Oblivion Or Skyrim

Oblivion Or Skyrim

Oblivion had, compared to Skyrim at least, a much more varied and interesting quest line-up. More backstories, objectives, and just sheer personality – that makes it appealing to genre-fans that like to get as immersed in a game world as possible. Side missions and monsters had a little more variety as well, not to mention the map itself. The two Elder Scroll games on console are of course, Oblivion and Skyrim. Although being Skyrim's predecessor and releasing five years prior, Oblivion still holds up as an amazing game today – and even does many things better than it's newer brother.

It's a topic that always raises hackles – Is game X better than game Y? Immediately, a dozen gamers will jump to each game's defence, and probably rightfully so. Every game has good and bad aspects – even if the only good aspect is just how hilariously bad it is.
Unfortunately, the love/hate debate isn't as easy for Skyrim and Oblivion. Both games have strengths and weaknesses, and equally strong fan-bases. Instead of simply saying one is better than the other, it makes more sense to compare to whom and why the game appeals.
Oblivion had, compared to Skyrim at least, a much more varied and interesting quest line-up. More backstories, objectives, and just sheer personality – that makes it appealing to genre-fans that like to get as immersed in a game world as possible. Side missions and monsters had a little more variety as well, not to mention the map itself. Oblivion tried to do much more than Skyrim in terms of sheer world building and for many that had huge appeal.

Now, Skyrim definitely has the better graphics. Oblivion was first released in 2006, Skyrim in 2011. No surprise there. For gamers that favour graphics, Skyrim would be the better choice in that regard. In a direct comparison, Oblivion can't hold a candle to Skyrim which is an issue for many who want to be visually immersed in a world. This especially applies to newer gamers. Skyrim makes for a lovely entry into the world of RPGs, with a wide sprawling world that really feels alive. It is comparatively easy to play and grasp, while also offering activities that suit almost any player type so a great way to get started. That being said, the many, many dungeons of Skyrim tend to fall into one of two categories: Nord gave site or dwemer ruin. With few exceptions, they all feel the same after a while, despite the puzzles involved in solving them.
If you play mostly for the quests, Oblivion would be the game for you. Particularly when it comes to faction quests, like the mages college in Skyrim. Oblivion had more variation to these storylines, as well as filling the world with interesting places. Towns in particular are not fleshed out very well in Skyrim. Gimp and paint net. This is in part explained due to the cold and inhospitable nature of the place, but that still doesn't make it any more fun to play.
Oblivion had properly populated towns with dozens of NPCs going about their business. Just the Imperial City had more going on than pretty much all of Skyrim's capitals combined. Many of those can be described with '15 buildings within a fence', even if the town is supposed to be a major trading hub, like Whiterun or Morthal. The lack of l general activity and variety means that many Skyrim towns just feel flat in comparison to the rest of the world.

When it comes to actual gameplay though, Skyrim has the upper hand: Controls, combat and freedom of movement are greatly improved compared to Oblivion. This, again, makes it more appealing to newbies and casual gamers. Tough controls aren't really appealing to most people, and most people expect modern games to have learned from past mistakes. The same improvement level goes for the skill trees. With the expansion packs and the vampire skill tree, the system got a little more complicated in Skyrim; however, the simplicity of actually applying points, coupled with the possible variety of skills made the system near revolutionary.

That being said, no real strategy was required here to build a good character. The skill trees are all perks and abilities, and the only actual stats are health, magicka and endurance. It's almost impossible to put stat points into the wrong place, but as a result do the choices don't really have a lot of overall impact. Early on in Oblivion though, players could found that they would profit strongly from a +5 in endurance. However, if they stacked points in just one stat alone, further down the line they would end up with near unbeatable difficulty. It required thought and planning to build a viable character that could survive and see quests through to the end.
Classes were also better balanced in Oblivion. None were overpowered compared to the others, although many players have at least one archer. A mage or warrior was a personal choice, rather than a massive advantage one way or the other. Skyrim saw the rise of stealth based characters, who could one-shot most threats before the action took off.

Oblivion has, as mentioned, the advantage in all things quest related. From a better main quest-line to appropriate faction quests that don't involve thieves clobbering draugr. Skyrim's quests seem to consist mainly of fetch-quests – at least that's what it feels like to most. Many elements of Skyrim were designed to appeal to a broader audience. It worked, but it didn't make everyone in the Elder Scrolls fan base very happy.

Speaking of TES fans, many will probably point out that Morrowind (released in 2002) was a great TES game as well. Despite it being 15 years old, it still has many dedicated fans. With graphic mods its outdated feel can be changed to something most players can still enjoy. It incorporates more of the ‘typical' RPG experience than either Oblivion or Skyrim, both of which are more action focussed. One thing is sure though: Both Oblivion and Skyrim easily beat Morrowind when it comes to combat!
To sum it up, the pros and cons of both Skyrim and Oblivion:

Skyrim- Pros