I can't believe they promoted this game as being an Oblivion killer!! The voice acting in this game is more pathetic than a childs anime show, it was just so forced out that you couldn't believe a thing they say. The story had potential but ended up being so vague and empty. Essentially there is 1 component to the plot, find 5 pieces of some mystical thing. Once I'd levelled up sufficiently I found all 5 pieces within a matter of maybe 2hrs. The armour is useless, once you get past leather and into heavy armour you can forget about dual-weapons, archery and swimming. Humanoid enemies are stupid and weak and offer no challenge. The only really strong enemies are these giant bug things that are insanely hard to kill. Although you get to stack items (add 2 of the same item to make a stronger item) it gets frustrating since there's like 30 variations on each item and the slightest difference will prevent them from stacking. Horse riding was impossible to enjoy, the steering was delayed, stopping took forever and fighting on horseback was not as effective as the tips suggest. Given the time since Oblivion was released I expected this game to have improved on the environmental graphics… I was disappointed AGAIN

The one thing I did like about this game is the wide variety of environments, from the typical forests to deserts, bamboo patches and the usual volcanic desolation you'd expect from stereotype orcs.

My advice, avoid this game altogether. Go buy Oblivion GOTY edition and get 200hrs of play out of a great game with none of the issues this pile of crap suffers from.

Initially, this game rubbed me the wrong way: right from the get-go, as a NZ gamer you have to download a region fix to get the game to load after installation. Ouch.

That done and in the game, the voice acting immediately grated on my nerves, with lots of ‘thees’ ‘thines’ and 'forsooth's scat­tered awkwardly throughout conversation, while in contrast some of the characters you meet really do seem brash/old/sinister and really fit the part despite ye olde handicap. The 3rd-person perspective baffled me as well, but it is clear why they decided to go with this by default: it's much easier to manage fighting and travel.

You will routinely find yourself fighting upwards of three opponents at a time, and I found combat to be great fun. Depending on the arc of your chosen weapon, you can hit more than one enemy at a time, and dual-wielding makes you an impressive whirlwind of pain, despite the odds. There are three types of combat damage: Blunt, Slashing and Piercing, which can be combined on certain types of melee weapons, and even arrows can have any one of these attributes. Bludgeoning arrows? Why not!

I'm still playing the game, and looking forward to the 1.6 patch which can only make things better. It has a lot of heart and soul put into it, and to me, closely achieves what Oblivion did with what I imagine was not even half the budget. There's plenty to do; lots of shiny gear to collect, baddies to kill, skills to learn (which can be reset for a price), and pretty scenery to enjoy. It takes getting used to, which the instant-fix gamer may frown upon, but if you persevere you'll find a rewarding single-player experience at it's core.

Be warned, you need an internet connection to register the game otherwise you have to register over the phone. Internet worked fine for me. Kiwis beware. The game will not run if you have your computer set to the NZ region and Time Zone. I had to impersonate an Aussie to get the game to run. Very stupid. Type the error message into google to get instructions if you can’t do that.

Game is very similar to Oblivion, outdoor graphics are very similar, but I found the indoor graphics sometimes lacking.

Game is easier in comparison to Oblivion and I found it easier to get into to. I got the Collectors edition of this game which comes with a set of armour and a sword which you can get by typing in a code. The bonus stuff is way too overpowered at the start of the game and makes it a far too easy. I imagine the game would be a lot harder with out it.

I am having fun with the game.