A perilous hero is what is needed, and Oblivion has plenty of options for creating just such an avatar. At the start of the game, the player will choose his or her race as well as what the character should look like. There are ten races to choose from in Oblivion: Imperial, Breton, Nord, Redguard, High Elf, Dark Elf, Wood Elf, Orc, Khajiit, and Argonian. Their differences will be revealed when you're forced to decide which race is for you, and of course, certain races combined with certain classes divided by specific abilities equals tons of possible choices. After you've chosen your race, you just start playing. No long-winded introductions, no lectures pertaining to what does what; just play. "We want you to try different types of weapon, magic, stealth gameplay...basically get a good feel for how you want to play the game," Hines says. After a short while, you'll get to further customize your character by choosing your birth sign, through which certain perks and/or abilities will become available to you.