My review is dedicated to the gold edition of the game Oblivion. The game was created by Bethesda and was released in 2006. The gold edition of the game was released in 2007. Two official add-ons Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles have been added to it. It was released by the 1C company.

Before you start the game, you can create your character. You have a choice of race. There are several of them and they are varied. Starting from an elf and ending with an orc. Each of the races has its own individual ability, but we will not dwell on all races in detail. You will learn about each of them when you start the game. After choosing a race, you can customize the character to your liking. Namely, choose eye color, age, build and, of course, gender. I will say right away that the editor is not very good and it is unlikely that it will be possible to fashion something better than what was proposed. After struggling with the editor, we choose a name and go ahead. You can play from first and third person.

Your adventures begin in prison. The developers didn’t explain why they put us there, but they did provide us with an unpleasant guy in the next cell. Fortunately, you won’t have to endure his flat jokes for long. Almost immediately the emperor and his guards will come to you. And through the secret tunnel, which is located in the cell, he will hide from the killers pursuing him. You will follow him. During your escape, you will be taught the controls and basics of the game. The controls are quite simple and mastering it is not difficult. The game has a simple and convenient diary. By default, it opens with the "Tav" button. Here you will see your inventory, a list of ingredients for creating potions, huge map, magic spells that are currently available to you, a quest log, as well as a detailed report on your adventures. You will also be taught how to handle a sword and bow, use destruction magic, create potions, hide from enemies and much more that will be useful for survival. You can also choose your birth sign and character class. Your birth sign will give you an additional ability, and your class will determine your play style. But you don’t have to choose a ready-made class; you can create it at your own discretion.

Finally the escape is over. The developers gave you freedom of choice. It is not necessary to immediately take on the story mission received during the escape. You are free to go wherever you want and do whatever you want. You find yourself in the province of Cyrodiil. Here you can devote yourself to the study of magic and become a great archmage. Or try your hand at stealing. Yes, yes, in theft and ascend to the throne of the thieves' community. And if neither one nor the other is to your taste, then you can go to the arena and receive the title of a great warrior. But if the glory of a warrior is not for you, become a traveler and go explore numerous caves, secret crypts, and ancient forts. But be careful. On your way you will encounter vile goblins, skeletons, terrible zombies, and this is not the entire list of undead that awaits you in the depths of the dungeons. On the surface, you shouldn’t relax either. Wild animals and the robbers will not give you a quiet life.

If you stay alive in the battle with the undead, then you can sell everything you get in the cities of Cyrodiil. You can move between them using fast travel. Initially, fast travel seems like an unnecessary feature that kills the spirit of exploration, but upon repeated playthrough it turns out to be useful. In every city you can buy a house, but only if you have gold in your pockets and you have covered your name with good fame. After purchasing a home, you can furnish it by purchasing furniture from the nearest store.

As you travel through Cyrodiil you will meet different people, and receive various tasks from them. The tasks here are one more interesting than the other. Here are some examples. You will find yourself in a village where all the inhabitants suddenly became invisible. Or go into the painting to save the hapless artist. You also have to help the ghost. There are a huge number of tasks in the game and all are no less exciting than those that I talked about.

Let's face it, the graphics are not up to par. modern games, But beautiful views and the elaboration of the world successfully eliminates this lag.

As in any role-playing game, in this one you will also upgrade your hero. Here, leveling up is not just selecting an item in the characteristics menu. Increasing skills depends on their use. The more often you use a skill, the faster it increases. By increasing several skills, you will be able to increase the level of the hero. To raise the level you need to sleep. To do this, you need to use a bed in a rented room in one of the taverns, a found ownerless couch, or a bed in your own home. There are a fair number of skills in the game and I won’t take up your precious time by listing them. You will learn about them in the game.

The game is localized perfectly. Voice acting on top level and if you notice that several characters speak with the same voice, then treat this as a fun fact, because this minor flaw does not spoil the atmosphere of the game. The text is translated correctly and you won’t see any pearls from the “let’s go back” series here.

Bottom line

In this review, I have not covered all the features and aspects of the game. I give you the opportunity to feel like pioneers of the unexplored province of Cyrodiil. No critical bugs were found in the game. The game runs stably on Windows XP and Windows 7. Merciless crashes begin if you have a lot of saves, namely more than three hundred. In conclusion, I’ll note a couple of gigantic advantages: huge, open world for exploration and many interesting quests. And one big minus is the internal monotony of the caves and dungeons. My rating for the game is eight out of ten.

Enjoy the game everyone. Until new reviews.

P.S: The music in the opening credits is performed by a brass band and it is magnificent. Thank you, maestro Jeremy Soule, for the gorgeous music worthy of becoming an anthem. Anthem of the province of Cyrodiil.

We waited
For four years we played Morrowind, which was released in 2002, and then Oblivion came out. This game is undoubtedly long-awaited, everything about it attracts both excellent graphics and first-class gameplay, and just look at the sound alone, which amazes us with its realism. Yes, Bethesda did a great job, the game turned out great, it won’t get boring and in a year, by the way, the developers say that we will have to spend about 100 hours working on the passage of Oblivion, Sam Houser immediately comes to mind with his statement regarding the passage of GTA: San Andreas.

It's Cyrodiil baby...
The beginning of the game is somewhat unclear, we appear in prison, and it is not entirely clear why we are sitting there. Suddenly the Emperor decides to come into our cell; it turns out that there is some kind of secret passage from your cell. Soon the Emperor is killed, which is not at all surprising, and you must deliver the Amulet of Kings to the only heir, that is, the Emperor’s son. Said and done, we set off across the expanses of Kairodil. Kairodil is a province located in the very heart of Tamriel; also in Kairodil is Imperial City, the capital of Tamriel, where our hero actually served his time. The lands of Kairodil are huge, or rather about the same as in Morrowind, but much more densely populated. If you move on foot, you will spend a lot of time, it is much better on a horse; by the way, when you leave the dungeon, you will not be far away from finding a stable, where you will acquire a hoofed vehicle. The horse is good, of course, but it quickly gets boring, the plot constantly throws you to one side or the other of the map, and this is where the developers came up with the Fast Travel system. As soon as you select a point on the map, you will instantly be transported to the selected point.

For the face and its color, there are no comrades...
As in all previous games, in Oblivion you create your own hero, whose face is assembled from as many as 15 separate elements. Huge selection skills allows you to create a unique character, what your hero will be depends only on you. This could be a warrior who knows a lot about battles, such a player can usually knock out a goblin with one left hand, or a magician who is fluent in alchemy and carries with him a bunch of all sorts of rubbish, from rat skins to hare droppings (approx. this is a joke). Game world full of various objects that can be ground/burned/cooked into some kind of potion, such as a weak magic potion, etc. and so on.

“The name of all these games is HIT!”
And finally, it is worth noting that Oblivion fully met expectations, even more, in some aspects it exceeded them. Oblivion can be put on a par with games like Need For Speed: Most Wanted, Gothic3, GTA: San Andreas, Prince Of Persia3, and the name of all these games is HIT!

is one of the most exciting and most interesting RPGs in our entire vibrant world. This part is a continuation of the same exciting game as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Both of these games are still popular today. These games were developed by the well-known company Bethesda Softworks. But let's not be distracted by others, but rather talk about Oblivion.

About the game

What can you say about the game itself? The official release date of the project in Russia is 06/23/2006. Well, this game was developed for quite a long time as an RPG (as much as 4 years), but that didn’t make it any worse, I assure you. Let me remind you that the game was developed by everyone’s favorite company Bethesda Softworks, which to this day never ceases to please us with good projects. The developers did their best! The game came out simply stunning. So many people waited with bated breath for her. Immediately after release, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion became a Bestseller in the gaming industry. In the first two weeks of sales, approximately 1.7 million copies of this great epic game were sold. It was released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Main story and quests

I'll start with the main plot. It is so interesting that once you start going through it, it’s simply impossible to put it down. Although at first it seems quite primitive. It's like the developers were making a game for children preschool age, but over time it develops well and you get the feeling that you are not playing a game, but reading a book about fantasy (and a best-selling book at that: D). And it all starts with the fact that your main character is in the province of Tamriel and, oddly enough, in prison. But then a miracle happens - the emperor of this province himself bursts into your room with his bodyguards. After a short conversation with the emperor, you will have to go with him. I forgot to mention that after you start new game, you have to create your own character, but we'll talk about that later. Before his death, the emperor will give you his amulet and a small assignment (just save your native province from the invasion of demons: D). But soon the dastardly assassins will kill the unfortunate emperor, and immediately after this your main quest will begin. In general, the game has a huge number of various tasks. You can hire a job in a warriors guild, or help some poor peasant for thanks. By the way, after you complete the main quest, the game does not end there. You will be able to complete other side quests.

Characters

There are a huge number of characters in the game and for every taste :) First you have to create your character. You will have a lot of choice: first you will have to choose the race of your main character. This could be a dark elf, high elf, imperial, etc. As you progress along the quest line, you will upgrade any skills you want. This could be hand-to-hand combat, swords, heavy weapons, magic, etc. Soon you will have to make a choice. You will have to choose your zodiac sign. This could be a shadow sign, a warrior, a magician, etc.

Graphic arts

Graphics in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion simply pleasing to the eyes. It is so soft and beautiful that you want to play the game further and further. But to truly enjoy it, you'll need an ATI X800 or NVIDIA GeForce 6800 graphics card with 512 MB of memory. I was especially impressed by one moment - the smooth change of day and night. It happens so beautifully that sometimes you even stop to admire the beautiful landscape. For example, a beautiful sunset or a beautiful early flowering. The graphics in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion are top notch!

Sound

There is sound in the game. And what a sound. The music is very nice (and lyrical). Suitable for all moments of the game. For example, when you are fighting an enemy, the music becomes dynamic and energetic. When you explore some caves or ancient ruins, the music becomes dark and scary. Well, when nothing happens around your main character, a calm (pacifying) melody plays. All the music for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was written by composer Jeremy Soule. A soundtrack disc was also released separately.

RESULTS: Well, it's a game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion really good RPG. Everything about it is 5+, without exception! Beautiful graphics, good sound and interesting plot. The game is endowed with all these qualities. There are practically no shortcomings. I'm sure Oblivion is worth your attention. Play it with pleasure!!!

Let me start the story about TES 4: Oblivion with... apologies. Many were waiting for the publication of the second part of our preview. Every week my colleagues and I received letters asking if there would be a sequel. The editors of AG have repeatedly tried to build bridges with Bethesda Softworks, but the press service there, represented by the vice president of the company Pete Hines remained silent, having forgotten about the promise made in the fall, even after the “first glances” blossomed on the pages of major English-language resources. So forgive us, dear readers.

Hell's Gate

It's too late to drink Borjomi today. Here it is, the long-awaited sequel, beckoning with postcard landscapes and inviting you to travel. The old emperor was killed by cultists, gates to the hellish dimension Oblivion are opening across the country, and only the chosen one of fate can: a) slam the portals; b) exterminate the villains; c) find an heir to the empty throne.

But first you will have to do what we described in the ill-fated article. For starters - choosing gender, race and trying to make a face that does not belong to a hereditary freak or village fool. Mature people make an indelible impression. A quick glance at their wrinkled faces is the best advertisement for vitamin Q10 enzyme cream. The “Randomize” option is dedicated to the desperate, spitting out an endless series of cross-eyed mutants.

Following the conquest of the unruly FaceGen technology, an introductory course begins (aka “The inevitable death of Uriel Septim VII at the hands of designers who turned off the controls at the most important moment”). In half an hour you will master the basics of survival in Tamriel circa 2006. For example, melee combat has forgotten about dice - from now on, the outcome of the battle is decided by click reflexes and the ability to place a block. By the hundredth skirmish, the idea will lose its novelty, and the acute lack of the “target lock” function will come to the fore (without it it is difficult to dodge attacks and perform especially dashing techniques), and the chaos of mass brawls, where stupid NPC friends persistently get into the thick of it. Although at first, rats and goblins flying in all directions, flavored with a rubber ragdoll, cause childish joy.

The magic has also changed. Don't ask why mana regenerates at an incredibly high rate, turning sorcery showdowns into a lively fairy-tale shooter. This is the same great secret as the loss of levitation, upright lizards with magnificent busts, riding horses without stirrups or reins, axes on the list of blunt weapons and caves built, judging by the neat wooden doors at the entrance, by a team of hobbit migrant workers. The staves also remind us of our closeness to action - clean water magic machine guns, but they need to be loaded not with cartridges, but with the souls of defeated enemies.

Finally, improved stealth, a gift for pickpockets and assassins who prefer a six-fold multiplier to a backstab instead of a fair fight. But, no matter what the hints that flash when loading locations say, its mechanics are primitive - no match Thief: Deadly Shadows or Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. The game takes into account the weight of the boots and the degree of illumination, but the course of its “thoughts” is hidden behind an indicator in the shape of an eye, which knows only two states - “visible” and “not visible”. That is why it is sometimes difficult to understand why the sentry detects an intruder hiding in a dark corner. Are we loud? Does the mithril helmet shine brightly? Can the enemy standing near the waterfall hear our steps? Brew your coffee - it's time to guess the grounds.

But even with adjustments, one cannot count on the position of the Tamriel Garrett or Fisher. Bethesda, accustomed to cutting knots from the shoulder, nipped the “raspberry” in the bud. Firstly, each item, be it a loaf of bread, a dagger or a horse, is equipped with an RFID chip, by which respectable (as in selection!) traders determine whether it is “hijacked” or not. These things can only be sold to buyers from the thieves' guild. Secondly, half the country still finds out about the murder the moment it is committed. Thirdly, astute guards see right through the guilty hero and immediately discover contraband in his backpack. The sharp-eyed policemen from the Moscow metro never dreamed of this. “Yeah, a stolen knife! What do you want: tea with lemon, juice, pay a fine, go to jail, resist?”

Hello modders

“Pumping” has become more transparent. To move to the next level, you need to raise 7 key skills by 10 units (in total). Another 14 pass as auxiliary - they grow more slowly and do not affect the “level up”. Fortunately, extremely useful perks for persistent development of talent (by the way, also new for TES) is given, regardless of its importance. Repairing enchanted weapons and armor, reducing the weight of worn armor by 50%, access to more formidable techniques and spells, jumping attacks - there is something to work for.

The main thing is to remember how merciless the balance is TES 4. In an effort to cover up the loopholes that made it possible to bring the god-man into Morrowind, the authors left holes, but tightened the bolts tightly. The province of Cyrodiil - monsters, the contents of chests and other people's pockets, rewards for quests, assortment in shops - "grows up" along with the dumb hero. Equalization useful in, say, Diablo 2, played a cruel joke on lazy designers Oblivion- their brainchild has lost its attractiveness. Why spend kilometers through similar dungeons (“copy/paste”, baby!), penetrate the houses of sleeping townspeople, poke into the randomly generated lands of Oblivion, if the prize for diligence turns out to be worthless trash? The stores are a network of faceless supermarkets where they closely monitor the client so that he does not suddenly grab something too powerful.

The situation with the opponents was completely absurd. You go to bed in a tavern, gain several levels at once, invest points in primary attributes, get out into the forest... and find out that the bandits, who yesterday ran around in worn leather jackets, today flaunt shiny chain mail and magic bows, and the wolves have flown south, giving way to ferocious bears. So forget about the ideology of “Difficult location? Come back later" from Baldur's Gate And Gothic 2. Convenient “fast travel” helps you instantly transport yourself to any of the already explored areas, but what good is this if the values ​​and traps are the same everywhere, and the enemies are becoming more and more dangerous? There is no more reliable way to kill the desire to explore the world.

Even worse, the game doesn't take into account how your protégé develops. The openness of the role-playing system and the ease with which certain non-combat skills rise (the most prominent are athletics, acrobatics and stealth) put an end to the career of an adventure diplomat... until he finds his Achilles heel Oblivion- dream. By giving up a warm bed and, therefore, further growth, you will stop the senseless “arms race”, but will continue to improve your skills, and at the same time make it easier to complete the main storyline, whose characters do not want to keep up with progress and are therefore dying like flies. Cheating? No. This trick is no dirtier than bribery in the senile game of “persuading a stranger, alternating jokes, threats, flattery and boasting,” or the “Auto-Attempt” button, which eliminates the tedious fuss with master keys.

Hopeless AI

Radiant AI - the second largest wart on the body Oblivion. A spectacular demonstration from E3, where the owner of a bookstore practiced shooting and set her beloved dog on fire, turned out to be a PR bluff. The illusion of reality appears when you first enter the city and quickly disintegrates, revealing the ugly truth. Try to follow any citizen - you will see how empty his existence is. People wander aimlessly through the streets, stomp on one spot for a long time, ignore the feeling of hunger and, like robots, stuff a random interlocutor with a selection of scattered facts. Nobles willingly associate with beggars, thieves with guards. Life flows measuredly and leisurely, as if the Deidric gates were not blazing around the area. One of the Skingrad madams won my heart - after returning from work in the vineyard, she spent seven hours straight clearing the stone path in the courtyard of her house with a hoe, and then went into the apartment, walked to the corner and... froze until dawn.

In battle, dummies behave no better. More than once or twice, my faithful companions dived into the lava, trying to finish off their enemy, and the wounded enemies ran back slightly and froze, silently allowing the carcass to be stuffed with a dozen arrows. Terrible, but compared to Morrowind- a big step forward. So, you look at TES Number five will be group tactics and battles on horseback, familiar to owners of a modest Turkish RPG Mount & Blade. By the way, the horses there do not rush across the plains and slopes with the grace of a three-wheeled SUV. And when left alone, they don’t turn to trouble.

But there are few complaints about the dialogues: the sheets of lists of topics for conversation have sunk into oblivion, verbal diarrhea has stopped, and all characters without exception now have good voice acting. It's a pity that the texts are flimsy - the dark legacy of "walking encyclopedias" slips into them every now and then - and the programmers responsible for facial expressions would do well to learn from Valve.

Light spots

Is there a Oblivion something that could lift him off his knees? Surprisingly, yes. Side missions are the only thing that is done with soul. There are almost no variations on the theme of “bring” and “kill”, and those that exist change in the course of events, revealing the second bottom. Twisted detective investigations, searches for lost people, multi-step thefts, hijacking ships (!), working with the mentally ill, turning into a vampire and back into a human, hunting wild animals, carrying out extravagant orders from fifteen Deirdre lords... sometimes with alternative endings. It is thanks to them Oblivion deserves installation on a hard drive. And to hell with her, with an insignificant reward for the post of guild leader (does anyone really want to have a personal idiot at their beck and call?).

Another reason to spend 5 gigabytes is graphics. Gamebryo and the SpeedTree implanted into it produce breathtaking panoramas... with one “but”. The extreme quality settings available on the settings screen will “delight” you with smudges instead of textures without a hint of grass, pixelated reflections in the water, fog in the background and objects materializing from the ether. In order to get detail and resolution similar to those shown in the screenshots from the AG gallery, and at the same time 1600x1200, HDR lighting and at least 20 fps, you will have to edit Oblivion.ini. However, before changing the settings, make sure that your computer is not weaker than that indicated in the “basement” of this article.

The fairy tale about a scalable engine (and the self-shading of everything advertised at E3) did not come true. What should those who do not have powerful processors and video cards do? Curse the “brakes,” mercilessly cut off your viewing range, watch entire buildings appear right under your nose, and pray during serious battles. Or shell out for an expensive upgrade.

But the interface will only be helped by a patch or fan mods. Shortage of hot keys. A huge prefix font in the spirit of “ Pirates of the Caribbean" A list of items containing six measly lines. Limit for one manual mark on a map without zooming. A strange window for assigning functions to buttons “1” to “8”, where you can’t tell which of the three bows the number “5” is responsible for. The reason is trivial - the developers did not try to adapt the console design to “personal games”. Contrary to promises. Apparently, not only the PR department suffers from sclerosis in Bethesda.

Next-Gen Boredom

Was it possible to create the “RPG for the Next Generation” that you spoke about? Todd Howard in his address to fans of the series? Will you be able to live “another life, in another world”? Alas. Yes, it's a spectacle. Yes, the quests of the four guilds drag on, forcing you to wander for a long time through dreary tombs accompanied by standard music Jeremy Soule, exterminating hundreds of strong, arrogant enemies. But the hour of satiety comes, and you understand that they will not offer anything else.

Farewell, Cyrodiil. B O Most of your secrets will remain unsolved. There was love without joy, separation will be without sadness.

You know, if the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was a wealthy burgher and, as befits a decent wealthy burgher, regularly dropped in to visit a psychoanalyst, then to the classic question: “ What's your problem?" she would answer the following: " My problem is my PR people and marketers».

It's probably no secret that every year in the gaming industry Creators, talented people who sparkle with ideas and have long worn their index finger to a bloody callus, matter less and less when issuing autographs (although these guys work with no less energy, what their colleagues were doing five, ten or fifteen years ago).

The world of computer entertainment is ruled by average guys who have absorbed with their mother’s milk the teachings of Kotler, Black and other luminaries of marketing and PR. Because of the neat “dress code” that blends with the walls of any office, you and I practically don’t see these citizens - but they exist. And the more power they have in their hands, the more noticeable the mistakes they make become.

Current issue " Gambling addiction"is very indicative in this regard. A little further along the magazine, a domestic bottling kikimora was smashed to smithereens LADA Racing Club, whose PR people did a stellar job, energetically promoting something that, in principle, was not worth promoting. In the case of Oblivion, the problem is completely different. Having a powerful project in their hands, the people responsible for its promotion for some reason forced us all to look for a castle in the sky - and for a short moment turn away from the real merits of the game.

For many, this brief moment was enough to forever ruin their impression of the fourth part of The Elder Scrolls.

Oh damn, Vion

Stones from the walls of the castle in the air begin to fall literally in the very first minutes of the game. Many of you probably remember The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind-the brilliant predecessor of Oblivion. They remember the journey on the prisoner transport ship, they remember the short training, the conversation with Cellus Gravius ​​and the door opening to Seyda Neen - a small coastal city, one glance at which was enough to leave them speechless for a long time. Behind these small cozy houses, behind the beautiful harbor, behind the mighty, amusingly purring riding beetle, a whole world- huge, mysterious, alluring and full of adventure. A couple of minutes spent in Seyda Neen charged many with enough energy to complete the entire game.

At first, Oblivion seems to start out the same way. Cyrodiil, capital province of Tamriel. Our new main character is again a prisoner, who now lives in a prison exactly under the emperor’s palace. Moreover, in a real VIP chamber - this is where the door to the underground passage is hidden, dug in case of “unforeseen incidents.” So there is nothing strange when Emperor Uriel Septim himself appears at the far end of the damp corridor, accompanied by guards. Grandfather clearly got off on the wrong foot today: hordes of militant cultists are rushing at his heels, and he grabs the amulet on his chest, glares at the poor prisoner and mutters something like: “ This is the man who appeared to me in visions, it is he who will save our world" Suddenly an amnesty comes and the guards have to take us with them.

Then everything happens according to the established pattern - we trudge through the damp dungeon, help protect the emperor, while simultaneously learning the game and creating a “role-playing portrait” of our character. At the end of the walk, Uriel is, of course, killed, but before he gives up the ghost, he gives us an amulet complete with instructions to take the trinket “to the right place.” Meanwhile, gates to the parallel dimension Oblivion are opening throughout Cyrodiil, from which all kinds of infection are rushing in. It's time to save the world, chosen one! The door to the treasured “street” opens and...

And the Oblivion graphics engine , one of the most modern and high-tech today, paints us the following picture: a modest lake, a lifeless plain and something on the horizon. We are again left speechless for a long time. This time - from the emptiness and disappointment that blows from that very plain.

After a few minutes, the game realizes its mistake and begins to hastily rehabilitate itself. In the nooks and crannies of a seemingly dead world, something begins to move, blink its eyes and make sounds. Here we are admiring a boat tied to the pier, and a little further along the shore a real battle is taking place: a nameless archer is shooting back from the crabs attacking him. We come to the rescue and instead of saying “thank you” we get an arrow in the stomach. Yes, you still have to get used to the local laws...

Every minute we become more and more fascinated. A long journey along a curved road. Rare houses, abandoned ruins and ambushing enemies. Beautiful landscapes that you want to admire, rotating the camera for a long time and choosing successful angles. Flashes of a torch in the hands of a lone guard on a horse. He already knows about the death of the emperor - and there is fear and confusion in his voice. And this Imperial City, constantly flickering on the horizon, is an alluring city on an island, where getting to is not as easy as it seems.

Around this point we start feel game. The world of Oblivion is doomed. And that’s why you want to live in it.

Log People

Alas, as soon as the game regains our trust and more or less firmly stands on its feet, it is tripped up again. Moreover, it is so strong that an entire wall instantly falls off from the castle in the air.

Radiant A.I. The thing on which the main bet was made when promoting the game. According to the developers, this system of behavior of game characters was supposed to make them the most “alive” in history computer games. The scene with the store owner, who invited the main character to go up to the second floor, then practiced archery, read a book and burned an annoying dog with a fireball, probably shocked everyone who saw it or at least read about it in the specialized press. " It's only the beginning!" - was animatedly heard from PR horns. It was promised that each character in the game would receive its own character, its own habits and goals, both momentary and global.

In the first minutes spent in Imperial City, one gets the impression that the capital was flooded by some completely wild and uneducated servants who survived the “intellectuals” with Radiant AI education. Alas, in the rest of the cities of Cyrodiil the same social catastrophe has broken out - hordes of homeless people begging for money and gloomy clone guards roam the streets, and the so-called “bohemians” carry on endless conversations in the spirit of: “ Have you heard that the store around the corner sells glamorous armor?" Honestly, there is no more life in Oblivion than in the old lady Gothic. At the same time, in Gothic the characters at least behaved naturally - here a natural circus tent is constantly happening around the player.

Alas, the failure of almost all points from the description of Radiant AI is not the only complaint that can be made against artificial intelligence programmers. Very poorly made, for example collaboration, when the player is joined by computer-controlled allies. The fight they perform is reminiscent of a game of roulette - you will never understand how many times the dummies will be able to correctly distribute targets and attack opponents. In general, given the noticeably increased number of massive landfills, the game could use a simple interface for managing teammates - but, alas, we can only rely on modification developers.

Those who like to indulge in theft in games will also be disappointed. The fact is that stolen items in Oblivion seem to have "stolen" written in capital letters - even if you go to the other side of the world, no normal seller will buy them from you. So you have to look for rare buyers of stolen goods and sell them your belongings. On the thief, by the way, “thief” is also written in capital letters - any city guard from a great distance notices that we have other people’s things in our bag, and immediately offers to either pay a fine or go to jail. Although, of course, you can also just punch the guardian of the law in the face.

But this is not the biggest absurdity yet. At the beginning of his journey, the player receives a real horse. In the company of her, any road becomes shorter and - three times “ha-ha!” - more fun. Imagine for yourself: another bandit with a huge ax jumps out of the bushes at a lonely horseman. We dismount, draw our sword and... start poking the enemy in the side - the stupid AI is already stuck on the horse and is enthusiastically trying to saw it into cutlets. The poor animal, in turn, thrashes the scoundrel with its hooves. Moreover, the horses in Cyrodiil are clearly of a special breed - even if you do not engage in battle, but stand on the sidelines, the artiodactyl almost always kills the enemy.

Well, now - the continuation of the banquet! As soon as our four-legged tank manages to deal with the impudent bandit, a second one jumps out from the neighboring bushes and, snatching a bow, shoots an arrow directly into the massive croup of the poor animal. Turn around, enter new goal, rapprochement and the next scene: a “locomotive” rushes across the surrounding plains and valleys, consisting of an archer who is trying to keep his distance, a horse enthusiastically waving its hooves at the villain, and a player who does not understand anything. A little higher we already used the phrase “circus tent” - can we repeat it again, okay?

But the player manages to break through to the enemy - and combat system instantly reveals itself in all its beauty and ugliness. Contact fights in Oblivion are complex and exciting - the enemy darts around the hero like a real ninja, constantly jumping out of sight and striking at the sides and back. Moreover, he does it with such speed that sometimes you simply don’t understand - in which direction did the scoundrel jump this time? Ranged combat does not always save you - both the bow and most spells have to be aimed, and this is sometimes quite difficult to do, given the super-maneuverability of the opponents.

But the appearance of a stealth mode is pleasing. A sneaky stab in the back of an unsuspecting enemy causes several times more damage than a regular poke with a cleaver - this is definitely our method, friends! And the system itself works “honestly” - if you move carefully, approaching the enemy undetected will not be difficult.

Correct story

So, Oblivion? How will you rehabilitate yourself this time, with what hard cash will you pay the players for the missing Radiant AI and the strange combat system?

The answer is simple - a fascinating plot. Unlike Morrowind, which literally crushed the player with its size and scale, Oblivion takes on something else - saturation. A short walk through Imperial City - and the player forgets about Uriel's instructions, getting involved in many side quests. Tasks are given out literally on every corner: even a casual conversation with an ordinary passer-by can result in a long run across the entire continent. And we are still silent about the huge number of guilds (magicians, fighters, thieves, assassins), whose quest lines are almost as wide as the main campaign.

Scriptwriters receive a special five in their diary: the standard tasks “take”, “kill” and “collect” in Oblivion recede into the background, skipping forward those thought out to the smallest details quests. At the pier you will be informed that a citizen hangs out in the tavern and is selling his house inexpensively. A few minutes of searching - and now you are looking at the decoration of the home. Then five thousand conventional units leave your pocket. Having walked around your new property to your heart's content, you either go on a journey, or go to bed and... discover that the house is haunted. Their eviction and punishment of the negligent seller is a separate long story...

The traditional fly in the ointment is again in place. It’s unclear why the developers tied the level of most opponents to the player’s level. That is, as you grow, you “grow” and the world. This approach gives Oblivion a certain sterility - there are almost no easy or difficult tasks in it, only “arithmetically averaged” ones. Developing a character, again, becomes uninteresting - why strive for this if the enemies automatically grow to the same level?

Although the role-playing system itself is amazingly good. Perfected in three big games and a crazy number of addons, in Oblivion it almost reached its ideals. Each of the races has a predisposition to one or another style of play (orcs are excellent warriors, high elves are born to be magicians), the zodiac sign adds some nice perk like enlargement magical power, and the distribution of skills - shooting, using armor, alchemy - depends on the chosen class - between the main ones (very strong initially; they are pumped up quickly) and additional ones (they are pumped up slowly). The growth of skills increases the overall level; the player now and then chooses which of the basic characteristics need to be increased - beauty!

We should especially congratulate the magicians. The fact is that in Morrowind, “magic” (the local analogue of mana spent on casting spells) was restored only during rest or sleep. This made playing as a mage terribly difficult. In Oblivion, “magic” drips at any time, and at a fairly high speed.

Elves on excursion

High-quality quests in Oblivion are supported by luxurious graphics. The engine itself, to be honest, leaves a very ambivalent impression. On the one hand, it renders huge open spaces, the lighting is excellent (you should see what a luxurious change of day and night there is here!), and the forest and grass are worked out. But on the other hand, “in the fresh air” the loss of detail depending on the distance is too noticeable. That is, if everything is fine up close - there are trees, pebbles, grass, beautiful soil - then if you take a closer look at the mound in the distance, you will see that it consists of a modest number of polygons covered with a horribly smeared texture. Disgusting contrast.

The picture, however, is pulled out by the designers. The world in Oblivion is much more compact than in Morrowind, and thanks to this there are almost no “dead” places in it, it is cozy and nice. Against this background, the ability to instantly be transported to one of the key points on the map looks a little strange - after all, by using it, the player misses almost all the exciting journeys.

Well, the best thing about Oblivion is the settlements. Imperial City, like most capitals, is overwhelming in its size, scope, and stateliness. Provincial towns scattered all over the map, on the contrary, attract people. Each of them has its own layout, its own unique architectural style and its own cozy places. Yes, this will probably sound pretentious and funny, but every settlement in Oblivion has a unique soul, there are secrets and legends. And, traveling around the world, sometimes you begin to feel like a real tourist who, having found himself in new town, opens his mouth, wanders through its streets for a long time and takes screenshots.

The external beauty is reinforced by the music - it is calm, does not distract from the process and at the same time fits perfectly with the style of play. Jeremy Soule Clearly his labor dollar was not in vain.

And, alas, we have to return to the shortcomings again. The animation in the game is simply terrible. The definition of “Pinocchio”, popular in the gaming press, probably fits the local characters perfectly. And one more thing: never, hear, never, press the jump button while the third-person view is on!..

The FaceGen technology for creating faces, the amazing capabilities of which we were told so much about, also turned out to be another big bomb. There is no point in talking about this for a long time; suffice it to say that she is to blame for the lack of beautiful female characters.

The editors of “Gaming” walked through many official and unofficial forums and prepared small instructions with which you can make Oblivion a little more stable and faster.

First, let's deal with the mistakes. According to the developers, 99% of such bugs occur due to problems with sound codecs. Therefore, we go to " Installing and removing programs "and check if he's hiding there K-Lite Codec Pack . If yes, delete it. After that we go to the directory Windows\System32 and rename the file mpeg2dmx.ax in, for example, mpeg2dmx.ax.old .

Now let's improve system performance. Let's start with the simplest and most logical thing - updating all the main drivers: video and sound cards, as well as the motherboard. You can get the latest versions of the most popular drivers for video cards from our DVD from the section " Iron software».

Significantly increases the number of frames per second and another trick. Install CoolBits (The REG file, which opens additional settings for the video card, can be taken from our disk in the same section), then in the driver settings menu in Additional Direct 3D settings set the parameter Max frames to render ahead to the value 0 (attention - when starting other games, it is better to return this setting to its initial value!).

The last step is editing the INI file of the game, which is located in My Documents\My Games\Oblivion . Open it with Notepad and change the following entries:

In order to enable shaders version 3.0 (available in NVIDIA video cards starting from the GeForce 6200 and ATI starting from the Radeon X1300), set bAllow30Shaders=1 ;

In order to make the textures on distant objects higher quality, set uGridsToLoad=7 And fLandTexturingTillingMult=0.5000 .

Good game!

* * *

To be honest, we don’t understand at all the serious foreign gaming publications that, one after another, give the game almost one hundred percent ratings. For what, colleagues? Numerous fans talk about Oblivion excitedly, but that's why they're fans. At the same time, in huge, dozens of pages, Internet discussions often include offended statements in the spirit of: “ But they promised this, but did not do it!" or " But here it’s unclear why they changed it - it was better before!».

The Elder Scrolls games have never been perfect. Remember how many shortcomings Morrowind had - and what its fate ultimately turned out to be. We are simply confident that, despite all the problems described above, Oblivion will be one of the most popular RPGs in the history of the genre, will grow a huge amount official addons and amateur modifications. It’s just a pity that Bethesda didn’t understand this - and they “drew” us a completely different game.

A game we'll never see.

Replay value-Yes

Cool story-Yes

Originality-No

Easy to learn-Yes

Meeting expectations: 50%

Gameplay: 8.0

Graphic arts: 8.0

Sound and music: 9.0

Interface and control: 5.0

Did you wait? The promised revolution and the birth of a “new generation RPG” did not happen - The Elder Scrolls series continues to wander the beaten path. Oblivion is a huge and deep role-playing game, which, unfortunately, is rich not only in strengths, but also in weaknesses.