The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion review

Year-old port or not, this huge role-playing epic is one of the most cutting-edge, immersive games ever made

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You can just wander the towns, talking to people and accepting a huge range of quests from them. Or fight your way to the top of the Arena. Heck, maybe just get all Daniel Boone and wander the continent, hacking and fireballing your way through dozens of loot-and-monster-filled ruins, caves, and tombs that just happen to be tucked away here or there. You can even get bitten by the wrong creature and become a vampire, complete with superhuman strength, the need to drink blood and a potentially fatal aversion to sunlight. There is a cure, but you might not want it.

Or, you can just pick ingredients for potions, chat up the ladies, and steal every fork from every house in the game and lay them all down so it says, "I am the King of forks!" on the ground (at least one guy actually did this. We saw pictures) when you look out the balcony of your mansion. You know - that place you got cheap because it was haunted by the spirit of the dude whose ghost tried to shred you when you found the secret evil altar in the basement and reattached his corpse's hand, but you summoned a wight, pulled out your ice-blasting sword, and tore him apart.

Whatever you want to do is cool with Oblivion - so is whatever you want to look like, whatever you want to buy/sell/steal or even make, wherever in its giant world you want to go and whomever you want to talk to/help/rob/cut into pieces once you're there. And whichever skills you use as you execute your shenanigans will get stronger with use, just as they would in the real world. Assuming your real world talents include setting man-crabs on fire with your touch, sneaking poison apples into rich dudes' pockets, and capturing the souls of enemies to recharge the magical poison mace you made.

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GenreRole Playing
DescriptionThe fourth Elder Scrolls entry is utterly brilliant and should not be missed by any adventure-spirited gamer.
Platform"PC","Xbox 360","PS3","PSP"
US censor rating"Mature","Mature","Mature","Mature"
UK censor rating"","","",""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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Eric Bratcher
I was the founding Executive Editor/Editor in Chief here at GR, charged with making sure we published great stories every day without burning down the building or getting sued. Which isn't nearly as easy as you might imagine. I don't work for GR any longer, but I still come here - why wouldn't I? It's awesome. I'm a fairly average person who has nursed an above average love of video games since I first played Pong just over 30 years ago. I entered the games journalism world as a freelancer and have since been on staff at the magazines Next Generation and PSM before coming over to GamesRadar. Outside of gaming, I also love music (especially classic metal and hard rock), my lovely wife, my pet pig Bacon, Japanese monster movies, and my dented, now dearly departed '89 Ranger pickup truck. I pray sincerely. I cheer for the Bears, Bulls, and White Sox. And behind Tyler Nagata, I am probably the GR staffer least likely to get arrested... again.