I'll preface this with the fact that Oblivion is one of the best examples of a game where modding capability really shines; there are countless user-made additions and at least one full-modification pack, Nehrim, that I know of off the top of my head. If you play Oblivion may people will tell you to just go straight into mods and ignore the base game and that's where I have to disagree.
The first game I played was vanilla. And, man, that first time you exit the sewers, you can do anything. The immense freedom, the open-world nature, it was incredible. Oblivion is by no means perfect and going back now the combat doesn't age very well, but the main focus of the game, the nature of it, remains. TES IV will always be one of my favorite RPGs and holds a special place on my wall.
The first game I played was vanilla. And, man, that first time you exit the sewers, you can do anything. The immense freedom, the open-world nature, it was incredible. Oblivion is by no means perfect and going back now the combat doesn't age very well, but the main focus of the game, the nature of it, remains. TES IV will always be one of my favorite RPGs and holds a special place on my wall.
It's fantastic. One of my favorites of all time. I play with mods now, but very few. The vanilla game is great as it is.
I love Oblvion and Skyrim but I think the FPS Fallouts are a lot better. Fallout has one of the most unique settings in gaming. The Elder Scrolls games, though I love them for their freedom, always seemed really generic setting wise.
For me, it was like my experience with Morrowind. I didn'tget into either right away. It took until I was able to work up the patience to get myself immersed. Also both games, their best foot isn't put forward in the main quests, it's the guild missions imo. It took mea while to figure that out, and that rushing through things wasn't the way to enjoy the games, but relazing and soaking in the universe.
Overall, I think it's The Elder Scrolls games helped me really mature as a gamer. They're great games... they just don't really pull you in, they grow on you if you give them the timeto.
Gary, allow me to nitpick a bit. I don't think the Fallout games can realistically be called FPS games. I'm open to being convinced otherwise, but...
The VATS system means that you never really have to aim. Sure, it's obvious that Bethesda put a ton of FPS elements in their games. As an FPS though, Fallout 3 would fail miserably. It uses some pretty clunky FPS mechanics, when treated as an FPS. New Vegas improved on it quite a bit. It's substantially better. I used VATS far less in New Vegas because of the improvements, but still, VATS is front and center.
But otherwise I agree. The Fallout games really have some of the best atmosphere in any games I've ever played. I don't think the Elder Scrolls is generic, but the modern Fallouts are definitely more interesting and unique. I can't wait to see what Fallout 4 can do with the Skyrim engine!
@panicked @gary The new Fallout games have elements of a Shooter for sure. The game is in first person. I don't know the game doesn't feel like a traditional shooter but it has those elements.
I played more Oblivion that I have Skyrim, I ended up stopping my play of Oblivion on the PS3 due to me becoming a Vampire and not wanting to undo that. I didn't realize a Vampire had bitten me and then I turned. Walked out side and, yeah it hurt. :D
Oblivion is fun, but I kind of hate the leveling mechanics. You have to put in a lot of work to make sure you get the most out of each level up. After sinking somewhere around 15-20 hours into the game i ended up having to start over because my character kept leveling up but getting horrible stat gains. That soured my experience (pun intended) pretty bad, and after putting a couple hours into my new character I got bored and moved on to other games.
I actually have not tried any of the mods for the game. Maybe a mod or two would help bring me back to the game.
As far as Fallout goes, I'd say it's a FPS / turn based hybrid. The FPS features are a little clunky I agree, and I really only use them when sniping or up close with a shotgun. The setting is great too. I love the sort of retro-futurism of everything.
The Fallout story blew my mind. I don't sink 8-10 hours a day into a game, but with Fallout 3 I did.
I just meant First Person. Reflex!
Gary, yeah, I get that. I had actually just been discussing the very same thing earlier in the day on another site, so I was primed ;)
Primed for EVIL!
THE PRIME EEEVILLL. THE LORD OF TERR-OR.
Dude that totally a different game!
Right, but you said "prime" and "evil." What choice did I have?
:D