Four Years Later Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Is Still The Best Western RPG This Gen

Gary A Swaby of TheKoakition.com writes: Elder Scrolls: Oblivion may not be every gamers cup of tea, and I was never much a fan of fantasy RPG's prior to playing it. However if you decide to give it the time of day, you will be surprised to discover just how much this game has to offer. Mass Effect 2 became my second favorite game this generation(behind Metal Gear Solid 4), which is also a Western RPG. However after playing Oblivion again today, I have fell in love with the game once again, and to this day I cannot deny that it was the best Western RPG made this generation. It is a bold claim to make, so what kind of so called journalist would I be if didn't try to back it up? Well here are a few reasons why Elder Scrolls: Oblivion is so great.

[renegade]

I think Fallout 3 is better, but i like oblivion the game was awesome.

[swiftshot93]

I like FO3 better too.

[WildArmed]

I think Mass Effect is a better Western RPG.

On the Japanese side: Demons Souls like many of you have pointed out.

[ryano23277]

Fallout 3 is up there with one of my all time favourites.

Oblivion when I put it in, I could immediately see the similarities between Fallout 3 & Oblivion - Fallout 3 had a better world setting to me, as I've never been a fan of wizards and stuff like that, same reason Dragon Age didn't really appeal.

Mass Effect I haven't played, but I will one of these days.

[PS3Freak]

It's tough for me to say whether i like Fallout 3 or Oblivion more. I'm playing Fallout 3 right now and i freaking love it, but it is hard to compare since i havn't played oblivion in years(first game i got for ps3 along with resistance back in 07).

I do know that i have spent a ridiculous amount of hours playing both.

[lowcarb]

I give the edge to Oblivion over Fallout but teach each his own. My only wish is for Fable to one day have an open world with the scope of Oblivion.

[pain777pas]

For 360 early adopters this was the game to play and is still the overall deepest and best western RPG. Mass Effect has so many people you cannot talk to nor interact with. Oblivion is the game that nailed immersion. I have the game for 360, PS3 and PC. Seriouly I am that crazy about this game and I got the games in that very order as well. Fallout was just to depressing. However with mods on a PC version of the game I would probably change my tune.

[Tony P]

One reason alone imo: mods. There are RPGs with better stories and gameplay... But none as expandable or with the same scope.

I enjoy ME2, Dragon Age, Witcher, and assorted non-WRPGs... But Oblivion outlasts them all. You usually can't get that much replayability without going online. It's like getting an MMO's worth of content in a single-player game. And without a monthly fee.

[JoySticksFTW]

As soon as I got out of the sewers, I just jumped into all of the side-quests, guild quests, dungeon exploration, etc that I could.

I have my Gray Fox cowl, became the Arena grand champion, fully leveled up, easily drained over a 100 hrs into the game, caused wide spread chaos in towns, and I don't think that I've seen one Oblivion gate open up yet.

That's how amazing this game is.

It still calls to me

[EvilBlackCat]

ELDER SCROLLS & MASS EFFECT FTW !!!!

[ASSASSYN 36o]

Yeah I think Fallout 3 is better.

[mugoldeneagle03]

I loved Fallout 3 just as much as you all, but Oblivion is probably still my most played PS3 game to this day and I haven't played it in at least a year maybe two. It was one of those titles that came out while the PS3 library was still "shallow" along with RB6 Vegas and before Warhawk and I logged some serious hours.

There are a lot of good RPG's though that have come out the last few years...It's definitely a tough call

[aaron5829]

I loved Oblivion's environments more...

Although i finished Fallout 3, i'm not a big fan of the environment.

The first time i played Oblivion, i was in awe ! for Fallout.. it's more greyish, everything is dead... looks boring.

but as a game overall, i prefered oblivion.

[ReservoirDog316]

Just finished Mass Effect 2 today. I would say it was better than Oblivion but Oblivion was one of the most important games I've played this gen. I'll probably think back on this gen years down the line and remember the first time I walked out into the actual map. I was just about speechless.

Mass Effect 2 was technically better though. In nearly every way.

Still waiting on fallout 3 GOTY edition's price to drop. So can't really give much of an opinion on fallout 3. Doubt it's better than either though.

[The Maxx]

MASS EFFECT took best WRPG long ago.

[WildArmed]

dont you mean in Jan of 2010 -.-

[-MD-]

Oblivion was a failure in my eyes. Best western rpg would go to Mass Effect 2.

[pxpxp]

Sucks that you are blind.

[-MD-]

I have my dog log me into N4G to post. How did you figure me out?

[aaron5829]

i didnt know opinion had eyes.... :)

[BWS1982]

have fanboy goggles on. Why can't you temper that BS like you do on CAG?

[-MD-]

You...you know me on CAG? How......

[silvacrest]

mass effect is a good RPG
mass effect 2 is a third person shooter

i would call neither of them the best western RPG

my vote goes to fallout 3

[The Maxx]

Uh....

Mass Effect is in 3rd person and is a shooter WRPG
Mass Effect 2 is in 3rd person and is a shooter WRPG

and Fallout 3 is also in 3rd person and is a shooter WRPG

Are you sure you played Fallout 3?

Anyways like I stated above. Mass Effect is by far a much better WRPG than Fallout 2 and Oblivion.

[silvacrest]

what i meant by my comment is mass effect 2 had alot of RPG elements stripped out plus, you could auto level up from start to finish if you wanted, that just seems wrong to have in a RPG

and yes, i played fallout 3, the fact that its in first person mode does not change anything either, in case you were wondering

[halojunkie]

oblivion. off topic though, the best rpg is Demons Souls.

[detroitkid]

Have they forgotten Demon Souls

[SwiffEpics]

@ Detroitkid Thats a Japanese made RPG

[Faztkiller]

Its Japanese made RPG but to me it felt like a WRPG I rented the game and loved it but it was just to hard for me I play for like 15 hours and i didn't even make it past the Giant Knight so i gave up LOL

[PandemicPrawn0]

I loved Oblivion. Great RPG.

But I'm currently playing Fallout 3 for the first time and it's rocking my world.

Personally I think The Mass Effect series will be the best WRPG games for a long time to come.

[IrishAssa]

KOTOR 1 is the best ever W-RPG for me I think. This gen I liked Oblivion more than F3 because I found it more addictive. But I suppose Mass effect 2 is best this gen. I'd still put demons souls and Valkyria chronicles above ME2 and all w-RPG's this gen

[Darrius Cole]

Kotor 1 was the best W-RPG I have ever played or seen played.

Oblivion however, is the best W-RPG this gen. Fallout 3 was so gloomy and wretched that I could play it. It seemed like an awful time to be alive and made for a bad fantasy.

However, I never tried Dragon Age and am still playing through Demon's Souls.

[IrishAssa]

Nice to see some KOTOR lovin :D

For some reason I just can't get into Fallout. I can't do the quests, I just dunno why. I like post apocalyptic stuff but I just don't like F3.
I've play Dragon age and can't really get into it to much either. It's more like KOTOR than anything but I just don't find it as good. It's also missing HK-47 lol. I will give it another try though in July when my tests are over.

Oblivion had me hooked for ages, just brillant. different classes reallyment something. Be a conjurer. Or a wood elf arrow specialist. So good. Mods kick A** too.

I will aso start Demons souls in July again because I love it

[The Time Reaper]

Can you remap your controls at all? I forget, but something turned me off to playing it on the consoles a while back.

[Muff1nB4k3r]

DRAGON AGE is my nomination, I've logged so many damn hours in that game it's nuts.

[DigitalHorror81]

Oblivion is nothing short of fantastic.

[Wrathman]

totally agree.i have a total 250 hours spent on oblivion alone.thats on 2 games.it is superior to fallout.much more detailed and immersive.fallout is good but not as good as oblivion.but oblivion isnt as good as elderscrolls3.i played that on the original xbox.got 150 hours on that.

bethesda/dreamworks are masters at the RPG genre.

[Nicholas Cage]

nuff said.

below:copying me like a douche....priceless. there are some things money cant buy, for everything els, theres n4g.

[GAM3R7l]

nuff said.

[vickers500]

@Nicholas Cage

What are you, 12? What in the hell went through your mind that made you think a "priceless" joke was funny? Or even insulting for that matter? Please, just stop commenting, you are only an embarrassment to yourself.

[jakethesnake]

"you are only an embarrassment to yourself"

Just like the real Nicholas Cage

[Tron_Rocks]

The game was incredible and made me a fan of RPG games but they have come further in almost every way with
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Fallout 3

They took all that was great with oblivion and made a superior game.

[Faztkiller]

1. Oblivion
2. Fallout 3
3. Mass Effect 2
4. Dragon age orgins
5. Borderlands
IMO

[fjtorres]

For a guy so in love with the game he doesn't seem too familiar with it; Oblivion doesn't have sixteen gates. It has no real limit. I closed 64 individual ones after which they started repeating.

Oblivion is a great game but so far it is "merely" the fourth best RPG this gen, after Mass Effect 1&2, Fallout 3, and just ahead of Dragon Age.

The thing he neglects to mention is that Oblivion, for all its virtues, is very much an old-school rpg, all plot and little character and thus pales next to the other four in that now critical aspect. For that matter, if we ignore graphics quality, the case can be (and has been) made that Oblivion falls short of Morrowind.

Mass Effect 1 wins by a mile just on the strength of the epic/cinematic final segment (to say nothing of the Virmire shocker). To say nothing of the backstory, gameplay, strong class system, and the fantastic voice acting.

Mass Effect 2 falls short in the ending and in the loss of strategic gameplay options and replay value but it does feature several very strong/memorable characters in addition to the baseline ME virtues.

Dragon Age would rank higher on character grounds but loses a lot because of that dull slog of an ending. Interestingly, Awakening trades off memorable characters for a much stronger ending. Both have good gameplay mechanics and good replay value because of the strong/distinct class system.

And Fallout 3 is much the same; the original ending was weak but the Broken Steel finale more than makes up for it. Plus the VATS mode and the tremendous replay value from the different strategic options more than make up for the character weakness.

Bottom line: no, Oblivion is NOT the best RPG of this gen, but rather an excellent number 4 in a ridicuously strong competition. (I mean Fable 2 is merely sixth? We've been blessed!) And the competition isn't over; we have yet to see what Alpha Protocol, Fallout New Vegas, Fable 3, and Mass Effect 3 have to offer.

A great time to be a console RPG fan.

[SwiffEpics]

it was actually 60 mate

[ZombieAutopsy]

Like most people im enjoying Fallout 3 a little better, most likely because i like the setting better.

[Baka-akaB]

To each their own , but imo , no way Oblivion is the best wrpg had to offer this gen . Especially when it's so weak , graphics aside , when compared to Morrowind or even Daggerfall . It's daggerfall with finally far less bugs and plyable , but still daggerfall ver very lite , or a very very lite morrowind .

And people need to stop mentioning Demon souls in this particular thread ... demon souls is 100% japanese .

It is only the natural evolution and spiritual sequel of King's field , from the same dev , a franchise every bit as old as the elderscrolls series . Wich make the comparison between the two even more silly imo .

[sarshelyam]

...but they really are completely different. You simply cannot lump this new game into the franchise of King's Field considering Demon's Souls is a far more responsive and fast-paced game (technically). King's Field and Demon's Souls share a natural aesthetic of dark and depressing environments, but that's about where the compare needs to end.

[i_like_ff7]

The Witcher...

[sarshelyam]

I absolutely plowed through the Xbox 360 game and all its DLC/Expansions...then bought the PS3 version and did the same topping the hour mark somewhere over 1000 across numerous characters.

I popped this in last week and was hooked all over again. I mean, I know exactly what's going to happen...I know exactly what to do and where I need to go, how to perfectly grind through each and every side-quest and faction-related story arc, and it isn't old.

It does fail in one regard, however, it makes me want Elder Scrolls V N-O-W!!

[sarshelyam]

...every user here that mentions Demon's Souls is completely right. While a Japanese developed game, it certainly has the Western Aesthetic so it's easy to see how it could fit into the category.

The ambiguity of the article above lies in whether we're talking about a Western "DEVELOPED" RPG, or a Western RPG in terms of aesthetic; in which case Demon's Souls certainly applies.

[Ironfungus]

Oblivion is not only great and worthy of this "award", but it's also because developers these days don't know how to make games and aren't actually players themselves.

[Xi]

I'd still take mass effect 1 or 2 and fable 2 over elders scrolls.

[miyakoS]

Oblivion is still fun to come back to because of the modding community. The original content of the game had some fun dynamics like the guild subplots, but the main story was kind of dull. Fallout 3 is better, Dragon Age is better, etc.

[TheMutator]

This game is damn old , and i still playing , why? cause is great , not that poser ass effect or demon chat , sorry demon soul

[Gun_Senshi]

and thats a fact.

Oblivion is an insult to TES fans and has been massivly downgraded compared to Morrowind.

Morrowind >>>>>>>&a mp;g t;>> Oblivion

Its like comparing Timeshift to COD4

Oblivion for short: Shallow and Recycled Content W-RPG with horrible Voice Acting

[sarshelyam]

...there is no denying it certainly doesn't contain the volume of Morrowind, but that hardly makes it an insult to fans. I'd consider myself a fan of ES who owns and has played every single ES release, even the "Travels" series for mobile devices, and I was happy with it.

I think the biggest problem with Oblivion was that the studio was aiming for wide release and, naturally, took far less risks than they might have had they simply been focusing on the demographic and platform (PC) that they have been for so many years. The only reason the original Xbox received Morrowind was because of the natural support for the console from PC users considering Microsoft's attachment.

That said, with all of the expansion packs Oblivion comes close to being what the original Morrowind offered. Yes, I agree...it's still a smaller game but at least they didn't change it completely, and they know our complaints so we can hope that come ESV (when/if), they will be addressed and we'll see a much larger game in every respect.

[Lucreto]

I love RPGs but I could never get into Fallout or Oblivion for some reason. I found FF XIII far more enjoyable game.

[edhe]

Then you have a taste for the more linear story-led RPGs. F3 and Obl will piss all over you if you don't pick a direction & go with it until you realise what the gameworld expects of you.

IMO if you have those games you should maybe check out an online guide or something to show you where to go for the first few hours.

I found both games a challenge at the start but loved both of them equally. However i'd recommend obl over f3 to most people since it's got more variety in character development and combat.

I would talk for ages with a buddy about how we'd both have totally different characters and approach the same things entirely differently. Never had that in F3, you couldn't really roll your characters too differently in F3 unless you'd bought anchorage.

O/T i agree with the topic, but also this gen has been fantastic for wrpgs.

[despair]

i got bored of oblivion and fallout 3 way too fast. they just felt like morrowind just better graphics(fallout was a bit different but same style to me) morrowind was the last great game of the game style inclusive of fallout for me.

[CrimsonSaber]

ES:IV Is the game .
i never dug Zelda, FF series ( yes i'm not a fan and i despise 7 for all your information), i guess during my time of growing up the only thing i could get the gist of was Pokemon . yes its and Rpg for the Gameboy .
so in 2k6 i picked up this game. and i was iffy.
because JRPG suck , Yes i am a hater and i will hate it hard .
So i got two games for the Xbox : GRAW (Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter) and The Elder Scrolls .

I had a helluva time with the game in the dungeon getting my ass raped by the rats until i noticed i was playing on the hardest difficulty.
after going easy mode . i was addicted it was a race b2n me and my homie every damn day for a good solid 3 months . with me finishing level 57.
loved the story the gameplay, the art or graphics sure there dated now but it makes you feel like your in a mystical so called dark ages .
thanks bethesda props to ya .

[AliTheBrit19]

I find it hard to disagree

[chak_]

the stupid adaptive leveling system killed oblivion for me.

[sarshelyam]

...but if you knew this going into the game, you could easily grind characters to your advantage. That's the key problem though, you had to KNOW about this "loophole"

[ktchong]

but both Fallout 3 and Mass Effect 2 have surpassed it.