Why does everyone but me seem to love Oblivion? aka Oh look it's this thread again mk 39578

[floobie]

I didn't hate it. But, I was never as enamoured with it as everyone else seems to be. I love RPGs. They're easily my favourite genre. But, Bethesda RPGs tend to have one fatal flaw for me: Too damn open-ended.

I played through the main quest in Oblivion in about 3 days. I didn't even level up once. It was fun while it lasted. The story was great. But, when I finished it, I sat there thinking "WHAT?! It's over already?!". Shortly after that, I was told that the vast majority of a Bethesda game's content is in the side-quests. That just doesn't work for me. I get into an RPG to get sucked into the main story and its characters. The side quests are too close to just "fucking around" for me to get any significant enjoyment out of them. Oddly enough, the main story to side quest balance in Fallout 3 was entirely acceptable for me...

So, if Skyrim is like Oblivion in that way, I'll probably enjoy it, but probably not nearly as much as most people do. Bioware tends to get the mix a lot more right for my tastes...

 

[Ragsnstitches]

People of the internet, lend me your eyes:

The internet is filled with idiots...

*Idiots who ask questions,

*Idiots who have answers,

*Idiots who fight for things in the most meaningless way,

*Idiots who pride themselves on things they had no involvement in,

*Idiots who don't get Irony, or claim to know but actually don't.

We must stay away from such idiots, for their idiocy is infectious.

But seriously though, opinions? How do they work?

 

[Epona]

People of the internet, lend me your eyes:

The internet is filled with idiots...

*Idiots who ask questions,

*Idiots who have answers,

*Idiots who fight for things in the most meaningless way,

*Idiots who pride themselves on things they had no involvement in,

*Idiots who don't get Irony, or claim to know but actually don't.

We must stay away from such idiots, for their idiocy is infectious.

But seriously though, opinions? How do they work?

You forgot one:

*Idiots who makes posts to call everyone else idiots.

Seriously though, when did it become cool to refer to everyone else as idiots?

 

[shadeira]

well oblivion has its flaws - especially in the german "translation" ;-)
For example a strong potion of health recovery is shortcutted as a "St.Tr.d.Le.en-.W" and trust me that makes NO F***ING sense !

But despite of that I played it for at least 200 hours - finding a unicorn included (I'm not kidding) -
,so I guess I got used to it ^^

However, for me the real reason for playing Oblivion was MORROWIND - This game I truly LOVED !!
And I always missed the fantasy setting ...I mean Strawberrys an cheese ??!!Seriously ?! what happend to skrib-eggs,guar-skin and so on ?

 

[Rawne1980]

Well even if you take modding out of the arguement completely there's very few games that are better on a console.

I think thats what I've missed out on really, the modding, I don't get mods for many of my PC games but Oblivion seems to thrive on them. I also hate the branding of people as fanboys for liking something (I remember being called a Sony fanboy all the time at college because I didn't want a 360 but did want a PS3) I'm not accussing all the people who love Oblivion of being mindless fanboys but I am interested in what sparks such a passion for the game, seems the people who give answers with actual merit tend to say Modding is one of the big reasons.

It really is the modding for a few people.

Don't get me wrong, Oblivion is a good game without them. It's got a decent sized map but, as someone said earlier, a lot of it is empty. It has a decent amount of quests to keep you going but, as was also mentioned, the towns and travelling and NPC's you bump into are a bit bland. It has a good story and a lot of thought has gone into it.

It's a good game, but it isn't fantastic.

Now you take a game like Oblivion and give the players the ability to create their own content for that game and the skies the limit. You really can do anything you want.

People have created new continents, armours, weapons, quest chains, NPC's, factions and houses. Some even went through the hard work of making a mod that changes everything about Oblivion and makes into an entirely new game.

Thats what takes a game like Oblivion and changes it from being good to great.

 

[Ignatz_Zwakh]

I actually found it quite tedious. The setting seemed far too rote and the gameplay did nothing for me.

 

[Wuggy]

Why everyone but you seem to love Oblivion?

Well, first of all, you must not be perceptive, you're never the "only one". To answer your question, I bet it's because they like the game and you don't. That would sure explain it, yes.

 

[Heartbreak One]

I have one piece of advice for you, go to your local second hand shop or jump on ebay and buy a copy of Morrowind. I'm not one of these "IT WAS THE BEST GAME EVER" fanatics but from what you said you have the same problems with Oblivion as me. Now Morrowind is in no way better game play it's graphics are manageable and the combat system is strained but the world is more alive than can be hoped with Oblivion, I mean there are problems with Slavery in Morrowind, and if you walk up to a dark elf they are actually cruel and racist towards you. That sounds horrible but it makes the world more real and also explains why no-one likes dark elves.

 

[Zero47]

You forgot one:

*Idiots who makes posts to call everyone else idiots.

Seriously though, when did it become cool to refer to everyone else as idiots?

Why complain when he's right?

90% of posts in this thread is just people bitching and moaning at eathother, getting riled up over nothing. I'm pretty sure they know it's just other people's opinions, but don't feel like just accepting it.


More OT:
Loads of people liked it, I guess it's mainstream appeal? Different people like games for different reasons. I loved Oblivion because what I like in the RPG genre, it pulled off rather well. Just found out today that while I'm a huge RPG fan, I don't like MMORPG's, it's just not my thing.

 

[JochemDude]

I hated it too, don't worry. Everything about that game made me want to forget about Bethesda. But then I played Skyrim and now I'm happy.

Wait a second, when did you say you played Skyrim?

OT: Yes, it doesn't appeal to everybody as does everything.

 

[SoopaSte123]

I think it has a lot to do with what you want out of a game. For me, the gameplay is the most important part (I'd say 'combat' instead of 'gameplay', but a lot of games have fun gameplay that doesn't involve combat). For other people, story is the most important part. For others, it's a sense of freedom or exploration.

I've learned there are lots of people that crave open world exploration games, and that's why they flock to the Elder Scrolls.

Me? I've never liked the Elder Scrolls games because it doesn't have very good combat. Like you said, melee combat consists of swinging your weapon back and forth until the enemy dies. No fun.

It's just personal preference. Adventure lovers can enjoy their Skyrim and I'll take Dark Souls. Everyone can be happy.

 

[psychodynamica]

And now, FLAMEWAR.

OT: fantastic, you are probably one of many, just like any other game you don't like. well done.
Now i'm off to find less trolling.

 

[Epona]

You forgot one:

*Idiots who makes posts to call everyone else idiots.

Seriously though, when did it become cool to refer to everyone else as idiots?

Why complain when he's right?

90% of posts in this thread is just people bitching and moaning at eathother, getting riled up over nothing. I'm pretty sure they know it's just other people's opinions, but don't feel like just accepting it.

Well, he isn't right. Everyone is not an idiot. Also, it's a pet peeve of mine. Insulting everyone on the internet got old a decade ago but it still happens all the time. In truth, it has the opposite effect, it makes the person calling everyone else an idiot look like the real idiot.

It's like when people speak in internet slang, it only makes them look worse.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to hate the game but it just seems rather mediocre to me and is riddled with so many bad design choices and bland art direction that I can't seem to get into it like I have done with other RPG's, be they Deus Ex, Fallout, Planescape Torment, Baldurs Gate etc.

I think you've solved your own riddle right here. All four of those games are notable for their extremely strong narrative structure. It's quite possible...probable, even...that this is the way your tastes run in RPGs, and you're looking for this in Oblivion and you're not finding it because Bethesda is absolutely crap when it comes to constructing compelling narratives.

What makes Oblivion work for me is the huge, immersive world I can lose myself in. I can wander from point to point, blundering into dungeons and towns, going on adventures...I can buy a house and join a guild...there's 100+ hours of game play, easily...without ever touching the hackneyed main story line. That kind of open, sandbox world can be hugely compelling if you enjoy that sort of thing, especially if you're playing on a PC and have the benefit of using mods to further tweak the game play to suit your fancies. It doesn't mean I don't like to have my hand held and be walked through an excellent story, as I would in a Bioware game. I like that kind of game too. They're both excellent, they're just excellent at very different things.

 

[SextusMaximus]

Because people have opinions and your opinion is in the minority.