The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PlayStation 3)

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As you play the game, you'll get stronger. You don't earn experience points as in a traditional role-playing game. Instead, your skills become stronger as you use them. This means that if you stick to using a sword, you'll get better with blade weapons. If you primarily use magic, you'll become a stronger caster. It's an intuitive system that eliminates the need to go out of your way to train and strengthen your character, which lets you focus on the more enjoyable aspects of the game. No matter how strong you become, you'll never feel invincible because all of the enemies that you fight in the game also level up with you. This does deflate the ego a bit because even after putting hours into the game, on the default difficulty you'll often find a respectable challenge fighting even the most common enemies. But there is a difficulty slider that you can adjust at any time, just in case you find yourself having a hard time staying alive.

Not only is the world of Tamriel massive, but it's also a gorgeous, organic place full of spectacular sights and experiences. There's plenty of variety to the landscape as well, and you can do everything from scaling a snowy peak, to taking a horseback ride up a rugged mountain path, to going for a swim in a crystal-clear lake, to searching an ancient tomb. The draw distance in the PlayStation 3 version of the game is a bit further than in the Xbox 360 version, which means that when you're looking out across the world, you'll see huge castles, lakes, and mountains perfectly clearly in the distance. When you're exploring the world, you will notice some objects and textures pop into view a bit late, which looks a bit awkward but is certainly forgivable because the rest of the game is so pretty. The cities are also thoughtfully designed and arranged as if each place you visit is entirely unique. The claustrophobic dungeons are vast and deep, full of fearsome enemies and abundant treasures. When you enter these cities or dungeons, you do have to look at a loading screen, but on the PlayStation 3, the load times are thankfully brief and usually last only a few seconds.

The fantastic presentation also extends to the audio in Oblivion. The rousing orchestrated soundtrack sounds great and enhances the grand feeling of adventure in the game. When you encounter an enemy, the music will suddenly change to a more upbeat track that keeps you on your toes and often serves as your only alert to nearby danger. There's a ton of voice work to listen to here as well. Every single line of dialogue in the game is fully voiced. Some notable actors lend their voices, including Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men) and Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, National Treasure). But for the most part, all of the residents of Tamriel share the same few voices. The delivery is very good, but it's a bit off-putting to hear almost every character in the game speak with exactly the same voice. The sheer amount of spoken dialogue in the game is impressive nonetheless.

The PlayStation 3 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is every bit as impressive as the Xbox 360 and PC versions. However, this isn't necessarily the best version of the game. This version does come with the Knights of the Nine add-on, which will add about 10 hours of gameplay to the already lengthy game, but it doesn't come with any of the other downloadable additions made available on the Xbox 360. In terms of extras, the PC trumps both other versions because of a wealth of free player-created content. Even with a relatively modest amount of added content, the PlayStation 3 version of Oblvion packs well over 100 hours of adventuring to keep you entertained for months to come. Ultimately, the version you decide to purchase comes down to a matter of preference, but one way or another, you should definitely play this game.

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