The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion E3 Previews

A couple of new E3 previews for Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion were posted over the weekend. The first is at DailyGame:

With these new gameplay mechanics, it’s no wonder Bethesda’s Todd Howard proclaims (we’ve never been more excited about a game.) And that’s before he even touches on the graphics, which even now make Oblivion the most graphically rich RPG ever made. Each of the 9,000 objects in Oblivion has multiple-passed textures. Real-time lighting. Soft, dynamic shadows. Physics so detailed that arrows can be embedded in flesh and wood but simply bounce off of rocks. If Morrowind blurred reality with its gameplay, then Oblivion looks to blur reality in every sense of the word. Never has an RPG looked this good.

And the second is at RPG Vault:

Creating and developing your avatar will extend the Morrowind model wherein your actions dictate which abilities advance. Using a bow or sword to win a battle makes you better with it, as does utilizing each type of magic, while stealing things makes you stealthier. You level up by raising your skills, not by killing things to gain experience. Todd stated that the expected races and classes will be available, so the system will be different but not completely unfamiliar by any means. NPCs function within the same scheme so that, for instance, drinking an accuracy potion raises the likelihood of hitting the intended target with an arrow.