Game of the Year 2006 Awards

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC Xbox360)

If you’ve played Morrowind, you’ll know that this game has done justice to its legacy. The gameplay is simple enough for even non-RPGers to enjoy, while the first/third person perspective and real-time controls are familiar to them from action games. So, although Oblivion appeals to a large audience, it manages to maintain the depth its predecessor had, while delivering an awesome RPG experience.

Although not the best in the series, Final Fantasy XII undoubtedly marks the coming off age of the series. The story is beautifully scripted, flows deep and strong, dealing with mature themes like politics and war. Unfolding in Square's trademark jaw-dropping CG sequences and pushed by unusual and somehow fitting voice acting. Square has created a world alive with its own personality. The battle system is revamped, and has a real-time element to it, where you can customize every character using the gambit system. Everything’s in its right place here, and Final Fantasy XII is one wild ride.

Amongst the extremely frustrating performance issues, and annoying bugs, Obsidian Interactive hid a good game. If you managed to work your way around these problems (which is not easy), the game could offer a lot to any RPG fan that loved the original Neverwinter Nights. The game’s single-player campaign was really good, with a great storyline and some involving gameplay. I really hope that Obsidian works on a fix for all the performance issues before the game becomes dated.

And the Winner is...

The Elder Scrolls series has always pleased RPGers, but Oblivion has taken that step ahead while appealing to fans of the action genre as well. With this game, the series has found a perfect balance between depth and simplicity, which is the way RPGs should be. I wouldn’t go as far as saying the game’s ground breaking or revolutionary; it’s rather an evolutionary step in RPGs that polishes all the best elements of the genre and delivers them with some of the best visuals to date.