The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

[Fierce Deity]

First of all Oblivion has a map...you can't get lost. Second of all it has a compass feature which tells you where your next goal is. Impossible not to know what to do.

Does the map tell you where all of the side quests are?

[MusicallyInspired]

If you set your "active quest" to one of your side quests, yes. You have to discover them and be given them first by people, though. But there are thousands of them so they're not hard to find or stumble upon.

What I mean is, once you've been given a side quest and you accept it, you can set it to you current "active quest" (which you can change at any time) and it will show you where your next goal is for that quest on your compass and map.

[Fierce Deity]

Yeah, I knew that already. I always knew where my current quests were, but I had a hard time finding new side quests. Like I was saying before, I don't hold it against the game. There's plenty of people who say the game is amazing, and I agree to an extent. I just had a frustrating time. I could have always gone back to the main quest, but [spoiler]after I found Martin and helped out Kvatch (I was still in the beginning of the game, I know),[/spoiler] I wanted to take a break and do side quests, but didn't know exactly where to go. I was searching the main city for quests that could lead me to the Fighter, Mage, Thief or Dark Brotherhood Guilds.

If I ever catch a deal on Steam some time, I might get the Deluxe Collection of Oblivion and give it a fair shot. Especially since I like Fallout 3, I think I can appreciate the genre more than I did before. 

[ThunderChild]

Plus, the horse is really slow.

Did you try running already ??

[kindofdoon]

Wait, the horse has two speed modes?

[liggy002]

One of the greatest action RPGs ever made.  There is just so much to do, it is mind boggling.  I didn't know where to start and I still haven't done everything there is to do.  I went around murdering the townsfolk like a blackguard but I could never get away with it 

[Lambonius]

Wait, the horse has two speed modes?

No, that's incorrect.  The horse has only the one speed.  HOWEVER--there are multiple varieties of horses that you can purchase throughout the game, and each has their own attributes.  Some are extremely fast, others can take a lot of pounding from enemies before they die, etc.  The horse you get at the beginning of the game at Weynon Priory is one of the slowest in the game--it's just the basic horse.  Go around to the different stables at different towns in the game--they will each have a different breed of horse available, and all it takes is a little experimentation to figure out which ones are the fastest.  Once you get a really fast horse, you can really speed across the landscape, which is cool.

[Fierce Deity]

Wait, the horse has two speed modes?

No, that's incorrect.  The horse has only the one speed.  HOWEVER--there are multiple varieties of horses that you can purchase throughout the game, and each has their own attributes.  Some are extremely fast, others can take a lot of pounding from enemies before they die, etc.  The horse you get at the beginning of the game at Weynon Priory is one of the slowest in the game--it's just the basic horse.  Go around to the different stables at different towns in the game--they will each have a different breed of horse available, and all it takes is a little experimentation to figure out which ones are the fastest.  Once you get a really fast horse, you can really speed across the landscape, which is cool.

Reminds me vaguely of the qualities of the Grand Theft Auto series. How when you start out the game, you have to drive around in a pickup truck, before you can speed across the map in a Lamborghini.   

[kindofdoon]

Transportation in Just Cause 2 is one of my favorite aspects. You can take any vehicle - car, boat, plane, etc. - and cruise across the giant map. That made the game for me.

No so much in Oblivion. Travel is a just a bit too slow. I didn't know there are multiple different varieties of horses - I'll look into that.

(Posted on: September 04, 2010, 08:04:02 PM)

I was just thinking...what your thoughts about RPGs vs. Adventure games? It never really occurred to me how similar the two genres.

[Fierce Deity]

I was just thinking...what your thoughts about RPGs vs. Adventure games? It never really occurred to me how similar the two genres.

This depends on your definition of an Adventure game. Like King's Quest is an Adventure game, or Just Cause 2 is an Adventure game?

I noticed that Adventure games and RPGs tend to stick to the roots of their respective genres when it comes to the formula of the game (battle systems, puzzles, controls, etc.), but the games definitely share some similar traits in the areas of storyline, environment, characters, etc. Adventure games and RPGs (in my opinion at least) are the top two genres that uphold the story as a priority. It's probably why I like to play them over sports games, racing games, and even FPS games (except Bioshock had a pretty good story). Exploration in adventure games and RPGs also require you to actually explore, while FPS games tend to put you on a rail from start to finish and you just have to search nooks and crannies for ammunition.

[kindofdoon]

Saying that most shooters lack a good plot is a generalization I disagree with. Of course, in general, FPSs are inferior to Adventure/RPG games in terms of plot, but there are definitely exceptions. Consider as counterexamples: Half-Life 1 and 2, Crysis, Bioshock (as you mentioned, phenomenal game), etc.

[Fierce Deity]

Saying that most shooters lack a good plot is a generalization I disagree with. Of course, in general, FPSs are inferior to Adventure/RPG games in terms of plot, but there are definitely exceptions. Consider as counterexamples: Half-Life 1 and 2, Crysis, Bioshock (as you mentioned, phenomenal game), etc.

Half-Life, Crysis, and Bioshock are all great in terms of plot. There was even another game that came out recently called Singularity which I would recommend to anybody that liked Bioshock. There are definitely exceptions to the rule, but I still stand by my statement. Most FPS games that I have played have been weak when it comes to the storyline. For instance, any Halo game, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Medal of Honor, the new Wolfenstein, and even Killzone (very action packed an awesome, but plot was weak). I prefer FPS games like Bioshock and Half-Life, but the majority of the FPS games out there rather focus on action and online competitive multiplayer than a single-player experience. I don't mean to demoralize the entire genre (because there are many fine examples out there), there's just far more FPS games that would support my statement than there are FPS games that shine a positive light on the genre.

Speaking of Bioshock, the new installment that is being worked on, Bioshock: Infinite, is really sounding like a superb sequel. Possibly better than what Bioshock 2 was to the first one.    

[kindofdoon]

Okay. I see what you're saying and agree. Though Halo sort of has a cool plot.

And I am EXTREMELY pysched for Bioshock: Infinite.

[MusicallyInspired]

Regarding Oblivion horses, the current horse I'm using is the one you get during the Dark Brotherhood which cannot die .

Regarding getting into the various guilds, for the fighter and mages guilds all you have to do is go into a fighter or mages guild hall in a town and sign up. That's it. For the thieves' guild you have to be sent to prison and after you get out someone will give you a letter from The Gray Fox (leader of the thieves guild) with instructions on how to join. If you want to get into the dark brotherhood, you have to kill one or two people in cold blood, then the next time you sleep someone will come to you and offer you a chance to join.

As far as miscellaneous side quests, there literally are countless ones that I keep bumping into everywhere and eventually just started refusing help because there was so much to do! I'm a little surprised you had a hard time finding them...

[Fierce Deity]

I might have been looking in all of the wrong places. I remember I had started one of the quests for the Fighters guild, but couldn't finish it for some reason. So I wanted to look for the thieves guild, and now I know why I couldn't find them, I never got caught doing anything wrong. 

Like I said, I apparently was missing out on a bigger portion of the game. I'm willing to try again. 

[kindofdoon]

I posted a few Oblivion videos on YouTube today. I thought maybe someone here would enjoy them, so here they are:

Closing the Leyawiin Oblivion Gate (10:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K5iLIqX3NM

A Talking Horse in Oblivion (0:22)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9PH8PKFwU0

(Posted on: September 07, 2010, 09:38:35 PM)

UPDATE: Just finished the main story!

[Fierce Deity]

Just finished the main story!

And? What do you think?

[crayauchtin]

You can also insta-travel to all the main cities and any location you've already discovered so the slow-horse thing shouldn't be too big of a problem either.

[kindofdoon]

Just finished the main story!

And? What do you think?

Phenomenal. I really enjoyed the game, and I will definitely continue to search for more quests and perhaps get into modding the game now.

(Posted on: September 08, 2010, 09:51:49 AM)

You can also insta-travel to all the main cities and any location you've already discovered so the slow-horse thing shouldn't be too big of a problem either.

Yes, I figured that out.

[MusicallyInspired]

If you don't have the Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles expansions I suggest you get them.