Oblivion, is There a Way This Game is Enjoyable?

[The Jade Fist]

So I recently reinstalled this game because I never finished it.

And i'm having a hell of a time being able to get into the game.

The combat feels bad compared many other games, the inventory / menu system is pretty bad, the conversations are broken by every one creepily smiling at me at the end of the sentence and no matter the race or even gender still have that same creepy soul piercing staring face with a gigantic nose.

Sure the game has Picard in it and all, but its hard to even get into the story, when, pop, pop up, pop up, pop up, (while exploring some random tomb I found and never once been to town in the game, I over heard rumours of a strange gate opening up in the bay area... from what? The skeletons I was killing or was it the rats?) Did I mention how creepy every body in the game's face is, and how the camera zooms in on them. Pop up.

The game has... no charm. I loved fall out 3,NV, and Skyrim, why can't I enjoy this bethesda game?

Whats the funnest class to play the game with first time?

I wanna play thru with stealth, but the stealth system in the game is unfairly punishing low level because even if you manage to sneak up something you can't kill it, and odds are you'll get spotted anyways, and cover/ loss of vision never take effect so low level stealth once they know you're there, they always do. Then when you're at max stealth you've pretty much turned the game onto way too easy. There was no middle ground for it.

So magic, is way too easy from the start.

Melee, is too hard as soon as you get to the first oblivion gate.

So, what am I missing here? Where is this epic adventure awaiting? Where is my desolate land scape, or dragon filled mountains, or mad max desert, this is just bleh. I want to enjoy the game I really do, i've tried it multiple times over the years and I loose interest after a few hours.

 

[Ventus]

Oftentimes there is a saying that if you loved Oblivion, you'd hate Skyrim and vice versa. IDK. I personally hated Oblivion. It felt dry and, quite frankly, boring. :/

 

[Vampire Squid]

I over heard rumours of a strange gate opening up in the bay area... from what? The skeletons I was killing or was it the rats?)

That's the Shivering Isles expansion.

 

[JuicieJ]

I can't think of any way possible to enjoy Oblivion, even with mods that supposedly enhance the experience. The design choices are just flat-out broken. If it weren't for those god-awful spin-off TES games, Oblivion would be the worst in the series without question.

Just stop playing the game right now. That's my advice.

 

[Big Octo]

I guess all I could say is that I enjoyed it, and still somewhat do. As long as you focus on leveling up as soon as you leave the sewers, focusing on the main quest should be somewhat easier. As for the graphics, well, it's 2006, and Bethesda hasn't mastered their human model quite yet (they still haven't, really). The combat does take some getting used to, but practice makes perfect.

I understand that this game is not for everybody, and it might be hard for some to get into. My advice is to try and keep playing it, and if nothing improves, well, nobody is making you play it. If someone asks you if you played it, you're allowed to say "Yes, but I did not enjoy it."

 

[Garo]

Oblivion is notoriously unfriendly to new players. The big issue with its combat system lies in something called the "leveling problem". Your stat growth is contingent upon which skills you level up. Your skills are divided into major and minor skills (you get to choose which seven skills are your major skills, as that's the basic aspect of your class), and every time you gain 10 skill points overall in major skills, you gain a player level and get to increase stats. But which stats you can increase and by how much depends on which major skills and which minor skills you leveled up during the time between levels, so your stat growth is a bit lopsided at times. On top of that, the game features leveled enemies, in that monsters and bandits and what not level up as you do. The problem is that their stat growth - though not optimal - is often greater than new players can muster, because the complicated stat growth system can result in awkward stats that give monsters an advantage.

But very little of this is adequately explained. While I personally love Oblivion and would easily rank it as my favorite Elder Scrolls title, it was after a long learning curve had steeled my frustration and led me to build a dedicated character by micromanaging my skills (with a custom class) and stat growth. If that's not something you're into, then the game probably won't "click" with you.

Additionally, all of those "pop up" quests are actually the expansion and DLC content. When those were released, they automatically added those breadcrumb quests that point players toward the NPC that will start the content proper, so that players would always be able to get those quests, regardless of who they had killed in the game before the content was released.

Yes, the menu system is rather clunky, but it's something you can either get used to, or install mods (if you're running the PC version, that is) to overcome.

Overall the game is not an easy one to get absorbed into, but as a longtime Elder Scrolls fan, I love it to death. If Skyrim was your first introduction to the series, the less streamlined gameplay systems of Oblivion may just not be something you enjoy, which is totally okay. But if you're willing to put in some micromanaging stats effort, it can be a very rewarding game.

 

[Moonstone]

I've been playing a file where I really immerse myself. My character eats every few hours, literally walks/runs everywhere, following the roads. She stops to stay at inns and cities if it's getting late in the day. If a quest seems dangerous, she won't take it. I can't let her die or I plan to start over, which would really suck.

But that style of play really isn't for everyone.

My first character that I got really into was a noble, stealthy, ranger elf. He never stole, never had a bounty. Only did things that would raise his fame. A Link/Drizzt sort of hero. He wandered the woods fearlessly, unlike the character I'm playing now. He took on dangerous quests and explored every dungeon he could find.

The other character I really liked was also a stealthy ranger. But she was quite evil. I joined the thieve's and assassin's guilds, and built up her infamy, only infrequently earning her minor fame. She did what she wanted, and she was awesome.

But really, my favorite part about Oblivion was the diversity of the realm. It had mossy green swamps, snow capped peaks, areas around Skingrad that remind me of a Fjord (my favorite type of landscape), and forests everywhere. I didn't really like Skyrim's landscape, which was mostly dying grey/brown grass and snowy peaks. However, the night sky in Skyrim is beautiful. Oblivion's doesn't come close in comparison.

 

[The Jade Fist]

Its not just the expansion pop ups I mean.

There are pop ups for every bit of quest. Like, I better leave the sewers and go talk to that Jauffre guy I was told about already. Those type of things personally should be left in the journal system.

But I actually was introduced at Morowind, but even back when, I couldn't really get into it that well either.

I kinda came back to the Elder Scroll games because I loved the recent fall out games, and wanted more games like them, and Bethesda made both series. And I played alot of skyrim, granted its not perfect and I wish the magic system was a little better, such as actually scaling sensibly (explain to me why specializing in illusion then becomes useless if level higher then like lvl 40 due to nothing being effected by your stuff any more, even dual casting, and it becomes purely about invisibility/muffle).

My pacifist Skyrim playthrough was by far my funnest, oddly enough. The sad fact has come I've run out of ways to continue enjoying skyrim, was hoping Oblivion might keep me going.

I understand the age of the graphics, but can they at least stop creepily smiling at me while demons are murdering every one in town while talking?

I've been playing a file where I really immerse myself. My character eats every few hours, literally walks/runs everywhere, following the roads. She stops to stay at inns and cities if it's getting late in the day. If a quest seems dangerous, she won't take it. I can't let her die or I plan to start over, which would really suck.

But that style of play really isn't for everyone.

My first character that I got really into was a noble, stealthy, ranger elf. He never stole, never had a bounty. Only did things that would raise his fame. A Link/Drizzt sort of hero. He wandered the woods fearlessly, unlike the character I'm playing now. He took on dangerous quests and explored every dungeon he could find.

The other character I really liked was also a stealthy ranger. But she was quite evil. I joined the thieve's and assassin's guilds, and built up her infamy, only infrequently earning her minor fame. She did what she wanted, and she was awesome.

But really, my favorite part about Oblivion was the diversity of the realm. It had mossy green swamps, snow capped peaks, areas around Skingrad that remind me of a Fjord (my favorite type of landscape), and forests everywhere. I didn't really like Skyrim's landscape, which was mostly dying grey/brown grass and snowy peaks. However, the night sky in Skyrim is beautiful. Oblivion's doesn't come close in comparison.

Ya, my pacifist was kinda that role playing character, He came to skyrim to help the suffering in the war. He was a healer, with an oath to do no harm, and by god was it hard to kill people by doing no harm some times. Trip over that kettle please, 50 times, I need the key the to door and apparently I can't pick pocket you for it.

Ultimately I made it thru the entire main quest with out killing a single person, creature, dragon, or even undead, except for Alduin himself. After hours of attempting to find a way to make him die by furying' my allies or slowing having an atronach push him torwards the cliffs in hopes he'd fall off, I had to just settle with the moral solution that "letting Alduin live would be doing harm".

 

[Mercedes]

Lots of mods.

I modded Oblivion to hell and back and it eventually became a pretty cool experience. Doesn't come close to Morrowind and nor is it as good as Skyrim, but, loaded with more mods than Bethesda-make content, yeah, it's quite good. So, I recommend trawling through the Nexus, there's a lot of amazing mods that improve the title ten-fold.

Oblivion Nexus - Oblivion mods and community

 

[MW7]

I played the game for 200 hours as a Redguard and completed the majority of the game's content. I focused on stealth and became pretty good at hiding and running away but not fighting. Oblivion is the only Elder Scrolls game I've played so it seemed pretty interesting to me.

The next file I enchanted a bunch of stuff to get 100% chameleon and then I just messed around with NPCs for hours.

The next file I named my character Voldemort, created a drain health spell that did 100 damage for a second, lowered the difficulty all the way down, and killed entire cities.

My next file I was swimming back and forth to increase my athletics skill faster when I realized I could do the same in real life and make myself stronger so I quit and haven't touched the game since (in other words I totally killed the fun for myself).

So in summary it's a game that has some interesting content and is worth a try, but it definitely isn't for everyone.

 

[Viral Maze]

Download mods.

I loved the game, but that was back when it came out. If you played Fallout, and Skrim, and are now trying Oblivion for the first time, it'll definitely be tough to get into.
You either suck it up, or don't play, but IMO Oblivion's story and side quests are way better than those in Skyrim (once you get past the gameplay).
I'm one of those few weirdo's who loved Oblivion so much, I actually disliked Fallout. Can't deal with that gameplay + guns... But hey, to each their own.