The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3846 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,010 out of 3846
  2. Mixed: 542 out of 3846
  3. Negative: 294 out of 3846
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  1. RoGuE
    Feb 3, 2010
    10
    I have been playing this game now for over 3 years. I absolutely love it. It never gets boring, what, with all the different abilities, characters and secrets out there!! What the hell is with those poor, lifeless, cynical souls who give Oblivion a 0/10? Well, I have a message for you braindead people: This game is one of the best ever made, simply because, it's simple to play, I have been playing this game now for over 3 years. I absolutely love it. It never gets boring, what, with all the different abilities, characters and secrets out there!! What the hell is with those poor, lifeless, cynical souls who give Oblivion a 0/10? Well, I have a message for you braindead people: This game is one of the best ever made, simply because, it's simple to play, understand, and enjoy. The plot is excellent and well tied-in with the other TES titles, the combat is very diverse and can be done in many different ways, most quests are interesting and fun with great rewards, and it always has a very challenging aspect. If you have not got this game, (you poor, poor people) then I suggest succumbering to the hype and getting it as soon as possible!!… Expand
  2. RyanB
    Aug 7, 2010
    10
    Best game I've ever played. Graphics are amazing, almost no lag for the amount of detail is put into everything. Vast amount of weapons, armors, AI, and quests. The weapons have outstanding amount of detail, along with the armors and such. The only real disappointment I had about this game was the short main story. But the 200+ side quests more than make up for it. If I had played Best game I've ever played. Graphics are amazing, almost no lag for the amount of detail is put into everything. Vast amount of weapons, armors, AI, and quests. The weapons have outstanding amount of detail, along with the armors and such. The only real disappointment I had about this game was the short main story. But the 200+ side quests more than make up for it. If I had played through the main quest without stopping to do side quests it maybe would have taken 4-5 hours. But, with the Shivering Isles expansion and the other expansions available for all three consoles, I've played the game for over 50 hours in total. Overall, This game is spectacular. I'd give it a 9.8 out of 10.… Expand
  3. BrandonM.
    Mar 26, 2006
    9
    First off " Doom3 and HL2 were both superior games technically speaking. " Aelius I have both D3 and HL2 and the only thing and I mean the only thing I can think of that made one of these titles superior to oblivion was HL2 lip sync, it was much more advanced and the background textures looked more polished but with an engine trying to do as much as it can for the outside environments and First off " Doom3 and HL2 were both superior games technically speaking. " Aelius I have both D3 and HL2 and the only thing and I mean the only thing I can think of that made one of these titles superior to oblivion was HL2 lip sync, it was much more advanced and the background textures looked more polished but with an engine trying to do as much as it can for the outside environments and all ready some long load times on the xbox 360 (yes I did by the pc and have no problems there) there not going to include high res textures for everything but nothing else I could see was superior. Is the game buged? Yes, some problems with quests and the stealing system definatly needs to be changed because how are they going to know that a spoon I stole is in fact stolen when no one saw me do it? Have I heard of other problems, of course but at least most of them are not as severe as Morrowind when it was first released. The only major complaints I have is the removale of the minor skills (you only have major skills to level up on now) and many other skills are now gone, I don't feel that there is any less customization involved for the players as far as items go but it does feel less flexable for players to actually progress them the way that they want. The new way to use the speechcraft skill is indeed ludacrist, I also have a high end pc and the draw distance for the outdoor buildings needs to be looked into because all I see with building in my direct line of view is see popups when walking towards them but coming over hills or through the forest its fine because something is obscuring your view anyways. Those are my only rants about so what do I like? Literally everything else, so much so I can't describe them all in this vote! This maybe a spoiler but if you find something that can cast electrical damage, find the nearest body of water than cast it into the water and you will see an awesome effect. Why did I give this a 9 then when I like it so much? Simple even though the bugs are few and far between and there are some petty annoyances with some of the systems it does take away from the imerssion factor which is what any rpg tries to do with annoying but you can't like everything there is but don't let these problems distract from what is done really really well, besides what good is a pc game with out a patch? oh and mods too!… Expand
  4. GabrielM.
    Apr 30, 2006
    8
    The scaling sistem here is a complete nonsence. Advancing from lev1 to lev8 is o shock :(. Also the story is vast but a bit absurd in some parts. The good part is that you have incredible graphics and sound and a extremely detailed world (that is IF you have a super rig!)
  5. JohnD.
    Apr 3, 2006
    9
    This game is like a drug you cant stop playing. the graphic are imerse the AI could be better. Inever thought any game could be this good.
  6. FrankC.
    Apr 3, 2006
    9
    As everyone says, it's simply fantastic. The quests are engaging, and the voice acting is good. The engine is a marvel. Here's what I'd say though - unless you can download 3DMark and break 4000, with a CPU score of over 900, I wouldn't attempt it. If you don't know how to overclock your rig, it might be a good time to learn. It's simply not the same game As everyone says, it's simply fantastic. The quests are engaging, and the voice acting is good. The engine is a marvel. Here's what I'd say though - unless you can download 3DMark and break 4000, with a CPU score of over 900, I wouldn't attempt it. If you don't know how to overclock your rig, it might be a good time to learn. It's simply not the same game without the eye candy, the shadows and water and mist and reflecting surfaces, etc. THe world is big, and it's rich and you can't help but find things to do. Unlike Morrowwind, you won't get bored.… Expand
  7. UNI
    Apr 5, 2006
    8
    So stupid AI, technical problems etc. The game is good but not perfect.
  8. HerbertH.
    May 18, 2006
    10
    I give this a ten because it's worth more than 9 and a half. Now notched up 100 hours (Level 26 "Nightblade") If you are into RPG's then onlt Balders Gate II beats it. Don't want to bore people with what I've done or where i've been - but suffice to say I've played for well over 100 hours - and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thats brilliant value for money (25 quid I give this a ten because it's worth more than 9 and a half. Now notched up 100 hours (Level 26 "Nightblade") If you are into RPG's then onlt Balders Gate II beats it. Don't want to bore people with what I've done or where i've been - but suffice to say I've played for well over 100 hours - and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thats brilliant value for money (25 quid from play.com) Oooh one bit of advice, don't get the"Collectors edition" , save the moeny and get the players guide - it's written by the game designers themselves and is brilliant.… Expand
  9. StevenS.
    May 6, 2006
    7
    Cool game, good graphics. Expected more variety on spells and weapons. Scaling system sucks big time making the world adapt to you and not vice-versa how it is supposed to be.
  10. MartinK.
    Jun 11, 2006
    5
    It really falls short of expectations. The whole game feels flat, not to mention the repetitive Oblivion planes. Level scaling TOTALLY ruins any kind of challenging gameplay, lucky that mods can fix that. There are,like, ten different armors in the game. C'mon. The graphics and the optimisitation is great. If you know how to handle an options menu, trust me, you won't have It really falls short of expectations. The whole game feels flat, not to mention the repetitive Oblivion planes. Level scaling TOTALLY ruins any kind of challenging gameplay, lucky that mods can fix that. There are,like, ten different armors in the game. C'mon. The graphics and the optimisitation is great. If you know how to handle an options menu, trust me, you won't have problems with a system barely above minimum specs. But any game that is unplayable without mods does not deserve more than 5 points.… Expand
  11. Predator
    Jun 4, 2006
    8
    The biggest game ever.So many thing to do.10 means that the game is perfect,but no game is perfect.It has little problems like crashing,glitches and bugs but almost all of that is fixed in the new patch.
  12. KonradN.
    Jun 5, 2006
    10
    Just brilliant, crashes alot but doesnt take long to load so I dont mind. There are so many paths you can take that this game is HUGE. Also you cant do everything because for example you may kill someone who later would give you a quest so there is a huge amount of replay value in there. Also you can go anywhere at any level, this does make the leveling up a bit pointless but its great anyway.
  13. Humb1estWalker
    Aug 4, 2006
    10
    This game is simply sweet. You know the types of games where it's like touching your car after driving for 4 days straight and than when you touch it, it burns of your fingers. Well Oblivion is like touching a car after driving it for 4 years straight and instead of burning of your fingers off you burn your self into ashes. Buy this game now playa!
  14. PhilP.
    Jan 2, 2007
    10
    Hands down one of the best games I have ever played. And I have been playing games since the 2D side scrolling Duke Nukem games. Not only does it offer an easy 100+ hours of gameplay, it is fun and engaging all the way through. Not only does it have the main storyline, it has like 3 guilds, the dark brotherhood, and the arena to go through that could almost be a game in themselves. Throw Hands down one of the best games I have ever played. And I have been playing games since the 2D side scrolling Duke Nukem games. Not only does it offer an easy 100+ hours of gameplay, it is fun and engaging all the way through. Not only does it have the main storyline, it has like 3 guilds, the dark brotherhood, and the arena to go through that could almost be a game in themselves. Throw in physics oriented combat, and just the sheer coolness of the world and everything you can do with it (water walking shoes rock), and this game is light years ahead of other games of this genre. Not only that, but it pulls it all together with incredible polish. I can't recommend this game enough. The only downside is that it might be too long! Some players may lose interest and have to take a break from it. But do come back, you won't be disappointed.… Expand
  15. AnonymousMC
    Feb 10, 2007
    6
    WAY too much hype. The main storyline is terrible, very linear and also short, the main quests are too repetitive. There is hardly any nice stuff to get and not nearly enough armor to choose from. The autoadjustment of levels does more bad than good. The graphics need a lot of hardware power, the setting is too common for my tastes and everything looks too similar. What remains isWAY too much hype. The main storyline is terrible, very linear and also short, the main quests are too repetitive. There is hardly any nice stuff to get and not nearly enough armor to choose from. The autoadjustment of levels does more bad than good. The graphics need a lot of hardware power, the setting is too common for my tastes and everything looks too similar. What remains is exploring the world, many nice sidequests and good combat. But if both story and setting are simply boring as hell, what's the point?… Expand
  16. DarkE.
    Apr 5, 2007
    7
    Good fun, and huge world, but hugely overrated by the gaming press. Very weak main storyline and the combat could have been better. Sneak and Magic system satisfying although slightly disappointing.
  17. AsbjørnS.
    May 22, 2007
    5
    TES IV: Oblivion is a mainstreamed version of TES III: Morrowind. Most of what made Morrowind such a great game has been simplified in Oblivion and the "role" in this RPG is hardly visible. The beauty, the complexity, the political intrigue, the dialogues, the history/lore, the geographical regions and their unique history have all been removed and left is only a repetitive console TES IV: Oblivion is a mainstreamed version of TES III: Morrowind. Most of what made Morrowind such a great game has been simplified in Oblivion and the "role" in this RPG is hardly visible. The beauty, the complexity, the political intrigue, the dialogues, the history/lore, the geographical regions and their unique history have all been removed and left is only a repetitive console version of a PC RPG.… Expand
  18. AnonymousMC
    Jun 25, 2007
    10
    This Game is incredible the best and most addictive RPG or game i've ever played.I've played over 630 hours of it. The choices are endless, thousands of items, weapons, armor, and spells and the good physics engine make the possiblilties endless. no two characters will be the same. . the only problems are the glitches but thats fixed eaily with the free patches atThis Game is incredible the best and most addictive RPG or game i've ever played.I've played over 630 hours of it. The choices are endless, thousands of items, weapons, armor, and spells and the good physics engine make the possiblilties endless. no two characters will be the same. . the only problems are the glitches but thats fixed eaily with the free patches at elderscrolls.com. and all the plugins and expansions left me playing this game for months. It's pure gaming freedom. 11 out of 10 in my opinion.… Expand
  19. iiiearsiiiears
    Sep 16, 2007
    7
    Beautiful Graphics that beg for a 7 series nvidia card. The hundreds of hours of play during many dozen missions will keep this disk installed on your machine for several weeks. Certainly worth a try. There are a couple of minor irritations one of them is the 200+ hr bug that can corrupt your inventory and the second also at around 200+ hours that will cause door and flame animations to Beautiful Graphics that beg for a 7 series nvidia card. The hundreds of hours of play during many dozen missions will keep this disk installed on your machine for several weeks. Certainly worth a try. There are a couple of minor irritations one of them is the 200+ hr bug that can corrupt your inventory and the second also at around 200+ hours that will cause door and flame animations to slow down.… Expand
  20. ErraticCommunist
    Sep 3, 2007
    6
    Oblivion is a game that tries to hide all of its faults under the surface. It actually gained such fame only because of success of its predecessor. The leveling system, the Radiant AI, the copy/pasted locations, unoptimized engine, STILL lots of bugs, frequent crashes, mediocre PC port, unplayable classes (esp. those that have, for example, Speechcraft as their primary attribute), plus Oblivion is a game that tries to hide all of its faults under the surface. It actually gained such fame only because of success of its predecessor. The leveling system, the Radiant AI, the copy/pasted locations, unoptimized engine, STILL lots of bugs, frequent crashes, mediocre PC port, unplayable classes (esp. those that have, for example, Speechcraft as their primary attribute), plus this game demands old video card sacrifices to run properly. And it tries to hide all these flaws under pretty graphics. If TES V goes the same way, it'll be deathbashed the moment it's released. The next game after the failure gets the punches. And yet though flaws are horrible, Oblivion is still a fun game to play. There is pretty neat gameplay, but it would've been much better if not for the tons of flaws hindering it.… Expand
  21. 5-HT
    Feb 2, 2008
    9
    This is a fine combination of action, RPG and FPS. The sounds are great, as are the graphics. My only complaint is the fact that the PC version is prone to crashing. The expansion packs are also great. If it ran consistently, I'd give it a solid 10. Save yourself some money in the long-run, and buy the game of the year edition.
  22. OskarS.
    Feb 6, 2008
    10
    This is a wonderful game with loads of options. If you get the expansions and download a few nice mods, the possibilities are almost endless! When you have learned to use the "TES 4 Mod Maker", you can modify the game in any way you like. Any RPG fans who doesn't require a multiplayer part would love this game!
  23. KC
    May 11, 2008
    10
    I wasn't an Elder Scrolls fan even for morrowind, but this is quite simply the best game I've had regardless of genre or platform I've played in a long while. the worlds and visuals are beautiful yet moderately taxing on any average system. My one and only bad, is the lack of super enemies towards the later part of the game that will allow the player to work his muscles on I wasn't an Elder Scrolls fan even for morrowind, but this is quite simply the best game I've had regardless of genre or platform I've played in a long while. the worlds and visuals are beautiful yet moderately taxing on any average system. My one and only bad, is the lack of super enemies towards the later part of the game that will allow the player to work his muscles on it. The gameplay is broad and open - the options available for the player at any point in the game makes this one strong contender for the RPG throne.… Expand
  24. MalkeL.
    Jul 3, 2008
    10
    I have been playing games for 10 years now, and Oblivion is the only one I have ever played twice and did it for 8 months and loved every minute of it.
  25. AnonymousMC
    Jan 30, 2009
    10
    I rofled when I read the comment and it said whats the point of buying horse. Well the point of buying horse is that u can fastly travel in wilderness where u cant fast travel...but I do admit that there could be more voice actors. But really someone really play game because it has cool voice actors?
  26. ET
    Jun 9, 2009
    5
    I don't know why people love this game so much. The only good thing about it seems to be nice scenery. That's it. If you like green meadows, hellish landscape, and dungeons, buy this game. Mabye a few fun quests here and there too. They're rare. The copy-paste scenery, along with the copy paste weapons effects, along with the scaling level system and fast travel effectively I don't know why people love this game so much. The only good thing about it seems to be nice scenery. That's it. If you like green meadows, hellish landscape, and dungeons, buy this game. Mabye a few fun quests here and there too. They're rare. The copy-paste scenery, along with the copy paste weapons effects, along with the scaling level system and fast travel effectively means you're just playing the same 5 minutes of the game over and over again. All the spells of the same class look exactly the same. The realisim is completely borked too. What, throw a physics engine in and you get to call it realistic these days? You can fire 20 arrows into a guy's head and he'll lose 1/2 his health. Hrm, mabye make the arrows bounce off instead based on armor class? Or decrease their accuracy/power based on skill? No, let's just make them do less damage. Kudos, Bethesda.… Expand
  27. DaveO.
    Oct 1, 2006
    5
    I'm wasting little time here with more commentary on the game itself. It's already been done to death, dug up, and flogged repeatedly from every possible angle and point of game design philosphy that could be imagined. Clearly, under the light of any form of truly objective scrutiny, Oblivion (for the PC at least) is at best an average RPG. What has truly amazed and disappointed I'm wasting little time here with more commentary on the game itself. It's already been done to death, dug up, and flogged repeatedly from every possible angle and point of game design philosphy that could be imagined. Clearly, under the light of any form of truly objective scrutiny, Oblivion (for the PC at least) is at best an average RPG. What has truly amazed and disappointed me is the rabid fanboi-ism displayed by some of professional gaming press prior to, upon, and shortly after its release. I bought it, based on my experience with Morrowind, and partly because of the hype, and was bitterly dissapointed. I also happen to work in a large tech call centre (+150 people) mostly populated by insane gaming nutcases, (love 'em) and they have also largely panned this game. (and yes, I do have a VERY high-end PC, I am one of those gaming nutcases) Jebus guys, there is even one review in this list that spends most of it's time crying over the faults, and still comes up with a....90%! Get real, and respect your gaming public.… Expand
  28. AmberD.
    Oct 1, 2006
    7
    Despite this plot being a mockery of the one before it (The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind), it is an amazing game. Graphics are astounding, when at their highest. I am aware that the system requirements for this game are, to be blunt about such matters, bullshit. On a 2gb Intel processor, you will not be able to run this game. At the least, I recommend a 3.7 Athlon. I am running it at Despite this plot being a mockery of the one before it (The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind), it is an amazing game. Graphics are astounding, when at their highest. I am aware that the system requirements for this game are, to be blunt about such matters, bullshit. On a 2gb Intel processor, you will not be able to run this game. At the least, I recommend a 3.7 Athlon. I am running it at GeForce 7300 LE 512 meg graphics, of course, so you can understand that I am biased to the graphics because I can have it at highest settings… Expand
  29. RobC.
    Mar 21, 2006
    10
    The trees in this game look realer than the trees in my backyard.
  30. Brian
    Mar 22, 2006
    10
    The only complaint I've had with Oblivion is the texturing at a small distance is very low-quality, which makes you wince. Once you overlook that, however, the game is incredibly gorgeous, the combat is incredibly fun, it's incredibly deep, the music and sound effects (especially the arrow sounds changing depending on what type of surface it hits) are spectacular... incredible The only complaint I've had with Oblivion is the texturing at a small distance is very low-quality, which makes you wince. Once you overlook that, however, the game is incredibly gorgeous, the combat is incredibly fun, it's incredibly deep, the music and sound effects (especially the arrow sounds changing depending on what type of surface it hits) are spectacular... incredible game. Buy it.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2006
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
2
#2 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
94

Universal acclaim - based on 54 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 54
  3. Negative: 0 out of 54
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    100
    It’s just so damned big. That’s what you’ll say after playing Oblivion for more than an hour. Or, for that matter, 50 hours.
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  2. Game Over Online
    96
    Oblivion is by far the closest I have come to playing D&D Sunday afternoons with my friends (yes, I did that, though I’m on medication now), all wrapped up in a stunning package with tens of thousands of lines of spoken dialog and good music.
    Read full review
  3. Quandary
    100
    I honestly have to say that I am in favour of most of the changes and I think Oblivion is an awesome achievement from Bethesda.
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