Why is Oblivion so popular?

[IamSofaKingRaw]

I've read many posts regarding the greatness of Oblivion over the few months I've been here and it always left me wondering why. I got the game last year and I've yet to finish it. I feel like the game devs had great ideas like the making your own magic, tons of armor and swords, wearing down of equipment but the game doesn't really put everything together well.

For example, I had no idea what was going on the first hour or so of the game because nothing is explained to me. I know nothing of the character I'm using and the story is slowly explained to me at all. All I'm told is to go deliver some rig to some guy or all hell will brake loose.

Next is the combat. This more than the story was a game breaker for me. TERRIBLE fighting animations. Your character just swings his sword around mindless, and magic spells are clunky to follow. The game just feels half done.

Don't get me started on the terrible facial animations and all the generic NPCs....

 

[baddude1337]

Just the sheer amount of content I suppose. Most of the great RPG's have some flaws, and Oblivion definitely scared me at first as I literally had no idea what to do and had to runa way from bandits as I was a crappy low level character.

Also, I think the fighting system is pretty great, certainly better than Morrowinds.

 

[nuba km]

I agree with you pretty much butt I like looting and exploring which made me hold a interest in the game for longer and the shivering isles which is awesome and a must play.

 

[voetballeeuw]

About the character, Oblivion is an RPG and you can create your own backstory (explaining why you happened to be in jail). This, I agree, is not that great. It'd probably work better if they told you what you did. I thought they explained the story quite well in the beginning, Uriel Septim the king shows up other and you learn about the dire situation.
I didn't mind the combat that much, I just hated the fact that bows sucked. I realize that it's not very realistic but I didn't hate the game for it.
My major problem with the game is the fact that the environment is just copy pasted.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

The music and the Dark Brotherhood quests made the game for me.
Now, I liked the game itself as a whole. And for me, it was pretty immersive, though I know quite a few people for whom that wasn't the case.

But the music and the Dark Brotherhood questline made it quite a fantastic game for me, not to mention the finale of the Thieve's Guild quests. Then of course there's the mods...
I can't play it at all now, since I've logged in over 600 hours. But it was a lot of fun while I could've, and I got my money's worth out of it. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

 

[PixelKing]

We just love it

For me its because I dont know how many hours I put in but I bought it for £10
For me thats profit.

 

[mikecoulter]

I'm unsure, I've never quite liked it myself. Maybe if I got it on the PC and applied a few mods, but I can't really be bothered now.

 

[Infinatex]

I played it on console for over 150 hours an absolutely loved it. Mods not required.

 

[Dr. wonderful]

I love the fighting system, but most of all...The mods.


The mods are AMAZING.

 

[MrJKapowey]

Its just epic, it has huge scope and for when it was released, it still tops many (MOST {NEARLY ALL OF}) the latest releases stories and game worlds. There is SOO much to do that I can play for over 100 hrs, not reach LVL 20, not complete the main quest line and not complete ever side quest. Without wasting time. (on console, no mods).

 

[Kilo24]

It has an active modding community, lots of content, is probably the most "open" non-MMO mainstream RPG, a generic fantasy setting aspiring to mediocrity, and has no characters or plot of any depth that might scare people off.

 

[psychosiszz]

Huge sand box world would be the main reason and the modding community, though the game itself wasnt that great the past games were amazing. For instance Elder scrolls III Morrowwind was ten times better game-play wise.
Lets just hope they dont dumb down the series anymore than they did in oblivion. But the general consensus nowadays with game devs is to make games with pretty graphics and dumb down and simplify the game-play so it requires no thought what so ever to play.
So im not holding my breathe for ES5.

 

[Lullabye]

Yeah, Oblivion game mechanics were more than awkward enough to turn a few people away.
But unfortunately for me, the world was so damn amazing that i got hooked. I made my own stories. I didn't even finish the main quest.

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

The Elder Scrolls is practically the only series of its kind. For me at least, it is the most immersive and lasting game out there. The open worlds are really open. Your perspective is in the first person and the class system and storyline lend themselves to freedom and role play. While Oblivion's storyline wasn't great, it wasn't as offensive as those in most games (I admit that is not high praise). And although some Morrowind fans recoiled at Oblivion's mediocre story and bland atmosphere, it is still well fleshed out compared to other games. Morrowind also had fully handcrafted terrain- every inch of it was unique. Some people find the combat quite enjoyable. Especially at the time Oblivion was released, I thought the combat system was one of its strengths.

As far as I know, there is really no other series like The Elder Scrolls. The open world, the free and natural class system, the first person role-playing action and the completeness of the environment (objects are dynamic, not just rooted in place) are quite unique. If there is another game like it (beside the Fallouts, of course), I'd sure like to know.

 

[slipknot4]

I've spent more than 500 hours on that game on console. It's just the broadest RPG out there today, and it's just really up to you what to do.
Best rpg this decade in my opinion.

 

[Atmos Duality]

1) It's shiny
2) It's massive
3) Other people like it and overhype the shit out of it.
4) (PC Only) Mods.

In reality, it's a mediocre whack-em-slash-em set in a massive shiny world.
The story is boring, the combat is boring, the NPCs all have the personality of a jug of water, and the character creation/progression system is all a farce when you get right down to it.

It's not a good game, but it is a great environment simulator to wander around in.

 

[Syphous]

I played it on console for over 150 hours an absolutely loved it. Mods not required.

Same. GotY edition with all the addons. Love that game. Looking forward to ES5.

 

[DustyDrB]

Eh, I love it to death and I play it on the 360. It forces me to play in ways that I don't in any other game. I make up backstories for my characters (which is why it irks me that I can be in both the Fighters Guild and Dark Brotherhood). I also play the way I want to as opposed to the way that makes you strongest. I go hand-to-hand most of the time, little magic outside of alteration and restoration. I wear shirts and pants more than I wear armor (though they are enchanted with shield effects usually).

I guess people who play it on the Pc and mod it would have trouble going back to the vanilla version. But I'm still having fun with it after five years, that's all that matters to me.

I made my own stories. I didn't even finish the main quest.

This makes me think of something that may explain why I love Oblivion so much.
As a kid, my family couldn't afford to buy me many games. I had the two N64 Zeldas, Mario 64, a baseball game, and Shadows of the Empire. I played the Zeldas and Mario for years and years playing very little else, and I did so by making up my own stories.

This is a little embarassing admission. In Mario 64, I'd go find a box and pretend I had to deliver it to some pink Bob-om, or other things like that. Oblivion gives me a huge world where I can do pretty much this, except it's easier to make up your own goals.