Ships Ahoy - Oblivion (Official) [Mar 22, 2006, 09:16 am ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Stop the presses again, as another
overdue press
release announces the availability of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for
Xbox 360 in North America. Here's the official announcement on availability of
the RPG sequel, which actually arrived in most stores by yesterday, and will
show up in Europe by Friday:
NEW YORK & ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2006--2K Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO - News), and Bethesda Softworks® today announced that the highly-anticipated role-playing game, The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion(TM) is now available for the Xbox 360(TM) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC in stores across North America and will be available at stores in Europe on March 24th.
The long-awaited Oblivion represents the quintessential role-playing experience for the next-generation of gaming, inviting gamers into the sprawling environments of Tamriel, the most vibrant game-world ever created. With a powerful combination of freeform gameplay and lush, unprecedented graphics, gamers can choose to unravel Oblivion's epic narrative or simply explore the vast landscape in search of their own unique challenges.
Oblivion's story begins with the mysterious assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII, leaving the kingdom's throne dangerously vacant. With the Empire ready to crumble, the gates of Oblivion are thrust open, scattering demons and other hellish creatures across the countryside. To turn the tide, gamers must journey to find the Emperor's lost heir and defeat the plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.
"Oblivion is an engrossing and unique role-playing experience with incredibly deep gameplay," said Christoph Hartmann, Managing Director of 2K Games. "Gamers will be amazed when they see the revolutionary features that have made Oblivion one of the most anticipated titles of 2006."
Oblivion promises to be the defining RPG for the next generation, combining landmark visuals, a sprawling, sandbox universe with more than 200 hours of gameplay, intense first-person combat and realistic characters driven by the groundbreaking Radiant AI.
The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion is available for both the PC and Xbox 360 in regular and collector's editions. The collector's edition includes a 112-page Pocket Guide to the Empire, detailing every aspect of the world of Tamriel, as well as an extensive "Making of Oblivion" documentary and an authentic replication of the Septim Gold Coin, the official currency of Tamriel. PC gamers will also be able to bend the world of Tamriel to their will with the extensive Elder Scrolls Construction Set(TM).
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for Xbox 360 and PC, co-published by 2K Games and Bethesda Softworks, has been rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information on the title visit the official web site at www.elderscrolls.com.
Overall, I'm MIGHTY impressed. It's pretty much exactly what I was expecting (based on 2 hours, I know, which isn't much). I personally think the gameplay is great and haven't been bothered by the fonts. I REALLY wish it had popup tooltips when you mouse over some of the interface tabs because they are not obvious what they mean until after you have clicked on them. If you're going to say that a tabbed interface is ok to use in this game, I can't believe that somehow popup tooltips are somehow not included because they're "not in the spirit of the interface." I can only think that the designers just didn't think they were really necessary, but they'd sure help me. Minor minor thing though.
The only other quibble I have that really breaks my immersion is that I wish that the trees and grass, which to Bethesda's credit are visible at a scalable distance, would FADE in like WOW rather than POP in when you get in range. It's a little strange to be running outside and notice grass constantly pop-pop-popping into view at the same set distance. It's just a bit weird and distracting. WOW pulls this off much better by fading these in and I wish they had done the same thing here.
Otherwise, great game. Don't pass on the title just because people are calling it a "port." I don't see it myself--I think it's fine. To me a port is originally designed for one platform and ported over to the other. I don't believe for a second that one version of this game was designed independently, finished, and then ported over. If the game is similar to the XBox 360 version, what do I care? I am only going to judge it on the merits of being on the PC and I think its very enjoyable.
If anyone is on the fence, don't get too dissuaded by negative opinions. The game definitely does NOT "suck ass." To each their own though. The quality and hard work are evident. And it clearly has got a lot of gameplay in it. I played for about 2 hours and made it out of the first dungeon and about midway into the nearby cave. I couldn't help but think "Man this is going to take a long time to finish." when I had to go to bed. I like that.
One more thing--I LIKE THE QUICK TRAVEL INTERFACE! You can quick travel to the first quest completion location even though you haven't traveled there yet (I'm thinking mainly in contrast to WOW where flight paths are not available until you've found both ends of it on foot first). Even in dungeons, you can get to the end and quick travel out. I never really realized how tedious backtracking through a completed dungeon in Morrowind was until I saw this changed in Oblivion.
The only other quibble I have that really breaks my immersion is that I wish that the trees and grass, which to Bethesda's credit are visible at a scalable distance, would FADE in like WOW rather than POP in when you get in range. It's a little strange to be running outside and notice grass constantly pop-pop-popping into view at the same set distance. It's just a bit weird and distracting. WOW pulls this off much better by fading these in and I wish they had done the same thing here.
Otherwise, great game. Don't pass on the title just because people are calling it a "port." I don't see it myself--I think it's fine. To me a port is originally designed for one platform and ported over to the other. I don't believe for a second that one version of this game was designed independently, finished, and then ported over. If the game is similar to the XBox 360 version, what do I care? I am only going to judge it on the merits of being on the PC and I think its very enjoyable.
If anyone is on the fence, don't get too dissuaded by negative opinions. The game definitely does NOT "suck ass." To each their own though. The quality and hard work are evident. And it clearly has got a lot of gameplay in it. I played for about 2 hours and made it out of the first dungeon and about midway into the nearby cave. I couldn't help but think "Man this is going to take a long time to finish." when I had to go to bed. I like that.
One more thing--I LIKE THE QUICK TRAVEL INTERFACE! You can quick travel to the first quest completion location even though you haven't traveled there yet (I'm thinking mainly in contrast to WOW where flight paths are not available until you've found both ends of it on foot first). Even in dungeons, you can get to the end and quick travel out. I never really realized how tedious backtracking through a completed dungeon in Morrowind was until I saw this changed in Oblivion.
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