EleanorUnicorn
Well-Known Member
I had a really vivid dream about the Imperial City last night, so I decided to play Oblivion this morning for the first time since I installed Skyrim in November 2011.. And I was shocked by a few things. Before I start, can I just say that Oblivion is probably my number 1 favourite game of all time (before Skyrim anyway), I played it every day for more than 3 years and it opened up a whole new world of gaming for me. Thankyou Bethesda, I love you 
Anyway, these are the things that shocked me.
1. The brightness of the world. It's so.. cartoony, I guess, and shiny. Grass is bright green, sky is bright blue, kinda gives you the impression of being on acid.
2. Sadly, the graphics are crap compared to Skyrim which makes it frustrating to play, and you think to yourself 'wtf, I used to think these were the best graphics in the world!'. Trees and shop signs look like they've been painted by a 5 year old. But you still have to give credit to Bethesda, Oblivion was released in 2006 and Cyrodil is absolutely beautiful, the best looking region yet. I wish they would open the borders of Skyrim and Cyrodil, as an expansion for the end of the war or whatever, and everything would be 200 years later.. That would be epic.
3. How skinny the characters are. I was a Bosmer (wood elf) girl in Oblivion, and she looks stunning, like a size zero supermodel with everlasting legs. Or maybe it's cause my Breton in Skyrim looks like a normal, real woman. I don't know.
4. The cities! I've missed the cities so much.. I definetley think the settlements, towns and cities of Cyrodil are much better than Skyrim, they more houses to explore, more shops and people to talk to. My favourite towns were Anvil, Skingrad, Chorrol and the Imperial City. Half of the towns in Skyrim don't have stables or houses for sale, and they're much smaller.. and cold and snowy and miserable. However, dungeons and forts in Skyrim are one hundred times better, because they don't all look the same as each other!
5. Trying to move, open my map/journal. Pressing random letters on my keyboard because I couldn't remember the controls. Keyboard mash.
6. On the same note, trying to attack. Was badass sneak/archer in Oblivion, acustomed to making epic kills, my stealth ensuring I always remain undetected.. Then a lion and wild boar appear out of nowhere (I'd forgotten about them too!) and I'm jumping up and down, zooming in and out, rather than taking them both out in the space of a second. I'm a Breton Mage in Skyrim though, and I love it.
7. On the same note again, Bethesda, why can't we attack from horseback? Seriously? Why do I still have to dismount my horse to kill a wolf (which, by the time you dismount and ready your weapon, has already nearly killed your horse)? Cant I just shoot a quick fireball (or whatever) at him and be on my way?
8. My character walks super fast due to high speed (remember how the levelling up process was different? and we didn't have the perks tree?) and can jump 2 metres high from standing on the spot, due to high acrobatics. Made me laugh, a lot
Skyrim has a much better levelling up system.
9. The whole ZOOMING IN on peoples faces. Used to seem normal to me, but today it made me laugh. And also, when you talk to people, it's really limited. You can choose 'Rumors' and that's pretty much it, and they never have anything interesting to say. Skyrim is definetley better (and funnier) conversation wise. Where else can you watch an entire tavern fight over a slice of cheese? Also love how random Skyrim is (eg. wandering through the wilderness when you see a noble, a bard and a spriggan fighting a hagraven.. also love watching dragon vs giant fights)
10. If you have been playing Skyrim as a Stormcloak, you feel yourself unwillingly hating every single Imperial, and you have to refrain from attacking them on sight. Which isn't very good, seeing as most of the NPCs in Oblivion are Imperial.
11. MAGIC WAS SO MUCH BETTER IN OBLIVION. You had sooooooooo many spells, and mysticism! The Arcane University was awesome compared to the College of Winterhold. And, for the very best of mages, you had that Altar of Spellmaking or whatever it was called, where you could actually create your own spells! WE NEED THIS BACK! Not enough spells in Skyrim! However, I'll admit that enchanting is much better in Skyrim, and the master level spells are amazing. Colours and graphics make being a mage a brilliant choice, definetley worth a try if you've only ever played with a sword/axe/bow before. You can make people go crazy and attack each other, raise zombies to fight for you, summon atronachs to take that particularly hungry dragons attention away, blow your enemies up with fire.. Definetley worth a try if you haven't done so already.
12. Finally, the main quest. I LOVE the main quest in Skyrim, I think it is breathtaking and I love fighting dragons. It's cool how they randomly appear, you hear them roar from a distance and you feel all like 'yeah, come at me bro! let's see what happens!'. Definetly well thought out and written. Main quest in Oblivion was unbelievably monotonous. It's basically 'yeah, the gates of hell are opening everywhere, so you need to go in, fight your way through hell, then grab the stone. fifteen times.' Got kind of boring. End of the game was epic though, when Martin became that gold dragon and had the fight with Mehrunes Dagon. Haven't reached the end of Skyrim yet, so can't compare.
Anyway, that's a few of my thoughts from this morning. I love Oblivion and I always will, but Skyrim is better. I just wish we could cross the border and revisit a modern cyrodil! Let me know your thoughts
1. The brightness of the world. It's so.. cartoony, I guess, and shiny. Grass is bright green, sky is bright blue, kinda gives you the impression of being on acid.
2. Sadly, the graphics are crap compared to Skyrim which makes it frustrating to play, and you think to yourself 'wtf, I used to think these were the best graphics in the world!'. Trees and shop signs look like they've been painted by a 5 year old. But you still have to give credit to Bethesda, Oblivion was released in 2006 and Cyrodil is absolutely beautiful, the best looking region yet. I wish they would open the borders of Skyrim and Cyrodil, as an expansion for the end of the war or whatever, and everything would be 200 years later.. That would be epic.
3. How skinny the characters are. I was a Bosmer (wood elf) girl in Oblivion, and she looks stunning, like a size zero supermodel with everlasting legs. Or maybe it's cause my Breton in Skyrim looks like a normal, real woman. I don't know.
4. The cities! I've missed the cities so much.. I definetley think the settlements, towns and cities of Cyrodil are much better than Skyrim, they more houses to explore, more shops and people to talk to. My favourite towns were Anvil, Skingrad, Chorrol and the Imperial City. Half of the towns in Skyrim don't have stables or houses for sale, and they're much smaller.. and cold and snowy and miserable. However, dungeons and forts in Skyrim are one hundred times better, because they don't all look the same as each other!
5. Trying to move, open my map/journal. Pressing random letters on my keyboard because I couldn't remember the controls. Keyboard mash.
6. On the same note, trying to attack. Was badass sneak/archer in Oblivion, acustomed to making epic kills, my stealth ensuring I always remain undetected.. Then a lion and wild boar appear out of nowhere (I'd forgotten about them too!) and I'm jumping up and down, zooming in and out, rather than taking them both out in the space of a second. I'm a Breton Mage in Skyrim though, and I love it.
7. On the same note again, Bethesda, why can't we attack from horseback? Seriously? Why do I still have to dismount my horse to kill a wolf (which, by the time you dismount and ready your weapon, has already nearly killed your horse)? Cant I just shoot a quick fireball (or whatever) at him and be on my way?
8. My character walks super fast due to high speed (remember how the levelling up process was different? and we didn't have the perks tree?) and can jump 2 metres high from standing on the spot, due to high acrobatics. Made me laugh, a lot
Skyrim has a much better levelling up system.9. The whole ZOOMING IN on peoples faces. Used to seem normal to me, but today it made me laugh. And also, when you talk to people, it's really limited. You can choose 'Rumors' and that's pretty much it, and they never have anything interesting to say. Skyrim is definetley better (and funnier) conversation wise. Where else can you watch an entire tavern fight over a slice of cheese? Also love how random Skyrim is (eg. wandering through the wilderness when you see a noble, a bard and a spriggan fighting a hagraven.. also love watching dragon vs giant fights
)10. If you have been playing Skyrim as a Stormcloak, you feel yourself unwillingly hating every single Imperial, and you have to refrain from attacking them on sight. Which isn't very good, seeing as most of the NPCs in Oblivion are Imperial.
11. MAGIC WAS SO MUCH BETTER IN OBLIVION. You had sooooooooo many spells, and mysticism! The Arcane University was awesome compared to the College of Winterhold. And, for the very best of mages, you had that Altar of Spellmaking or whatever it was called, where you could actually create your own spells! WE NEED THIS BACK! Not enough spells in Skyrim! However, I'll admit that enchanting is much better in Skyrim, and the master level spells are amazing. Colours and graphics make being a mage a brilliant choice, definetley worth a try if you've only ever played with a sword/axe/bow before. You can make people go crazy and attack each other, raise zombies to fight for you, summon atronachs to take that particularly hungry dragons attention away, blow your enemies up with fire.. Definetley worth a try if you haven't done so already.
12. Finally, the main quest. I LOVE the main quest in Skyrim, I think it is breathtaking and I love fighting dragons. It's cool how they randomly appear, you hear them roar from a distance and you feel all like 'yeah, come at me bro! let's see what happens!'. Definetly well thought out and written. Main quest in Oblivion was unbelievably monotonous. It's basically 'yeah, the gates of hell are opening everywhere, so you need to go in, fight your way through hell, then grab the stone. fifteen times.' Got kind of boring. End of the game was epic though, when Martin became that gold dragon and had the fight with Mehrunes Dagon. Haven't reached the end of Skyrim yet, so can't compare.
Anyway, that's a few of my thoughts from this morning. I love Oblivion and I always will, but Skyrim is better. I just wish we could cross the border and revisit a modern cyrodil! Let me know your thoughts
