Ush's Videogames review thread!

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Those pics show nothing useful, and you are simply completely wrong about your example making it look turn based. And in any case you ARE wrong. You can select to attack second, and hit first. Again, happens rather a lot, if you bothered to pay attention to the game; interrupting enemy attacks with a faster hitting character is a very viable tactic in the system. Gee... how wrong do you want to be?

And now you have become so desperate, changing what you previously said because you got it so incredibly wrong the first time... really quite feeble. Fact of the matter is this- you called X-2 turn based, and you were wrong. Your statement that it was turn based was not even slightly ambivalent. You simpky said it was a 'turn-based game'. You even mentioned it in the same breath as FFX being turned based, which is true. You equated the two, and you cocked up. No matter how many times afterwards you try and directly tell us that you didn't imply it was turn based, it won't change what you said, which is still here in the thread for everyone to see. So not content with being wrong, you have gone on to make yourself a blatant liar.

Now grow up and stop trying to wriggle out of it, because everyone can see what an ass you made of yourself. Still trying to wriggle out of it after this long is simply pathetic.

I read your post just fine- there was simply nothing of any value or credit in it.

It seems you have a learning disability, since you show that you're incapable of understanding a simple concept which has been explained throughout the last two pages. You have the audacity to tell someone what they meant and what they didn't; how pathetic are you? I can't count the number of times I explained what I meant when I said X-2 was turn-based. You prove my point the more you post since you can't find anything else to counter ever since your last argument. I'm not bothering explaining once again why I called X-2's system turn-based the first time, even though I and everyone else here knows X-2's system is an Active Time Battle system.

You're making yourself look like an ass every time you post for the fact that you can't understand an incredibly simple thing, something that has been explained a number of times now, which is really, really pathetic.

I could care less about the opinion of someone who thinks VIII's CGI is of better quality than X-2's. If you truly believe something like that, you DO need to purchase a pair of glasses my friend, because your eyesight is that flawed.

Breathe easy, Ushgarak.

Originally posted by Cloud_VII
This proves that either you're incapable of understanding a simple thing, or that you're just plain blind. The systems of both games do, in fact, look the same. Want to know why? In both images, the characters are standing in specified spots. They're also standing on opposites sides of the field, facing each other. Another reason they look similar is that characters who perform "Attack" run up to the enemy from their specified area, hit the enemy, and run back to their spot. You're the one who's wrong, since you can't understand a simple thing that anyone else would understand right away. Secondly, I'm not talking about when characters use speed enhancing methods such as Haste, or Auto-haste in battle. I've never seen one character perform "Attack" after another character if the first character executed a command before the other. If you claim that what you're saying is true, then prove it. I'm not saying that it's entirely right; as long as I've been playing X-2, this has always happened.

It seems you have a learning disability, since you show that you're incapable of understanding a simple concept which has been explained throughout the last two pages. You have the audacity to tell someone what they meant and what they didn't; how pathetic are you? I can't count the number of times I explained what I meant when I said X-2 was turn-based. You prove my point the more you post since you can't find anything else to counter ever since your last argument. I'm not bothering explaining once again why I called X-2's system turn-based the first time, even though I and everyone else here knows X-2's system is an Active Time Battle system.

You're making yourself look like an ass every time you post for the fact that you can't understand an incredibly simple thing, something that has been explained a number of times now, which is really, really pathetic.

I could care less about the opinion of someone who thinks VIII's CGI is of better quality than X-2's. If you truly believe something like that, you DO need to purchase a pair of glasses my friend, because your eyesight is that bad.

Breathe easy, Ushgarak.

You cut out the namecalling RIGHT damn now.

He knows the concept far better than you do, especially considering that YOU are the one who was quoted several things calling it something that it was not.

And it's rather sad that you decided to bump a month-dead argument.

Originally posted by Lana
You cut out the namecalling RIGHT damn now.

He knows the concept far better than you do, especially considering that YOU are the one who was quoted several things calling it something that it was not.

And it's rather sad that you decided to bump a month-dead argument.

How does he know the concept better than anyone else who actually knows what the system bases on? Do a google search on an Active Battle System and you know just about everything there is to know about it. Simple as shit.

In case you didn't know, I happened to miss what the two of you said a while back, and had to address your posts.

Originally posted by Cloud_VII
Sure. Tell me to cut something out that your little buddy started.

How does he know the concept better than anyone else who actually knows what the system bases on? Do a google search on an Active Battle System and you know just about everything there is to know about it. Simple as shit.

In case you didn't know, I happened to miss what the two of you said a while back, and had to address your posts.

I would stand to say that Ush would know how a system works better than some kid who only has played some games because Ush actually has experience in game design.

Not to mention that you cannot deny what you said, and that what you said is wrong, because it's quoted in this thread.

You 'had' to address our points? No, actually, you didn't. You could have just left it alone instead of further derailing a thread.

Originally posted by Lana
I would stand to say that Ush would know how a system works better than some kid who only has played some games because Ush actually has experience in game design.

Not to mention that you cannot deny what you said, and that what you said is wrong, because it's quoted in this thread.

You 'had' to address our points? No, actually, you didn't. You could have just left it alone instead of further derailing a thread.

I never denied what I said, have I? No. What people say the first time isn't always what they meant. I explained directly why I said the statement that wasn't correct, and someone had enough nerve to tell me what I implied and what I didn't. How amusing.

Yeah, I could've, but I chose not to. Just like how you will not discontinue in continuing this stupid pointless argument which is leading nowhere.

Two points, Cloud.

First, your explaining why you said 'turn based' doesn't mean jack squat to any of us. That's just you making feeble excuses after being caught out in the wrong. No-one believes you. like I said, you are just trying, and failing, to wrigle out of your cock up. You said, directly and simply, that the game was turn based, and that is all there is to it. You were wrong. Tough luck.

Secondly, you are STILL wrong about X2. I didn't say anything about Haste, and that's just you trying to put even more restrictions on it. I don't NEED to prove that a person who selects attacks can have her attack executed before someone else who started theirs first. It happens all the time in the game- the game proves it for me. Several times I waited for an emeny to begin his attack, to start my attack afterwards with a faster attacking character (e.g a Gunner, and NOT as Dark Knight whose attack sequence is extremely slow and can easily be interrupted by faster foes whose attacks begin afterwards but resolve first) so that I could catch them in the back BEFORE their attack executed, even though they began it before me. You are just plain and simply wrong there, as you are on a lot of things. It doesn't matter what websites you look at if you have your eyes closed when playing the game.

Your comparison with FFX is, again, simply wrong. There it is truly turn based. A character runs forward, attacks, and runs back simply as part of an animation when it is his turn. In X-2, this is not so. The animations happen in REAL TIME. Two characters can be running and attacking at once. Characters can hit another character in the side or rear, during the other character's attack, to maximise effect and damage. This is all a basic part of X2's system. You just simply fail to understand that which is directly in front of you.

You've got this one entirely wrong. All the better for you that you do move on. Meanwhile, make such spurious comments about 'earning disabilties' as an attack on others again (just because you have been caught out) and you will get an official warning.

And you just can't stop lying. I simply did not say VIII had better CGI. You just made that up to suit you. A truly contemptible thing to do.

Now, I am bringing a halt to this exercise. You believe what you will, but like I said earlier, do it in your own review thread, if you are allowed to have one, and if you don't like what I say, stay out the thread. This thread is moving onto Oblivion soon and that will be that. This argument is done.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
First, your explaining why you said 'turn based' doesn't mean jack squat to any of us. That's just you making feeble excuses after being caught out in the wrong. No-one believes you. like I said, you are just trying, and failing, to wrigle out of your cock up. You said, directly and simply, that the game was turn based, and that is all there is to it. You were wrong. Tough luck.

Secondly, you are STILL wrong about X2. I didn't say anything about Haste, and that's just you trying to put even more restrictions on it. I don't NEED to prove that a person who selects attacks can have her attack executed before someone else who started theirs first. It happens all the time in the game- the game proves it for me. Several times I waited for an emeny to begin his attack, to start my attack afterwards with a faster attacking character (e.g a Gunner, and NOT as Dark Knight whose attack sequence is extremely slow and can easily be interrupted by faster foes whose attacks begin afterwards but resolve first) so that I could catch them in the back BEFORE their attack executed, even though they began it before me. You are just plain and simply wrong there, as you are on a lot of things. It doesn't matter what websites you look at if you have your eyes closed when playing the game.

Your comparison with FFX is, again, simply wrong. There it is truly turn based. A character runs forward, attacks, and runs back simply as part of an animation when it is his turn. In X-2, this is not so. The animations happen in REAL TIME. Two characters can be running and attacking at once. Characters can hit another character in the side or rear, during the other character's attack, to maximise effect and damage. This is all a basic part of X2's system. You just simply fail to understand that which is directly in front of you.

You've got this one entirely wrong. All the better for you that you do move on. Meanwhile, make such spurious comments about 'earning disabilties' as an attack on others again (just because you have been caught out) and you will get an official warning.

And you just can't stop lying. I simply did not say VIII had better CGI. You just made that up to suit you. A truly contemptible thing to do.

Best for you that you stop. You are only digging your hole deeper.

I said this before and I'll say it again. I'm talking about when two characters are performing the SAME attack. That also means incorporating the same dressphere, since for instance, you can't have a Black Mage cast Holy, or an Alchemist perform Gaurd Break. It just doesn't work that way. Oh, and if you were reading, you would know that I clearly stated it probably doesn't occur in every case. I said as long as I've been playing the game, it has always happened. What else would I be wrong about? Nothing. You're the one making the bullshit claim that VIII's CGI is of better quality than X-2's. Secondly, the site explains completely and clearly what an ATB system is, what it's based on, and how it works. There isn't a thing about the system that you know that it doesn't, obviously.

That doesn't counter at all what I've said. They do in fact, look alike, and enemies in X can also attack from the rear, and from the side. For instance, during the battle in Zanarkand, you are surrounded by countless sinspawns who attack Tidus and Auron from all angles, and when Kimahri fought Yenke and Biran, he was attacked from both sides. It seems YOU don't understand what's in front of you my friend.

As been proven many times, you are the one who is wrong about...everything, and I'm getting tired of having to point it out to you.

Oh really? Then how do you explain this:

Originally posted by Ushgarak
But I cannot understand a declaration that the cgi is flawless- it's really NOT as good as X or even VIII.

I bet you'll give me a "warning" after the number of times I proved you wrong on several things, and then you'll probably make a weak excuse, such as I've insulted you or made you feel bad, just to make it seem like you did it for a good reason. Haha.

Ok, I am taking this issue to PMs, as to not further clog up the thread.

But it was entertaining, Ush!

I am sure you will live without it.

---

THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION

I hate Oblivion, and everything about it. It’s buggy, unimaginative, unplayable, boring and everyone who has so much as installed it onto their computer is a no-nothing lightweight with all the taste and charm of an e-coil strain hosting a late-night phone in show.

…

Ok, none of that is strictly true. But as I am going to be mostly hated for not calling Oblivion the best game ever, or close to it, I may as well make sure I am hated from the off.

I don’t hate games others love just for the hell of it. I greatly appreciate the classic nature of, say, Zelda, and am happy to give credit where it is due. As has been apparent, however, I am mystified at the kudos given to Oblivion. Perhaps even more so than KOTOR, because whereas that irritates me for its laziness of attitude and the lowest common denominator form of its appeal to a certain segment of Star wars fandom, at least that’s only regarded as a very good game, where I think it is average. I think Oblivion is average too, but the pedestal people put it on is sometimes right at the very, very top.

Ok, let’s take this from the top.

I never played the original Elder Scrolls game, or Daggerfall. I was never that big on computer RPs at the time, and really never got interested in the concept until Baldur’s Gate won me over, and then spend most my time since then saying “Yeah., but it’s not as good as Baldur’s Gate”, or even, as I mention in my FFX review, refusing to classify other so-called RPs as actual RPs at all, enjoyable though FFX was.

But I did play Morrowind (the game before Oblivion, for those not in the know). I had seen some very good write ups for it (on Xbox reviews, in fact, but the principle applied), and it had caught my intention, but I still had little motivation to buy. I only got it because I need the second component of a two-for-one offer going on at the shop when I bought Uplink (a well-designed, though very short, immersive hacking game).

So I ended up playing through Morrowind. To cut a long story shot, I never considered it a waste of money, but as I played through what stuck ion my mind was a big list of things that really irritated me about the game- notable design flaws. Also, on a very personal level, it just wasn’t quite my sort of game- more on that in a mo.

And then a while later, Oblivion was out, and for many this was like the second coming of Christ, to judge by some reaction,. Largest UK PC games mag, PC gamer, put it in number one of their top 100 games of all time. It is this sort of absurd praise that really motivated me to start raising objections to its quality in the thread about it on this forum. I really was shocked by such a declaration.

I hadn’t bought the game. Just as with Morrowind, I was conscious that I probably wouldn’t like it that much, and in these days of quick mail order of games, often in advance of release, I never mess around buying games in shops any more. No more two for one offers. But the game was going around my friends like it was a lottery number predictor and when one of them lent it to me I didn’t have any excuses left, and as with Morrowind before I played through it.

So what really got me was that just about every single thing I didn’t like about Morrowind was STILL there in Oblivion, and to that they added one more thing that actually made it worse, to my mind. And this is why I take so badly to its enormously inflated position as a bastion of quality. Differences in opinion about what you want out of a game I can accept, but a game with such glaring flaws… enjoyable or not, you just cannot reasonably call it “the best PC game ever” It’s just not on. There is something wrong with any part of an industry that thinks that. I can only hope people look back on it different in retrospect.

(In contrast, whether you actually think it is the best game ever or not, I can accept something like Ocarina of Time being proposed, because that really is such a beautifully, almost perfectly, designed game. It simply doesn’t have any of those glaring flaws, and that remains true whether you actually liked it or not.)

So. Let’s run through the deal, and then I will run through my objections.

All the Elder Scrolls games are concerned with the fulfilment of some kind of prophecy, the scrolls being their origin. They are set in a rather generic fantasy world ruled by a Roman-style Empire, though with lots of other races and what-not around. Although RPs, the games are played in a first person perspective.

In Oblivion as in Morrowind, you begin as an aimless drifter in the game world (before, an isolated island, Morrowind. That made sense as a limited environment. In Oblivion, you are slap bang in the middle of the Empire, and the limits to your travel are artificial and far less immersive).

As a prisoner in the Imperial capital, you are surprised one day to be visited by the Emperor (played with his characteristic gravitas by Patrick Stewart). The Emperor has had visions of his upcoming assassination, and his secret escape route from the city runs through your cell. He does not believe this to be coincidence though, thinking that you are one he has seen in his dreams, destined for great things. That’s prophecy for you. Before long you are caught up in his escape attempt, and your character is created organically via conversation with the Emperor basically asking you what you are good at. Fair enough, though as an experienced RPer I just wanted to dash off character creation the old fashioned way rather than chaining it into the storyline.

Before long the Emperor is dead- not a surprise to him, in a touch of noir… hard to tell why he tried to escape at all, so certain was he of doom… and you find yourself bearing the message of his death, and the conveyance of an important artefact, to an important person nearby. Once you escape the underground sewers you break out into the big wide world, which is a suitably beautiful and impressive vista, and full of striking colours and light where Morrowind was disturbingly brown throughout. Score one for Oblivion.

The basic format from there on in is exactly the same as the other games- proceed through the game world doing whatever the hell you want. Join up with Guilds or other political organisations, take missions from people to do stuff, amass power, buy property, and meanwhile- of you so choose- also engage in the main game plot. Nothing will force you, the game is entirely open ended. You can be paragon or bastard; you can mug or murder in the streets, though the in-built law system will make you pay for it. The open-endedness is rarely broken, and where it is- certain plot important characters being immune to death, only being knocked out- the exception is absolutely understandable and acceptable. Total freedom is chaos; all games need some directed structure.

Many will likely go through the game plot, which is about the weakening of the bonds that keep the forces of Oblivion (the game’s Hell, basically) at bay, with gates to that evil dimension popping up all over. You need to find, the hidden heir to the throne (played with slightly less enthusiasm by Sean Bean) and prep him so that he can return the balance of things to normal and reject the Oblivion gates. There’s a lot of wandering around and killing and forging alliances and so on, all in tandem to your personal goals of making your way up in the world. From this mix of plot and personal advancement is the game formed, and a fairly lengthy experience it is too. As far as such a game can have an ‘ending’, there is a suitably dramatic turn to the final scenes of the main game plot.

Fair enough to all that. It kinda works, mostly. On many levels it sounds like the sort of game I should like. So where does it go wrong for me? Here goes then.

1. I personally don’t like this type of thing. All reviews are opinion, though you may possibly have picked up the vibe that I think holding some opinions about games is entirely unreasonable. This first point, though, is entirely down to matter of opinion. I don’t like that style of game that is the Elder Scrolls games. This surprises many who think it is right up my alley, but I don’t like the kinds of games that are THAT open ended, especially in personal development. I like a bit of forced structure, and I don’t like it that you can become the greatest fighter AND wizard AND thief and whatever. I think, again, this appeals to a certain childish nature, of wanting to be the best at everything. It destroys my immersion in the game world; it feels ludicrous to me that in a few weeks out and about I can become everyone’s top head honcho of everything. That’s not a matter of realism as such, but even in a mad fantasy world there is some limit, and I simply don’t like this approach. For all my complaints about KOTOR, you were at least pretty much one thing or another, and so it is true in Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights 2 (which, although I have separate complaints about, I found much more interestingly open than Oblivion)

2. Too much emphasis on realism only highlights shortcomings. Take Zelda: A Link to the Past. You can cross the entirety of Hyrule in about three minutes and there only seems to be two dozen people living in the entire country. But who the hell cares? The style of the game is so remote from you actually expecting it to be carried out realistically that this does not impact one tiny jot. And this carries through all the way to Twilight Princess- even though it is set in a large 3-d world, the entire approach and style of the piece means that the actual realistic set-up of that world is of absolutely no consequence.

Morrowind was different. It made a really, really big fuss about how realistic and genuine its island was. Everyone was scaled as if it were the real thing, and the towns and cities were modelled as if real with genuine people etc. Basically everything was modelled on a 1-to-1 basis. But of course it wasn’t. Morrowind’s island was absurdly small. You couldn’t fit a country in there. You could barely get a town on there. The so called towns you visited were tiny hamlets, and the capital was… a slightly larger hamlet, with about two dozen people living there. See, Zelda isn’t even trying here. But Morrowind really really was, and the reality comes amazingly shot of what they were trying to sell.

Oblivion has the exact same problem, now multiplied by the fact it is set at the darn capital, not an outlying island. Everything is too small and too limited, The game area is just not big enough to justify what it is meant to be. Never mind their advertising blurb of how much is in it. They were still aiming WAY too high, and once more, their emphasis on realism really shows up how short of it they are. The capital of the entire Empire is minute; the entire play area is the size the capital should be alone, which in turn says to me that they are only ready so far to make a game set in the capital, to give it the size it deserves. You can cross the entire country still in some twenty five minutes. I can’t even walk to work in that time in real life, and I live on the outskirts of the town. I can see the damn capital from the edges of the game world, as if all I have done is climb a nearby hill to look down on it, not moved out beyond the far mountains on the fringes of civilisation. The thing is, they KNOW it doesn’t work on a realistically modelled basis, because the passage of time passing in the game is massively accelerated from real life. You can’t have one and not the other. Technologically, we are still a long way short of what they set out to achieve here. The world feels sterile and utterly lacking in character.

3. Graphics imperfect. To be sure, Oblivion is a damn good sight in many ways- vast distances to be seen, great use of colour, good resolution and aliasing. But there’s more to graphics than that. First of all… it’s very dull. Morrowind may have been horribly brown but the world was imaginative. Here, it’s all green fields and grey caves. Even Oblivion itself seems cold and uninspiring. Implementation is as important as technical quality. Twilight Princess is inferior in graphics technology, no question. Yet I found it the more beautiful game. The use of special effects, the views, use of camera, the varying and interesting environments… and above all, animation. Oblivion’s use of facial animation, for example, isn’t even as good as FFX ‘s was, years ago. And as for the horse riding animation… ugh… TP trumps it by miles. Actually, even OOT trumps it. Sometimes, even the hi-tech fails. The dynamic lighting is a joke. I know this is a new thing, but surely someone spotted that it is just absurd to have sunlight reflecting off of SHEEP as if they were mirrors, creating weirdly incandescent walking wool. It looks atrocious.

4. Shut the hell up! Just a specific thing here. There is a long debate over whether Twilight Princess should have had voices or not. All I can say is, I’d rather silence than crap noise. If the continuous, inane and suicide-encouraging blather that NPCs spout all around you in oblivion is anything to judge by, then I never want voices in games again.

5. Boring plot. I am sure other people think this too- the plot is incredibly boring. Frankly, all those repetitive quests you do become really dull very quickly as well. The entire progressive heart of the game failed to engage my attention at all at any point.

6. Buggy. This may have been subsequently fixed, but bugs were really detracting for me. I had quests fail because people I was meant to protect jumped over a bridge into lava on a whim, and at one point I had the entire game fail because a quest-vital NPC got lost when following me, never to turn up. Meanwhile I had numerous minor glitches in the areas of detection and collision and all these things that the more I play Nintendo games, the more I realise that these are not just facts of life you have to put up with. They are irritating, fun-destroying factors that CAN be eliminated if the time and trouble is taken, and I simply won’t tolerate them any more.

7. Unbalanced. Probably my biggest Oblivion bugbear, the game is unbalanced. Two handed weapons remain utterly overpowered. Magic is still crap- you run out of energy almost immediately, and only by hacking the game have people made Magic at all fun.

8. Combat very boring. And I am sorry, another jarring comparison with Zelda- combat in this game sends me into a coma. Click click click. Maybe hold down click. With just a few simple movements and camera approaches, Zelda combat is made exhilarating and interesting., Here it tends to be like two cavemen swinging clubs at each other to see who will drop first, and all the rules about being staggered or stunned just make it even more frustrating and boring.

9. Skill system is a pile of shite. My other main bugbear with Morrowind was the skill advancement system, via which you got better with skills by using them.. Fair enough in theory, DREADFUL in practice, as you spent your whole time running around with the run and jump keys held down so you would increase your athletics and acrobatics scores. Designers should sometimes remember that what seems realistic not necessarily at all worthwhile, fun, or practical in a game. Skill advancement is normally abstract in games- from putting in points or going up levels- not because it is an attempt at realism, but because it is the most practical way to demonstrate advancement,. Linking it to use is like trying to create a simulation of real life, and real life is very very boring in that respect. It’s also a horribly abusable and exploitable system.

10. Totally broken levelling design. And here comes the new bugbear that made this game worse than Morrowind before it- their ‘flat line’ approach to danger. Vis a vis, that as you level up, the world around you grows more powerful as well. Wildlife in the outskirts increases in power. Bad guys increase in power. Even bosses.

Their excuse for this calamity of a system is that it encourages people to go wherever they want instead of feeing limited by their power- at a stroke, hacking away what has been one of the most successful lynchpins of the computer RP genre, the idea that some areas were worth building up towards to be able to take on. It added a sense of drama and achievement., here, there is no achievement, Everything is flatlined anyway. This difficult bit you just did? May as well have done it ten levels earlier. Would have been no more difficult because all the bad guys would be weaker.

And from this insidious start, the horrible flaws in this ludicrous idea seep out all over the game. First of all, the balance of it is all wrong. Very often you will find yourself becoming less powerful as you level up, and the world around you is increasing in power faster than you are. What the bloody hell is the point of that? Meanwhile, in most RPs, it is accepted that to get very powerful items, you need to find them in obscure places or kill powerful foes. Not here. Here, you just need to go high level and kill some bandits. To keep pace with you, the bandits are carrying around some of the most powerful weapons in the game. Lord knows why they are robbing you- they could sell one element of their gear for more money than they could take off of passers by on the road in ten years.

It destroys drama. Why should the plane of Oblivion scare me when I know that it is only every trying to be as difficult as I am? Where is the feeling of “I hope I am ready for this…” when you step through an Oblivion gate? It’s nowhere. The world beyond the gate is scaled to suit you. How friendly. How accommodating, How crap.

And finally, it encourages the most horrific abuses of gameplay, You go up in level when you increase enough primary skills- your character creation decides what is primary. So, practice what you are meant to be good at enough, and you will increase in level! That’s a fair idea, so warrior types who selected lots of fighty skills as their main skills will go up in level if they stick with their concept, and concentrate on increasing those fighty skills.

Except that going up in levels is a CURSE. It makes everything else more powerful. The last thing you want to do is actually increase your primary skills. Instead, all the guides to Oblivion make this very clear- make sure you never, ever put anything you actually want to use as a primary skill. If you do, you might accidentally level up as you get better at it. Instead put a load of crap in as primary, and leave the skills you want as secondary, and increase them in safety! This approach is only reasonable as a means to make best use out of an appalling system. The players are not at fault- the system designer is. It is a disastrous calamity that tears the dramatic heart out of the game and I hate and deplore it almost beyond words. That it encourages players to defeat the system by buggering around with their skills demonstrates this. It’s just… wrong. On so many levels.

So that’s what I don’t like. I’m not even a fan of the Elder Scrolls heritage. When it comes to first person role-plays, I liked Ultima Underworld, and System Shock- and now, form the same family, the upcoming Bioshock, which I will be amazed about if I do not greatly prefer it to this game. They’ve always done it considerably better.

Opinions differ. But my faith in the professional gaming community has been greatly shaken by the declaration that this is the best PC game of its era. Now every time I see someone singing its praises so highly, I feel like something insidious is strangling gamers. The game is so wrong., So wrong, and in so many ways. I still finished it. There’s lots that is good about it. A lot of effort put into it has paid off. But honest to God, some thing s about it have been done so darn badly.. I cannot forgive. This game should have been “Nice try, but…” I remain profoundly uncomfortable that people can ever see this as some sort of pinnacle to be strived for. Simply put, gaming is better than that.

Cardinal Sins- Irritating ambience (i.e. sound)

Completely broken central gameplay mechanic

Rating: 6/10

Comment: Solid, but uninspiring, first person fantasy roleplay. Great technical achievement brought down by bad implementation and very, very poor levelling mechanic that ruins the game for many

I don't know how you manage to finish games you get annoyed at because when I get annoyed with a game, it's gone...

As always I am amused...hehe...

(and Bioshock still looks very scary)

Coming soon- a game that annoyed me so much I refused to finish it!

Heh. Well, I've got to say that, for the most part, I agree with you.

Though what I think has become the point of Oblivion - at least on PC - is modding it. A lot of the mods I have did away with many of your issues - namely, the quest-ending glitches, somewhat uninspiring graphics and the horrid weapon, magic, and leveling systems. Talking people are still annoying, and the horse animation is still a bit painful to look at, but mods fix a lot of issues that "vanilla" Oblivion has.

I just got annoyed with lock picking and my horse always dying because wolves chased me halfway around the map.

I would be perfectly happy to accept that the game can be modded into something better, but that would effectively be reviewing a different game.

The vast majority of players will play the standard version, after all.

Also yes- the lock picking is spectacularly pointless.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Coming soon- a game that annoyed me so much I refused to finish it!

Originally posted by Ushgarak
I would be perfectly happy to accept that the game can be modded into something better, but that would effectively be reviewing a different game.

The vast majority of players will play the standard version, after all.

Also yes- the lock picking is spectacularly pointless.

Yep. Like most review sites, they always review the game pre patch, or not modded. It kidna of defeats the purpose of reviewing a game after it was released if they just wait for the patch.

Like usually, very good review, Ush. I heard much hype about Oblivion, but I found Morrowind a bit blant and boring, actually, and now I am glad I didn`t upgrade my computer for Oblivion. For some reason I liked Daggerfall more.

At least Kotor was far from boring, feeling more like interactive movie, plot-wise. Perhaps the fact that I wasn`t a big Star Wars fan helped me enjoy it more, since I didn`t care about inconsistencies you spotted? And I still think the moment you can definately turn Darkside and kill your faithful companions is priceless. And then you can force this Wookie Zalbarr to kill his best friend Mission. I would like to do something as wicked in your role-playing games( I think using the Corruption power on allies of other players would be a good start.... but then they would be likely to kill me, how unfair). Oh, and Darkside Bastilia being so hot is enough reason to turn Darkside, I found it hard to resist her charm.

By the way, I am Baldur`s Gate fan as well, especially the second part. Would you agree that Red Wizard Edwin is the coolest joinable NPC?

So Ush, will you be reviewing Baldur`s Gate? Oh, and do you happen to like Fallout as well?