The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Impressions

A couple more websites are offering up their impressions of Bethesda’s newly released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The first is at GamerDad, where they take a closer look at the game’s ability to provide a sense of immersion:

So the question becomes, what if the world did go on without you? That brings up better and more intriguing possibilities, but a whole lot of extra work for the developers and designers. Walking away from a big fight should result in some kind of good or bad outcome of that fight. Without you, the townspeople should maybe lose the battle you decided was too heated for you, thus causing bad thingsTM to happen. Maybe that ruined town becomes a focal point for the overarching big bad guyTM to continue his world domination? Of course, if you stay focused on the task and win the fight, then the plot proceeds as it should toward his ultimate demise. Obviously, if you forsake the fight, the rest of the game should get tougher or change in some way because of your wimping out.

And the second is at ComputerAndVideoGames.com, where a few of their editors sound off about the new RPG:

Bethesda has made improvements over Morrowind in almost every imaginable aspect, with a huge world, a massive and compelling main quest, an unbelievable number of fully-voiced NPCs and a simply astounding number of things to do. It all comes together to form the most involving single-player RPG you could ever hope to play, and probably will remain so for quite a while. It’s the kind of game that’s difficult to describe without descending into a rampant and meandering tale about some adventure you found yourself on, possibly accompanied by jumping about and swinging an imaginary sword at your mates.