The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition

I cannot stand 1st person RPG’s. The controls are terrible, you have trouble finding your way around without having to constantly deal with the camera. This game would have been excellent if it offerred 3rd person perspective.
Rating: 1 / 5

Wow. After reading all these reviews praising this game I almost feel bad adding my two cents. I hate it. A lot. A whole lot. I think the graphics suck compared to games like Call of Duty, Far Cry 2, etc. I also think the action is so pathetically slow that I could be reading a book at the same time. Perhaps I just don’t like RPGs. This is the first I’ve played. I love open world games, which is why I got it. Fallout 3, Farcry 2, The Godfather, etc. But this… boring. And the movement isn’t smooth at all. The graphics make me think it’s 1990. Ugh. Can’t wait to bring it back to Blockbuster tomorrow. Thank God I didn’t actually buy it, or I’d be pissed.
Rating: 1 / 5

I don’t know how companies like Bethesda that should have their act together can push a load of crap like this onto consumers. I will make sure to pirate their games on my pc from now on because of the sheer laziness of this port. Constant crashing and bugs abound!
Rating: 3 / 5

This is a good game. Graphics are great and their is a lot to do. The thing that sucks about it is that you’re all alone. Most RPGs have multiple characters in your party allowing you to explore difference voices and stories. In this game, it’s just you in a huge world. It’s kind of depressing.
Rating: 3 / 5

Honestly, I really wanted to love this game. And I don’t doubt that certain parts of it are great, or that others have found so much to love about it.

But there is one simple thing that ruins the entire experience for me: the encumberance system (i.e. the amount of weight you can carry).

Videogames are a form of entertainment; a sense of escapism, adventure, and most of all: accomplishment (like whenever you beat that particularly difficult level or boss with true effort and skill). However, to have to stop every 15 minutes or so to manage your encumberance level is ridiculous.

Which item should I drop? Which item should I pick up, and which should remain on my fallen foes? How many of these do I really need? Will this be important later, and therefore should I not leave it behind? Am I going to have to come back for this 15 hours later in the game, and if so, will I remember it’s location?

Constant decisions like this strongly detract from the story and excitement of the game, as you’ll be too busy micromanaging. And yes, micromanagement is a typical feature of an RPG, but this system feels like honest-to-god work, which actually, I use videogames to escape.
Of course, there is a way around this: once fully encumbered, you may exit whichever dungeon you’re plundering, backtrack to the nearest goods store, sell everything, and then return back into the foray. If you choose this option, however, perpare to waste A LOT of time-numerous trips back and forth add up to spending a lot of time getting very little done.

What it simply boils down to for me is this: I want to be a hero, not a delivering wholesaler; and I want to feel a sense of accomplishment for trying to collect every item/uncover every secret. Working hard to build up stats on a character is one thing; but if I need to spend countless hours running back and forth, trying to decide which item is pointless, and which is worth rearranging my entire inventory in order to carry–no thanks.
Had this game instead used some sort of auto-sale system like in MGS4, or even incorporated no encumberance limitations to begin with, it would be infinitely more enjoyable.
But because it doesn’t, it’s left at least this gamer severely disappointed.
Rating: 1 / 5