This is my first escapist post, but as an avid TES fan and veteran of the old TES forums, I thought it best to wade in.
First points, Oblivion was a massively ambitious game, one that's grasp far outstretched its reach. And you know what? That is what makes Betheseda one of the best developers in the industry. A titanic effort went in Oblivion, which makes me a little sick when people accuse Beth of "selling out". Sell outs do not make games like Oblivion and Morrowind, they make sports games for EA, or lacklustre FPS sequels.
Is Oblivion a better *game* than Morrowind. Yes, absolutely, I agree whole heartedly on the vast majority of design decisions. I am perhaps what you'd call and RPG radical. I think the further we move away from turns and stats and such is a good thing. That familiar feeling f nausea wells up when I read suggestions that would make Oblivion, in my opinion, more like the awful JRPS I truly despise. Perhaps this is because I'm from the Half Life school of immersion. I don't like arbitrary "things" getting in the way of my game. Some in the RPG crowd, and from the posts, this topic, might consider me a worrying twitch freak who wants to turn TES into Halo, but nothing could be further from the truth. What really makes an RPG for me? Its not rolls or stats, its choices! The ability to make your own character. To do as you please. Then, to make that character part of a greater story in an imagined world.
So,think that I'm a fanboy by now? Well, consider this.
Oblivion is a better game, but I enjoyed Morrowind more.
Not only that, but though I agree with most of the design decisions, I disagree, rather vehemently, with their implementation. There are huge, huge issues in Oblivion. Many are balance issues, Beth just don't do balance, and then this leads to another major issue, for me, which is incentive. If levelling and getting phat loot becomes so easy, and if raiding temples, ruins and such, wich should and did make the core of TES, becomes unnecessary, people wont do it. Not only this, but there were barely any UNIQUE ITEMS. Alot of them in Morrowind were actually quest items, and you might stumble on them,(like Chrysamere) but Morrowind was full of this amazing feeling that in this next temple was something new and mysterious. If you were lucky, or had a guide(bad you), there often was. What is there in Oblibivion? Varla crystals?
The AI failed to my mind. An idea next time would be heavier scripting. I don't need NPCS with lives in my games, just the illusion of lives. I just need to think its real. This is a game after all.
And Balance too, like I said, Beth don't do it. Many enemies at higher levels have so much health, but do so little damage, that fighting them is an utter slog. It shouldn't be an endurance test.
And choices, my holy grail. Choices in Oblivion(and to be fair, Morrowind is even more guilty of this) are largely about where you begin. You choose to start as a mage then carry on, you choose to do the main quest then follow it on. What it really needs is some choice within quest arcs. Multiple endings, perhaps, although that isn't 100% necessary. Choice, but more choice! And by choice I mean important choices, not the choice between medium and heavy armor skill. Oblivion is not a substantialy worse game for lack of spears.(Unless you're a spear fanatic) It would have been nice, more customization means the character feels more your own. But please, spear freaks, be pragmatic. You don't outnumber us sword lovers, and Beth only has so much time.
Then there's the "flavour", a huge, complicated issue I'll just touch on. Oblivion lacks alot of the lore progression Morrowind had, and I loved Morrowinds libraries. Morrowind was also more exotic. I can see the issue here, and I agree to an large extent.
So, do I think Oblivion is worse than Morrowind? No, not at all. Oblivion is one of the best games of all time. Still, I enjoyed Morrowind more. Its Deus Ex territory. People hate Oblivion because it isn't Morrowind, and it isn't the hype. But it's massive and fun and charming and touching. The characterization, despite some rather dodgy arguments from Morrowind harcores, is much, much better, and that was the major issue for me before. Morrowind had its characters, sure, Vivec was cool and so was Jiub...oh, no, hang on. The much loved Jiub, that wasn't a character, he was a bit part. I rarely felt moved by Morrowinds characters, with the exception of the Tribunal ones, perhaps because they didn't physically speak much. Martin certainly isn't original or nuanced, but damn, I cared a lot more about him.
And its beautiful,truly utterly beautiful in a way no other game has ever been. Yes the graphics are good, so's are Crysis, that's pretty and realistic, but Oblivion? It is a true wonder. The forrests are carefully crafted,the ruins sombre, the skyline fanatic, the subtle shift to autumn colours as you head north, the sunsets, and the White-Gold tower! God, I can't help but be moved when I see it. This isn't graphics I'm talking about, its art.
When the expansion came, it looked like Morrowind, largely in what I feel was a tribute to many of the people in this topic that loved old Wvardenfell so much. But you know what? For me, it was a bit "meh".
Well, this has gone on a long while, and will undoubtedly make folks angry. I don't mean to, but I do have to note how history has repeated itself. The complaints being made about Oblivion echo those made about Morrowind by Daggerfall fans. Remember that. And also, think on this. Go and play Morrowind. I can't do it any more, I just can't, its no longer fun. Things change, I've changed, TES has changed, but they are, as always, truly great games.
My hope for the next TES?I want it to be a great game, but most importantly, I want it to be its own game. I don't want Oblivion again, and I certainly don't want Morrowind again.
