The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows)
common sense media says
A must-play RPG for mature fantasy fanatics.
parents & educators say
- 26% say there are positive messages
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this role-playing game isn't appropriate for younger players because of violence and gore, strong language, use of alcohol, and sexual references. For instance, any enemy you slash with a sword will bleed, and you see corpses. When it comes to alcohol, gamers' characters can consume wine or ale and experience its effect, such as increased fatigue or decreased intelligence. Sexual references are mostly in books or in dialogue, but most players' characters in this world can be stripped down to their underwear.
Educational value:
Not applicable.
Violence:
While typical for this type of game, creatures and NPCs (non-player characters) can be hit with weapons and will bleed and die. Corpses are shown.
Sex:
Some suggestive themes in books and in some dialogue; players can be stripped down to underwear.
Language:
Players may hear curse words such as "damn", "hell," or "whore."
Consumerism:
Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Characters can drink alcohol, but negative effects will likely kick in, such as fatigue.
More on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Review It
Most useful reviews by all members
Tyler Sutherland
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Epic.
I can honestly say that this may be the best RPG game ever created. Now i play this game simply because of such. Yes the game has an overly huge amount of sexual themes, if you play it enough. The PC version can be modded to become an interactive Sexual game... Go figure. The game is entirely about violence, but I'm sure the parents won't let their kids play anything they aren't positive they can handle. Now I rated this simply on what i found in the game to what most parents would deem appropriate. Due to modern day society, kids are bound to be introduced to the sexual world by age 12, unless you completely safeguard them. Violence is all around us, so i don't find that to bad. The only reason I'm allowed to play is I'm far to mature for my age group, I'm Gifted, and I know when to stop.
But hey, what does a 13 Year old's intuitive thoughts mean anything to the world.
Just as proof that i do play, i uploaded a picture of my character to my profile if you wanna check it out. I had to black out a large portion of it because of the intense graphics. I hope my ideas will help one of you some day.
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bethesda softward
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Try to avoid the PC version.
People obviously don't understand. Do your research on forums and other things and you will find the answer as to why the game is rated M by the ESRB. The game is rated M due to mods on the PC version. It was originally shipped as rated T for Teen, and if you got one of those versions, you would see it on the box. The version for the PC did NOT ship with a modding program, but one was released immediately after. Bethesda originally had planned to have nudity, and some of the most popular mods exposed the nudity Bethesda had in the game. The game was later rated M for this specific reason. Not only that but later mods increased this, including the sexual acts of Masturbation, actual sex, and for women, breast enlargement mods. I recommend that if you get this game, do not get it for the PC. If you do, only allow your children to use tesnexus* if they want mods for the game, as this restricts access to adult content unless you register and are 18 or older. The game also has many good role models that help the main character along in the game. The game is horribly easy when you start, and, depending on how you play, can get even easier. It has a positive message and it's basically "Do what is asked of you."
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p1ng m3
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
very good game
This game is really fun. Its about trying to close the gates of Oblivion (hell) to save the world of Tamriel. Not really bad. There is an assassins guild(the dark brotherhood) which u get paid to kill people. You can see blood on grass and walls plus you get to move bodies but overall i say if the kid is mature enough to play t games then he can play this. btw this game is only rated M cause a perverted guy made a shirtless female mod for the pc version.
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Mibb2
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
When you first look at my review you probably think that I am stupid kid because I ranked it more inappropriate then many other members, as well as my concerns and highlights are clearly conflicting.
I did this on purpose because 95% of this game is very teen worth. 13+ easily. But the rare 5% of the places in the game are very disturbing. You cannot control where your children go and it is very addicting so you should assume that your children will explore everywhere and go to these places.
For example, In Leyawiin's Castle you can discover a secret room (as a part of a quest or just exploring) that the countess likes to torture a specific race. You see a table with shackles and blood as well as other instruments that are used for torturing purposes.
Overall, this is the best game you are likely to play for the next few years and the vast majority of the game is appropriate for teens of all ages, but the rare parts of the game are not appropriate for younger teens.
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Tommy from NY
adult
adult
This game is very good. The language used has an occasional b...., but the if you dont look for them you might miss it. The game is violent, with blood and gore. The bodies remain. The highlights: if you do a bad thing, like steal or murder, you will get a bounty for it. (AKA the guards want you) This game teaches good lessons, but is violent and occasionally scary.
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kcgunesq
parent of 4 year old
parent of 4 year old
Great game, with a few considerations for pre-tweens.
The optional "Dark Brotherhood" quest line is the darkest part of the game and really adds little overall. Except for DB, players characters can play rather virtuously.
Violence is not especially graphic.
Although alcohol is available, it is not glamorized or prominent. There is very little reason to drink it in the game and it has negative consequences. One can easily complete the entire game without drinking, as far as I recall. Alcohol only enters the game in that players may find bottles of wine or beer and it can be sold along with other found items to merchants for money.
Although most characters can be stripped to underwear, this is only possible on NPC and only after they are "dead". It is not provocative or lurid. It occurs as a process of taking the armor or clothing.
Language is overall, quite mild.
"Bad" behavior has in-game consequences and treating people nicely is often rewarded.
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BmwZelda7878
teen, 14 years old
teen, 14 years old
Mature or not
this game really depends on how mature you are. I am 13 and play this game all the time its one of my favorites. Each kid has there own level of matureity and this game depends on that more than preceise age.
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flarez77
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
oblivion
Really fun game
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Oblivion lover434
adult
adult
perfet game for kids +12
I think its a good game. it has its flaws like: you can kill almost everythin and everyone and there is drinking but not very much and they swear very little like they might say h*ll or b*stard or d*mn
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jumphop
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Oblivion! Yes!
Oblivion yes! I have this game on the xbox 360 and know a number of glitches. This game is not very violent and is the perfect teen fantasy game. I play Fable but I've never liked an RPG as much as oblivion. Easy game-play mechanics, awesome graphics, and a story that will keep you hooked for hours on end. (There is also a way to turn off blood!)
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DKR725
adult
adult
The REAL review of TES4
Okay, here is the honest truth about this game, it's amazing. As for content, I laugh at the fact that the game is rated M. Especially since "Blood and Gore" are labeled on the game package. The reason for this is that the blood that you see in the game is so mild, it resembles that of a T rated game. There is some mild language and innuendos along the way, but it is pretty hard to find them. The most important part of my review, is to let other parents understand something they most likely did not know: Oblivion was originally rated T, but later was changed to M on account of "mods" made by a third party hacker which had nothing to do with the game itself, which added intense blood and gore and nudity to the game. Basically, if you simply buy the game in a store, you will be purchasing a T rated game with an M rated label.
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Juggernaut93
adult
adult
Good fantasy rpg
Oblivion is a game I own and enjoy, but it may be difficult for parents to decide whether it is kid-friendly. This is because of the sheer scope of the game. You can do almost anything. It is fully possible to charge through the streets, cutting down everyone in sight, although you will be pursued by guards and law enforcement agents if you do. Or you can be a perfectly righteous crusader for justice. The number of possibilities is nearly infinite. Some things that are constant are:
Violence. Usually, the violence in Oblivion is rather mild, no dismemberment or head-chopping, they just fall down, with small amounts of blood. However, there are some fairly disturbing things. When the player encounters zombies, they are VERY disturbing looking. They look like a human than has been fed through a wood-chipper, and then haphazardly put back together. They are stark naked (although partially skeletal, so no real nudity is shown) they do however, show lungs, intestines, and occasionally exposed brains. Similarly mutilated corpses can be found in the lairs of necromancers and other monsters. As for sex, there really is none, except the occasional mild innuendo. You have the choice, after killing a foe, to take all of their armor, leaving them only in underwear. No nudity. Language wise, it's seldom encountered, with the worst word being d***. I would recommend this game for tweens and up, if they can handle some of the more disgusting monsters.
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ZephyrzInferno
parent of 2 and 11 year old
parent of 2 and 11 year old
Why is this rated M?
I can't for the life of me figure out why this is rated M. The only possible down side to this game is the blood, which is not gratuitous or that you can fight humans. The deaths are not gory and are usually a result of self defense. We have a strict no M game for kids in our house, but I really think this should have been rated T. I put in 200+ hours into this game and think it's one of the best RPGs for modern gaming systems.
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GorbiJones
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
This review is inaccurate.
First of all, do any of you remember when Oblivion first released? Remember what letter it had on it. That's right, a "T", not an "M". The only reason they changed it to an "M" rating was because of a user-created mod that allowed for topless women. User-created. As in, not enabled by the developers. Since the 360 and PS3 versions of the game do not allow players access to user-created mods, they should technically still be rated Teen.
Likewise, the violence isn't that bad! Things bleed a little, but it's not like arms are viscerally sliced off or goblins are brutally decapitated. All they do is bleed. You have a little blood on the ground and on your sword, and the corpse is in perfect condition. No cuts, scrapes, bruises, or breaks. The only time things get a bit grisly is when you encounter zombies, who are mutilated a bit, but not terribly.
The sexual content, though it does exist in-game, is only referenced. There is no actual sex in the game. At the most, people just sleep in the same bed. Fully clothed! They're not even under the blanket! Besides, the references are nothing teenagers haven't already been exposed to at this point in their life. Pretty much all of them have already had The Talk. The majority of the drugs is one called "Skooma". It is barely mentioned in the game, and there are maybe two quests that directly have to with it.
In closing, Oblivion is a fantastic RPG for teenagers of all kinds. The review found here gives no almost no info regarding these topics, simply saying, "there is sexual content" or something wooden like that. Thank you for your time.
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Sangel123
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
While violent, it's still a good game
While this rpg is very violent the plot is to save the world from these aliens that are trying to kill everybody. You start off trying to save the emperor but you fail and he tells you to find his heir and "shut close the jaws of oblivion". It depends on the choices your child makes in this game. If they kill somebody they can join a guild of assassins but if they become a good fighter they can become a sort of guard of the city and rescue people that are being attacked by ogres or such. If you play with them or watch them play and make sure they make good choices it should be fine
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Seto007
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Pretty Much the Greatest game on Next Gen Consoles yet!
Just like Fallout 3, this is a magical type of game that you can play for many hours and never be bored.
While it is quite Violent, but not TOO much gore, other than the environment of the Fighting Arena, It isn't bad enough to be an M rated game. It should have been its original Teen rating.
The only thing I have to say about sexuality is one particular Book, which is EXTREMELY suggestive.
Language can somethimes be innapropriate, but not enogh to complain about, and you have the option to drink.
I have tried hard to try to find something bad about this game, but cannot. The combat, the spells, the massive area, and the amazing way to play as YOU and not what the game wants you to be, makes it a must buy. And at the amazing 20$ price, there is no reason to object.
5/5
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ACDude800
teen, 18 years old
teen, 18 years old
Great game, but iffy for younger players
I was 12 when I played this the first time and, quite frankly, there were parts of it that scared me to death. The creepy caves still freak me out, though the main areas are a joy to explore. Be warned that the violent content includes blood (which can be disabled in-game on the PC version only) and decaying corpses (which cannot be disabled other than through modification of the game files), as well as total freedom, meaning you can murder whoever you like, sometimes for profit. The sexual content is mild, save a woman who owns an inn on the bay and "reserves her beds for seamen" (cough, cough); she can be seen entering the locked rooms of all her tenants at night. However, getting inside the room reveals that she's simply sleeping beside them rather than actually having sex with them, though the implications are clear. This inn may not even be entered by the player. Finally, to clear up the ESRB rating confusion, the game was originally rated T but increased to M after release. This was done not because someone made nude skins, but because someone made an unofficial patch that unlocked nude (read: topless female) skins that came with the game that were otherwise unaccessible. The ESRB also felt that the game was more violent than the developers showed in their presentation. Unofficial mods (PC-only) can also be pornographic in content, so be careful what your children download; don't ban mods outright, as some of them are perfectly fine, but look at what they have installed.
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allen112
teen, 14 years old
teen, 14 years old
Amazing
this game is amazing. On the pc version you can take the blood off.
You can be a good person or bad person but either way in the main quest you save the world. This game came out as t but it was changed because of mods. I think that this game should be rated t
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Plague
parent
parent
Oblivion
Aside from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Oblivion (along with the 2 other expansions) has to be one of the greatest games I have ever played. The graphics are simply breathtaking and the battle sequences are fantastic. I also love that you have an entire province to explore, and many places to find. Even thought the main quest is quite short, the many different side quests are really great. The only thing I didn't like is that they didnt put spears in the game.
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gamerhead
kid, 13 years old
kid, 13 years old
Epic Adventure
Now so I dont waste your time with this reveiw about the age part I'll go ahead and tell you why its rated M because on the PC version there was a mod to play as a topless woman. Now for you who want my opinion. This game is pretty darn good. Its easier to play than Elder Scroll games before and has many hours of content. I still have alot to explore and sidequests to complete and with Skyrim coming this year im pumped. This is definitely a game 11 year olds should be able to play.
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