I had never played the Elder Scrolls game, so this game was a wonderful awakening.
So now, after countless hours of gameplay, beating the main quest, nearly getting a divorce and loosing my job because I couldn’t pull myself away from the computer (not really), I have been delighted by the immersion of Oblivion. I was afraid that this game would be very linear like the Star Wars KOTOR series, which had the same quest based concept but the side quest were meaningless and everything built up to the end, which was disappointing at best. Oblivion allows you to create a character and dive into your own large world, doing as much or as little as you want. This was the first RPG that I actually felt in charge of what I was doing rather then following a script.
The graphics are nothing to scoff at; you need a high end system to play anywhere near full settings. With a P4 3.4 GHz dual core and a PCI-E GeForce 7800GT, I had to turn some of the sliders down and play at a lower resolution (1280x1024). The biggest help was follow the Oblivion Tweak Guide which is found online for free and offers tweaks and tips through the .ini file. After adjusting properly I notice very few slow downs even in heavily wooded or grassy areas. On a sad note, the friend who recommended the game only gets about 10 FPS on his system and is very disappointed.
The sound and music is well established in the game. The background music is well placed and does not seem repetitive even after hours of playing. People have complained about some of the difficulty leveling in the game but I think that it is properly used to make the game as challenging and fun on day 200 has it was on day two.
Oblivion has given me a new outlook on Fantasy RPG’s. I may not go out and buy all of them now but I definitely would buy any expansion pack for Oblivion or Elder Scrolls V, when the time comes.