Alright a while ago I wasnt convinced that the 360 was truly ringing in a next generation feel, but Fight Night Round 3 started to get more on the money.. man those guys looked real..neat. But still as fun as FN 3 was, it wasnt enough to get me to jump over the fence. Then the other day I came home from work and my brother was playing the new Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and everything changed. It was like a revelation, at that moment I realized this next generation thing was for real, that it was coming whether I was prepared or not. All I could do is sit and watch him play in awe. Walking through a forest in the game is like going outside and real life and walking in the forest. I immediatley noticed different ferns, bushes, different trees... the lighting effects of the sun cascading through the trees.. and of course a pack of ravenous wolves descending on him. And for the next 8 hours I watched, as he found and consequently decided to kill off a small hamlet, stealing all they had to offer. watched as he found hidden dungeons, truly dank dangerous catacombs filled with moaning ghost, shambling skeletons and viscious vampires. I watched as he rode through the woods on horesback (horseriding is more fun in games than it sounds!) joined a theives guild, destroyed a vampire covenant and contracted vampirism in the process, found the illegitamte emperors heir and closed his first Oblivion gate (essentialy portals to hell that are opening up, where demonic armys come through to wreak destruction) Now you can say what you want about graphics vs gameplay debate. And while I see it that to make a truly outstanding game they really go hand in hand. Oblivion offers absolutley the best graphics I may have ever witnessed, thrown in with complex character generation system and visceral fun melee combat. This game is so well done that my brother, who normally avoids anything termed "Role-Playing" like the plauge, was immediatley drawn in and addicted. So now it is decided that I am gonna salt away my money for the next month or two and track down a 360. Because folks this is the new generation, and I don't want to sit on the sidelines anymore!