The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Even if you dislike RPGs, I know you'll appreciate the expansive, ever-changing gaming world of Cyrodiil - and you're bound to find a guild and a class that suits your playing style too, whatever that may be.

It is an almost flawless role-playing game experience with hundreds of hours' worth of content.

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion pulls off a miracle – it's deep enough for the hardcore ES fan, but designed in a way that even the average player can get into it without too much intimidation, though it can be overwhelming at first until the basics are grasped.

Oblivion does a lot of things extremely well, and everything else very well. It’s hard to find anything to complain about here.

As great as "Morrowind" was (and it was difficult at the time to imagine better), Oblivion is a game that does everything ten times better. It also makes playing any other game out there seem trivial. Oblivion is not just a game, it's an experience.

It’s still a life-sucking, hour-robbing masterpiece that can convert people who don’t normally play RPGs into die-hard game addicts.

Finally and for the first time in gaming history, an Elder Scrolls title is making its way to a Sony console and the prognosis is in: The Elder Scrolls is as great an experience on the PlayStation 3 as it has ever been.

The fundamental game is just so epic, the world so vast, the options so varied, that you'll find more quality gameplay shoehorned into this disc than just about any other game I can think of. But the version sitting on store shelves right now is inferior to its brethren on other platforms. So I can really only recommend it if you don't own a 360 or a PC capable of running the game well.

Oblivion on PS3 is one of the biggest and most impressive role-playing games in history, and you owe it to yourself to play it if you haven’t already experienced it elsewhere.

What this game lacks for in screen resolution, it makes up for in its excellent open world, beautiful art design, and grand architecture.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is an amazing role-playing game that should not be missed.

An incredible game and a heavyweight in the RPG genre.

Visually this is one of the best looking games on the system to date. Even more so than the already gorgeous Xbox 360 version released last year, the PS3 iteration features some much appreciated improvements that really show off the engine and the environments.

Most importantly and most powerfully, however: The completely open-ended nature of this experience creates a very real sense of infinite possibilities.

The PS3 version is just as grand and impressive as the previous versions, if not slightly better in the graphics department.

There’s just so much to see and do, that your average player will undoubtedly find something to amuse themselves with, and your average role-playing fanatic will probably have a heart attack when they take in the size of the world.

A vast game with so much to do, it'll keep you going for months before you even get to the heart of it. [May 2007, p.62]

Every time you think you've seen everything this game has to offer, you'll come across something new.

One of those RPGs games that you'll likely play for months and months, without end. The sheer scope is so immense, that it feels as if the game has no end. Furthermore, the sense of freedom is arguably the best an RPG game has ever seen. But most importantly, Oblivion's learning curve is what you make of it.

The newest installment in the Elder Scroll series is as polished and addictive RPG you'll find on any platform. With so much exploration and adventure at your fingertips, this is just what the doctor ordered for the struggling PS3.

A refreshing, immersive, massive, satisfying and hugely impressive game.

Not only is this one of the best RPGs of the past several years – on any platform – but Oblivion has set the bar very high for any PS3 RPGs that hope to follow. A truly magnificent game.

Eclipses 360 and all but the most pimped PC rigs. The definitive Oblivion? Probably. [May 2007, p.66]

An incredible open-ended experience, but you're going to need patience to truly savour it. [May 2007, p.54]

Game of the year for the PS3? Oh yes!

There's no doubt that it stands alongside "Resistance" as the system's crème de la crème even if it does have its own share of bugs and a lack of downloadable content found elsewhere. A must buy for fans of fun games -- no RPG bias required.

The PS3 version may look and run slightly better, and it may include Knights of the Nine from the get-go, but the status of the expansion is something you have to consider, and the fact that there's really nothing new should convince you to stick with what you have.

Great fun on PS3, too. The loading times are short, thanks to the hard drive, and the game is as playable as on a fast PC. [June 2007]

This is easily the best game out for the PS3. With 100 or 200 hours of quality entertainment on one (Blu-Ray) DVD and so many different ways to play, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Oblivion can be nearly paralyzing just figuring out what it is you want to do next.

There's just so much to explore and discover here. Never has such a rich and fully-realised game world been committed to disc. [Issue #152, p.64]

Oblivion for PS3 still contains a few annoying visual glitches and the occasional slowdown, but these problems seem negligible compared to the game's grand scale and mesmerizing storyline.

The sense of awe that you feel when freed from the opening act’s claustrophobic tunnels is as tangible as it ever was, and the century of hours that follow are about as compelling as an action role-playing game can possibly get. [Apr 2007, p.128]

The only downside - and it's huge - is that as of this late March 2007 writing, the PS3 Oblivion does not support additional content the way the 360 and PC versions do.

Arguably the best game you can play on this system. It's a grand open-ended fantasy role-playing game that combines the best of single player RPGs with the best of massively multiplayer online games.

This is simply one of the finest, most beautiful, PC-style RPGs you can get. [May 2007, p.82]

This is the closest thing we've got right now to an offline MMORPG. That means a stupid huge amount of gameplay for the money, and with a huge story and hundreds of hours of exploration to be had, good luck finding a better value.

A game that seems to never end as the amount of things to do is immeasurable.

Oblivion on PS3 is every bit as incredible as other versions. If you own a PS3 and haven't played it, do yourself a favour.

Oblivion will consume you. It'll consume your life, your performance at work will suffer and you might not see friends in weeks. With hundreds of hours of gameplay, and an unprecedented amount of quests to be completed, I couldn't possibly recommend Oblivion enough. Great job Bethesda. Sorry social life.

While the story and gameplay are identical, the PS3 iteration of Oblivion is slightly better than its Xbox 360 cousin from a visual and technical standpoint. Standing on the top of a tall hill and gazing at the landscape below is even more breathtaking than before, thanks to a greater level of distant detail in the environments. Loading times have also been shortened a bit, making transitions between areas a little smoother.

Play Oblivion. It's amazing. [June 2007, p.70]

While it’s not perfect, this game is pretty close and I dare you to find better value for your money.

A class act, but those solo PlayStation 3 owners might be better served by the upcoming Game of the Year edition.