Oblivion is a marvel of sound. You can tell where, and how far, a troll is just by the sound he makes. All the monsters make very unique sounds which help let you know what is just around the corner.

The music score is also just as epic as the game itself. I can't remember a time when the music did not do a great job of heightening the mood, and that is what its there for. Like when your walking through the woods, a pleasant song will be playing, if attacked the music shifts to a pulse of pounding rhythm that make the fighting more intense. The music score is worthy of a stand alone CD soundtrack release.

The failure in oblivion comes in the form of voice acting. All the NPC sound and look similar, like the same person, who's voice has been digitally altered. With such a deep character customization system you would think that NPC would like radically different from one another; that is not the case. They all look to be based on the same few faces with very small degrees of change. All of this is forgivable because I'm playing for adventure, and this is what Oblivion dose best.

The graphics on Oblivion are amazing from lighting, to water, to foliage, to particle effects, this games is breath taking. I've been waiting for a game like this to spark a new fad of in-game photography; where photos are so good that you can sell prints of them and hang them on your wall. This game is getting close to graphics that are that good. When you first walk out into the open, at the begging of the game, and see butterflies hovering over a flower, grass blowing in the wind, and the sun move a cross the sky you know that you are in for a new kind of gaming experience.