Game analysis # 2

Oblivion

Oblivion is an action RPG which takes the player into a massive open kingdom which they can explore. The game can be played in either 1st or 3rd person perspective, and follows the story of an entirely customisable character as the rise from rags in a prison cell, to rich and powerful adveturer.

The game has been released on multiple platforms since its release in 2006 and its popularity is no surprise to anyone thats played it. The game area is huge, over 16 square miles of cities, forrests, mountains and coast and is of course scatterd with numerous caves, temples and ruins to explore. The shear size of the game allows hours of gameplay without any repitition of backdrops, scenery or monsters and the player has the freedom to deviate from the main quest at any time. This allows the gamer to wander or take up side missions where they often have several choices, to be good, bad, greedy or to ignore theese quests all together. The player can also progress through several guilds and can became wealthy and famous, making the player feel they have achieved somthing and spurs them on to become yet more powerful. Being able to lead several guilds, giving orders and reaping the rewards never gets old.

The graphics are of a very high quality, considering it was one of the first games released for the xbox 360, then later on the ps3. This is apparent from the outset of the game as straight away the player is allowed to totally edit the main character, from sex and race, down to eye colour and shaoe of the mouth. This idea of a personalised and evolvong character is then furtherd by the ability to choose the skills the player will poses. The leveling up process follows the same way, by allowing the gamer t allocate skill points to certain attributes, if feels like you hav total control over how your character develops as you progress through the game.


Oblivion is also the first game to effectivly impliment a 1st person view for a mele based action game, flawlessly letting you switch between a sword and shield to bow and arrow or even to magic. Aside from this new way of percieving this genre of game, the main point that makes this game so enjoyable to play is the number of options available at almost every point. Joining certain guilds or factions, creating new potions or weapons, buying property or simply exploring the wilderness, the player always has somthing to achieve, some goal to reach. Each combat situation could be delt with in totally different way depending on how your character has developed, stealth could be used, summoning monsters with magic or even just slashing through hoardsof enemys means that no fight will play out thesame way twice.

For me this game still had me gripped after more than 50 hours of gameplay, and even then downloadable content is avalible to introduce new quests equipment and monsters which adds even more enjoyable hours of gameplay. And althought ther is no multiplayer facility, the hundreds of NPCs in the various towns and cities keep the gamer involved in the imersive world the game manages to create.