PipManChild wrote:<snip>
and i wouldn't say its dumb down that you don't have to think at all. why do you try and validate your point with gross exaggerations and over then top generalizations?
<snip>
It isn't gross exaggerations and over the top generalizations.
It is how I experienced the game.
Perhaps we come from different gaming backgrounds, but some of the tools implemented in Oblivion are the tools I generally see in MMO games (which I like, but not for the RPG aspect) and generally "don't make it difficult tools";
namely quest markers (why read the journal when the game shows you exactly where to go)
insta travel (takes to long to move around)
level scaling and treasure scaling (no need to explorer anymore because what you "need" is in every dungeon you fall over)
simplistic leveling system (jack of all trades, no choice, no consequence ... except as I mention later ...unless you dared to level non-combat)
silly "guild" system (how did I become a member of magic guild when I couldn't cast a spell)
game making decisions for you via pop up (can't remember the mission, but it was the final drop for me and I uninstalled right after)
lackluster dialog to say the least.
silly dialog mini-game where character skill had no effect (didn't matter if I had 100 speechcraft, or 10)
leveling system which penalized if you didn't level up as the game wanted you to (if you leveled up in non-combat skills, you were basically up a specific creek because the game leveled enemies by your overall level, promoting only one solution to any problem: kill, kill and kill)
And this is not to mention the stupid AI which made combat a simple matter of walking back ways while the mobs followed you.
Just to give a "few" examples based on my gaming back when it came out. I've never reinstalled the game since as I do not find it worthy of my time one bit.
All these things point to the fact that this game was made to not challenge the player and promote a cookie cutter game. It underlines, when comparing to what the hype stated, that the game is made for its graphical approach. It almost seemed like a showcase of the engine.
Difficulty is now measured in having 5 enemies instead of 2, and not by having to figure out a quest or anything along that line. And don't worry about leveling up (unless you do it wrong and dare to take non-combat skills cause combat is all there is to do), because you can do everything you want. Plate wearing, 2h weapon swinging, magic user who sneaks around and steals.
At least in Daggerfall (and to a lesser extend Morrowind), the quests aren't given up front and exploration was something which meant something.
I still recall having to track around huge randomized dungeons in Daggerfall to find that one piece of treasure or quest point which made it all so much more fun. Having to read the journal and deduct where to go and who to talk to. No just follow this marker and kill what you find.
So sorry - it isn't over-exaggerations. It is the current tread of no-challenge, no-brain computer games which plague the mainstream RPGs now (RPG-Lite) after the success of the more traditional RPGs brought people into the genre.
All focus now looks to be on fluff and graphics.
For Bethesda: Daggerfall was wonderful and ahead of its time. Morrowind was a small step down in my book, and I was disheartened they didn't improve on Daggerfall - and Oblivion *sigh*. You'd think it was made by a different company.
That "evolution" is exactly why I do not buy into the Fallout hype, and why I do not give the benefit of the doubt. We've heard it all before, and Oblivion was the result. They had something so good with Daggerfall, and they devalued into Oblivion.
