Oblivion

I've found that Oblivion has taken me right back to my days at Uni and the role playing games I used to take part in. Apart from a short Star Wars and Shadowrun, all were medieval fantasy settings (easier to cope with) although through various gaming systems (WHFRP, AF&F, plus one other really great system). The free-form aspects of deciding as a group what to do next, with a couple of great GMs to run things, were what made the games memorable. We weren't committed to "dungeon of the week" (although that was occasionally what we would do) and despite really throwing the GM a curve ball on what he thought we might be doing (and what he ha prepared!) we managed along well. Our various characters developed, grew old and in some cases died. Marcus, for instance, never did find the tattooed man that killed his father, but he did get close once or twice.

Musings aside, one of the reasons that I have never really gotten into RPG on computers is that they are so linear. Take Zelda, for instance. It's quite clear that you have to go into the first dungeon. You find one route through, and a boss at the end. Killing the boss gives you a juicy piece of kit that gives you access to a new area. And so on. Even games like Riven, the only ones I have really played, are linear really even if they don't always seem to be.

As I've said previously, I only ended up with Oblivion because a couple of store staff said it was the best of the games on offer with the console.

Once I realised that the game was free form and it really didn't matter in what order you do things (or even, ignoring the main quest completely, as I have so far done) I was right back to the those early days at Uni. I, or rather, Zauna the Imperial, can wander around to her hearts content. She can follow up that lead about the Forlorn Watchman and see what that is all about. She could case the weapons store in Bravil to see if it is worth breaking in later that night. Perhaps she might go and visit the ruins to the north of the town that she past whilst escaping from the City Watch last night. In fact, if that highwayman is still around, she could try and recover the money he stole from her.

She is a bit of a klutz, sometimes (after killing the first mate that attacked her without warning, Zauna stepped back and fell off the quayside. By the time she found a way back out of the water, there were two additional bodies alongside the mate that were nothing to do with her)

She's not always too bright (after using a sheep for target practice with the newly aquired bow, she didn't know that recovering the arrows would be considered illegal, or that there was a guard watching her - which led to the rather embarrassing "getting fined, arrested and locked up for doing something illegal with a dead sheep" episode).

However she is a dab-hand at putting together healing potions for sale, and has helped several people around the Empire even if only on the "my house was repossessed, is there anything you can do" variety, not the "save the Empire!" kind - although that comes later!

I've only been playing for 24 hours real-time, or several weeks game-time, and already Zauna is taking on her own personality. Sure, it's a result of my style of play (or lack thereof), but the class options she made (Knight) and star sign (Warrior) are influencing that.

Back to Zauna...I'm able to choose my own objectives, and work towards them. At the moment, I've decided to buy some real estate, so am working my way towards getting a house in the Waterfront. It's small; it's falling apart, sure. But it means I won't have to keep sneaking into those two empty houses where I know the owners are dead (and only one of those was directly my fault - he attacked me first!). I was going to continue further with the Fighters Guild, but I'm having more fun at the moment working my way up the Thieves Guild hierarchy. And there is still that ruin I spotted last night...but not before I return to the Stranger to get my forged letter to sort out that darned watchman, Lex.

Part of the fun I have found is in getting completely sidetracked by something that looks or sounds more interesting.

And like I said earlier, Zauna's character is developing, even giving me some ideas about her history, including why she was locked up in that cell in the first place...