm a no-good, filthy thief who looks out for number one. If I can steal it, I should be able to sell it, period.

The leveling system sucks ass. I don't even know why they have a level system, really. It's skill-based, levels are just unnecessarily tacked on. Whenever your skills increase so many times, you gain a level. And rather than have the NPCs and enemies in the game have a set level, they scale to you. The trouble with that is that if you have a skill you use a lot, but doesn't necessarily make you a better fighter (like sneaking), you'll gain levels too quickly and get your ass kicked in most fights. There's an arena in the capital city where you can fight, but due to the level scaling, I'm stuck at the second tier of fighters. I'm level 4, but my combat skills are still around level 1, and I'm fighting combatants who are level 3, 4 or higher with combat skills to match. Can't be done.

Psychic guards. This is part of the "radiant AI" that was so hyped, but really turned out to be bullshit. The guards are so sensitive as to know if you attack or kill someone inside their own house, with no one else around. Apparently, the mark "calls out" and the guards hear it from more than 100 feet away, and come running to arrest you. And god help you if you have stolen property on your person, because the guards always know what you've stolen, whether anyone saw you take it or not. Merchants can somehow sense hot property, too, and they won't buy it. You can only sell stolen goods to a fence, if you're a member of the thieves guild. How do the merchants and guards know what's stolen and what isn't? How the hell should I know? Maybe everyone in Oblivion writes their full name, date of birth, and address on every single piece of their property in indelible ink. Or maybe the developers decided radiant AI was too hard to code, and just made it cheating AI.

So there you have it. Is Oblivion fun? Definitely. Is it a good game? Yes. Does it belong on my Top 10 RPGs list? Possibly. Is it one of the best games of all time? I don't think so.

From what I've seen, the modding community is already hard at work on fixing shit that's severely broken, like the psychic guards and merchants, and the leveling system. And that's great. I just wish Bethesda had fixed that shit before they released the game.