Oblivion is one of those games that you just have to try even if you're not a fan of RPG's you'll have great fun!
The Races:
There are nine different playable races in Oblivion each with their own skills and flaws.
Khajiits- Khajiits are creatures that resemble cats and have an uncanny skill for thieving and stealth. If you want to be a thief then they are one of the three main choices.
Argonians- Argonians a lizard folk who can breathe underwater and are also skilled thieves making them the second of the good choices for a thief.
Wood Elves- Wood Elves happen to be my favourite as they are very good thieves and are skilled at marksmanship to take your foes out at a distance.
High Elves- High Elves have the most magicka (force to cast spells) in the entire game and as such make one of the two finest mages. Although having less resistance to magic attacks themselves.
Bretons- Bretons are human in appearance and are the second choice for mages although they don't have as much magicka they have a high resistance to magic attacks.
Dark Elves- Dark Elves are one of two all rounder classes which can be used as a fighter, mage or ranger. They have skills that complement their talents.
Imperials- Imperials are the owners of Cyrodiil and are the second all rounders with skills similar to the Dark Elves except they are slightly stronger in melee than the Dark Elves.
Nords- Nords are a mountain dwelling folk that resemble humans and have a good defence against frost attacks. They are one of two strong melee fighters.
Red Guards- Red Guards are a human looking all black race that is possibly the strongest melee fighter in all of Tamriel. They are very weak in most other skills.
Skills:
The skills in Oblivion range from stealth and lock picking to athletics and sharp weapon training. There are different sort of mage trainings including alchemy (making of potions), restoration (healing) and destruction (fighting spells). The skills needed for a rogue would normally be stealth, lock picking, marksmen athletics and speed. For a mage it would be destruction, restoration and your choice for the many others. For a warrior you should choose block, sharp weapons, blunt weapons, heavy armour or light armour.
Star Signs:
There are things called star signs that you can choose from in the beginning. The many star signs will grant you certain help. Thieves should either choose the thief for extra stealth or the steed for extra speed. Fighters should choose the warrior for extra strength. Mages should either choose the apprentice or the mage.
Quests:
The main part of Oblivion are quests and there are plenty of them with a total of 6 plot lines and over 30 side quests to do you'll be playing for days!
The Thieves Guild is a plot line that makes you showcase your stealth skills when robbing some monks, giving back to the poor and eventually stealing from the emperor himself! In the end you will become the top and have a very special title bestowed upon you. The Thieves Guild has several rules and they are that you can't attack or steal from a fellow thieves member and that you can't kill anybody while on a mission which makes the blood thirsty adventurers (me) feel very strained.
In the Fighters Guild you will help citizens with pest control, kill menacing ogres and lose good soldiers to the forces of goblins. The Fighters guild will have you rising through the ranks doing jobs for citizens until another rival group are willing to do insanely difficult tasks and you must find out who are responsible and why.
In the Mages Guild you will need to gain access to the arcane university which is the highest point in a mages study but before you can do that you will have to foil a traitors plot, track down an assassin and recover magic artifacts. The Mages Guild requires you to get recommendations from every guild hall around Cyrodiil before being allowed access to the hallowed halls of the arcane university where it will become apparent that all is not well in Cyrodiil. you will have to beat a long forgotten foe thought to have died along time ago and his forces of necromancers.
In the Dark Brotherhood you are sent to kill in the name of the Night Mother but there is someone within your ranks trying to assassinate your fellow assassins and he must be stopped! The Dark Brotherhood is an assassins guild that gets requests to 'take care of' certain other people.The Dark Brotherhood is ruled by the dark hand of 4 speakers and 1 listener who are being systematically taken out.
Finally there is the main quest line where you must save a dying blood line, watch an emperor die and foil the plot of a deadric prince! The main quest line starts at the very beginning of the game when you watch the emperor die and are entrusted to give the amulet of kings to the next of kin. when you get to the next of kin called Martin the city is being attacked by deadra who are th evil creatures such as deadroth, scamps etc. You then rescue him and try and infiltrate the cult behind the attack. Once you do that you must try and kill the leader who is trying to bring the deadric prince of destruction (Mehrunes Dagon) into the plane of the living by opening up oblivion gates all around Cyrodiil. The cult then open up a great gate that will send forth a giant machine that will destroy all of Tamriel which you must stop by closing the gate before it can get through. Once doing that the main city will be besieged by deadra and the lord of destruction himself will be summoned. It is then up to Martin to stop him once and for all!
The side quests in Oblivion are often easy but others will puzzle even the best of minds and pit you against foul smelling trolls. In one of the many quests you can become a vampire and rule the night! Side quests will have you navigating ruins of ancient civilisations to retrieve relics or raining dogs from the sky!
Game-play:
The game-play in Oblivion is amazing with good voice actors, graphics and quests. The terrain around Cyrodiil is stunning ranging from mountains and streams to deep valleys. There are many caves and ruined forts dotting the countryside of Cyrodiil which you can explore for lost treasures and slay the guardians.
Cities:
There are 8 cities in Cyrodiil which range from sprawling cities to sleepy slums. One of the cities you never get to see in it's full beauty because of a deadric attack that crippled the town into a heap of rubble. Cities are full of quests and shops where you can buy all sorts of items including armour and weapons. The biggest of the cities is the Imperial City and has a whole sector devoted to shops of all sorts.
Sound:
The sound in Oblivion is great with ambient sounds of birds and running water when near streams or harsh winds when up in the ice cold mountains. The voice acting is mainly great especially by those in the main plot line.
Extras:
One of the many extras you can get is a house in every city! You can furnish these sometimes humble and sometimes extravagant abodes by going into the nearest general stores. You can buy servants for some houses as well.
Conclusion:
In conclusion Oblivion is the best in the series to date and showcases amazing graphics, good voice acting, well thought through quest lines and inspiring depth. i urge all who have never played the Elder Scrolls series to go out and at least rent this game just to try it out.