Great graphics, great gameplay, great everything - but better than Morrowind? I'm not sure...

User Rating: 8.6 | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion X360
I've always played the Elder Scrolls games on the PC, but I picked up Oblivion for the 360 this time, and I'm not sure I did the right thing. Holding the console controller in my hands somehow took away from the gaming experience for me, turning what is otherwise an "instant classic" into an "almost, but not quite".

Fundamentally, it felt dumbed down and arcade-y to play Oblivion on the 360. Inventory management became a game of scrolling through endless lists with the right thumbstick "mouse"; you could only set one marker at a time (minus my old mainstay, notes); each quest automatically spawned a location marker for you, so you didn't even have to pay attention to the verbal cues from NPCs, anyway.

(BTW - they removed levitation? -- Why?! And Oblivion is the only game so far to lock up my 360... repeatedly... )

However, let's not forget all of the positive things: it's absolutely amazing to see a procedurally generated world in hi-def, the voice acting is pretty good (although too many of the same actors are re-used throughout the game), and having characters react specifically to your gender and species is a nice touch.

Somehow, Oblivion made me yearn to pop in my old copy of Morrowind and play through Tribunal or Bloodmoon. Who knows? -- maybe I'll give my 360 copy of Oblivion to a friend, and pick up a PC version, just to see if I can find that old spark again...