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Preview of: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | By: Justin Fenico |
25 Feb-2006 |
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On February 20th 2006, I was one of the lucky few to get an exclusive look at the latest preview build of TES IV Oblivion. Through the months, Bethesda Software hasn’t let too much out of the bag and has only given a minute amount of screenshots and videos to quench the fans’ appetite until the title is finally released for both the PC and Xbox 360. |
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Hopping onto a bus for a 2 hour journey to New York City is a small price to pay given the fact that I would be getting four hours of bliss with TES IV. There isn’t much that I can say that most fans don’t already know about Oblivion that would come off as enlightening, or fresh for this short introduction. The countless Q and A’s done over the past few months have given us plenty to speculate and converse over the forums. But still plenty of questions remain. Questions I was hoping to find answers for throughout this little play test.
As most of you already know, you start out in jail. Why, exactly, is unknown and not of real importance. Before you begin you’re given one of Oblivion’s first addictive feature; character creation. Everything from your face, chin, eyes, cheek, brow, nose, mouth, nostril, and forehead can be moved and manipulated with respects to height and width. You’ll also have to select your race, gender, and color. I literally spent thirty or so minutes giving my newly create high-elf the perfect look. The only two issues I’ve noticed with TES IV is that the facial structure can be a bit interesting looking. Faces seem to be a bit masculine, even for the women. The other issue is that you can only customize your facial appearance. So those of you wanting a fat mage elf or a skinny human thief will have to find some way to get on with your lives. Once completed, the emperor, voiced by Patrick “Jean Luc” Stewart and his guards barge in. He talks of “dreams, destiny, closing Oblivion”, etc... I all honestly just wanted to get out of that drafty jail cell. They allow me to tag along all the while I familiarize myself with equipping a newly found torch, armor and dagger. After a few minutes we split ways and I’m left to myself, fending off giant rats and other creeps. Combat is fast paced and Bethesda has done a great job of making each fight exciting and meaningful. Blocking is done with the Left Trigger while hack and slash is done with the Right Trigger. Spells and other important items (potions, other weapons) can be bound to the 360’s D-Pad. The D-Pad allows up to 8 different hotkeys. So whether you’re a spell touting mage or a battle ready warrior, you won’t have to spend too much of your time at the inventory screen.
Jumping back to the adventure, I meet up with the emperor and his guards, known as the “Blades”. Turns out, they aren’t that great at their job as an assassin quickly dispose of the emperor. With his dying breath he gives me a little trinket and a quest. Find his son, for only the heir to the throne can keep the gates of Oblivion shut. Working my way through the sewers I finally find my way out of the dark and into the light.
In that moment, my jaw dropped and I could barely catch my breath. The world of Tamriel was before my eyes. Blue skies, pristine water, green lush trees, flowers, mushrooms growing out of the bottom of trees, nothing left to the imagination. It’s one of those moments two years from now that you’ll still remember perfectly. Sort of like how everyone remembers Link pulling out the Master Sword or Aerith dying in Final Fantasy VII. Maybe not as plot specific but nonetheless, jaw dropping! I thought I was watching the Discovery Channel on High Definition. In fact, even at night the sky is sparkling with an abundant array of stars that make you lose yourself every time you look skyward. The beautiful ambient sound of birds chirping and the wind whispering combined with the renaissance music really pulls everything together. Ignoring the main quest (Mr. Hines kindly asked us to stay away from the Oblivion portal in Kvatch), I start walking across the land in search of…anything. I walk past an old broken down structure made of Greco-Roman columns and notice a few bandits roasting some food. I stop by to say hi but unfortunately they aren’t very accustomed to a warm welcome. After a quick dispatching I notice my level in blocking, swords, and marksmanship rose a bit. Later on I found out that the more my main skills rose the more my overall level would increase. Once my character’s level increased I had the option to raise my strength, endurance, agility, willpower and the rest of my main attributes. Each attribute governs my hitpoints, stamina, magic, spell power, speed, and attack power. Continuing on I found my first dungeon. I noticed that it contained a few locked doors that required a higher level lock picking skill so my exploration was cut a bit short. Fortunately it wasn’t before I took on a few goblins and even some type of mage that was shooting lightning past my head. I shielded myself from the blast and noticed once again how the camera bounced around to simulate a hard jolt. After collecting some goodies I turned around and left to see what else I could find.
With so much to do and see, I began to get a bit mischievous. Seeing a nice piece of armor, I went ahead and gave myself the five finger discount. Unfortunately the guards didn’t find the humor and threw me in jail. After getting out I was approached by a female dark elf. She hands me a note and disappears. The note is an invitation to the thieves’ guild. I find the meeting spot along with two other possible recruits. The test is simple, without killing, find a man, take a book that belongs to him, and bring it back. After giving some coin to a local beggar, he gives me the information I need. Unfortunately I’m a little too late as one of the other new comers is leaving the scene of the crime just as I’m arriving. After some pondering, I find where this would-be thief is sleeping and do what any good thief would do; steal what is rightfully mine. Midnight arrives and since I’m the one holding the book, I’m quickly recruited into the thieves’ guild.
Stealing is fun, but I’m not the most discrete thief. In fact, I get caught in my first attempt, and I’m way too proud to be thrown back in jail. After running for about thirty seconds I decide it’s time to stand and fight. Literally three or four minutes go by as me and this guard exchange blows, counters, and blocks until he falls to the ground. Though I remain victorious, the enemy AI made its presence known. I find an inn, and rest for the next day to come; only to find a man standing over my sleeping body. Apparently this other guild, calling themselves the Dark Brotherhood, are interested in seeing how well I do with a little task they have for me. “What the heck” I said to myself, it’s something else to do.
Fast Travel is a nice feature, but still being an infant in this glorious looking world I figured it would be nicer to walk. After slaying a few wolves and hunting down a deer I find where I’m supposed to I’m at a small inn located in the middle of nowhere. Being that I just killed a guard a few minutes ago I scope the location for any guards. The last thing I needed was some pesky law dog on my back. My bounty was at 1000, which I’m told is pretty high. High enough that guards will attack on sight. No guards at or around the inn so I make my way inside. I question the local inn keeper about the man I’m looking for. Fortunately for me he has a room downstairs…away from any witnesses. Even better, he’s already sleeping.
The job was too easy; in fact, my lust for blood wasn’t complete. I make sure to take care of all possible witnesses by taking care of the inn keeper and his wife. I begin to think that the Dark Brotherhood isn’t so bad after all. Think of them as a medieval mob. If someone needs to get whacked, they call them.
I spend the last thirty or so minutes just traveling around. Watching day change to night, the clouds move slowly across the sky, deer hopping through the woods, and simply walking the roads. Exploration is one of the more fascinating assets that Oblivion has to offer. The world is huge and the things to do are overwhelming. In fact, four hours is just a small inkling of time one will need to fully explore and capture every bit of TES IV (which is said to have over 100+ hours of gameplay). Though no release date has been officially announced Pete did say they were in the high 90 percentile of completion. Sure it’s not the gold announcement but it’s enough to make me happy for now. With only four hours under my belt, I feel teased. Maybe it would have been better if I didn’t see any of the game at all! Yea right, who am I kidding? Let’s just say that when Oblivion is finally released, my picture, along with many other fans, is going on the back of milk cartons everywhere. |
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