This is not what I’m supposed to be doing with my life.

I am wandering the wilderness of Cyrodiil, trying to find a shrine. Or a figurine. Or jumbo potatoes (god-damned potato stealing-Troll).  I’m having fun, of course, but is this why I’m on this world? To wander aimlessly around, exploring nooks and crannies and talking to strangers?

I’ve got a purpose, people. A reason to be here. Sure, others may be fine with the mundane life: a house, a job, some kids, some gold coins, and a couple of spells that are useful around the house. But I’m special. I should be saving the world.

Christ, look at this desk. I better clean it, again. Then I'll finally get some work done. You'll see.

I know exactly what I SHOULD be doing, too. I should go and talk to Baurus, in the Imperial City. He can give me information to help light the candles which will prevent Oblivion from encroaching. But first, well…there’s so many other cool things I could do! I could go to the Arena, and fight. That’s a good way to let off some steam. Or, since I’m already in the town of Anvil, I may as well see if the Fighter’s Guild needs anything done. I tend to get pretty good loot from Fighter’s Guild quests, and maybe that loot will help me, right?

Crap. I’m doing it again. Procrastinating.

It’s not that I’m rudderless, exactly. I’m definitely trying to better myself every day. For instance, when I travel from place to place I jump up and down a lot, to increase my Athletics skill. And there was that day that I cast Minor Life Detection 200 times so that I could increase my Mysticism skill. So I’m a better person than I was when I first left the Imperial City Prison, as a fresh-faced level 1 character.

But what do all those accomplishments add up to? I haven’t saved the world, that’s for sure. I’ve saved individual people, and I’ve even cleared out a few nasty dungeons. But that’s not what I’m supposed to be doing, really.

I am wasting my fucking life doing side quests, when I should be completing the main quest.

Maybe there’s someone in the Mage’s Guild who can help. I better question them all, and see if there’s anything I can do for any of them. Perhaps one of them has a Spell of Get Off Your Ass and Follow Your Dreams they can cast on me.

-Curtis Retherford

Okay, well, I’m not a king, but I did get to return to gaming last night.  The issue was that I left my check card in the ATM a while back, and my EVE subscription just happened to come up after I had cancelled the card and was waiting for them to issue me a new one.   So no EVE.  And no Conan.  And no DAoC.

So I spent some time transferring games to my new laptop to open up space on the shared desktop for my wife.  Her photgraphy business has taken off and we were starting to have storage issues.  And so I spent a few days playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  I’d never gotten all that far into the game, and I enjoyed Two Worlds better (crazy I know) for the simple reason that I hate the leveling system that they use.  I decided that in playing it this time I would throw the guide out the window, pick the seven skills I wanted and go with it.  And you know what?  So far its been good.  I’m sure it will bog down at higher levels, but I’m having alot more fun.

For those not in the know, basically the more you use a skill, the higher it gets, and for every ten skill ups in our major seven, you gain a level.  You also get to pick attributes to raise, which raise somewhere between 1 and 5 depending on the number of related skill ups you got in any related skill (not just the majors) during that level.  The problem is that you quickly outlevel your ability to handle enemies, especially if you have a specialized character like a magic user or stealthy rogue type.  Even worse, some of the storyline quests box you into areas where you are at a disadvantage being either.   Still its a good game, and this time rather than stress myself out over counting strength related skill ups, I just decided to make judicious use of the difficulty slider bar! 

Morrowind was a little better I think – better setting, better storyline, more fun random events.  On the downside, it was way more exploitable.

Anyway, got my new card yesterday afternoon, so its time for a little Dominion of EVE and explorin’ in DAoC.  Yay!

The Elder Scrolls Oblivion is a fantastic game that came out some time ago for the Xbox 360 and PC. There are various Elder Scrolls Oblivion Review sites out there, so go check them out!

There’s also another site relating to Elder Scrolls Oblivion here!

http://www.platformnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/mass-effect.jpg

I like video games a whole bunch. I don’t discuss them too much here. I like to think I’m a sort of casual/hardcore gamer. Okay that doesn’t make sense. Basically, I don’t play night and day, but when I get a few hours of down time I like to sit back and play the one game I’ve been playing for the last few weeks or so.

I have a general like of shooters. Mostly because some of the best games that have been made in recent years have indeed been shooters (Halo, Call or Duty 4, Bioshock). Halo, while being a muck of an overall story, does indeed have the best shooter engine and physics ever. That’s the reason the multiplayer is so beloved, it’s just so fluid and telling. COD 4 meanwhile is such a wonderfully immersive game, with great goosebumpy moments. And Bioshock is my favorite, not much replayability, but such great art design and some really story/thematic points to boot (it’s a criticism of Randian Objectivism, perhaps it was made just for me).

But most of all I love RPGs. I’m a sucker for story and immersion. I just am.

I particularly love the final fantasy series. Yeah, I completely understand that the series has a real particular set of flaws, most stemming from the fact it is uber-japanese themes and eastern storytelling, but they’re awfully unique even in their samey qualities. And they have the scope not just of a novel, but an entire series of novels. Outside of the FF series, I also have particular love of the elder scrolls series (Oblivion!) and their other revamp of Fallout 3, which took the same exact engine as Oblivion and managed to make a completely different feeling experience. Fallout 3 is just fantastic.

Which brings us to Mass Effect and it’s RPG/shooter hybrid shittyness.

First note, I’ve played Bioware games before. I’ve played the KOTOR series and thought they were pretty good-ish. It definitely lacking some of the organic qualities i loved in the eldar scroll and ff series, but it was essentially interesting storytelling. Then again I tend overvalue any star wars property and grade it a full letter grades above where it should be. When you like everything about a particular universe it’s just more fun. What can I say?

So I was very excited for Mass Effect, I’ve gone a long time without getting and heard some very good things … and now, having beat it… I am very, very, very disappointed. I seriously have no understanding of how it got that kind of love. It’s exceedingly repetitive. Go here. Find this base. Kill this thing. Seriously, the side missions are especially meaningles. People complained about Oblivion and those missions were terribly unique compared to this stuff.

And don’t even get me started on the sameness of the design. Lazy. Lazy. Lazy. Every cave, every planet, every mine, they’re all the exact same. Seriously, THE EXACT SAME MAP. Sometimes the same exact box layout. It makes every mission a paint by numbers exercize. And believe me, I’m a completionist when it comes to my gaming so it’s very, very boring.

In terms of story I didn’t give a shit about anyone, usually Bioware is a tad better than that even with it’s generic clunkiness. I could tell you every story beat right before it happened.

This hilarious chart is completely accurate.

I’m sorry, but it’s true. And Bioware doesn’t seem to get it either.

Look, I know and understand Cambellian Hero Story analysis just like everyone else whose been in high school. It’s great and is responsible for so many great stories. But it’s not a lame excuse for paint by numbers storytelling. With this generation it’s become the most lazy storytelling exercise in the world, because they just make a beat for beat version of Star Wars and claim it’s the Cambellian Hero Story! No it’s not, what makes those stories unique is originality of detail and way you make the story seem as if it’s different, not how strictly you adhere to it.  There’s virtually no distinction in HOW you emphasize those story telling points anymore and it Mass Effect was the best example.

What stinks about that is that the scope of Mass Effect is great, the sheer idea for building a fully explorable universe has just fantastic possibilities and the shooter aspect was actually pretty well executed, which makes the fact that it’s eventually a boring, pointless game all the more annoying. Look, I understandd how much it took to build something so big in scope, but when it came to subtle execution in giving each little corner it’s own distinction (and HELL a reason to even go there!) all we get is long semi-amusing paragraphs written about the planet. And for character? You ever hear of show don’t tell? Well instead of getting to see that character’s story in some fashion (you get in FF) or have it play into the story in some fashions (KOTOR, Elder Scrolls), the character’s background is just explained to you in the most boring dialogue options. Tali’s plight made me want to shoot myself in the face.

I’m sorry but it’s a lazy, lazy game in the end.

Compare it to the Final Fantasy series where the whole thing strings along in a fluid series of vignettes and starkly different looking environments and goals, and employs weird reality-dream-bending methods of storytelling… Some people don’t dig it and think it’s weird and I totally understandthat , but the last thing you can accuse the story telling of being is lazy.

I get it’s a matter of taste and what not, but COME ON. Bioware just keeps making the same-ish sort of game. I don’t get the universal adoration. Hell, Fallout 3 used the same exact engine as Oblivion and it managed to feel exceedingly different, all because of the nuance of detail. Even recent shooters like COD4 and Bioshock felt more like interesting stories, because they were organic, fluid, and detailed. The details are everything in video games and Mass Effect opted for the sparse boring map. Anytime a RPG gets shown up by a shooter is a big warning flag to me.

And look I’ll eat my hat if ME 2 improves on any of the repetitive qualities and the entire game was excuse to build an engine, but seriously. I don’t get it.

The ability to say something sarcastic in every dialogue option, does not a great game make.

Zum Glück stellte sich die Hiobsbotschaft schnell als voreilige Fehlinterpretation heraus. Kurzzeitig ging das Gerücht um, Publisher Bethesda habe behauptet, es werde keine weiteren Spiele aus der famosen ‘The Elder Scrolls’-Reihe geben. Dies lief zwar jeder Logik zuwider, schließlich wurden die letzten Episoden Morrowind und Oblivion von Fans und Kritikern gefeiert – ich alleine habe mit beiden Spielen zusammen über 300 Stunden verbracht -, doch zunächst war traf mich die Meldung wie ein unerwarteter Schlag auf die Nase. Ein paar Tage später stellte Bethesda dann aber richtig: The Elder Scrolls sind noch nicht am Ende, „natürlich“ werde es eine Fortsetzung der RPG-Reihe geben. Und zumindest in Buchform ist dies bereits Ende des Monats der Fall. Der gefeierte Fantasy- und Sci-Fi-Autor Greg Keyes veröffentlicht am 24. November „The Infernal City“, den ersten von zwei Romanen aus der Spielwelt Tamriel. Die Geschichte dreht sich um die schwebende Stadt Umbriel, die überall wo sie auftaucht Tod und Verderben bringt. Die interessanteste Aussage findet sich jedoch in der Beschreibung des Verlags:

„Der Roman ist 45 Jahre nach den Geschehnissen von Oblivion angesiedelt [...] und schließt die Lücke zur Handlung des nächsten Spiels, die 200 Jahre nach Oblivion stattfindet.“

Der Eintrag ist mittlerweile wieder von der Verlagsseite verschwunden, aber das Internet vergisst bekanntlich nicht. Eine tolle Neuigkeit, denn es ist – falls valide – nicht weniger als die indirekte Bestätigung eines Elder Scrolls V – und wir kennen sogar schon Handlungszeitraum und – nach Lektüre des Buches – einen Teil der Vorgeschichte. Nun stellen sich allerdings die Fragen, in welchem Teil von Tamriel das Sequel spielen wird (ein paar interessante Gebiete wie Elswyr oder die Hochelfen-Heimat Summerset sind ja noch unbenutzt), und ob es sich dabei erneut um ein reines Solo-Abenteuer oder ein MMO handeln wird. Bethesdas Mutterfirma ZeniMax Media hat seit längerem eine eigene Online-Abteilung, die bis jetzt aber noch keine (sichtbaren) Ergebnisse produzierte.

Auch wenn ein TES-MMO seinen Reiz hätte, wäre mir ein weiteres Singleplayer-Erlebnis lieber. Denn bei Elder Scrolls ging es immer in erster Linie um eine glaubhafte, gigantische Spielwelt, gepaart mit absoluter Freiheit. Dies sollte immer Priorität haben. Doch zunächst werde ich erst einmal via Oblivion nach Cyrodiil zurückkehren, dessen Hauptstory noch immer fast unangebrochen vor mir liegt und dessen Add-On „The Shivering Isles“ ich noch immer nicht kenne. Meine Eindrücke von der Rückkehr werden hier zu lesen sein.

 
Before my mind gets completely sucked into the gaming onslaught of the 2009 holiday season and I forget about my recent experience the Oblivion Expansions, I wanted to share my impressions since I completed them this past weekend. I decided to go through The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition last week since it’s been sitting on my shelf and I told myself I wouldn’t play the Fallout 3 GotY edition until I got some enjoyment out of the Oblivion GotY edition, which contains the original Oblivion game with the two DLC packs: Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles.

Knights of the Nine was the first of the two major expansions released for Oblivion, and because it was released perhaps too early in the 360’s life cycle, Bethesda Softworks didn’t put any extra Achievements into this particular DLC. This expansion retails for 800 MS points ($10) online, and provides about 10 hours of extra gameplay through a major quest line that has you journeying around Oblivion’s world and assisting the knights with their quests. It’s not a bad expansion, but it pales in comparison to Shivering Isles due to the fact that it’s not only somewhat short, but it still takes place in the regular edition’s world.

Of the two expansion packs, I dove into the Shivering Isles expansion first, which may have been a slight mistake since I ultimately found Knights of the Nine to be less satisfying in comparison. Shivering Isles was the second of the two major expansions released for Oblivion, clocking in at 1600 MS Points ($20) online, with 250 extra Achievement points, and about a 20 hour major questline (along with several hours of minor subquests) in a different world as you step through what is basically a warpgate to the Shivering Isles. I enjoyed Shivering Isles a great deal because it was a living breathing world with new towns, characters, dungeons, and all sorts of landmarks. While the main questline was only 20 hours long, for completionists that are dead set on exploring everything the Shivering Isles have to offer, you’ll be clocking dozens more hours.

The two expansions come on a second disc included with the Oblivion GotY edition, so it’s actually possible to simply install the expansions onto your 360 hard drive and never need the disc again. (I believe the Fallout 3 GotY Edition second disc with the 5 expansions functions in a similar manner.) Also of note – you are able to access the expansions pretty much right away in the game. I created a new character for both the Shivering Isles expansion and the Knights of the Nine expansion.

 So what can I say about these expansions? Certainly don’t buy them for $30 online today since the full game itself with the expansion retails for $30 in stores. And how can one really judge whether it’s worth spending more money for 20-30 more hours of questline content when the original game can last you dozens, or even hundreds of hours? In a way, I do like that the expansions provide you with a major questline to follow, as playing the regular Oblivion game and only following the major quest lines would have you finishing the game in about 50-60 hours. So the pricing is right. Definitely recommended, especially those of you that never got into Oblivion, but enjoyed Fallout 3. Oblivion holds up amazingly well today, and will continue to hold up as the highest rated RPG on the 360.

The time consuming, quest adventuring bundle of loveliness that is the world of Elder Scrolls will be getting two books based within it’s universe – just in time for Christmas! The Infernal City is out first on November 24th and penned by Greg Keyes who’s previous titles include Star Wars: The New Jedi Order Edge of Victory 1 & 2 as well as a few Babylon 5 novels. I rarely go for the plethora of video game novels but was drawn to and enjoyed the first Mass Effect prequel so quite tempted by Mr Keyes dip into the world of Elder Scrolls. The cover (seen above) looks suitably fanciful so I guess I maybe able to judge a book by it’s cover after all. The Infernal City is available for preorder in all the usual places.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Original release date: 03/20/06

You are the unfortunate prisoner, sitting in your particular cell, wondering just how you got yourself into this troublesome predicament. Across the hall can be heard the snickers of a fellow inmate, hurling insults your way as the guard and his escorts approach. While waiting you calm your fidgeting by playfully moving some chains back and forth, all the while watching that ever approaching shadow. Yet, with each passing second you feel a sense that something is amiss, a wariness that easily tops your own current troubles. The guards reach your cell but rather than focus on you, they tell you to move aside. Confused, you look as the guards are accompanied by none other than the great Emperor himself. As you sit there in astonishment, you watch as the man, clothed in silk and gold, turns to you and mutters an incomparably powerful sentence.

”It’s you — the one from my dreams.”

With a vague explanation and little comprehension of what he means, a secret door suddenly opens, leading to a misty labyrinth, cleverly hidden behind a stone infrastructure. Suddenly you are fighting side by side with the guards of the Imperial City, warding off hordes of mysteriously clad assassins. In mere moments you find yourself separated from the group, as well as lost in thought. Where do I go from here? Oh, but so much more awaits you within the confines of the dark underground; multiple corridors that lead to lurking enemies; chests with your first set of items; an array of weaponry ranging from a simple bow to techniques delving in the mystic arts. These all leading up to an understanding of just who you really are and what your mission is in this crazy new world.

And this encompasses just the first hour of play.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion truly is one of those titles that only appear once in a blue moon; in a time where dry points are strewn about the gaming scene. Continuing the impressive mark that carries over from its predecessor Morrowind, the game strives to give you a world that doesn’t end until you want it to. Along the way you will take the time to notice the attention to detail apparent in every single corner of the land of Cyrodil. From the breathtakingly high mountains near Lylonadil to the snowy wastelands of Bravil, impressive visuals help provide an incentive to go exploring. Murky caverns, forgotten ruins, and hellish portals to far off dimensions, can all be found within several miles of each other, and show that this is one twisted world you’ll not soon forget.

What can be forgotten are some annoyances that I had some problems with in Morrowind. For one, in the previous version, there were times when I wish I could simply get to my destination immediately. Bethesda realized this and decided to provide an option for those of us who had seen enough of the landscape already. Fast travel is an option now, giving you the chance to instantly warp to any location on the map. This saves players a tremendous amount of time and helps you get those quests done, minus the sluggish walking from town to town. The feature is merely optional though and if you are the type that likes to take in the lush surroundings, far be it from anyone to stop you. Nevertheless, the game is all about choices, and Oblivion provides a wide array of character classes, each with their own unique combat approach and style.

Speaking of combat, Oblivion definitely made the biggest improvement in this department, allotting a wide array of possibilities no matter what you choose to be. Want to be a burly warrior, clad in full heavy armor, wielding every massive weapon in the book? Be sure to specialize strength and endurance then, focusing on the various weapon skills and of the course, the art of blocking. That’s right, warriors can now block using their respective weapon or shield, allowing for more intense duels; especially if it is between two melee based fighters.

Mages now have a tremendous amount of spells to choose from, ranging from the mind numbing powers of illusion to the offensive forces of fire and lightning, known as destruction. And props to the new hot-key system, which lets you assign any type of sword, bow, or spell to a single button push. This saving you from frustratingly pressing the menu button to switch tools during combat sessions. Yet, the most important aspect of the game comes down to picking the best character for the job. And depending on the decision you make, will affect just how well your protagonist will perform.

For instance, I play as the tiger race Khajit, with my skills applicable to the very cool field of thievery. Thanks to the agility and speed bonuses provided by my particular kind, techniques delving in: acrobatics, lock-pick, sneak, and security, help me take advantage of my class to its full potential. Just as in Morrowind you level by the amount of times you use your specific skills, rather than each opponent carrying a set amount of experience points. And while skills like acrobatics may feel broken, since jumping continues to raise its level, the other attributes help to balance it out.

Now perhaps you don’t want to be a fuzzy cat. Then why not take a pick from over ten other possible character models, each having their own unique background and character traits. From the beer swigging, axe wielding Nord to the intelligent and mysterious Dark Elf, each race provides a different experience, not only in combat or appearance, but in the way people will perceive you.

Taking a couple of pointers from the ill-fated Fable, the people in the world of Oblivion are among the most active non-player characters ever seen in a role-playing game. Try walking into the local inn for a drink, there the citizens of the town will welcome you; recognizing you by the origin you chose at the beginning of the game. You will also notice how they seem to go about their own predetermined schedule, sometimes even bumping into each other for a quick conversation. What is sometimes fun is sneaking up on some unsuspecting duo and eavesdropping what they are saying. This can lead to an understanding of the area you are in, any local missions to undertake, or perhaps just a quick laugh at the convoluted exchange of words that can sometimes take place.

Another thing that might have some people talking is the accomplishments that you put under your belt throughout your progression of the main storyline. As you travel from city to forest; riding over bridges and passing by desolate ruins and landmarks, you will begin to find the Oblivion gates. These nightmarish portals have appeared all throughout the world of Cyrodil, unleashing legions of imps, mutant lizards, and powerful beings known as the Daedra. Your primary objective will be to find these gates, enter them, eliminate the opposition inside, and deactivate the terminal which keeps these fiery gateways open. No matter how much you enjoy the dark storyline of Oblivion, there are times when you just need a break. Thankfully, the game provides a plethora of sub-quests and guilds to join, all which let you deepen the role of your hero further.

I mean, I’m not one to brag, but I’ve single-handedly taken down hundreds of ruthless bandits in my travels. I’ve become the champion of the Arena in the Imperial City, where hundreds of spectators cheer my name as I enter and leave each event. Whether it be taking down a team of high elf archers or slaughtering a legion of trolls, the outcome is the same. Oh, and it would be foolish if I didn’t point out that I have among the highest honors in the thieves guild. Nothing like quietly breaking into a poor sap’s house late in the night and making off with the many goods strewn about their shelves and chests all ninja style. I guess I could tribute my success to the fact that I have the eyes of the tiger, allowing me to see into the darkness and help spot those deadly pit and needle traps. Though that’s not to say there aren’t more career choices out there. The fighters guild and mages guild have made their return from the original, along with a series of hidden clubs and cults that make the before mentioned ones feel like a walk through the daisies.

If there is one thing that has gotten on my nerves though, as I’ve slowly taken my time with Oblivion, it would be the sometimes exploitable AI. And there is no other class that experiences this flaw as much as the thief. For example, picture sneaking in through the front door of a item store at three in the morning; your shadow silently blending in with the night. Your confidence is then broken as the owner of the store comes downstairs and notices your actions. Que the following silly resultant of my carelessness:

Disgruntled store clerk: “Hey! What are you doing here? Get out before I call the guards!”

Jin the Khajit: “…”

Quite the punishment for getting caught eh? A small threat and a chance to sell some supplies and I was off gallivanting in the night again. Luckily, the guards of the game aren’t so stupid and will be sure to throw you in jail if you truly piss them off. This of course leads to more difficult encounters later on when you start dealing with craftier people, both human and alien alike.

So, say you are stuck on a difficult boss engagement, where he continues to bind your attacks and slide pass your feeble defenses. Perhaps you should go level up? Unfortunately, that’s pointless because the challenge of the game scales with your level. Ah, there is the solution, go into the options menu and slide the toggle down to easy. It’s alright, it’s only for this fight and then you can slide it back up again afterward. Probably the first role-playing game in years that allows you to alter the difficulty while you play, Oblivion definitely opens up some possibilities for the casual gamer. Personally I don’t care for it because it breaks down any wall that a player would have to improve themselves to go through. It would be like asking someone not to use their book on a take home test. The urge to cross that impassable rift is sometimes a little too overwhelming.

Nevertheless, there is always the option of keeping the difficulty at maximum for you hardcore players. On a somewhat similar note, the best relief for that built up tension, brought about by fluent challenges, can be found in the harmless field of sight-seeing. Weather effects that change as you journey from point to point, a time system that affects the sky and the schedules of the people, and fluid character motions all bring together a treat for the eyes; that is even furthered along if you happen to own a top of the line system. Oblivion is definitely one of the more graphic intense titles to come along in a while and will require a moderate system just to run it on an average setting. Those running it on a lower end computer will also notice the occasional dip in frame-rate and some lock-ups as well. So, keep in mind that you get what you pay for when it comes to the PC version. You get better visuals than the 360 version, but it all depends on how much you are willing to spend. Ah, the old double-edged sword.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion takes the best qualities of an MMORPG and action-RPG and fuses them together to form something special. The improved battle system, brilliant story-line, and sheer depth of the visuals help bring everything together, even better than its predecessor had. However, the PC version suffers from some performance problems that can really only be cured by having a nice system. Adding that to some other detriments is what brings me to give this version of the game a point less than I’d want to. When everything is said and done though, there is just too much to like about Oblivion, and those that get into all it has to offer will enjoy well over 60 hours of playtime.

In the end whatever system you decide to buy the game for is entirely up to you. It all depends on whether or not you think it’s the right time. The 360 and PSIII versions are superior, thus I would recommend them over the PC version.

Verdict - 8/10 (PC) and 9/10 (Xbox 360 and PS3)

Das Computermagazin CHIP Online hat eine Liste von Spielen zusammen gestellt, die man völlig legal und kostenlos herunterladen und zocken kann. Der Haken? Die Spiele sind zwischen 3 und 25 Jahre alt, dafür sind aber teilweise wahre Klassiker dabei. Im Einzelnen sind das:

1. Sam & Max – Abe Lincoln must die!
2. Beneath a steel sky
3. Command & Conquer – Tiberiumkonflikt
4. Command & Conquer – Alarmstufe Rot
5. The Elder Scrolls – Arena
6. The Elder Scrolls II – Daggerfall
7. Elite & Elite +
8. Enemy Nations
9. F.E.A.R. Combat
10. Full Spectrum Warrior
11. Grand Theft Auto
12. Grand Theft Auto 2
13. Ground Control
14. Hidden & Dangerous Deluxe
15. Rise & Fall – Civilizations at War
16. Sim City
17. Starsiege – Tribes
18. S.W.I.N.E.
19. Tyrian

I went and saw this last week with Paul, but it took me this long to get around to writing a review. This was not done out of procrastination, but rather, I felt like I needed to digest it for a while so that my review was more than just me repeating “FUCKING AWESOME” over and over and over.

I was not excited to watch this movie. There were a lot of things going for it, months before it was even set to release. The CGI looked good in the previews, it was shot as a documentary. And, Peter Jackson apparently loved the idea of it so much that he produced it even after his deal to make the Halo movie with Neill Blomkamp fell apart. I saw the trailer before The Dark Knight, and was floored. However, upon reading into the details of the movie, I started to lose hope. The same reasons that everyone was going batshit for it were the reasons that I was not.

The faux-documentary has been done to death, and I really felt like enough was enough. There was no way this film was going to compete in my mind with Cloverfield, so why was it trying? The CGI did look cool, but come on. Do we have to have completely immersive CGI in every film in order for it to be validated? What ever happened to stunning costume work? And Peter Jackson? Great.

Those who have known me long enough know that I’ve always been a huge fan of Tolkien. So, it would stand to reason that I’d not only love the movies, but as a result, love Jackson. However, that’s completely not the case. I may be the only fanboy out there that didn’t love the Rings trilogy, but it just didn’t do it for me. They were too long, and I found myself getting bored early on in the process, which left me questioning my status as fanboy.

This lead me to start thinking more and more about my actual love of Tolkien. As I thought about it, I thought that I MUST love Tolkien, in that I was always into all things fantasy, be it Tolkien, or Dungeons and Dragons, or Elder Scrolls. But, then I started thinking deeper into it, and I realized that Tolkien and fantasy as a whole were just stepping stones into my true nerd calling: CyberPunk.

The Lord of the Rings was great; Ender’s Game was better. Dungeons and Dragons was great; Battletech and Shadowrun were both better. Oblivion was great; Fallout 3 was better. Willow was great; Bladerunner was better.

So, fine. I just came to grips with it. I’m a fantasy nerd no longer. I am a Sci/Fi nerd. And, I’m proud of it. Gone were the days of leveling up a Half-Orc Barbarian to Legendary Status. Gone were the days of reading about Drizzdt Do Urden, Gone were the days of The Simulacrum. Here to stay were giant robots, cyborg love affairs, and distant futures ruled by shadowy corporations.

So, it’s Jackson with whom I attribute my loss of love for a genre that helped define who I am. And now, after having seen this film, I feel at one with the nerd culture as a whole as I lovingly welcome him back into my warm embrace.

This film took the ideals behind good science fiction and made them all wonderful. The documentary feel has been done to death, but never like this. The closest comparison on this aspect would be to Cloverfield, which I loved but which had nothing on District 9. The thing that made the documentary feel so powerful was the seamless use of CGI within the format. The overexposure and grainy security cameras all unapologetically blasted you with the perfectly created alien race. There was no warning, and unlike Cloverfield, they were not hidden from view, and didn’t wait half way through the film to emerge. From the outset, you are rocked not so much by the aliens as by the entire culture of the aliens and their intermittance with the human race.

The plot, while having a couple of major sized holes, is still wonderfully written. It really kept me not only wondering what was next, but hoping it would end well throughout the entire film. The performance of Sharlto Copley was outstanding. His transformation from doofus to sacrificial hero was smooth and believable, not to mention heartbreaking. And, just to round it all out, they threw in a fucking BattleMech armored fight scene.

This movie was done so lovingly and so well, it has made me want to go back and re-watch The Lord of the Rings trilogy. If Peter Jackson was this loving to the genre I know that I now love, couldn’t it be true that he was just as loving to the one that I let go? I guess it’s time to give it another chance.

Der Chefproduzent von Bethesdas Fallout 3 und der Elder Scrolls Reihe, Todd Howard, erklärte auf der Quake Con 2009 zum Entsetzen der Fans, ein “Elder Scrolls V” oder Oblivion 2 sei nicht in Arbeit und auf längere Sicht nicht zu erwarten.

Also mindestens 3 oder 4 Jahre. Fallout 3 Plus scheint dagegen nach wie vor für 2010 auf dem Plan ( siehe 11k2) zu stehen. Und, so fügte Todd hinzu, es gäbe allemal eine Chance für ein Elder Scrolls MMO.

Ein weiterer Hinweis in dieser Richtung kommt vom Insider-Blog supererogatory: Zenimax, also Bethesdays Mutterfirma, hat einen Waschkorb voller Domainnamen registriert, die allesamt nach MMO klingen: “elderscrollsonline.com” und viele ähnliche Begriffe.

( supererogatory, joystiq) ( screenshot plume)

     I never finished the last iteration of Elder Scrolls called Morrowind, and I still have not uncovered all of Oblivion as of yet because of all the quests that side track me from the main story, but I am still pleased with what I have played. Oblivion is the story of a king who is murdered by a secret cult named the Mythic Dawn, which is opening Oblivion gates to another dimension enabling Daemons to enter the world and wreak havoc. The player is thrust into this story as a prisoner who coincidentally has a secret passage within his cell that the king uses to escape from the Mythic Dawn. The story develops around the events of the king’s encounter during his escape and the player’s role beyond the outcome. Oblivion is an open world design and as such, allows the player to explore almost anywhere straight from the beginning.

Graphic and sound:

The Elder Scrolls series have always focused on rich worlds full of places to explore and Oblivion is no exception. The environment is enormous and highly detailed. There are some loading issues at times where a certain background element will pop into view out of nowhere even though the settings are at their highest for distance. Character models look great although there are also clipping issues with hair, clothing, or weapons passing through the character body unnaturally. I am not sure if they just did not have time to prepare better collision detection or that level of error was acceptable. The soundtrack in Oblivion is excellent and immersive. The soundtrack had an epic movie feel to it much like the Lord of the Rings movies. Sound effects were well done with one exception, voiceovers. The voice acting in some cases seems robotic with no emotion, especially when conversations spouted by some NPCs truly make no sense whatsoever. There are times when a player is truly engaged in the story and an NPC is having a conversation with another NPC about the weather while the other one is talking about something else.

Gameplay and controls:

The game is a first person role playing game that can be switched to a third person camera view with different degrees of camera distance. The world is enormous and as such, the player can traverse the world through the use of the map instead of physically walking to the numerous cities. Once areas are discovered such as ruins, they will appear on the map labeled. The game has an extensive character customization palette where the player can truly make a fairly unique avatar just with the facial options variety. Character class and alignment can also be customized and changed as the player progresses through the game. I started off as a good magic user and now my character is a murderous thief. The game can be quickly finished by sticking to the main storyline, or a player can truly spend more than 200 hours playing through all of the side quests and the expansion packs included in the Game of the Year Edition, which includes Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles expansions. To truly enjoy the game, one should play through some of the side quests if not all and definitely play through the expansions. The controls are the standard fare with spell casting and weapon fighting controlled by the trigger buttons. The menus can become a bit tricky as there are a lot of menus to scroll through for inventory, maps, and options.

Overall thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed Oblivion from the dozens of hours I put it into it and have yet to reach a halfway point in the game. Sometimes the player will be distracted by the crazy NPC conversations, but the storyline and gameplay make up for this minor infraction that is caused by the limitations of hardware and AI constructs. I recommend the Game of the Year Edition as it includes both the Knights of the Nine and the Shivering Isles expansions which can be picked up for $19.99 new nowadays. I look forward to the next iteration of Elder Scrolls and perhaps an online version someday.