For the longest time now, only Xbox 360 and PC owners were able to stick out their tongues, but their thumbs to their heads, and go "na na na na na" as loud as they could, because they had Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and nothing else really mattered. Sadly for those people, the days of taunting the PS3 owners with the Oblivion carrot is no longer possible, because the same great game has now landed on PS3, and now there is a whole new group of people to become addicted to the world of Oblivion.

Note: For the sake of my sanity and so I don't believe myself going insane with the odd sense of déjà vu, parts of this review will be from my original Oblivion review for the Xbox 360, but only the parts that apply to both it and the PS3 version. The review will be tailored for the PS3 version in regards to visuals, controls, and extra content where appropriate and where different from other versions. This has been a public service announcement from thankeeka. Have a great day!

THE STORY SO FAR
If I were to tell you the full story of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Oblivion from here on) then you'd probably be on this site for a month reading this review, because it would probably end up being as long as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

The main story of Oblivion – the one you follow to get to a true ending – revolves around you, an unwitting prisoner, who ends up having the king come through your cell during a night raid that has already taking the lives of his children, as he seeks to escape so the rein of kings does not come to an end. You follow him on his escape and are there to experience firsthand the death of the king as some assailant literally pops out of nowhere and strikes the king dead. Before that, however, the king tasks you with taking the amulet every king wears, seeking out a monk at an abbey, and finding the long lost heir of the king. Why is this task so important? Well, it turns out that without the signal fire of the king burning, which extinguishes upon each king's death and is relit upon the ascension of the heir, the Prince of Destruction (think Satan) can open gates from his world (Oblivion) into the one you live in.

So you'll crisscross the land, searching high and low to make sure that the heir takes the throne, and even tackling the mysterious Gates of Oblivion that popup…and boy are they creepy. When I saw my first gate, I was literally dumbfounded and afraid to move. Here is this giant, red glowing gate, which looks almost exactly like Sauron's eye from the Lord of the Rings movies. So I approached it cautiously, stepped inside, and hell was all I saw. Once you step into the world of Oblivion, it is all red lightning tinted skies, bursting fires, flowing lava, deranged monsters, and minions of hell bent on your destruction. To close these gates, you have to traverse great distances, up towering spires, and remove a signal stone that will close that particular gate once and for all. However, don't think there is just one, because as the story unfolds or as you simply explore the world, you'll run across other ones as well, and these play out in the exact same fashion.

Though the beauty of Oblivion (the game…not the world) is that you can tackle this main story whenever you want. After I started the game, it took me a good five to six hours before I even went to accomplish the task the king wanted me to do. Instead, I was getting a layout of the capital city, finding the odd quest that I luckily stumbled across, and then making a bit of loot playing Indiana Jones as I explored ancient dungeons and derelict forts. After I built up enough money, then I was off to find that monk, but if I ever got tired of the main quest I could simply stop the quest, head off to find another adventure, and return whenever it suited me. For instance, after I sealed the first Oblivion gate and got the heir to a good stopping point, I simply turned off the quest, headed back to the capital, and then decided to be Russell Crowe from Gladiator and partake in the Arena Battles.

There is just so much story to be had with Oblivion. You've got the main quests, random quests that you stumble across or ask about, Arena battles, guild quests (thief, fighter, mage, etc.) and the list just goes on and on. You can even make your own story, by simply choosing to buck the system and just explore, cause you're likely to stumble across anything from bandits wanting money, Oblivion gates, crumbling caves, ancient ruins filled with treasure (and bandits…can't forget bandits) and all other sorts of oddities. For that matter, I liked just running around picking things, grinding them into potions, and selling them at the store for a bit of gold.

Continue The Review On PAGE 2