Oblivion set for PS3 launch

By Tom Bramwell Published 29 September, 2006

With PSP version next spring.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will be a PlayStation 3 launch title in both North America this November and Europe next March.

Developer/publisher Bethesda Softworks confirmed the long-standing rumour this week, and will publish the game itself in the US while Ubisoft serves as co-publisher in Europe.

The company also revealed that a PSP instalment, The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion, is in development and should be released in the US and Europe next spring.

"We're very excited to be able to bring a game like Oblivion out for launch for the PlayStation 3," said Bethesda Softworks president, Vlatko Andonov.

"Oblivion's countless awards and commercial success to date make it clear that PlayStation 3 owners are in for a real treat this November."

Oblivion is one of the highest-rated games on the Xbox 360 and PC platforms, for which it was published by 2K Games.

Early previews explain that the PS3 edition will include new content, including the introduction of a new faction, the Knights of the Nine, which players can join, along with new characters, locations, armour and weapons.

The PSP game, meanwhile, will be set in a different region.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (68) Latest comment 6 years ago

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  • yonno #1 6 years ago

    surely the psp version will have to be massively chopped and compromised

  • KingOfSpain #2 6 years ago

    give me morrowind on the PSP...DO IT..DO IT NOW!!!

  • Yossarian #3 6 years ago

    PSP version

    are you kidding me

  • Wash #4 6 years ago

    Goodo, truly a game that should be played by either of the ardent one system adopters...waits for wii announcement... oh wait.

    seriously though, will still be worth it for ps3 folk.

    epic.

  • kingkatt #5 6 years ago

    The PS3 version has a new faction that will use 44.5GB of extra data to justify "Blu-Ray is teh essential for next-gen". ;O)

  • Cosmopolitan #6 6 years ago

    PSP version FTW!

    /starts saving money for the rumoured new version of PSP

  • bigbadbeasty #7 6 years ago

    "rumoured new version of PSP"???

    Does it have a touch screen??

  • Salubrious_K #8 6 years ago

    This is good news for the PS3. Oblivion rocks... hard.

    After so much negative news recently, it's good to know that they'll be a launch game for definite that people won't be able to put down.

  • Mr_Brown #9 6 years ago

    I would buy the game again if it was made for the Wii. Extra content isn't going to pursuade many people to buy this game again specially with the amount of money they've spent on the PS3. I think anyone who was ever going to buy this already has. Specially now youcan get it for £19.99 on the PC already and probably be cheaper on the 360 by then.

    Though the PSP version intrigues me...lets hope they don't cut it down to much...and controls are probably going to be horrid.
    Edited by Mr_Brown at 29/09/06 @ 10:39

  • peterfll #10 6 years ago

    Hmmm.... should kick off the games that we can finally use as a good barometer to start judging the two platforms on their respective merits.

  • lambtron #11 6 years ago

    You'll probably have to wait while it loads ;)

  • Mr_Whacker #12 6 years ago

    Despite being massively sprawling its a great game for PSP. You've got stuff like fast travel, save anywhere, different size dungeons and quests. And you can spend just 5 mins to boost some stat if thats all the time you have. They just need to drop textures and draw distance a bit, neither of which will be a problem for gameplay. No idea what 'different region ' will mean. Perhaps thay have decided to scale down the location.

  • asphaltcowboy #13 6 years ago

    I really didn't enjoy Oblivion anywhere near as much as I was hoping too...
    I'm much more interested in playing Dark Messiah now.

    Anyone want a mint copy of Oblivion (PC) btw?

  • smelly #14 6 years ago

    Im a strange person.

    I've been playing oblivion for 23 hours now (according to my save file), and I fail to see why it's supposed to be fun!

    My personal thing with it is that I reacon people sing it's praises because it looks so nice, and it shows off their console, etc etc. No-one's ever sat down and said.. yes .. it looks nice.. but the framerate is terrible (sometimes dropping to flick book territory), the load times are rediculous, and the actual gameplay isnt actually any fun!!!

    But that's just me.. No doubt by saying this, i'll invoke the wrath of the fanboys.. But as i said - JUST MY OPINION.. An opinion is just that, it's allowed to be different from other people!

    I've been TRYING to see the appeal (thus the long play times), but to me it sucks.. Take away the pretty graphics which all the fanboys are wanking over.. And you're left with an average dull game... Still without the gfx, at least it'll run at a decent framerate!

  • jonsaan #15 6 years ago

    Oblivion is boring. Face it. Once the initial wow factor wears off it's just another wooly jumper wearing RPG. :)

  • Wash #16 6 years ago

    Its the freedom, the size, the scope, the level of background stuff going on. Graphics are nice too.

    Its likely the RPG version of GTA.

  • bluebird #17 6 years ago

    I think the game is fun... incredible even.. for the first say, 12 hours.

    Then I started to realize that the game adjusts to my playing character. It seems a great idea at first, being able to enter any place at any level. But it also means that there are few places in the game that you want to level up for to enter (since you can enter them anyway), and if you have an unconventional character that is good roleplay but not the most effective in battle (like my archer-thief), the game punishes constantly because even if you level up, so do all your enemies!

    Part of the fun of an RPG is being able to roleplay any character, and the development of that character. Being able to go back to a place and feel stronger and take on enemies that at first baffled you in strength, or being able to outsmart them with new skills, etc. In Oblivion, you'll come back and just see new, adjusted, stronger enemies. As such enemies become empty generated shells instead of interesting opponents.

    In the end the gears that drive the game beyond the (beautiful on the 360) graphics became very apparent, characters are all scripted, the world is like a database with events, the main story is tedious (especially those towers), and I stopped playing it, and longed back to a more story driven RPG.

    I really hope the PS3 version will scrap the adjusting enemy level 'feature', but it being part of the basic design of the game, I doubt it.

    Excuse the rant, I guess this has really bothered me, I really wanted to love Oblivion :-) (even bought my 360 for the pleasure of playing it)

  • spongebob #18 6 years ago

    This is great news especially for USA and Japan launch lineup. Solid RPG was definitely needed. Too bad of course it's something that PC and X360 owners have already played for ages.

  • Mr_Brown #19 6 years ago

    Well I've been playing to game for somewhere round 60 hours or so. And the game is fun, but its down to the player to find their own fun and way of playing really. You can be a theif, assasin, or just stick to the main quests. The game caters for anyone I think. Even my brother who hates RPG's loves the game. I find it hard to belive anyone would not like this game because I think the best thing about it is its accessability. You do what you want, where you want to do it and how you want to do it. If you can't have fun with that you must like playing it boringly or its not your thing?

    After 60 or so hours I still have loads I want to do in it and will go back to it time and time again. Its a true classic.

  • Darren #20 6 years ago

    I've been playing both the 360 and PC version of Oblivion for close to 300 hours now and I'm still not bored of this wonderful game. The fact that it is coming to the PS3 is great news for those people without a 360 or a PC capable of running the game at it's best. It also means that the PS3's launch lineup is going to look much better than it did before as Oblivion is still the Xbox 360's best game by miles (in my opinion, obviously!).

  • redd #21 6 years ago

    the problem with games like oblivion is that people see the reviews, and think they will like the game (tho this isnt their type of game). Then they buy it, play a bit, get bored, come here curse and b*tch about it, and get back to playing need for speed and counter strike.

    Oblivion is one of those games that either you love it or you hate it, and i happen to love it, but also understand how lots of people can dislike it.

  • miiiguel #22 6 years ago

    I'm excited to see how the bashers of the game (read PS3 fanatics) will opinate about the game, after posting allover the place the game "sucked" (end quote).
    I did save some posts!

    Back to the game, Obviously yhe game is outstanding, amazing, and many other adjectives, however, the leveling system of our foes, based in our one simply sucks big time!, As a matter of fact, it's better not to level at all, I guess. Everyone told me the game was dead easy, and I thought I really sucked at it, 'cos I had to play the last main mission about 20 times, but that was because I did all eh guild's missions before - it got soooooo on incredibly hard!
    Couldn't they make some clever system, I think it wouldn't be much of a deal, there could be some kind of level info of a foe popped up when you enconter him/it, and the player would figure out if it was a good idea to fight or too run, run, run away baby...
    Edited by miiiguel at 29/09/06 @ 11:40

  • Shrike #23 6 years ago

    Still can't imagine playing Oblivion on anything but a PC - for the simple reason that out of the box it's fairly flawed, but with the mods available now those flaws can be removed and it really becomes something special. It's a PC game at heart in the same way that Neverwinter Nights or Half-Life would lose (or loses) a good deal of it's appeal when it's transferred to a console and player-made content dissappears.

    Interesting to see where they go with the PSP version in terms of lore however.

  • redd #24 6 years ago

    oblivion has been patched on 360. And i do think you're overdramatizing the "flaw" thingie.

  • miiiguel #25 6 years ago

    Shrike: the thing is (for me at least) - office desk gaming..., not good, after a 10 hours working day in an office desk.

  • Razorus #26 6 years ago

    What the hell is wrong with some of you people? The PSP "version" is not going to be a direct port. There are several spin-offs of the major Elder Scrolls games so we can assume that this will be a spin-off too. It will involve a different style of gameplay (like the spin-off game RedGuard on PC) and like Bethesda said: IT WILL BE SET IN A DIFFERENT REGION. It doesn't have to be the same as Oblivion.

  • kangarootoo #27 6 years ago

    "Oblivion is one of those games that either you love it or you hate it"

    So very true. I've got somewhere around 80 hours on the 360 version. I stopped playing it some while back, but I'm sure I'll come back to it eventually (I barely touched the main quest).

    This article can reasonably prompt PS3 related discussion, but people posting how they did or didn't like Oblivion is just getting boring now. It is clearly rated very highly by a lot of people. Some other people clearly don't like it, now that is absolutely fine, but for the love of God can we stop covering the same ground on every single thread that doffs its cap in an Oblivious direction?

    So, Oblivion on the PSP. With all the talk of procedurally generated stuff, would it really need cutting down that much? Lower res textures are par for the course really, and perhaps less recorded dialogue. But I don't see either of those adjustments killing the core experience. I think we can reasonably trust Bethesda to make appropriate adjustments whilst retaining the important gameplay aspects.

    EDIT: as Razorus said.
    Edited by kangarootoo at 29/09/06 @ 11:50

  • Skooch #28 6 years ago

    Wow! Just think, all you PS3 folk will be able to start playing in 6 months time (presuming you are in Europe) what has come out months ago on the Xbox 360. Have fun!

  • rhinoxious #29 6 years ago

    "In Oblivion, you'll come back and just see new, adjusted, stronger enemies. As such enemies become empty generated shells instead of interesting opponents. "

    Agreed, I've really enjoyed some of the missions in Oblivion, but the levelling/diificulty mechanic is very unsatisfying, and the main plot is just plain dull.

    It would be better if they locked the difficulty down in regions, so misoins close to the city were easier and those in remoter areas were harder. Also they could have organised the missions into tiers of difficulty,and only unlock them as you get powerful enough to stand a chance of dealing with them.

    In the end my thief/archer was so underpowered, I had to turn down the difficulty to make the game playable. And I've been playing RPGs all my life, so usually I have no problems with maxing character stats and using items correctly!

  • Moonprince #30 6 years ago

    "And i do think you're overdramatizing the "flaw" thingie"

    Really, his not.

  • smelly #31 6 years ago

    "Its the freedom, the size, the scope, the level of background stuff going on. Graphics are nice too. "

    I notice that you only mention the tech.. And NOT whether it's a fun game to play!

  • smelly #32 6 years ago

    Erm.. Before people start calling me a fanboy or that it's obviously the style of game i dont like.

    My favourite genre of all time is rpgs.. I played and completed ultima 7,8 and 9. And ultima underworld was also a bloody brilliant game (first ever "proper" first person game too!).

    I also loved final fantasy, etc etc.

    Im not a console fanboy, I dont see the point in being a fan of hardware.. It's just a tool to play games at the end of the day.

    I am a fanboy of games makers (such as square, and indeed nintendo) though.

    BUT this game, despite ticking all the right boxes for me I found to be dull and convoluted and not particularly fun.. And so far (for me) the story (the most important part of a rpg) has been dull as hell!

  • smelly #33 6 years ago

    >Smell it's the same game as Morrowind.

    Never played morrowind tbh. But if it's the same game, with better gfx (as you say not me), surely that's a bad thing?

    Im sure its not btw.. As I said, i've never played!

  • Steroyd #34 6 years ago

    eh?

    o_O

  • smelly #35 6 years ago

    Im sure it's got a different story though (most important part of a rpg).

    Shame it's a dull rubbish one though

  • Metalfish #36 6 years ago

    @Smelly, you don't like it, we know, we get it. Personally I like it.

    @Redd, The patch fixes many glitches and bugs, true. However the leveling system is rather nasty if you pick up a quest item at a low level... ...several levels later it's complete arse. This is probably one of the many flaws being highlighted -these are largely "flaws" of design and intent and so aren't "fixed" by patches.

    As for the quest item thing, I recently downloaded a mod that levels a few quest items with you; so the game doesn't suddenly get massively harder if you pass level 10 in the middle of a quest for instance. Can't remember the name of the mod though, sorry.
    Edited by Metalfish at 29/09/06 @ 12:53

  • nickthegun #37 6 years ago

    PSP Version: LOADING GAME WORLD.

    Its disc access time will give you like ten minutes of gameplay. It will be like the good old days when everybody played their big ass gameboys plugged into a wall socket.

  • captain_cupcake #38 6 years ago

    @Metalfish

    Can't remember the name of the mod though, sorry.

    here [elderscrolls-oblivion]

    Exellent mod (PC natch), along with plenty of other mods to tweak levelling, if you so desire

  • ave #39 6 years ago

    @Disc:
    "Oblivion fixed a bunch of things that were broken, like the fast travel mechanism and the journal and the way you could see where you were going on the maps."
    Fast travel didnt need to be fixed, what was wrong with the transport system in morrowind(fast travel from major town to major town + vampire travel system, rest was a short run from nearest town)?

    Making you be able to go anywhere instantly trivialises the world.

    "They also made the combat much better."
    I fail to see any improvements in the combat, still boring, still pressing one button.

    "And well the graphics."
    The graphics werent made better or improved, they were updated. Morrowind was a technical tour de force of its time, as is Oblivion.

    "Bigger scope"
    Not really, the world isnt that much bigger and it feels even more auto-generated than morrowinds.

    "better implementation in Oblivion but those are just 'details'."
    How are quests better implemented in Oblivion than Morrowind? You already mentioned journal(which was terrible in MW) but what else?

    "It's still the same experience you go through when playing."
    I loved morrowind to bits despite seeing its flaws, I really really dislike oblivion.
    Boring world, even more boring NPC's, almost all the quests are boring/terrible, and the world feels more dead than morrowinds.
    Plus the story, backstory and lore are all shit despite spending god knows how much on voice actors.

    @redd, i find it funny that you say people who dont "get" oblivion, they are fans of games like counter strike and need for speed.

    If you think oblivion as an RPG somehow sets you apart from people who play games regarded as childrens games, I think you need to play some real RPG's.
    Edited by ave at 29/09/06 @ 13:12

  • smelly #40 6 years ago

    >Smelly, you don't like it, we know, we get it.

    Yes.. I'm not flaming.. I'm trying to understand what people like about it.. maybe it's something i'm missing?

    Do people just like it because it looks nice and shows off their console?
    Do people like the story?
    Does the story get better than where it currently is for me? (no spoilers please as i AM likely to at least try to finish game)

    etc etc etc.

  • manic_mouse #41 6 years ago

    But I thought the 360 (and it's games) weren't "next-gen", and that the next-gen starts when the PS3 launches...?

  • Mr_Whacker #42 6 years ago

    @smelly

    For me its pretty much the same reasons as to why people like GTA games. It delivers a lot of different play styles and just mucking about in the game world is fun.

  • Walshicus #43 6 years ago

    I wonder how long before this new content sees its way to XBL Marketplace... :D

  • tiddles #44 6 years ago

    The idea that handheld games have to be all about "quick bursts" of "simple" gameplay is one of the biggest myths in development today. With mobile games and older platforms this may be still true, but since the advent of proper suspend functions on the PSP and DS there is no longer any reason to make games this way.

    Modern handheld games can be as complex or involved as you like - you still need some way of being able to review your game state or objectives if you return to the game after a break, but this applies to all games, not just handheld titles... A game like Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, for example, has levels that were just as long as those in many console games, but when I played it was never a problem - if I got to the end of my journey, I'd just hit suspend and pick up again straight away.

    Similarly, there's no reason why a free-roaming title shouldn't work equally well on handheld without having to be cut down or neutered. GTA: LCS showed this can work - personally I found it was more suited to handheld play than on a home console, since you could match what you did to the time available and your mood. If you have a few minutes and you just want to mess about, you can... I reckon this is much harder to do on a home console, where generally I will sit down for a "session"... Interestingly, Rockstar Leeds have said they have avoided the "quick burst" mission style for VCS, returning to longer missions more in the style of the home console titles.

  • Les #45 6 years ago

    "Whatever, the PSP version would be a completely different game after you have recreated it, And in the end, After all of that work, I don't think it would be any good."

    Like others have pointed out, the PSP version will not be a recreation of the non-portable game. So yeah it will be quite different, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad.

    As for Oblivion itself, I love RPGs in general (and JRPGs in particular). But a first person RPG somehow seems quite awkward to me. There's universal praise for the game so maybe I'll try it out when it's Platinum so it won't hurt too much if I don't like it.

  • Shrike #46 6 years ago

    One of the reasons I think Oblivion is so divisive is that it takes some effort on the part of the player to get the most out of it. Those complaining about the story generally miss one massive point, and that is that the game is not supposed to be a movie ala the increasingly un-game-like FF series, or really the majority of JRPGs. It is supposed to be your story, and *gasp!* it actually takes a little forethought and imagination to get the most out of it in that regard. If the fast-travel breaks the immersion for you, for example, don't use it.

    Games are supposed to be interactive entertainment, and a bit like books, they're something you've got to engage yourself with to get the most out of. They're not movies, you can't just sit there and watch it happen, you've got to do it. If you're going to care about Oblivion, you've got to (ironically enough) take the time to read the dialogue, read the in-game books, absorb the lore, consider your actions and your place in the world.

    I'm about 40 hours into Oblivion on the PC and only about a third to half way through the main quest.. and I haven't even powered my way through any of the optional advancement routes, like the guilds. I've dabbled, wandered, but spent most of my time trying different ways around problems *to fit my character*. I find this entertaining, so I like the game. Maybe it's as simple as that.

    As someone said earlier, Oblivion, like Morrowind, like all of the ES games, are a bit of an acquired taste. Oblivion has been hyped to buggery and sold to a huge chunk of gamers and therefore people expect a tonne of things of it that aren't really a part of the Elder Scrolls series. I think reviews should have mentioned that if you don't like the Elder Scrolls, you won't like it.

    Oh, and anyone who says that Oblivion's combat isn't lightyears ahead of Morrowind's is off their rocker.

  • bluebird #47 6 years ago

    @shrike:

    I did put in the effort, the points I made earlier in this thread stood out more as I progressed in the game. These grated for me but they may not for you.

    I think how much you enjoy the game is much dependent on how much these design decisions in Oblivion bother you, whether you try to roleplay a non battle-mage-mixup character, and how much the rest of the visual experience and atmosphere of the game compensates for you.

  • Shrike #48 6 years ago

    @bluebird

    Alot of the issues you mentioned in your post were what I was referring to when I said that the game had quite a few design flaws out of the box - to be honest, I was more responding to storytelling issues in the last comment I made.

    You do raise an important point, and the one I was trying to make, in a round-about fashion that was a bit pants in hindsight: Oblivion on another console doesn't excite me unless they've fixed the issues you're talking about (like they've been fixed by players on the PC).

    And, for the record, I'm playing a totally magic-free marksman/stealth character and enjoying steady progress.

  • smelly #49 6 years ago

    BRING BACK ULTIMA!!!

    Much better games, as their stories were actually good.
    (apart from u9, story in that sucked.. actually thinking about it.. Even u9 was better than oblivion plot)

  • ronuds #50 6 years ago

    My biggest disappointments in Oblivion were:

    Large land, largely empty - where are the towns and mysterious places? You could walk for an hour and see nothing but grass and land.

    Main Mission Tedious - the towers through the gates of Oblivion were seemingly put there to waste time... what a pain in the butt they are and not fun.

    Lack of missions - the missions were good, but there weren't nearly enough of them.

    NPC's?? - Where are they? They're not in the game. Sure, a thousand seems like a lot, but not when most of them are in their houses and the streets are empty (which is most of the time).

    Level Scaling - probably the grosses thing ever to be implemented in an RPG. Where's the "RPG" aspect if everything scales to your level? What's the sense of leveling?!?!?!

    I have some other issues, but those are the major ones. The game, other than those things, is spectacular, but those issues kind've made me lose interest. Anyway, good going for the PS3!!! Thought I'd add that. Probably won't sell nearly as well, but it's a good game. I hate to see what's going to happen to the next one, though. It'll probably be even worse than Oblivion.

  • yagisencho #51 6 years ago

    Isn't Knights of the Nine already in Oblivion? The Count of Cheydinhal's son's gang? Or is that a different group of knights?

    Anyhoo, sounds like PS3 will get a real RPG after all.

  • Mordum #52 6 years ago

    @ronuds
    "Large land, largely empty - where are the towns and mysterious places? You could walk for an hour and see nothing but grass and land."

    I know thats an exageration (

  • numptyboymatt #53 6 years ago

    "Large land, largely empty - where are the towns and mysterious places? You could walk for an hour and see nothing but grass and land."

    Not entirely an exageration - I was playing this when I nipped home in my lunch hour once and spent a good 45 minutes walking and saw nothing other than a couple of wolves, a lake, and lots of trees.

  • bigbadbeasty #54 6 years ago

    Well that shows the size of the land IMO.

    Oblivion is a fantastic game, and PS3 owners will be pleased to play it, if they actually put the time in!

  • JediMasterMalik #55 6 years ago

    Isn't Knights of the Nine already in Oblivion? The Count of Cheydinhal's son's gang? Or is that a different group of knights?

    No, they were the Knights of the Thorn, the Knights of the Nine will be something church related, i.e. the Nine Dietys.
    Edited by JediMasterMalik at 30/09/06 @ 11:27

  • numptyboymatt #56 6 years ago

    Will PS3 gamers have the time to put in to play this though? Wont they all be out working in their 2nd jobs to be able to afford to play GTHD?

  • Lex_Luthor #57 6 years ago

    Aren't you the clever one.

    /Roll
    Edited by Lex_Luthor at 30/09/06 @ 13:17

  • SeesThroughAll #58 6 years ago

    The PS3 is starting to look better. Regardless of what X360 fanatics say.

  • bigbadbeasty #59 6 years ago

    "The PS3 is starting to look better. Regardless of what X360 fanatics say."

    Erm, this is just one game, and it will have been out for a year by then on the PC and 360. I personally would not say it is looking better.

  • PearOfAnguish #60 6 years ago

    Morrowind is the better RPG. Larger play area (the GOTY edition is now £9.99 and includes Tribunal and Bloodmoon addons), better levelling system, better character development. The story is more interesting and the art direction 1,000 times more inspired than Oblivion's generic fantasy design.

    Oblivion does have an awesome weapon system (apart from rocket-launcher staffs), that's its biggest strength along with more interesting dungeon crawling and physics.

    Radiant AI is BS, fast-travel ruins the illusion of the game ("just don't use it then" no, just don't put it there in the first place), the ridiculous auto-map which reveals locations when you just pass nearby wrecks any enjoyment you'd get from discovering new places and the story is dull, side quests and dungeon crawls are far more enjoyable than the main plot.

    Here's hoping someone does a Morrowind TC mod using the Oblivion engine.

    Oblivion's a decent fantasy action game, but it sucks as an RPG. I've put hundreds of hours into Morrowind and still not seen everything but I was tired of Oblivion after a few weeks.
    Edited by PearOfAnguish at 30/09/06 @ 20:24

  • JediMasterMalik #61 6 years ago

    @PearsofAnguis - That is EXACTLY how I feel, Oblivion was simply far less deep than Morrowind, which I have yet to actually complete, but that's due to the Journal system, which is something you forgot to mention, I much prefer the Oblivion journal. And I do think there's a team working on a TC of Morrowind for Oblivion, I can't wait to see what they end up with.

  • Les #62 6 years ago

    "Larger play area"
    Was it reduced in size because at first it was very empty?

  • PearOfAnguish #63 6 years ago

    Was what reduced? Morrowind is a different province.
    I don't know exactly how they compare, but I would guess that they have a similar amount of content per square mile, if you see what I mean. Most likely Oblivion was reduced in size for technical reasons.

  • Les #64 6 years ago

    "Was what reduced? Morrowind is a different province."

    Sorry, was referring to the play area. But that's probably bigger in Morrowind because of the add-ons. Thought one reason to reduce the size was that maybe it would have been too big (as in a lot of space without anything to do in it) the first time.

  • ronuds #65 6 years ago

    Having a huge play area is nice, but not at the expense of fun. Oblivion is big and pretty, but it's just too empty. There are only 7 full towns, a few small settlements and then a glut of temples and caves and such. 7 towns pretty much sucks. I like to spend time in town the most, but the towns themselves are all dull and lifeless. Not to mention they have no flare like the towns in Morrowind. Sure, the graphics are sweet, which makes the towns look nice, but they're all just regular stone buildings... which is the blowzzorrzz.

  • Mordum #66 6 years ago

    Damn, for some reason my comment got cut short.

    As I was saying... "the game world is empty" isn't a fair comment in my view. You could'nt walk a few minutes in any direction without coming across a Town, City, Cave, Ruin, Shrine, Oblivion Gate, House, Pub/Inn, etc... and considering how big the land mass is then I'd say that it has quite a number of places to visit. I logged a total of 202 hours in 6 months upon completion of the game, and there were still plenty of unexplored places I had not visited, so perhaps the game was a little too big (but that depends on how you play it of course), and the Oblivion gates lost their appeal rather quickly for me, but I still think its one of the best games I've played this year.
    If it goes unappreciated on the PS3 then that would be a shame, maybe its a little too big and free roaming for the typical Playstation crowd (mainly casual gamers), I just hope that some give it a go.

  • ronuds #67 6 years ago

    @Mordum

    Your comments are valid. I suppose I was comparing the world to Morrowind. Sure, in Oblivion there are lots of things to do, but those things quickly become tired and boring outside of town. In MW, it seemed there was something new and exciting around every corner. In Oblivion I quickly started to realize that wasn't the case.

    Here would be my dialogue if I were to sound out what I found while playing Oblivion: "Hey... another cave, all right. Cool... steel short sword worth 4. Another ring I have no use for - mint! There's that camp with the one guy I killed 37 hours ago. Another cave, all right. Cool... steel short sword worth 4. Who's that guy? Oh... nobody of importance. There's that statue that gives me some bound weapon that makes me worse off anyway - sweet. A rat - huh? Another crab - yes! Nice grass. Cool... steel short sword worth 4. Hey... another cave, all right. Who's that guy? Oh... nobody of importance. If I could only find that 3 billionth nirnroot." And so on.

    That was 6 hours worth of gameplay.

  • Mordum #68 6 years ago

    @ronuds
    True... the caves, Oblivion gates, etc did get a bit tedius after a while. Although searching through caves and ruins was no more exciting in Morrowind. Although having said that, in Morrowind I did get a feeling that each cave I went into, that there was a chance that I might discover some new really powerful weapon, or piece of armour... I did'nt get that same feeling in Oblivion, the weapons and armour that enemies were carrying/wearing just kind of 'upgraded' the further into the game you got, which was a shame, so Morrowind was more rewarding as far as exploration went in that sense. Your description of how the game Oblivion plays out could probably be mirrored in a description of Morrowind however, so it might be a bit harsh.
    Another thing Oblivion included, that makes a big difference, was the ability to travel instantly to anywhere you had previously been, in Morrowind it was a case of walking to the nearest town, jumping on the transport to the nearest city to the destination you want, and then walking the rest of the way from there (which quickly got very tiresome).

    Both games took alot of my time, and both obviously had enough about them to keep me coming back for more. If people enjoyed Morrowind, then I feel they will probably enjoy Oblivion just as much.