Bethesda Software’s recent Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion press events have resulted in a barrage of new previews for the highly anticipated RPG. The first is at IGN PC:
Before long, two heavily armored guards busted into my cozy cell with the emperor in tow hoping to escape assassination through the secret passageway. Both of the emperor’s sons had already been killed so the emperor was apparently the realm’s last hope. Thankfully, the emperor let me live believing he’d seen me in a vision of some sort. He also allowed me to skidaddle right out of jail through the escape hatch. Of course, the guards wouldn’t allow me to follow after a short while, but that’s fine, it provides the opportunity for a bit of solo-adventuring which is really what the game is all about.
The second is at IGN Xbox 360:
As I climbed, the sky grew dark, thunder rumbled above and eventually a light rain began to fall. I reached the summit to find a massive fiery gate planted in front of Kvetch’s main entrance. A nearby guard informed me how the gate had suddenly appeared and Daedra, demons from the Oblivion dimension, had poured out and ravaged the town. Looking at the ruined stone walls and fires behind the gate, it was clear the Daedra weren’t the kindest of creatures. The gate itself was a graphical treat, with torrents of fire swirling between two massive stone columns. Emanating from the angry portal were waves of heat distortion as well as more Daedra. Crap! The guards and I managed to take down the few that spilled out, and afterwards I offered my help in defending Kvetch. Doing this involved heading into the Oblivion portal and finding a way to shut it.
The third is at TeamXbox:
As an RPG, Oblivion will draw in hardcore fans of the genre, but its design should also attract action gamers looking for some variety. The gameplay contains a lot of first-person shooter-styled battles, as well as dynamic skill building that avoids the often tedious breaks for stat-point allocation. In Oblivion, engaging in an activity gradually boosts your skills. If you use a lock pick often, you’ll gradually get better breaking into chests and doors. Swinging a sword more than twanging a bow will make your character better with blades than arrows. Using a repair hammer to return your gear back to full durability makes future fixes more efficient. Even jumping around as you move improves your acrobatics skill, which makes you more nimble and harder to hit in combat.
The fourth is at GameSpot:
If you make an enemy out of someone, or manage to get on the bad side of the local town watch, look out, because your reputation will precede you. Even little things can make you a bad guy in the law’s eyes, from the items that you may pick up from your adventures (the guard may constitute that as theft) to the things that you do. We brazenly picked the lock on a residence in one town and while we were busy picking the lock on a bedroom, the town watch came up from behind us and ordered us to surrender. You can do so, which means that you’ll have to spend some time sitting in a jail cell, or you can try and fight your way out. This wont’ be easy, though, as the town guard comes at you in force. In our case, we ran through the streets of the town being chased and shot at. Once outside the walls, we bounded down a steep hill, only to come across a guard on horseback. He dismounted to challenge us, we ran around him, jumped on his horse, and rode off, only to stumble into a highwayman down the road.
The fifth is at Shacknews:
Oblivion introduces an upgraded stealth system over the previous game’s. When going into stealth mode, your targeting reticle becomes a glowing eye; the eye becomes brighter as enemies are more likely to detect you. This is based on a variety of factors, including the amount of light, the amount of noise you’re making, and (mostly) your skill level. Enemies and NPCs will have various reactions when they realize you’ve been sneaking around then. Sometimes, of course, that includes trying to end your life. Lockpicking is essentially a simple minigame, in which you are presented with a cutaway diagram of the lock and must lock the internal pins into place such that the bolt can be withdrawn and the door or chest in question opened. It’s easy to figure out once it’s in front of you. As locks become more complex, there are more pins, but as your lockpicking skill is raised, the pins become easier to set.
The sixth is at Gamers With Jobs:
The weapons themselves and their various qualities will really affect the way you approach a battle, as some players will prefer the quick slashes of a short sword to the lumbering swings of a halberd or great sword. However, while being able to recover your used arrows from the corpses of your defeated enemies was a nice touch, the use of archery in the game at all seemed a little superfluous. Anytime an enemy detects you, they generally will come charging at you full-speed, leaving you able to fire a shot or two before whipping out your melee weapons and getting to the evisceration. I understand it’s a unrealistic to expect the Battle of Agincourt when it comes to archery, but I just didn’t see much use for archery in the game.
The seventh is at Voodoo Extreme:
Interacting with NPCs is quite a bit more detailed and also manifests as a minigame. If you become a skilled diplomat, you will be rewarded–and you will have earned it. The minigame consists of a wheel with four areas: Admire, Joke, Coerce and Boast. You’ll need to choose each of the four over the course of a conversation, and each quadrant shows a varying degree of fullness. As you mouse over the areas, you’ll see the potential reaction of the NPC by his facial expression. The trick is to choose the right sequence based on the reaction. With a high skill in speechcraft, I was told that an additional control becomes available that gives the player an additional advantage when trying to persuade NPCs. Due to my noobish speechcraft, I didn’t witness this myself, however.
The eighth is at Gaming Nexus:
If you’re worried about the controls on the Xbox 360, then let me reassure you that the controls are exceedingly tight and easy to use. You have your basic FPS controls of the left thumbstick controlling movement while the right thumbstick controls where you look. Pressing down on the left thumbstick puts you into stealth mode and pushing down on the right thumbstick switches between first and third person view. The left trigger blocks, while the right trigger attacks. The left bumper allows you to grab objects in the world while the right bumper casts the currently selected spell. For the face buttons, the X buttons sheaths/unsheathes your weapons, the Y button allows you to jump, the B button opens up your journal, and the A button interacts with the environment (push buttons, open doors, etc).
The ninth is at ToTheGame:
Stealing is fun, but I’m not the most discrete thief. In fact, I get caught in my first attempt, and I’m way too proud to be thrown back in jail. After running for about thirty seconds I decide it’s time to stand and fight. Literally three or four minutes go by as me and this guard exchange blows, counters, and blocks until he falls to the ground. Though I remain victorious, the enemy AI made its presence known. I find an inn, and rest for the next day to come; only to find a man standing over my sleeping body. Apparently this other guild, calling themselves the Dark Brotherhood, are interested in seeing how well I do with a little task they have for me. (What the heck) I said to myself, it’s something else to do.
The tenth is at GamePlasma:
Voice acting in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is unparalleled by any game currently available on the market. All the voice actors that I heard in my time with the preview were believable in the roles in which they were cast. Bethesda has brought in some major voice talent for the project as well, with Patrick Stewart cast as the Emperor. Also the announcer in The Arena is the announcer for the Washington Nationals. Other people lending their voice talent to The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion include Lynda Carter (TV’s Wonder Woman), Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings), and Terence Stamp (General Zod in Superman II).
And the eleventh is at GamingTrend:
During a part of the dungeon, you learn alchemy. This is where you mix plants and such to make potions. Initially, you can only combine materials with the same effect, such as restore health. Eventually, if you get good enough, you can mix different effects. In your inventory, potions become one of two colors: pink or green. Pink potions are (good) and beneficial to you, such as the afore mentioned restore health. Green potions are (bad) and harmful to your enemies. You use these by applying them to your weapons, creating poisoned ones. One bad thing about them is that they are one use effects, so if you poison your sword and hit something, the poison disappears from your sword, if you miss it stays until you hit. If you poison a quiver of arrows, only your first arrow is poisoned and if you miss, you lose the effect. Another thing that would be useful is if you could sort the various plants and items, by effect, to see how many of each you have. If you start collecting a large amount of items, it will take a while to sort through them to make potions. One helpful thing that does happen though, is when you pick your first item to mix, let’s say a restore health item, then go to add more, it will only list those items that are compatible with the first. This does help to alleviate some of the confusion.
Whew!
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