Quests too linear although you have the freedom to choose the order. Still better than most everything.
Therein lies the ultimate rub with Oblivion. Instead of improving upon the options and accessibility of open-ended gameplay, the game makers shrunk options and improved graphics. No, no, no, no. Your every next step is pointed out for you by a little directional arrow. The option of turning this off would have been nice. What is the point of all the voice acting and plot if you don't even have to listen to it? No, no, no, no.
Secondly the game developers eliminated flying and free roam. I understand the decision to eliminate flying because there are multi level dungeons and puzzles that would be rendered moot if you could fly and there are areas they just don't want you to access. No, no, no, no. I know that the developers would take umbrage but that's just lazy. Your goal is not to remove options but to improve upon them; to expand freedom, not to limit it. I feel like if my lock-pick is high enough I should be able to unlock the door to Vivec himself (aka Morrowind) or go tearing ass through the yellow team arena (bummer Oblivion).
This links to another issue with Oblivion and that is the level scaling. The difficulty of this game depends primarily on your level. Again I should rephrase. If you are a lowere level character the game is tailored to be within your reach no matter what you attempt. As an unknown factor this could trick the gamer into a very rewarding time, thinking that they've mastered each puzzle and each mission just right and with only the tools at their disposal. I see this argument and I agree with its merit however, it eliminates the freedom discussed in the previous paragraph. If you scale the game, shrinking and growing it to the user then you take away the potential to get in too damned deep. And that's fun! When I broke into Vivec's tower in the middle of the night after sneaking running and flying my way past all the guards, I walked right up to the god on earth of Morrowind. He told me to bugger off and just to be cocky I took a shot at him. I was leveled. I could not trick up enough cleverness to overcome Vivec at 26th level or whatever.
On the other hand this does present the delema of the player character becoming too powerful and destroying Vivec before he can play a roll in the story leaving you with the "dead world" that Morrowind became if you killed a major player. Isn't finding the tricks in the game and the cracks in the system part of the fun?
Don't get me wrong, Oblivion still offers loads more options and customization than any other game. I am simply disappointed in the new fences that corral the game. As far as actual in-game borders go I liked the Island idea better - although Morrowind is apparently no longer an island judging by the Oblivion map.
The Visuals are incredible, you can now ride horses, the cities have great character and the new personality system (by which I mean the NPC scripts) make the world feel more alive than ever. Combat is fun and can be approached from a variety of angles. Thieving is great because people actually sleep and there's lots of secrets and good, fleshed out stories. The Thieves guild missions are particularly fun, I've found so far.
The world of Tamriel excites the imagination and can be yours to conquer or serve at your will. It takes planning and patience sometimes but can also easily be breezed through if that's what you want.
Besides my gripe that games are still not free enough to suit my taste and the steps backwards with this Elder Scrolls installment is a nuisance but overall this is the best fantasy game available as well as the best RPG and the best adventure game. Go forth and enjoy but it'll only leave you dreaming of more.