I can honestly say that I am not a huge fan of western style RPGS. I got sick of the tolken universe in the 80s on the commodore 64. Back in the day all that was made were games like ultima and pool of radiance etc etc, Elves, Orks, Conan etc etc. It got real old to me long ago. So when final fantasy 7 came out, it was something new and industrial and different. That set the tone for me for years to come. But now, an old style RPG with a modern combat sytem has raised its head. This time with lion creatures, and reptile humanoids and a new spin on the tolken style universe. Well, it’s a continuation of the elder scrolls universe which I never really got into. It works. And I actually like it. It looks amazing, and yes it runs a lot better on the ps3 when compared to the xbox 360. This world is huge. The amount of options you have when customizing your character simply baffles me. You can play this game in so many ways. The universe is really big, there are a lot of towns and villages that are not even on the map. I have experienced things in this RPG that I never have in any other. Like sleeping in a town where no one likes you, to wake up to someone trying to kill you. WOW. Joining dark occult underground groups. Guilds are typical here. You can choose to be good or evil. If you get caught steeling, the guards chase you. Some of the most fun I had when I was first playing this, was being chased through 2 villages by the police knights. ahahahah. Very funny. they kept coming. Below, to get the video trailer to play please click on the “Elder Scrolls IV - PS3 Trailer” text in the player window.

I had no idea that you could fast travel by using the map when I first started playing. So I wandered all over the map on foot. I got to see a ton of amazing things during this initial trek. The load times are kind of annoying at times, but no real big deal. This game is so big it is kind of overwhelming at first. You can use so many different kind of weapons and magick. You have to repair your weapons and armor over time, they do take damage. So managing your stuff is very important in this game. You must take on side quests to make money so you can get new armor and weapons and fix what you all ready have. The main story is very good, the voice acting is actually good. If you only follow the main story, you get at least 35 to 40 hours of game play.

This game despite being a launch title still looks amazing and holds its own against some of the newer games that have come out. Some of the level design is amazing. Just wandering around in the mountains can deliver some breath taking scenery. I seriously have not had this much fun with an RPG since the original playstation. I was really disappointed in most of the RPGS on the ps2. ffx was ok, but nothing captured my heart like ff7, ff9, and chrono cross on the ps2. So far, yes, a western rpgs is really winning me over. Oblivion, seriously, this is that good. Its nothing like a japanese rpg, but it is so polished and well done it doesn’t matter.

There are all kinds of dungeons all over the world. You will find so many places to go and look for things and fight monsters. This game is huge. And the story is great fun. Some of the missions you go on really make you think strategically. This is not just a hack and slash, if you try and fight a lot of things at once when you first start, you will most certainly die. This game is far more realistic when it comes to battle. This is one of the things that really makes this stand out. The game mechanics are not this toy soldier crap that so many rpgs offer. You have to be nimble, think, and use skills and strategy to fight your opponents. You will upgrade some of your statistics when you level up. But you get better at things the more you do them. The more you jump and use your sword, the better you get at it. Also you have to slash and move in directions to try to dis arm opponents. This is new to me as well. Really adds a kind of arcade feel and skill to it but in a good way that offers challenge. Most rpgs are not hard at all, you can just randomly fight and build up your characters. You have to do that in this as well, but learning how to disarm opponents will really help and add a new dimension to this kind of game. This is a lot more challenging. And if you do all the side quests and try a couple of different character classes, you easily could spend over 100 hours playing this game. This game is huge. I am just talking about the original launch title that came out with the ps3. Not any of the new versions like “game of the year” edition, that includes the shivering isles and knights of nine expansion packs.

9.0 Presentation
This game is not that hard to figure out. The story is great and told from with in the game not stupid cut scenes. Very well done.

9.3 Visuals
Some of the best graphics on the ps3 still even after all this time. The hill sides, the mountains, the water, the statues, the characters, it’s all great.

9.5 Audio
The music really brings everything together. The sound in this game is so far the best I have heard yet. The details are simply amazing. You can hear things sneak up on you, you can hear nature. The music always kicks in and helps the emotions in every situation.

9.0 Game Mechanics
Sure, a mouse and keyboard is still the best when it comes to games like this. But really, the sixaxis analog controls really work well for this game. Really inverted compared to the 360 controls. I will never own a 360 so I could care less.

9.4 Replay
Huge, this game is huge.

9.6 Total Score.
(out of 10 / not an average)

This game is really cheap now. And great if you want a taste of this rpg and what it has to offer. I got mine for 25 bucks new. Amazon is selling it for 29. This is worth every cent. Go buy it Click here to buy Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for PS3.

Music Listened to while writing this review: Death In June - But What Ends When Symbols Shatter.