Skyrim V Oblivion

[Lachdonin]

I fail to see why people keep saying the graphics in Skyrim are worse than in Oblivion. Thats, flat out, wrong. The colouring is different, yes. Its more muted, and in many cases borders on the monochrome (Though, considering the environment of most of the game, its appropriate 80% of the time) but its still better than Oblivion. Colour does not equal better graphics.

[Cyrotek]

I liked the worlddesign in oblivion more. More green and not that many mountains that takes 5 minutes till you find a way up.

 

On the other hand, i like the graphical and overal design (except the world itsself) more. Like the citys and stuff. Also Skyrim didnt got super annoying elvenruins.

Also i think the quests are actually better in Skyrim ... just ways too short.

 

Oh, and my mainpoint for Skyrim: Argonian and Kahjit look a lot better than in Oblivion and ... dragons!

[PShepa]

Seems a bit premature to pass judgement just yet

Eh, not really. We compare the game as it stands, not with mods. Then it is the same with and without a toolkit.

Oblivion was a step in the evolution of RPG games and RPG worlds. In the beginning, RPG games were basically a linear quest. Does anyone remember Bards Tales? Once the quest was done the game was over. Then big world spaces were beginning to be developed as games evolved. All of a sudden, there was more to do than just one main quest. Then games like Morrowind came out, and one could hear some say "I didn't finish the main quest, but I enjoyed the game". And more so, with Oblivion. I think the shorter main quest and the disbursement of quest givers is a sign of the way RPG gaming may be going. As far as the aforementioned games, I enjoyed them all even with their imperfections.

[gigantibyte]

Skyrim...feels more like an action game disguised as an RPG.

 

Best description ever!

 

But I overplayed Oblivion too much, and now I'm bored with it. I'm grateful to have new Elder Scrolls material.

[Roltak]

Eh, not really. We compare the game as it stands, not with mods. Then it is the same with and without a toolkit.

 

Are you really really really sure about that? Absolutely? Because if so, you manage to do something what I simply can't do, peel away all the little mods that made the game better. The first time I played Nehrim I was downright shocked at all the small things the mods added and how unfamiliar it all felt without it.

 

No matter how hard I try, I can't really imagine Oblivion without high rez textures, the better Body mods including fitting body armor, the mod that marked all the chests I had already opened and all the other small things that are already Vanilla for me so I can't remember them right now.

 

I am not saying that you can't I just want that you really think about it, can you see Oblivion without any mods and without any kind of nostalgic feeling etc. and really honestly just see it as the game it is and compare it to Skyrim? Because I can't do that and I doubt many people can.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Roltak

[Lachdonin]

I am not saying that you can't I just want that you really think about it, can you see Oblivion without any mods and without any kind of nostalgic feeling etc. and really honestly just see it as the game it is and compare it to Skyrim? Because I can't do that and I doubt many people can.

 

I can. In fact, i rarely used any mods at all. While i've played and disgarded several plugins for Oblivion, i never used any graphical or interface mods.

 

And i can say that Skyrim is considerably better as-it-comes.

[Matth85]

Are you really really really sure about that? Absolutely

I've never played a TES games with mods in it. I got Oblivion for Xbox, for PLaystation and for the PC. I poured in about 300 houres before I got it on the PC.

And I don't plan to use any mods exept some "+ damage % on destruction" mods.

 

Oblivion was pretty good when it was released. I didn't like Morrowind, but Oblivion opened me to the world of sandbox RPG. I finally understood the concept.

Looking back at it now, I see a lot of things SKyrim does better. One thing is exploration: I've never seen more than 1/3 of the map in Oblivion, after 300 houres. I've seen about 2/3rd of the map in Skyrim, after 140 houres. It feels awesome to explore. I can be attacked by a dragon! I can find something awesome!

 

I find Oblivion quests, at least in guilds, to beat the living crap out of Skyrim and magic is actually usefull at the end levels. However, Skyrim takes over in about everything else. In my opinion.

[djinx187]

For me it's skyrim but because of the little things like how the guilds felt in aspect to how they were in oblivion. Like the thieves guild you actually felt like you joined a crime syndicate. Companion's felt much more like warriors then the fighter's guild ever did. The College made much more sense and gave a better mage's feel to that part problem is they got the feel right but that is the only part. The quest line's by themselves are just plain dull and boring the radiant quests for the guilds are just plain mind numbing. The world itself again I like skyrim better then oblivion not biased on looks but how it feels. I would fast travel everywhere in oblivion because the land was boring and flat everything was pretty much the same. Skyrim though I fast travel less I find little things in the world that I just find interesting and I end up wandering around searchng for all the little things. The Npc's are much better in Skyrim then in oblivion even with some who are only in quest lines for a small amount of time. I never had a game that would actually make me hate an npc so much or actually feel like crap that one died or even successfully making me feel like I got betrayed in a game. Yeah the npc's that were well done and few and far between but they are there unlike in oblivion. I was quite happy in Oblivion that I didn't have to deal with most npc's for too long. Not one of the npc's in oblivion could even pull a decent reaction out of me good nor bad. Ok I was wrong about that Grey Fox I wanted to punch in the face for saying Capital! too many times. (so I should of said reactions they were aiming for) I would compare to MW but it has been waaaaaaaay to long since I played that game. Yeah the npc's not giving a damn what you do and how they talk to you are annoying as crap at times but it is a step in the right direction.

 

The dungeons, caves, mines and everything else that you could crawl through were nice as well. Yeah most of them only had one way to get through them but most of them were different and had a very minimal cloned layout going on. In Oblivion you could go through many areas and you would just remember it being exactly like that last area you did. There were less frequent unique areas to explore. Yeah a few of them were unique but most of them were not. Skyrim though most of the areas have similarities but I haven't found one outright clone. Yeah the bestiary is a little slim but it was like that in oblivion as well.

 

The game mechanics and ui. Not even gonna bother writing about them besides the fact that soon changes will be made to them both Oblivion and Skyrim really did a horrid job on game mechanics and ui. Thankfully though we have a talented and skilled modding community(too much? lol ) that it really isn't a deciding factor since it will be fixed by people who do not have a budget, a boss, a deadline, and who does not see it as a job but a hobby.

 

So I gotta give it to skyrim.

[Roltak]

I find Oblivion quests, at least in guilds, to beat the living crap out of Skyrim and magic is actually usefull at the end levels. However, Skyrim takes over in about everything else. In my opinion.

 

I never tried magic at high level in Skyrim but seeing that the damage stays the same no matter what level yes that is pretty stupid and the guild quests ... well I kinda prefere the thieves quest in Skyrim a bit more, because to me there were more memorable and interesting characters in it and it felt more epic etc. but I wish they would have added some better quests for "conquering" the cities, take out competitors, ruin merchants etc. just something more, it didn't feel like enough to do 5 radiant quests and 1 "special" mission and suddenly be king of the underworld of that city. So in short the quality is better in my opinion, the length/quantity should have been improved.

 

Same for DB questline, it just felt a bit rushed but for example the first one, when all the kids come to congratulate you felt great. Or the one where you have to decide which one to kill. Or the one starting at Hags Cure where you really hear what happened, why you kill them and why she made that decision.

Also:

 

The first time the night mother spoke to me I nearly pissed myself. Granted only because just a second before she started I thought: "If the nightmother now came back as a zombie I wouldn't stand a chance.", but still it was a really funny moment.

 

Also i just adore Babette, don't know why but I love killers like her, they are just that more creepy.

On the other hand the story of Oblivion was longer and there were more "memorable" kills

 

the party where you have to kill everyone was great or the one where you have to fake someones death

 

so I would say in my opinion they are even in quality but Oblivion wins in Quantity again.

 

I finished neither the Companion quests nor the Mages quest so I can't say that much about them, but the Companions feel too centralized for me, the warrior guild was all over the place and you were active in (almost?) every city so I kinda prefere them .

although the werewolf aspect of the Companions is cool

 

 

The overall quests ... well I would say that they are once again about even quality, many of the quests don't seem as epic as in Oblivion but there are small quests that help flesh out the war and the world in general in my opinion, like the one where you have to find out what happened to that one daughter or where you have to free that brother. I helps make the war feel real, while in Oblivion no one really seemed to care about the Oblivion doors opening all over Tamriel.

In Quantity Skyrim wins, if only because of the Radiant quests .. if that is good or not I don't know, it gives you always something to do but buries the better quests under a pile of generic ones. So a matter of taste I guess.

 

All in all I don't really know which one I prefere. I kinda like the setting and art style of Oblivion more (I don't really have something for snow and mountains) as well as the issues up there. On the other hand Skyrim really improves on several things like Dual Wielding, Crafting, more fleshed out realistic world (in my opinion) etc. so in conclusion ... both have a spot in my heart, next to Morrowind and several other games .. and I want the CK now to finally start costumizing it.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Roltak

[azaltan]

''Oblivion was a step in the evolution of RPG games and RPG worlds''

 

 

Correcting, ''reverse evolution''