The Official, "Oblivion," Remaster Was Announced and Released Today

Elder Scrolls Games have a lot of fans. Many folks (myself included) adored the 3rd in the series back in 2002, "Morrowind," while the fourth, "Oblivion," came out in 2006 and has numerous fans and the most recent came out in 2011--"Skyrim," and was pretty popular as well. In what was technically a massive surprise if it hadn't been such a badly kept secret, a total remaster/reworking of, "Oblivion," was announced and promptly released today by Bethesda on PS5, Xbox, and PC. There is still that mod in the works too, so you could basically play two totally different and, "New," versions of, "Oblivion," this year if you wanted.

Early buzz for this remake is positive. It looks good, even if a little muddy and muted. I'm going to be honest and let you all know that while I loved, "Morrowind," and quite liked what I played of, "Skyrim," I randomly enough never played, "Oblivion." I'm not sure why, I was perhaps a bit busy in 2006, seeing as I graduated high school and went off to college that year. I did play video-games somewhat during my initial collegiate time, however, but while I dabbled in, "Dead Rising," and, "Hitman: Blood Money," a good deal, I just never tried, "Oblivion," and therefore can't offer any opinions on the original's quality or if this remaster compares favorably. It is available for, "Free," on Xbox's Gamepass, however, so perhaps I should give it a try sometime in the near future? The question is what other game from my backlog I've been meaning to play that I'll need to delete first to have the memory space, however!

Oh Yeah, "Starfield," is Still Kind of a Thing

An expansion pack of sorts is on the way for, "Starfield." Yes, remember? The game that was in development for nearly a decade that was supposed to launch the next huge franchise for Bethesda like their Elder Scrolls series or the Fallout games (which they took over with upon the third title in that series)? Fallout is actually having quite a moment thanks to the television show and supposedly a new Elder Scrolls-related series is in the works. Meanwhile, "Starfield," is just kind of there after tons of build-up/hype and landing with a bit of a thud all things considered.

This isn't to say Bethesda should necessarily totally abandon, "Starfield," and just focus on Fallout games or Elder Scrolls-related stuff even if that's been suggested by some. I think the sad truth of the matter is that, "Starfield," is a well-designed and decent game that unfortunately just takes place in a really boring World/Universe compared to such properties as Fallout and Elder Scrolls titles. It's a relatively drab space game that failed to wow me in the same way as other Bethesda games. You can have an extremely competently designed game with lots of great mechanics, but if I don't want to explore that game's World or enjoy the story, what is the point? From what I played of, "Starfield," it was just fine, and I need more than fine these days if I'm going to sink any significant time into a game with a busy life. It is nice that, "Starfield," is getting an expansion that might improve the map or add a little space dune buggy, but do enough people even care anymore? I guess that's up to Bethesda.

Microsoft Bought Game Developer Bethesda and It Has Everyone in a Tizzy

 

Bethesda is a game developer behind such smash-hit series as, "Elder Scrolls," and, "Fallout." They've made a name for themselves with these games and have been involved in plenty of others. Microsoft just bought Bethesda, which dramatically alters the landscape of the so-called, "Console wars." Does this mean some huge franchise will now be exclusive to the new Xbox Series X/S and PC? Might they come to a newer-generation Switch--as Microsoft has been playing nice with Nintendo sometimes--but be purposely kept off of the PlayStation 5 for the purpose of competition and admitedly some spite? 

Microsoft has said things will be on a, "Case by case basis," but can you imagine how enraged many gamers might be if, "Elder Scrolls 6: Some Random Subtitle," is only on PC and the latest Xbox consoles? Some say we shouldn't panic yet, as Microsoft probably sees it could lose more money than it would gain making things exclusive, others might be feeling a tad antsy. As it is, this is a huge acquisition and could be a random occurrence, or a sign of things to come as the big console-makers consider trying to gain more control over the 3rd party publishers that make some of the most popular games.