dirtyDogStink

Xbox 360 & Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion - believe the hype!

Monday, June 05 2006

Thanks to a friend of mine, I had the opportunity to test drive an Xbox 360 this weekend. I have just one acronym for ya...OMFG! :cool:

First off, let's talk about the console itself. 6 months after launch you can go read any number of in-depth reviews on the console, so I'll just give a short list of the things that caught my attention:

Pros:

• Graphics - They are unbelievable, even without an HD television. No joke.
• Dashboard UI - very nice.
• Controller - I think they totally nailed the controller this time around. Similar in size and style to the original's S-controller, but I like where they moved the Start and Back buttons. And wireless is the only way to go [no more cords...yay]!
• Remote On/Off - on the controller...finally!
• Sleek external design!

• Noise - Seems louder than the original, not sure why.
• Size of the power pack - it's freakin HUGE.

And the real thing that makes any console worthwhile...the games. My friend only owns The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion so I rented Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter [I also played a bit of Tomb Raider: Legend and Moto GP 4 from my OXM demo disks]. I didn't really get into The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on my original Xbox so I didn't expect to like Oblivion. I thought that I would spend all weekend playing through the campaign in GRAW. Boy was I wrong! :-o I only played GRAW for a few hours; meanwhile I sunk about 11 hours into Oblivion. That game is like crack!

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - This game is insanely addictive. In my 11 hours I made it to level 4, ventured into Oblivion, killed 100s of bad-dudes and found the heir, but feel like I just scratched the surface of the game. I can easily see this game sucking up 100+ hours. I liked everything about it...so much so that I'm seriously considering buying the PC version [since I don't own an Xbox 360 yet]. ;-)
• Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter - The graphics are unbelievable and smooth, but the gameplay just doesn't do it for me like the original GR and GR:IT. I preferred the big outdoor landscapes and stealthy action of those versions. With it's urban setting, this seemed more like a version of Rainbow Six...which are good games, but just not what I expected or wanted when playing Ghost Recon.
• Tomb Raider: Legend - I'm very impressed with this action/adventure game. The controls were pretty tight, the graphics were awesome and the demo level I played had some good gameplay. Honestly, I have not played any prior version of Tomb Raider which means that I didn't have any pre-conceived notions, but the game reminded me a lot of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb [Xbox version], which I enjoyed tremendously. I will definitely be picking this up for my original Xbox.
• Moto GP 4 - The graphics were also very pretty, but the control schema was a bit off for me. Admittedly though, I am not a big fan of the Moto GP series...I can take it or leave it.

There you have it...my first experience with the Xbox 360 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Color me impressed...very impressed. I will be buying a 360 in the future, but it's just not in the budget [financial or time] right now. As far as Oblivion is concerned, I'm actually kind of scared to buy it. The game was so addictive to me over the weekend that I can see myself being consumed by wanting to play it every spare minute I find. That just isn't healthy for me or my relationships. I used to play video games for 20-30 hours a week, but it took a tremendous toll on things around me and I refuse to do that to myself or others ever again. Before I jump into Oblivion again I will have to feel comfortable enough with myself to know that I can turn it on and off when I want too. But for you, I highly recommend you run out right now and buy your own Xbox 360 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion! ;-)

~tod

tags: xbox+360 elder+scrolls oblivion