Rated 
Extensive RPG
Great Graphics, impressive draw distances, Lots of playtime and different things to do, Pretty good interface menu, Combat is fun, Fast Travel, Extensive character, customization, Good balance
Framerate issues, Radiant AI not so radiant, Can be buggy at times, Repetitive dialogue, Far off textures are not very impressive, Long loads at times
Posted Apr 20, 2006 - Currently I've clocked in around 9 hours in this game but I have a pretty good feel of the pros and cons present in the game. First off the graphics are pretty impressive and make good use of the 360's power. The quality is comparable to the PC version but is not quite like the PC version on max quality like the devs claimed. Despite the very long draw distances, the textures far off are noticeably unimpressive which provides an extremely disturbing contrast. My biggest gripe is with the framerate outside. Perhaps I've been spoiled by the smooth framerates in Call of duty but I expected it to run @30 FPS at least at all times. However in many locales outside I find myself with the FPS dropping where it's noticeable. The whole reason why I got this for the 360 was because of performance issues. My PC (3.2GHz, Geforce 6800 OC, 1GB Ram) did not run the game very well at all. The 360 version runs leaps and bounds better than my PC counterpart, but not quite as smooth as I hoped it would. Load times are actually longer than they were on the PC however which is disappointing. There is a trick to delete the cache which tends to get fragmented though by holding the A button (until the Bethesda logo shows up) when you turn on the 360. The devs hyped up Radiant AI as something so spectacular, but the NPCs in the game all seem rather stiff and have some particularly boring daily routines. All they do is walk around and stare at walls most of the time. Granted this is not suprising considering the vast game and the sheer # of characters in the game. However many NPCs in this game seem just like duplicates of others in other cities. The weakest point is probably in the dialog choices and I find myself being told the same lines by 10 different NPCs. However to their credit, every single character has voice overs... even if they are the same voices sometimes.... In the end the radiant AI fails to live up to expectations. The worst part is the persuasion mini game which is annoying and just silly. Apparently according to this game you have to try all 4 options in the wheel (Boast, Joke, Threaten, and Praise). Pretty crappy persuasion strategy if you ask me, especially if you learn what each NPC likes or dislikes. The combat of this game is rather simplistic. Basically for melee you have normal slashes, block, and 3 different power attacks based on what weapon you use. Spells are pretty straightforward. The hotkey selection wheel is awkward because it's tough to hit diagonals in the heat of battle with certainty, though it's not a very big deal. There's enough variation in characters to play this game through at least twice though. However with the length of the game as it is, that may take quite awhile. One of the most impressive aspects of this game is the sheer vastness of the world and things you can do. The best thing improved since Marrowind is the interface and especially the Quest management system. There's no guessing around and it's easy to select which quest to focus on. This is particularly important since you will be overwhelmed with multiple quests. The game maintains a good balance between being intimidatingly complex and too simple which is great. Some more hardcore gamers might be annoyed but hey... I don't play video games to micromanage millions of stats =p Being vast is one of the game's biggest double edged swords. To fill in the content you'll notice there is a ton of repetition. And despite being more unique than most rpgs in locales you can't help but get a sense of repetition gnawing away at you for awhile. However the game is completely open ended and you can play it however you like. This is one of the best deals around considering it will entertain you for hours (approaching MMORPG levels), yet you won't have to worry about any monthly fees. However it's very hard to ignore the technical issues at hand. Oh yeah plus there's no cats with guns or lightsabres =(
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