You start off in a prison cell, and are then released by the Emperor due to his trust in you. You are quickly introduced into the game’s battle system as you move yourself through a labyrinth of dark prison tunnels, fighting off large sewer rats and assassins, whose intention is to spill the blood of the Emperor of Tamriel. The battle system itself is indeed improved over Morrowind but that’s not exactly saying much. The combat melee system used to wield various swords, axes, and hammers is still a very simple one. To most gamers, this is a great characteristic, since a complicated battle system isn’t one that lends itself well to newcomers or casual gamers, but for those more experienced gamers who’ve played as a fair number of sword-wielding heroes -- Oblivion’s melee system may just seem bland and awfully repetitive as the same two or three animations are repeated each time you swing one of the game’s many melee weapons. However, I do like that you could deflect the attacks of sword wielding-foes without having a shield in hand, but by just using the sword itself. This is rather effective, especially when larger blades require the use of both hands to wield.

The game, according to another of SPOnG’s RPG-fanatic friends, is “...so much more than ‘the sequel to Morrowind’ – it should be billed as the next Half Life 2… It’s a bloody monster. Forget Shadow of the Colossus. Just look at this game and Sony’s effort really does pale into insignificance in comparison in terms of pure aesthetic beauty of the gameworld. And the fact that it’s also coming out on 360 should really hopefully make it appeal to a much wider group of people than RPG’s traditionally do.”

The quest pointer on my compass pointed me in the direction of a small town outside of the city, containing a Mage’s Guild that might have a knowledgeable herbalist who could help me. I made a point to avoid the fast travel option for this, firstly because I had been in the city all this time and wanted to explore the wilderness on the way to the town and secondly because I had been in the city all this time and was totally hankering for a fight! After killing a few bandits and some rats, I spotted a deer crossing the mountain path. Perhaps it was because I waited too long, or perhaps it was because I was a hulking warrior with no stealth ability to speak of, but the deer bounded off as soon as I unshouldered my bow. I tried to give chase but lost it and, in my excitement, shot what I thought might be a critter, and turned out to be a mushroom.

The four hours I spent playing Oblivion only scratches the surface of the vast wilderness. According to Take Two's Adrian Lawton, the game takes around 20-30 hours to complete, if you ignore all the side quests and concentrate on the main mission, or around 200 hours if you were to complete every quest. This doesn’t include the time spent trotting around on a horse exploring the environment, bartering with the locals for the best deals, mixing new spells with your pestle and mortar, slaying wolves and bear cubs deep in the forest, or standing on a hill-top gawping, as I did, at the spectacular views across the city – the possibilities are vast and time won't even exist once you become immersed in this epic journey.