Week 3: From the Sewers to the City

After the Emperor dies and you talk to the guard, you finally get out of the sewers and into the grassy land in which you've been underneath all along. But before I got out, a pivotal moment occurs: a pop-up screen appears asking you if you want to change your race, birth sign, or class. This is their way of giving you a second chance, almost to deny the blame if you're upset with your choice, like the tiny print at the bottom of a contract just to say I-told-you-so. I kept all of my choices the same and put the key in the lock, opening the gate out of the sewers and into the world Oblivion is famous for.

It started to rain about one minute after I stepped out of the sewers. As lame as it might sound, it was really exciting. It almost felt like experiencing rain for the first time in real life. The graphics were even more noticeable now that I was out of a prison/sewer area and into the real world. The grass was moving, the boulders and rocks were all different sizes, and the wood on the dock had such detail. A pop up window came on screen and revealed one of the aspects people love the most about the game: I was free to do whatever I wanted. After roaming for two minutes, I came face to face with a wolf and had to fend for myself. It only took two swings, but fighting an animal other than a huge rat or a goblin was quite different - and exciting. You can harvest new furs and meats from different animals and it shed light on all the possibilities I would and will soon run into in this game.

The pop up window I was talking about before was such an exciting thing to read because it really drove in the fact that this game became less of a follow-the-objective game and more choose-your-own-route, while still allowing you to voyage off and do other tasks or explore other areas. So much lay ahead for my character to explore, learn about, and further her skills. I soon started talking to guards, townspeople, and exploring all the different shops. All the items that had been clogging my sack (bowls, fruits, rusty armor, torn clothes) could now be sold for gold - which I could now use to get lessons in magic, weapons, or purchase new items. I soon figured out you could even haggle with the shop owners and get more money for my items. There were so many options that I literally spent 2 hours roaming the stores and the possibilities. This included several run-ins with prison after "stealing" from tabletops in stores (see: accidentally picking up items and automatically being labeled a thief - even if I put it back).

So much of the hype that I've heard about this game has been slowly becoming more and more deserved as I play. There is so much freedom and yet structure when it comes to this game. Even though I can do whatever I want, there are still many, many subplots that I can choose to follow. So far, a few of the townspeople want me to help them figure out the funny business that has been occurring with their competition store in how he won't join their guild and sells his products for less than it takes to create them (so he's obviously working off a black market). But then there's the red arrow that is constantly on the compass (found on the bottom middle of the screen). If I walk towards the arrow, it keeps me on-track to following the original plan of helping out the emperor's legacy and solving the errors in the overall hierarchy.

One thing that I do find odd is that a few years ago, Oblivion was going to be sued due to it's rating being mis-labeled. Lawyer Jack Thompson had the ESRB "re-rate Oblivion -- from a 'Teen' rating to a 'Mature' rating -- because he said the game contained more explicit gore than they first realized. Adding to that decision was the fact that software modifications allowed players to see topless females in the game, a situation similar to last year's Grand Theft Auto "Hot Coffee" scandal," according to GamePro.com. He also boldly said that the topless content was purposefully put there, "unlocking code provided by the developer!" despite there being no evidence available to prove this.

So far the things I have encountered have not lent a hand towards extreme graphics in the violence area, although I'm not as far into it as I imagine I would need to be to run into this problem. But I'm interested to see how it turns out and if Thompson was right for his statements.