So there have been some really good games out for the Xbox 360 recently such as Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (GRAW), Burnout Revenge, etc. However, one that just came out recently cannot be considered as good, not even excellent but dare I say it, revolutionary.

RPGs have been around for ages, I remember playing Final Fantasy 1 on the original Nintendo (NES) – wow that makes me feel so old. The concept behind most RPGs (role-playing games) is that you take on the role of a character that moves through a certain world and performs certain quests. Along with this, there is the concept of leveling up which can be thought of gaining expertise in certain areas based on your character’s focus,etc. All in all, RPGs tend to be extremely immersive or at least try to be as it is a very important part of delivering the experience that you are in this other world interacting with virtual characters.

While other games including the most popular RPG franchise Final Fantasy do a stand-up job of immersing the player in their worlds, I have to say apart from its other strong points that the ability of Oblivion to completely immerse you in its amazing world is what makes it one of the best games of all time.

I’m not here to make long reviews, there are plenty of dedicated websites that will do a far better job but I’ll touch on some major points and link to some good detailed reviews.

From the moment you take control you are fully immersed in the world of Tamriel and it is VERY difficult to leave – which is why I was up until 4AM playing the first day I got the game.

Graphics - best graphics on Xbox360 by far (better than GRAW). Framerate is fairly consitant although there’s a small amount of slowdown at times but it doesn’t effect the gameplay. You are usually so involved in the game that framerate issues rarely cause you to groan, in a perfect world it would be smooth all the time but, oh well.

Audio – Patrick Stewart cameos as the Emperor and all in all the other voice acting is superb, lots of variety and NPCs sound like you expect them to. Best of all, they have attempted to put some emotion into the characters faces as they talk so as they talk you can see them be serious, jovial, sad, etc. A very important and nice touch.

Value – Literally hours and hours and hours (some report minimum of 60) of gameplay bottled up inside this game, making it possibly one of the best values for the Xbox 360. Lots of side quests and other things (Arena, Guild contracts) you can do. Also for the true hardcore fan there’s always playing over with a different race, class, sign,etc which changes the whole experience. Trust me, this is the best $60 you will ever spend on a video game.

Gameplay – It’s so immersive, anything you want to touch/take/steal you can, including a single apple on a table or a bottle on the floor. I haven’t come across a part yet where I feel I should be able to do something that I haven’t been able to which is truly outstanding. I will most likely replay the game as a thief because it seems there’s a ton of stuff you can steal and then trade on the black market, etc. – right now I’m playing it through as a “good guy” but still.

All in all, I can’t say enough good things about this game – it was definitely worth the wait and I’m glad they took their time with it.

If you’re a RPG/adventure fan this is a MUST – don’t even second guess it. Even if you’re not an RPG/adventure fan, you’d be a fool to let this gaming jewel pass you by.

GameSpot Review (9.6 / 10)

IGN Review (9.3 / 10) – This will open a top bar from GameRankings so you can go to other reviews of the game too.