BioShock & The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Bundle – 360 – Review

There are times when a game comes
along and manages to revolutionize the genre, and inspire many games to come. Two recent games that accomplished this are The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and BioShock, both of which managed to receive unanimous critical acclaim, and
became instant classics. Now, gamers that missed these amazing games have been
given a second chance, in the form of a bundle. Bundled games aren’t anything
new for the gaming industry, but rarely are two games of this caliber brought
together; each were great when they released, but have they aged well?

The answer to that question would be
a resounding Yes. In fact, BioShock looks better than many new titles I’ve
played recently, Oblivion’s vast landscapes look just as stunning as they did
when I first experienced them in 2006, though they really can’t stand up
graphically to BioShock. One of my major gripes about Oblivion when it first
came out remains an issue today: the people. The character models are stiff as
cardboard, which makes conversing with them awkward, and the dialogue can get
very repetitive at times. Sometimes the overacting in the dialogue and the
character stiffness made for some very dull moments where you just want to skip
the dialogue and continue on with the story. BioShock however, does not have
this problem. Actually, the character models and dialogue are one of the game’s
strongest assets. The voice acting is never cheesy, and the character models
look great and, more importantly, lively.

So they look great, but do they
still play as well as we remember? That too, would be a deep, booming Yes. BioShock’s intuitive controls, weapon upgrading, and plasmid combat are just as
fun as those who’ve played the game remember. Oblivion’s gameplay, while not as
intuitive, is still very engaging and rarely frustrating. Occasionally, while
playing Oblivion I would get lost, or a character that was supposed to be
following me would get stuck on a world object, or (and this happened more
often) I would accidentally anger a guard who would immediately try to kill me
with a persistent bloodlust one rarely sees in a game. If you haven’t played
Oblivion before there’s one thing you need to remember: do not touch other
people’s horses. People don’t like it when you touch their horses.

One of BioShock’s strongest features
is its soundtrack, which varies between heartbreaking, to terrifying, to
haunting. It knows when it needs to be unobtrusive, and when it needs to be in
your face. The amazing score is matched only by the game’s spectacular voice
work and sound effects. Setting Splicers aflame, throwing them against walls
with the always fun telekinesis plasmid, firing the wide array of weapons,
everything sounds great. If you haven’t heard already, BioShock has a pretty
good story. Even if you’re not a fan of first person shooters (FPS), or you
don’t like scary(ish) games, this is one of the finest story-driven games you’ll
ever play, guaranteed.

Oblivion is no slouch either in the
sound and story departments. For some odd reason I’m especially fond of the
sound my weapon makes when I sheath it, but all of the foley in the game is
extremely well done. As I said earlier, the voice work could use some
improvement, and it wouldn’t be such a big issue if you weren’t constantly
talking to characters (as you usually do in RPGs). The dialogue is really
the only big issue I have with Oblivion, so it should in no way keep you from
wanting to experience this game. If you’re looking for a game with some serious
meat and depth to it, this is definitely the game for you as its single-player
campaign (with side quests included) can take more than 100 hours to complete. I
hope you have a lot of time on your hands, because that’s a lot of gaming.

This bundle really does cater to a
wide variety of gamers: those looking for a deep, non-linear fantasy RPG that
will require a lot of time to complete will love Oblivion, while those
looking for something a little more directed, terrific story-driven FPS will
more than enjoy BioShock and its abundance of hulking Big Daddies. In these
trying economic times good deals are hard to come by, so if you’re one of the
many gamers watching their wallets this isn’t something that should be
overlooked. For a very reasonable price you can get two of the best games this
generation has to offer.

Gameplay: 9.8
Both games have solid, polished
controls and highly addictive gameplay. Oblivion offers an epic story
(both in length and scale) that will take some serious dedication to complete
(even for the hardest of hardcore gamers). BioShock, while shorter in length,
has some of the most well-designed gameplay I’ve seen in a game this genreration.

Graphics: 9.2
BioShock remains as one of the most
beautiful games I’ve ever played; Oblivion looks great, but just can’t compare
to it visually.

Sound: 9.6
BioShock’s score is haunting, and
provides the perfect backdrop to the underwater world of Rapture; Oblivion’s
score is equally great though the dialogue can get a bit monotonous.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Both games require a certain level
of skill to be beaten, but they’re never frustrating.

Concept: 9.8
These two games contrast each other significantly, but each title has a unique
look, feel and setting. BioShock has it all: the hulking guardians that wander
around the broken city of Rapture, the malicious Splicers that want nothing more
then to rip you apart, and the best part, the desolate underwater city of
Rapture. Oblivion’s world is much different, the expansive landscapes of
Cyrodiil are filed with dungeons, secrets, and dangers, and you’ll have to
discover and endure them all as you go about your quest to save the world from
the spreading darkness.

Overall: 9.5
Not since The Orange Box have gamers
been given a deal as good as this; for a reasonable price you can get two truly
amazing and innovative games, each of which managed to revolutionize their
respective genres.