All is not well in the Kingdom of Cyrodiil. All across the land, the signs of evil and foreboding have begun to appear, and many fear the coming of the minions of Oblivion who will finally manage to open gates into this reality and overrun the forces of the Imperium, which will bring about the end of history. You find yourself in a cell when the Emperor and his guards appear, and you follow them as they try to flee the Imperial Capital ahead of assassins. Thus begins the story of Oblivion, the Elder Scrolls IV, Bethesda's new role-playing fantasy game.

Oblivion is a first or third person (your choice, it can be switched back and forth with one keystroke) role-playing sword and sorcery saga. Unlike many games in the genre, Oblivion is not laid out in a linear fashion, as it is instead free form with a central quest and many mini quests. Players have a huge amount of choices and paths to play and there is no programmed correct order to play things, as you can literally go where you want and do what you like.

The first thing to do when you start this game is choose your character's race, looks and attributes. The in-game editor allows a wide range of facial features from a number of races that are part of Cyrodiil, the mythical kingdom this game is based in. You can choose to be everything from an elf to a lizard creature to an Imperial, and each race has its own special abilities and bonus factors. The number of choices to pick from is quite large, but the game does allow some changes after you get a feel for things. Some races are better at combat, others at magic, and some combine the two nicely and so on.

The first thing you notice as you start to play this game is how good it looks. I have to say this game has the best terrain and characters I have ever seen in a PC game. The landscapes flow beautifully and the character movement is smooth and life like. The enormous game board has many different types of land; everything from rolling hills to rugged mountains to sweeping seaports. The game allows for the passage of time and even weather conditions. You might see a blinding snowstorm, a rainy afternoon or an early morning fog.

The game interface is extremely easy to use. Using several keys you can walk, move side-to-side, jump and run. You can also move in a stealth manner by hiding from enemies or trying to steal from people and creatures. The mouse pad controls direction simply by sliding it towards the way you wish to travel. You can speak to NPCs by walking up to them and pressing the space bar, and a menu of topics will appear. You select the topic and go from there. Be careful that you have no bounty on you if you want to talk to city guards and Imperial soldiers; they will attempt to arrest you if you try and talk to them.

The tab key will bring up your sub menus and these contain a lot of valuable information. From here you can equip your character with weapons, armor and items. A 3D rendering of all armor and weapons equipped is supplied, and this can be rotated so you can see exactly what your character looks like since in first person you don't see him at all. You can also select any spells you want to have ready to use, and in the game you can buy and learn many more such spells. The game includes automatic mapping that is very valuable, especially inside the many caves, dungeons and fortresses you will be exploring and fighting in.

Combat in the game is in real-time and you have to only press the left mouse button to swing your weapon (or your fists if you have nothing). The right button activates blocks using your shield, if you have one equipped. As you progress through the game you can learn more advanced fighting techniques that will make your character more effective. There are also bows and arrows if you want to be a specialist in archery.

Scattered about the kingdom of Cyrodiil are many towns, as well as many places not shown on your map at first. Sometimes places will be shown on your map by NPCs, other times you will find them by walking by them. Each town has its own look and layout and is filled with NPCs to interact with. As you take on quests you will travel to all of these places and meet an enormous amount of NPCs.

As in real life you must make money to get anywhere in this game. You can make a modest living by looting the abandoned areas you discover as well as selling items you take from defeated monsters and thieves. You can be a thief yourself and join the Guild of Thieves and make a lot of money. Or you could join the Fighter's Guild and take on the quests they provide, which will increase in payoff and difficulty as you go along. Each town also includes several non-guild quests, so you have a lot of freedom of action. You can even be a gladiator and fight to earn levels and money.

The central quest of the game revolves around the Imperial heir and the coming of the enemy through Oblivion gates. These gates are literally openings to another hellish dimension, and as things progress, they will begin to appear all over the game map. You will try to first deliver the Amulet of Kings to the Emperor's most trusted advisor, and if you manage it he will send you off to find the secret last heir.

This quest leads to a particularly difficult quest where an Oblivion gate has opened inside the city of Kvatch, and you must join the city guard to close the gate by entering it. If you manage this, many people will recognize you as the hero of Kvatch and you will be more popular with many NPCs. If you manage this, you find the heir, which you will then have to take to safety. Each quest is a progression that builds on the previous quest. The beauty of this game is you can have as many active quests going at once as you like.

As the story moves along you will be offered a position in the Blades, the Emperor's elite guard troop. This gives you access to excellent weapons and armor that are free of charge, and unlike other weapons and armor, Blade equipment does not degrade. The other various weapons, armor and clothing will be damaged whenever you are in battle. You can pay to get these items repaired or study and learn how to repair them yourself.

This game is so big that you will spend countless hours going from one place to another. The open-ended design means you never have to play it exactly the same. This, combined with the finest graphics I can ever remember seeing in a PC game, make Oblivion one of the best RPGs games ever made. Trust me, you don't want to miss this game.

RATING: 5 out of 5
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