Even in 2015, Oblivion is still my favorite game to play, even over Skyrim. Playing as the Hero of Kvatch, Champion of Cyrodil, Arch-Mage, Gray Fox, The listener, The Master, whatever, you seek to save Tamriel from the threat of the daedric prince of destruction, Mehrunes Dagon, and his cult, the Mythic Dawn.
Story:
The story of this game is, to me, superior to Skyrim's. Skyrim's story is basically an evil dragon comes to kill everyone. Oblivion's story, however, is about a hero and the long lost son of an emperor who fight to defeat a powerful, immortal, god that seeks to invade the world with armies of demonic soldiers.
You, the person/elf/monster who saved a city under siege, must travel through dungeons and hordes of enemies to save Tamriel from this dark threat. I won't go into it in detail, as to refrain from spoiling it. :-)
Out of ten, i rate the story 7.
Weapons, Armour & Magic
The weapons in this game are cool. Well, most of them. Ranging from common iron material to metal forged in the heart of hell, at higher levels you can stop being afraid of the creepy zombies, and smack them promptly in the face with an axe.
Some armour is made from the same material as weapons (iron, steel, elven, etc.) but most is made from other materials, such as leather, fur, chain, mithril, and more, but the most intimidating set is daedric armour, which is also forged in hell. Overall, the armour design for most of the sets are very cool, but a couple, like orcish in my opinion, looks rather strange. Overall, I rate the OBLIVION armour a modest 7.
Magic
Now, onto my favorite parts of any RPG (well, most). Magic. There is a huge range of spells you can learn, ranging from electrocuting opponents with a touch or temporarily removing their ability to move.
While not looking as impressive as Skyrim's magic, it is certainly more useful. Say you are a warrior stranded on a desert island wearing heavy armour. Not good. But if you're a mage on the other hand, you can simply cast a spell to walk on water. Defiantly my favorite way to play. Tip: Even if you are a warrior, I advise to keep a few basic spells with you.
Overall rating for magic: 9
Enemies
There is a wide range of enemies in oblivion, from rats to goblins, to necromancers to liches.
The only problem with Oblivion's enemy system is that the opponents level with you. So if you play on max or near max difficulty, a lich will kill you at level 40 with ridiculous ease. Other than that, the models are good, the animations are good too, and the sound effects are amazing.Overall, I rate the enemies a 7.
Boss Level Enemies
There are several boss level enemies in Oblivion. Some of them are, Goblin Warlords, Liches, Xivalai, Dremora Lords, Necromancer & Conjurer Adepts, and Minotaur Lords. There is much to say about these enemies, other than that at higher levels they can be formidable opponents.I rate bosses a 8.
Factions
The major join-able factions are the Mages Guild (Arcane University) The fighters guild, The thieves guild,The dark brotherhood (Assassins guild) and the arena. Minor factions include the knights of the nine, the mythic dawn, the imperial legion, and the knights of the white stallion.The quest lines of the major factions include an ancient necromancer seeking to invade the world, a blackmailing company, and an unknown traitor in the midst of your friends.These factions are considerably longer than Skyrim's, in which they promote you to Arch-Mage in about two hours.The story-lines of these factions are believable, and not completely random, like The Companions in Skyrim. Overall, i rate the factions in Oblivion a 9.
Role Play Aspect
The Role- Play is (obviously) the most important aspect of any good RPG. And oblivion's certainly lives up to its standards.The wide range of weapons, magic, clothes, and factions allows you to really embrace the RPG element in this game. For instance, you can Role Play as a savage barbarian, by wearing fur armour, wield a heavy hammer and camp on top of snowy mountains, or maybe you fancy yourself as a dark mage, which you RP as by wearing Black robes, summoning un-dead and demons, or maybe creating foul poisons, and join the dark brotherhood.The RP aspect of oblivion is very good, and really deserves the 9 I am going to give it.
Environments and Dungeons
The environments in oblivion are mostly bright and cheery, unlike the glum and forlorn image of it's successor, Skyrim. Consisting of green forests, shiny lakes, and towering shrines, the land of Cyrodil is a lovely place. often you might find deer hopping around hills, or mountain lions sleeping in the grass. The dungeons, however, are the opposite of bright and cheery. Often littered with bones and skulls, dungeons are rather creepy places to be. to add to the effect, the in-game music that plays is creepy too. The dungeons have a number of inhabitants, such as goblins, bandits, or even just rats Also, if you're a little low on money, explore a dungeon! There's plenty of treasure to be found!Overall, I rate environments and dungeons in oblivion a big fat 10.
Graphics
There's not much to say in this section. The graphics in this game are pretty much as good as you can get for a 2006 game. And, for some strange reason, I prefer these graphics to Skyrim's more realistic ones.Overall, I give the graphics a 8 for effort.
Cities, Villages, and NPC's
There are a good few cities in Oblivion, including the Capital of Cyrodil and home of the emperor, the imperial city.Each city has its own story, and, more importantly, a unique feel. For example, Chorrol has the feeling of a wealthy city, full of kind and rich NPC's,while Bravil is built mostly of wood, and gives the feel of a poor city, where thieves reign.
Also, Villages also have a unique story and feel. A good example is hackdirt. If you want to read up on the history of this interesting but depressing village, here's the link.
Oblivion:Hackdirt - UESPWiki - Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages
Next and finally, NPC's.
Each NPC has their own story and needs. Some are rich, some poor, but all have at least some backstory
to them. not much else to say. I rate the Villages, Cities, and NPC's a 9.
Overall, Oblivion is my favorite, but not perfect game I have ever played. The story is good, the characters, the enemies, and the cities all give a great feel. There is at least a few months worth of content in this amazing game, and if you ever see it in shop's I advise you buy it.