Oblivion - First Impression

Remove all ads!

HB: GPstore offers it for $89.95, if you're interested. http://www.gpstore.co.nz/Games/1470838.html

I preordered and got the special collector's version for that price, which comes with a Tamriel coin and a DVD and a little booklet on the history of Tamriel and whatnot. Quite neat.

 

$89.95? That's so much better. But still out of my price range. I have no idea how all the kids on these Boards manage to have so much spare money. Maybe next year.

 

What kind of a sucker pays ~90 euros of one game? That's even worse than in the 80's and then they were still a brand new thing.

 

I think he's meaning NZ$, not US$

That's probably around 50euros, at a guess.

 

Yes, Deathmage and I are talking in New Zealand dollars.

 

Don't scare me like that.

 

Looks like the game is pretty cool, if you guys are to be trusted (well, asides from the ridiculous computer power requirements; I feel HB's pain , I'll need a new computer if I am to play this game). I also read a glowing review on slashdot, so it seems that many people like it.

So, I understand that the magic and fighting systems are different from D&D. How does it compare, in terms of complexity (and fun)? Roughly how many spells (as many as Baldur's Gate, or more like Diablo)? That magicka stuff sounds like a mana system.

oh yeah, and can you form a party with NPCs ?

 

@HB: What sort of specs are you running? I highly recommend getting this game...I'm running it at pretty crummy graphics...but then again, the graphics are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg!

I'd been saving up money for a PSP actually...and once I gave this game a go at a demo they were having at EB...WOW! I was just blown away.

And though I don't have those shiny graphics at the moment, the gameplay has me playing it for 16-18 hours straight! Unbelievable! Just what I needed till NWN2 gets out!

Edit: @khaavern: TES games run a system different from DnD. Yes, its a mana based system...but I've yet to come across a system as flexible as this one. Have you played Dungeon Seige? The improve-as-you-use system they tried to implement there is something like what they have here...only its like a hundred times better! Its really feasible, with all sorts of levels and skill perks to keep the munchkin in you satisfied! And the roleplaying...OMG the roleplaying you can do here is enormous.

Also..no, you cannot have any NPCs in a party with you...atleast I don't think you can based on how far I've come in this game. Usually, TES games dont work that way I guess.

What else...oh yes, the variety in spells is not quite what you would be used to from games like NWN and Baldurs Gate...but its MORE than adequate, and you will definitel be fully into it.

Guess what? You can make your OWN spells! Of course, the cheesier the spells, the more expensive it is to cast them, or get the required reagents etc. Its too much for me to go into detail here..but I'll just stop with saying get this game.

I've never been fanboy'd like this since I played Baldurs Gate 2...

 

@khaavern: As to the NPC parties, the answer is a yes and no...every so often you meet people willing to follow you, or you will be required to take someone somewhere or you will get to fight along side NPC's. But you take no "responsibility" for them, they are completely AI controlled. So yes NPC's will follow you and support you by killing enemies, but no you cannot form a permanent party nor take responsibility for their actions.

Hope that...err...makes sense, but thats the best I can explain it...yes I suck at explaining

 

Just done with my first full week without Oblivion, and I miss it so. Only two more weeks left... Never before have I loved a game as much as I love this. But at least when I get back to it, there'll be a good amount of mods to download.

 

I can't wait till September when I finally have enough money to upgrade my PC! Every upgrade has been because of the release of a new Elder Scrolls game so this time it's no exception, although it will cost a lot more this time. It plays on my brothers PC and I've watched him play it for quiet some time and it looks awesome! He even found some programme which you can use to scan pictures of yourself and it translates it into to the percentages you use to create your characters looks. You can play looking like yourself! Freakin' awesome! Can't wait, can't wait!

 

This game was insanely good. Been playing it on and off for the last week now, and I am hooked. Haven`t really been hooked on anything this bad since BG2.

I did however have an insane amount of luck in the game. I stumbled into a small dungeon south of the Imperial city (was level 3 at the time), and ran into a chic named Umbra. She had an Umbra sword + a full ebony armour. Naturally I tried to kill her and got beaten up badly. So I tried again, and ran off. Fortunatly for me she followed me for about 3-4 kilometers, and we ended up inside the imperial city, where she killed 8 guards before they killed her. I looted the lady and the guards and got lots of cash plus a very nice armour and sword.

This has of course made things very easy for me. Takes me 1 chop to kill 1 enemy. I am now done with the mission where I had to kill some spies in Bruma, and I`m just level 5......

Has anyone else had bigtime luck like this?

PS if anyone wants to know where the dungeon with the Umbra chic is, PM me for spoilers

 

I'm surprised you managed to escape from her; she's actually very fast. She's able to keep pace with some of the slower horses. For someone who uses heavy armour and blades, that's one of the best bits of luck you can have.

If it only takes one swing to kill an enemy though, you're going to find it takes an age to level your blade skill though. I've never had anything that good happen to me.

 

Ohh she kept pace with me alright. Got chopped in the back alot. I ran and healed the whole way hehe. Was down to 10 percent health when I entered the imperial city.And completely out of any healing.

 

I found that "Umbra" woman too. Tried a few times to kill her, but apparently she is even harder than steel; my blade broke before she did. And since I thought she had been brought in by a mod, I removed the mod in question. Bleh.

Of course, it might be a different matter now, after removing fatigue and improving power-attacks. Anyone else noticed that the enemies do not play by the same rules as the player?

 

Umbra?? Meh...with my Assassin/Mage, first thing I did was sneak into the room and JUMP onto one of those platforms...

Then I made 3-4 poisons which had Damage Health, Frost Damage and Paralyse effects on them...

Then I sneak attacked her for a big chunk with Hatred's Soul, then I hit her again with 2 more of those poisoned arrows...

After that, it was just a matter of jumping down, chipping away at her with lightning bolts and paralyse spells...easy as pie!

Of course, I was lvl 16 at the time...

 

My PC meets all the recomended specs except it is only a P4 1.6 gig machine. Has any one tried with a slower processor, and if you did, how did it run?

 

@Brallrock: IMO...you have to take those recommended specs with a bit of salt...

With a 1.6 GHz CPU, you're looking at a bit of stuttering during combat and in the city...anything that is CPU intensive. Of course, if you want to stand around looking at the trees...that should be fine!!

Anything below 2.0 GHz is going to be painful at medium to high detail graphics...

 

I geuss I'll have to wait until I can upgrade my PC then, thanks for the info.

 

Not necessarily, since there are those tweaking guides that can help you to make it run smoothly if you don't care for the shine. Have to say, though, that my AMD64 3500+ and GF7800GT haven't produced any stuttering as of yet -not even with the multiple-enemies/no-scaling mod.