The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion E3 Previews

The E3 previews of Bethesda’s fourth installment in the Elder Scrolls series continue to roll in, with two more surfacing over the weekend. The first is at GamersInfo:

Leaving the dungeon behind, we headed into town. Here we were introduced to the games new Radiant AI. This system allows the more then 1000 non-player characters to have lives and to eat, sleep, and act toward their own goals. Added to this impressive new AI is a whole host of additions to make these NPCs more realistic from facial animations, lip-synching and more then 50 hours of voice acting goes a long way toward accomplishing this goal. As we entered town we were shown into the house of a lonely old widow who after a short conversation invites us upstairs. This is where we truly saw the Radiant AI in action as we sat back and watched her feed her dog, read and take a nap as the day progresses. As we left the widow’s house we overheard two citizens talking about a rumor of Oblivion breaching a city nearby and the Emperor’s Forces having trouble dealing with it. This is one of the cooler new features in Oblivion where quests can be picked up from eavesdropping on conversations of the NPCs around you not just by approaching an NPC standing around.

And the second is at WorthPlaying:

As with past Elder Scrolls games, you can create almost any kind of character you want, from spellslingers to deadly snipers to thieves and so on. There’s no experience system in Oblivion; instead, you learn your skills by using them. If you want to be a great archer or mage or what-have-you, just use those talents and you’ll gradually improve. It allows for an organic sort of character generation and design, which we like to see in our games. You can hone those skills against the inhabitants of over two hundred unique dungeons, each one of which has been handcrafted. There’s no random dungeon generation here.