The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is less a videogame and more a life in and of itself. The longer I’m away from it the more I come to appreciate it. Few games have that effect on us and those that do are one thing above all else: unique. Oblivion is every bit a unique experience. It’s the best 360 game this released, one of the best PC games in existence and arguably one of the best RPGs ever made.

The graphics, on the other hand, are hard to rank as anything less than amazing, as long as you have the horsepower to render them. My poor machine, which was more than capable this time last year, can manage good framerates if I kiss many of the best features good bye. I'm still able to enjoy the experience and marvel, as it certainly looks good, but those who have the powerhouse video cards and sent-by-a-rich-angel processors will find some of the best lighting, texturing, and modeling around. Screenshots simply can't express it, but when these graphical elements all come together, they make a coupling that's a step past eye-catching. Shadows and light beams bend around foliage and into windows, surfaces reflect images in the most pleasing way I've seen in ages, grass blows around the landscape. It's a real world for once, not just a set of polygons stuck together, pretending to be one. The facial animations have come eons from Morrowind's often-criticized chunky skulls and unanimated lips to looking — especially at the best settings — as close to real as anything has yet.