The great day finally happened yesterday - sadly, not my long-awaited kickabout with Matt Le Tissier - as Oblivion 360 code arrived. You wouldn't believe the PR smokescreen around this title with super strict instructions about what can be written before next Friday's release. As if they think I would spoil it for you lot. So, after four hours play last night, here are my initial thoughts.
Graphics? Yes, it looks as good as it does in screenshots, with a huge draw distance on the landscapes. I haven't spent too long out in the wild yet but pop-up is rare, and although grass and heather isn't always visible from a distance it doesn't overly detract from the illusion. Is this the prettiest virtual world yet? I think so.
The game itself is more welcoming than Morrowind - admittedly not hard - but the lack of signposting and hand-holding will shock a lot of console players. I'm not spoiling anything to say that the first part of the game is set in a dungeon. This tutorial section is nicely paced and gives you the absolute basic info you need. But even then there is a lot of learning involved - particularly the necessity for fastidious inventory management. Used to picking up everything you come across in a game? You won't be here.
And then there are the stats. The game does a fairly good job of hiding these from you at the start but it isn't long until you need to spend time learning what does what. Players who are used to the clear and relatively simplistic stat and skill system in the likes of WoW will find Oblivion a much more obtuse beast, at least initially. Obviously this greater depth rewards the player in the long term. But this is one game - gasp - where the manual is a necessity.
The character creation section is marvellously anal - it's easy to spend an hour fiddling around with your character's cheekbones or nose tilt. This may be "next-gen" but the facial graphics still have that familiar zombie feel to them - maybe we'll have to wait till next-next gen for a truly realistic videogame face. Despite this, there is ample opportunity to create the character you want.
The voice acting is decent enough so far and I haven't had enough NPC interaction to fully appreciate the AI. I did try and steal a horse though, and was soon caught by the local guard.
So far the only negatives have been minor. For example the olde-world font used throughout is a little difficult to read on a standard-def TV. The biggest annoyance is the "loading area" text that pops up when exploring the wilderness. There is no noticeable pause or obvious change to the scenery but it jars the beautiful illusion that the graphics create.
The biggest attraction is undoubtedly the scope of this game. I've only been playing a few hours and I've already had a couple of "Hyrule Field" moments, where you realise the sheer magnitude of what lays before you. Oblivion clearly isn't for the faint-hearted or those with attention-deficit disorder but my initial impressions are very positive. Looks like I better go and finally buy that hi-def TV this weekend...
