Convince me to buy Skyrim... er, I mean Oblivion

[Sixcess]

It seems like half my posts on the Escapist forums have been about how disapointed I was with Fallout 3 - the constant crashing, zombie like NPCs and clunky VATS shooting all combining to make me hate a game that, in theory, I should have loved.

Anyway, obviously there's been one or two threads about Skyrim recently, and the talk of the open world, the exploration, the freeform nature of the game... well it all sounds good but I can't afford it right now. Oh well. But...

....Steam has Oblivion at 75% off right now.

So here's my problem. I love big open worlds that I can explore and get lost in. I love when games just let me go off and do my own thing without herding me to the next set piece. I love big long games. But I hate Fallout 3.

Should I buy Oblivion, or am I setting myself up for FO3 levels of disapointment?

 

[HumpinHop]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.323384-Skyrims-Improvements-over-Oblivion

This was on the first page.
When I was playing Fallout 3 I felt exactly like Oblivion, except less of an inclination to explore buildings or go through the gratuitous amounts of loot. If the complaints in the thread don't jar you then go for it.

 

[PunkyMcGee]

it takes a lot of suspension of disbelief to get lost into Oblivion's world. one there are only like 5 VA's for the NPC's so you hear the same voices A LOT. the characters are very plastic looking. but it has it's moments.

for you I'd say no.

 

[Sixcess]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.323384-Skyrims-Improvements-over-Oblivion

This was on the first page.

Oops. Usually I look but.... oh well, it's not like one more thread with Skyrim in the title will go amiss.

When I was playing Fallout 3 I felt exactly like Oblivion, except less of an inclination to explore buildings or go through the gratuitous amounts of loot. If the complaints in the thread don't jar you then go for it.

I had a look at the thread, and...

for you I'd say no.

I think you may be right.

 

[ThaBenMan]

Hey, it's only $5 - you can't really go wrong. I say go for it. I'm sure you'll be able to get at least $5 worth of entertainment out of it.

 

[kane.malakos]

It seems like half my posts on the Escapist forums have been about how disapointed I was with Fallout 3 - the constant crashing, zombie like NPCs and clunky VATS shooting all combining to make me hate a game that, in theory, I should have loved.

Anyway, obviously there's been one or two threads about Skyrim recently, and the talk of the open world, the exploration, the freeform nature of the game... well it all sounds good but I can't afford it right now. Oh well. But...

....Steam has Oblivion at 75% off right now.

So here's my problem. I love big open worlds that I can explore and get lost in. I love when games just let me go off and do my own thing without herding me to the next set piece. I love big long games. But I hate Fallout 3.

Should I buy Oblivion, or am I setting myself up for FO3 levels of disapointment?

Well, Oblivion tends to be more stable, and it doesn't have VATS. The NPCs aren't much better though...

 

[Turtleboy1017]

Oblivion is polished and awesome now. Maybe when it first came out you wouldn't have liked it, but there's no reason to purchase it now, especially if it's that cheap.

Google the unofficial Oblivion patch. That will fix up any remaining bugs, and you can enjoy the game to its fullest.

 

[Sixcess]

Hey, it's only $5 - you can't really go wrong. I say go for it. I'm sure you'll be able to get at least $5 worth of entertainment out of it.

True. If worst comes to worst at least it can take over from Fallout 3 in all those "Popular Games You Don't Like" type threads.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Hm. This might actually also be useful for me as well, since I'm not normally a WRPG or sandbox person and I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE Fallout 3. On its own merits, unlike most of the fanboys who hate it because it isn't isometric. I could handle the NPCs, though, but the stat system in Oblivion seems kind of messed up...

Hey, it's only $5 - you can't really go wrong. I say go for it. I'm sure you'll be able to get at least $5 worth of entertainment out of it.

I guess you're right. Valve, prepare to receive $2 dollars from my (mum's) credit card. Bethesda, prepare for $3 from same.

EDIT: I totally forgot - Oblivion wasn't designed for Windows Vista/7...Hope it'll work. And if it doesn't, I still have a machine with XP as the OS.

 

[AyreonMaiden]

Five bucks is phenomenal for Oblivion. The world isn't too remarkable but the missions are still really awesome.

 

[DirgeNovak]

For 5$? Get it. If you don't like it you can always mod it. Or complain about it on the internet.

 

[Sandernista]

Hey, it's only $5 - you can't really go wrong. I say go for it. I'm sure you'll be able to get at least $5 worth of entertainment out of it.

True. If worst comes to worst at least it can take over from Fallout 3 in all those "Popular Games You Don't Like" type threads.

Honestly, I'd pay $20 for the Dark Brotherhood quests alone.

 

[Sixcess]

Well I gave in (as usual) to the lure of a Steam Sale.

(Dammit, Gabe... why do you keep taking my money?)

First impressions are pretty good. Combat is more fun than FO3, and the third person view is actually usable. And the intro is a million times better than the execrable opening of FO3, which just made me hate every inhabitant of Vault 101.

I do find it slightly ironic that I'm swinging a sword around and yet I haven't decapitated anyone... unlike FO3, where you could (for reasons passing understanding) decapitate someone with a bullet... or a punch.

Hm. This might actually also be useful for me as well, since I'm not normally a WRPG or sandbox person and I hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE Fallout 3. On its own merits, unlike most of the fanboys who hate it because it isn't isometric. I could handle the NPCs, though, but the stat system in Oblivion seems kind of messed up...

EDIT: I totally forgot - Oblivion wasn't designed for Windows Vista/7...Hope it'll work. And if it doesn't, I still have a machine with XP as the OS.

It works fine on Windows 7.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

One words: "mod".

 

[Strazdas]

It seems like half my posts on the Escapist forums have been about how disapointed I was with Fallout 3 - the constant crashing, zombie like NPCs and clunky VATS shooting all combining to make me hate a game that, in theory, I should have loved.

Exept that FO3 had noone of that. at least not in my 232 (according to xfire) hours experience.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Oblivion sucks, don't bu-

Ah crap, too late. Well, enjoy your medieval strolling through boring medieval towns and landscapes.

Sometimes, that's all people want. Some of these people might be burned out on explosions and gunfire, strolling through boring modern cities and landscapes shooting Russians, like the opposite of why people pay to see Michael Bay films. And Skyrim is too expensive, Morrowind is too old...so, Oblivion.

Besides, it's five dollars. Even if I end up hating Oblivion more than I currently hate Fallout 3, even though I haven't played any other Fallouts, at least it wasn't The Witcher 2. Or gods forbid, Modern Warfare 3.

 

[Darren Grey]

I've been thinking about getting Oblivion now and leaving Skyrim on ice till some of the UI problems are ironed out. Similarly to the OP I wasn't that big on Fallout 3 in spite of being very pumped for it in advance. I very much enjoyed Morrowind, and have mostly avoided Oblivion based on the negative comparisons to it. Also from what I've seen Oblivion hasn't fixed the thing that bothered me most about Morrowind - the rather boring and scummy levelling system. Indeed it's rather exacerbated by the levelling enemies, though I see there are mods that help with that. But I'm guessing it does have much of what I did enjoy in Morrowind - the interesting terrain to explore, and the weird secrets you'll stumble upon out of the blue (like the time I was diving for pearls and stumbled on a giant Dwemer ruin underwater that I spent several hours exploring - I love fantastic moments like that).

Uh, so same question as the OP for me - should I try out Oblivion? The cost is almost nothing, but the time investment is another thing. I hate that disappointed feeling you get after 30+ hours in and you realise that it's not as fun as you want. Fallout 3 did that for me after the lacklustre main quest and the wilderness locations lacking cohesiveness.