The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 Review

Common Sense Media says

A must-play RPG for mature fantasy fanatics.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

Find out more

Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Parents say

Kids say

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.

  • Not applicable.
  • 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.
  • Some suggestive themes in books and in some dialogue; players can be stripped down to underwear.

What's it about?

ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION is an ambitious single-player RPG epic that lets you create a hero from scratch and explore open-ended cities, dank dungeons, and heavily forested areas. The story begins as you escort the emperor of Tamriel (voiced by Patrick Stewart of Star Trek: The Next Generation and X-Men fame) through a labyrinth of underground caverns, but evil goblins kill him. Before he dies, however, he asks that you find the lost heir to the throne and help protect the land from the demons released from a hell-like plane called Oblivion. The game can be played from either a first- or third-person perspective: The former lets you see these worlds through the eyes of the main character; the latter view, while less immersive, allows you to see your character at all times, as well as what may be lurking behind you.


Is it any good?

 

Graphically speaking, Oblivion is a treat for the eyes on both the PC and Microsoft Xbox 360 versions. From the lifelike towns and rural areas to the creepy enemies and special magic effects, the game easily outshines its predecessors. Another visual delight is the game's real-life physics, such as seeing a store sign sway back and forth after you shoot an arrow into it, and then being able to remove the arrow to reuse it later. The only unimpressive effect is the character lip-synching that doesn't seem to match their words, but it hardly dampens the otherwise awe-inspiring experience.

Oblivion successfully straddles quantity and quality; this groundbreaking fantasy RPG not only offers a huge game world in which to live in for months on end, but it also proves to be one of the finest role-playing games ever crafted.


Sign Up Message
Sign up for our weekly newsletter
Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.
Please enter an email address.
Please check your email address for possible typos.
Sorry, you must be 13 or older to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Sign me up!

What families can talk about

Families can talk about why fantasy role-playing games are so appealing. Is it because the game presents a world so different than ours? Is it because you can become someone completely different? What about your special powers? Families might also discuss how kids feel about playing in such a huge world with so many characters and missions.


This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Teen, 15 years old
December 28, 2009
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
July 9, 2009
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
March 22, 2011
 
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."

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
September 5, 2010
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of 4 year old
January 18, 2011
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
July 4, 2009
 
oblivion
Really fun game

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
October 8, 2010
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
July 30, 2010
 
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

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 14 years old
May 28, 2011
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
February 2, 2011
 
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.

Flag as inappropriate 

This review was written by Marc Saltzman
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Role Playing
Developer:Take Two
Release date:March 21, 2006
Price:$49.99
ESRB rating:M for language, sexual themes, use of alcohol, violence, blood and gore

This review was written by Marc Saltzman

Contact us to give us more feedback on our learning ratings.

 

Review It

Share your review with others

Hang on! You need to be a member to post your review.
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines.

Tell us what you think about our new Learning Ratings. We value your feedback.


About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

Great alternatives handpicked by our editors

 

vote now

Will you play The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion?


Already played it? What do you think?

 

Been There? Tell us about it