Oblivion Oblivion Oblivion

Well... it's been a little while since I've update my blog but not much has gone on really.

Taken a bit of a break from Everquest 2 for a while to give Oblivion the time and dedication it deserves.

If you haven't played Oblivion... go out and buy it immediately. I don't think I've played such an truly immersive and completely absorbing game as this in a very (very long) time. The graphics are breathtaking (even before you download the player-made texture improvements), the Havok physics are amazing and the sheer level of detail in every aspect of the game is just awe inspiring. I'm not saying it's perfect... but it's close enough that you won't care!

The number of times I've found myself cackling away like a crazy man after shooting an arrow into a monster and paralyzing it... causing it to topple awkwardly (in whatever pose it held when the paralysis kicked in) down a hill or off of a cliff top. Or the tense moments just before I've picked the pocket of a count or guard captain. Or maybe it's the strange moment where you round a bend on your way to somewhere only to find a guard fighting several bandits that he's discovered on his patrol and wonder whether or not to get involved... and on which side! The number of times this game gives you cause to stop and think to yourself "how cool was that". And they just keep happening... and differently every time. Reload your save game and check for the patrolling guard fighting the bandits and this time the bandits are not there, or the guard has been jumped by a number of Oblivion dwellers and killed leaving the bandits to ambush you instead!

It's a little scary just how much time it absorbs (just take a look at my XFire profile) and I just have to be thankful that I have such a wonderful and understanding girlfriend.... Other than that, I’ve re-discovered books!!! That’s right… I do actually read as well as play games (shocking concept I know). I had lost my way a little after reaching 'A Crown of Swords', book seven of Robert Jordan’s ‘Wheel of Time’ series. It’s a good series… it’s just that after reading six books I was flagging a bit (although I’ve been assured by an number of people that it picks up again in book nine!). Almost by accident I started reading ‘Dragons of Autumn Twilight’ by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and I was reminded just how fantastic some novels can be. The fantasy setting isn’t to everyone’s taste (as with Oblivion) but the Dragon Lance Chronicles (of which this is book 1) are fantastic!