Best Xbox 360 RPG: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

The best Xbox 360 RPG: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Now, some of you dissenters out there sitting at your computers may be saying "There's no way Elder Scrolls can be the best it's way too old." Or "Bethesda released Fallout3, which is an improvement in every way to Oblivion."

For this article I have decided that Fallout3 is the big contender to Oblivion, so, I will be comparing and contrasting the two throughout the article to hopefully show you, dear reader, that Oblivion beats out Fallout3 in the end.

The Beginning of the game.

Each game starts out very nicely, while Oblivion delivers more into straight up action for its tutorial and Fallout delivers a more complex experience that may appeal to people who like more scripted events and being pushed in the right direction. I would have to say that Fallout wins out on this point considering Bethesda put in a lot more care and devotion into making the game feel more realistic to the player as well as building more upon lore of the game universe. While Oblivion basically throws you through a quick dungeon, which is no doubt exciting, but lacks heavily in the depth department in return for ease of access.

Introduction to the open world environment.

Again, in this department both make a great impression on the player in terms of awe in the scenery that you are presented with. Now, where do they differ? Fallout definitely makes a bigger deal in terms of drama considering the process of getting out of the vault is so elicit and actually feels like an important part of the game. Whereas in the wonderful world of Oblivion you reach the end of the sewers, you are presented with the final character customization screen and then it tells you that all the changes are to be final, just as you get a similar screen in Fallout to change your tagged skills etc.

Now, what happens once you exit the vault tunnel/ sewer grating? You are presented with a grand view of the world that is meant to strike awe into your heart and a feeling of just how much there really is to be explored within either of the worlds, this part they have in common, and this part they each do almost just as well. But the victory here, which is a minuscule one at that, goes to Fallout again essentially for the fact of everything that happens before hand leads up to the big dramatic "Oh it's so bright my eyes aren't adjusted yet play some angelic sounding music to add emphasis please!" And again keep in mind this is but a small victory for Fallout, it just happens to be one of the things Bethesda really improved upon Oblivion.

Initial impressions of the game world.

Alright, so, you finish each games' tutorial level, and all is well in your perspective universe, right? Well, this is where Oblivion wins folks. So in Fallout you are some guy or girl from Vault 101 ooh, aren't you just something special? Your precious little eyes finally adjust to real light, and there's only one thing to really do now that your home has basically just been destroyed, go and roam aimlessly through the world looking for dear old dad. And what do you have to go off of other than your dad is some sort of scientist type, well pretty much zip-o. So you walk down the street, maybe smack a mole rat on the way and see a sign that says Megaton, so naturally every player with even half a brain would already be heading toward the nearest landmark, which is conveniently Megaton already, this is all great but for me the awe kind of wore off real quickly after seeing rock after dusty old rock, and maybe a random old house on the way to the game's first and one of its few major towns.

While on the other hand, Oblivion throws you out into its beautiful world filled with nice flora and fauna, plenty of nice bodies of water and not to mention weather effects, and if you have ever seen this game in 1080P you will know what I'm talking about here. As for where you are supposed to go and what you are supposed to do. There is literally almost too much to do in Oblivion whether you are doing quests that pertain to the story line or not, the quality of the questing just feels a lot more rewarding.