How much better is PC Oblivion compared to PS3? The Steam Summer sale is on and I'm just wondering if it's worth buying a second copy for the mods and extra little bits of DLC.

My answer is "Yes!" Mods are what make this one of the greatest video games ever made, in my opinion. I have purchased five copies of Oblivion on PC over the years and it was worth every penny.

I can't talk about the differences the differences between PC and PS3 versions. I have never touched a console in my life, so I know nothing about them. Renee, or some other knowledgeable person, will have to tell you about that.

I played Oblivion on PS3 for years before switching to the PC version last summer. The additional small DLC that were not released on PS3 are nice but in my opinion not that special that they would entice me to buy the game in a whole new platform.

Mods, however, are a different story. I bought a new laptop just to be able to mod Oblivion and recently built a new desktop primarily for the same purpose. Unlike the small DLC, which only alter the game in minor ways, user made mods open up a whole new realm of possibilities, adding whole new provinces, for instance. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Let's say you don't like the neon green color of glass armor. There is a mod for that. I use Oddbaskets glass replacer.

Let's say you don't like the fact that at high level every other roadside bandit is wearing glass armor. There is a mod for that. I use MOO.

For just about anything you can think of to change, the answer is probably going to be "there is a mod for that."

The downside to all of this is there is a steep learning curve to modding Oblivion. If you have not modded a game before, be prepared for a lot of study to do it right. Trying to do it without really knowing what you are doing can lead to a lot of crashes and frustration. Even if you are familiar with how to mod a game, Oblivion is complex and quirky and a bit more difficult than other games.

In my opinion the results are worth it. But it all depends on how much time you are willing to spend learning how to mod Oblivion. If that is not something you want to do, then I would just stick with the PS3 version. But if you are willing to get your hands dirty, then the PC version has the potential to be leaps and bounds better. And I say "better" because it can be structured to suit your own personal tastes.

Adding mods isn′t too painful if you have little more than basic computer knowledge and read the Readme:s. Go for it!

I would agree with this if you are just going to install half a dozen or so fairly straightforward mods. But if that's all you are doing, then I'm not sure the PC version is all that much better than the PS3 version. Guess it depends on how important those few mods are to you.

But if you want to do an FCOM install or if you want to install a hundred or more mods even without FCOM, it takes a fair bit of know how and you can't learn it all from readmes.

When you have a heavy mod load there is a bunch of stuff you need to do to keep your game running. LAA, OSR, etc. My load order won't even run in certain areas (like the waterfront) without LAA enabled. If you pass through the loading screen between the waterfront and the City game will run out of memory and crash. LAA solves this but it can be tricky to figure out what files you need to apply it to and on steam there are special instructions you need to follow to keep LAA working because steams auto-update feature will remove it.

That's just one example of the stuff you have to worry about in a heavily modded game. You are bound to run into various conflict issues and will need to understand how Oblivion mods work and spend some time troubleshooting in order to straighten those issues out. It can be a lot of work to get a big load order under control.

There is always at least one or two active threads on the first page of the Oblivion mods forum of people whose game is crashing on them and they cannot figure out why. Somebody starts a new version of that thread every week or two. Lots of people are happy if they can play for an hour between crashes, and call that good enough. But you can get a stable load order for a heavily modded Oblivion if you work at it.

EDIT: I just want to make sure the OP has realistic expectations about modding. Either just install a few straightforward mods or be prepared to spend some effort getting your game to work right.

Hey thanks for the information!

Well, the mods I use basically just alter things that should have worked differently from the start, like being able to delete spells. I′d say that′s pretty important in a game where you can make literally hundreds of spells above the ones you can buy!

I also dislike having the FG porter follow me like a dog..

Seeing it is on sale for $12.50 for the GOTY deluxe edition which includes all the DLC, KOTN and Shivering Isles - even if you just want to play around with the Construction set to see what you can do with it makes it worth the investment.

There is no competition, the PC version is better in literally every way.