I put about 100 hours into Oblivion when it first came out, and then lost my save game in an unfortunate hard drive incident. Then I got into WoW and other games and didn't come back until I heard that Skyrim is coming out. The first time round I played a virtuous basher paladin -- never joined the Dark Brotherhood or Thieves Guild, never committed a crime (that I can recall). This time I'm playing a stealth marksman, and the first thing I did was go looking for the brotherhood and thieves. With the brotherhood, I'm finding it almost diffucult to do the quests as they become more and more evil. And that's what's so brilliant about this game -- it's so open, not just as a world, but in terms of moral choices and decisions. That those decisions can make you sit back and pause before you plunge forward.

I put about 10 hours into Witcher 2 before I realized it's just not my cup of tea. It seems just a series of scripted events that don't mean much to me. So I came back to Oblivion last night with a sense of relief. Jauffre is currently stewing in his mountain fortress, and I'm just going to leave him there this time around. Too much else to do. God, what a great game. I'm glad I have several months to explore it properly this time before Skyrim comes out.

That is what makes Oblivion great, the ability to do what you want, and your not forced along a particular path. I wish more games were like Oblivion.

So great to hear your positive experiences and to remind myself what it was like the first time I played it.

I wish you well, Dark Brother/Sister....

Awesome read! Yea, it's easy to get sidetracked in this game. Have a http://www.uesp.net/wiki/General:Fishy_Stick by the way. All the awesome new people to this site get one.

Doh! I just realized that the heir is Martin Septim, not Jauffre. I gues that shows how much attention I'm paying to him.

Yummo, thanks!

I can't believe that I've been playing this game for 5 years and STILL having fun. :mohawk:

Seconded. 125+ hours with my latest char proves that. I've run out of questmods to do though....(by now).

Yes, Oblivion introduced me to the RPG, and I loved it, then I played other RPG's that couldn't POSSIBLY stand up to Oblivion. Then my gaming life kind of meandered out abit, for lack of Oblivion-esque games. But then, recently, I got Fallout 3/NV as a gift, and FO3 (never liked NV) reintroduced me, and on the eve of my return to the RPG, Skyrim is annouced. Good time....

I love Oblivion as well for the same reasons. That you have full control on your toon and that you can take your time and fully explore and have fun.