Having been a HUGE Tes fan for years i was surprised to find that when i recently started playing The Witcher i actually liked it a LOT more than Oblivion. It had a far more engaging story and more rewarding gameplay and when i finished it i found that i could probably never enjoy Oblivion again, it just seems crap to me now. Sorry guys.

My first question is this: Did you ever mod Oblivion?

Still, I don't think the comparison is quite deserved. The games are about as different as WRPGs of the same era get. They're trying to bring forth very different experiences, and unlike, say, comparing FF8 to Legend of Dragoon, The Witcher and Oblivion are so different that making one more like the other in an attempt to "improve" the game would alter the fundamentals of what makes it what it is.

If you want to debate the quality of Oblivion as a game experience, I'd suggest leave The Witcher out of it.

Most importantly, if you are enjoying the Witcher, go have fun with it. You also have Oblivion, so you can enjoy both titles at your leisure. What is the problem?

Oblivion all the way, The Witcher was a load of tedious, immature, repetitive crap.
With horrible characters.

I managed to get half way through the city area (third part?) before uninstalling and refusing to play it ever again.

Oblivion on the other hand got me playing for hundreds of hours with endless vanilla and mod related fun.

The Witcher is honestly one of the worst RPG's I've ever played, cannot for the life of me understand the appeal.

There's no problem, i was just wondering if anyone else felt this way. And yes, i modded Oblivion and while i had fun with it at the time i just find its gameplay and story dull in retrospect.

That said i'll probably still end up pouring countless hours into Skyrim.

I had to say I liked The Witcher more. I always choose games with a good story and characters. And the atmosphere was just so immersive. Mostly thanks to the music.

ImprovizoR:
I had to say I liked The Witcher more. I always choose games with a good story.

I really want to understand this as I'm clearly insane for just not 'getting' The Witcher.

In what way is the plot good?
From what I can remember it was "evil dudes killed your friends now spend 70 hours doing completely unrelated tasks with thoroughly unlikeable characters which feels depressingly similar to grinding in WoW".

It depends on whether you want a well-written, compelling, and atmospheric game or Morrowind: bland clone-brush edition.

Oblivion had some kind of the story? There were some oblivion gates that were making people nervous so I shut down like 10 of 'em and nothing changed. Then I did some quests in the cities which had no meaning and got bored (and angry because of the wasted time.Besides RPG game where lvling up has no real purpose since everything is getting stronger together with you is weird (since you dont feel stronger unless you are focusing on some mysterious perfectly though through plan). 3 years later awesome mods come allowing you to go all kinds of crazy... eh no thx, the game already had its chance.

In first witcher I like overall story and fact that I read some books also helped (always nice to see familiar faces). Last part was totally retarded (mutants >_<) while the first (not including Prologue in Kaer Morhen) was too slow.

flaming_squirrel:

ImprovizoR:
I had to say I liked The Witcher more. I always choose games with a good story.

I really want to understand this as I'm clearly insane for just not 'getting' The Witcher.

In what way is the plot good?
From what I can remember it was "evil dudes killed your friends now spend 70 hours doing completely unrelated tasks with thoroughly unlikeable characters which feels depressingly similar to grinding in WoW".

Are you serious? Oblivion had an epic opening, i'll give it that. But after that it's just meaningless sidequest galore in a huge open sandbox world with no real story driving it forward at all.

Personally, I feel that the sidequests in Witcher are actually rewarding as the make me better equipped to deal with the rest of the game. (skinner box reference) In Morrowind, this only means you'll be facing tougher enemies. There is no point to leveling up.

flaming_squirrel:

ImprovizoR:
I had to say I liked The Witcher more. I always choose games with a good story.

I really want to understand this as I'm clearly insane for just not 'getting' The Witcher.

In what way is the plot good?
From what I can remember it was "evil dudes killed your friends now spend 70 hours doing completely unrelated tasks with thoroughly unlikeable characters which feel depressingly similar to grinding in WoW".

Choice and consequences, basically. You're trying to track this guy down, but the theme of the game is choosing the lesser evil, and it does a pretty good job of exploring that. You have the standard "choose the lesser evil" in regards to stuff like witch hunts and picking sides in a conflict, but it's also explored in the context of stuff like parenting.

It's entirely possible you played the bad translation, too. Several English versions (I.E., not the "expanded edition") cut out about 30% of the dialogue, and it shows.

Oblivvy. More open-world, and I found it more immersive.

flaming_squirrel:
In what way is the plot good?
From what I can remember it was "evil dudes killed your friends now spend 70 hours doing completely unrelated tasks with thoroughly unlikeable characters which feels depressingly similar to grinding in WoW".

If you actually bothered to read (or listen to) some of those longer dialogues you might find out that there are no "GOOD" characters in the witcher. Everybody wants something...

steinsvi:
Personally, I feel that the sidequests in Witcher are actually rewarding as the make me better equipped to deal with the rest of the game. (skinner box reference) In Morrowind, this only means you'll be facing tougher enemies. There is no point to leveling up.

Morrowind actually doesn't do this - Oblivion is the one with the treadmill leveling system. In Morrowind, the right early find can actually make a huge difference in how powerful your character is.

Oblivion for me. I prefer the way that elves are treated in that game.

..never liked how elves were treated in The Witcher...I felt so sorry for them.

Alucard788:
Oblivion for me. I prefer the way that elves are treated in that game.

..never liked how elves were treated in The Witcher...I felt so sorry for them.

Not sure if serious...

(But for the record, even if I think that the elves are as banal/boring as everything else in Oblivion, they're awesome in Morrowind. Having a bunch of Dunmer calling you "outlander" or worse really adds to the atmosphere of that game.)

Kahunaburger:

Alucard788:
Oblivion for me. I prefer the way that elves are treated in that game.

..never liked how elves were treated in The Witcher...I felt so sorry for them.

Not sure if serious...

(But for the record, even if I think that the elves are as banal/boring as everything else in Oblivion, they're awesome in Morrowind. Having a bunch of Dunmer calling you "outlander" or worse really adds to the atmosphere of that game.)

I am serious. I'd rather have the Elves be more integrated into society, and at the least, accepted or slightly dominant culturally...than hunted and oppressed like in The Witcher.

Well Oblivion was shit so obviously The Witcher is better. But even then, it wasn't awesome. Witcher 2, though, is significantly better than either.

Alucard788:

Kahunaburger:

Alucard788:
Oblivion for me. I prefer the way that elves are treated in that game.

..never liked how elves were treated in The Witcher...I felt so sorry for them.

Not sure if serious...

(But for the record, even if I think that the elves are as banal/boring as everything else in Oblivion, they're awesome in Morrowind. Having a bunch of Dunmer calling you "outlander" or worse really adds to the atmosphere of that game.)

I am serious. I'd rather have the Elves be more integrated into society, and at the least, accepted or slightly dominant culturally...than hunted and oppressed like in The Witcher.

Why? I guess I'm confused as to exactly why you decide whether you like a game or not based on how fictional people treat other fictional people.

Kahunaburger:

Alucard788:

Kahunaburger:

Not sure if serious...

(But for the record, even if I think that the elves are as banal/boring as everything else in Oblivion, they're awesome in Morrowind. Having a bunch of Dunmer calling you "outlander" or worse really adds to the atmosphere of that game.)

I am serious. I'd rather have the Elves be more integrated into society, and at the least, accepted or slightly dominant culturally...than hunted and oppressed like in The Witcher.

Why? I guess I'm confused as to exactly why you decide whether you like a game or not based on how fictional people treat other fictional people.

*shrug* I dunno because I've always liked elves and elven culture. I know they aren't real, but that doesn't mean, I have to like stories where their treated like crap. o_O

Well I've not played the original Witcher, but I've finished Assassins of Kings and I have to say I prefer it to Oblivion. Both games are very different though and Oblivion obviously has more to do and many more options, I just preferred the focus and cohesiveness of the Witcher and the way the story evolved with your actions and side quests. In Oblivion I did the bits I found interesting and then got bored - the main plot lost relevance and I never finished it. If you want to lose yourself in a world for 200 hours though, only one of those games will suffice (and it isn't the Witcher.)

Alucard788:

Kahunaburger:

Alucard788:

I am serious. I'd rather have the Elves be more integrated into society, and at the least, accepted or slightly dominant culturally...than hunted and oppressed like in The Witcher.

Why? I guess I'm confused as to exactly why you decide whether you like a game or not based on how fictional people treat other fictional people.

*shrug* I dunno because I've always liked elves and elven culture. I know they aren't real, but that doesn't mean, I have to like stories where their treated like crap. o_O

Well, the fact that you're uncomfortable with how elves are treated in the world of the Witcher is intentional - it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Do you have the same issue with Dragon Age?

Kahunaburger:

Alucard788:

Kahunaburger:

Why? I guess I'm confused as to exactly why you decide whether you like a game or not based on how fictional people treat other fictional people.

*shrug* I dunno because I've always liked elves and elven culture. I know they aren't real, but that doesn't mean, I have to like stories where their treated like crap. o_O

Well, the fact that you're uncomfortable with how elves are treated in the world of the Witcher is intentional - it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Do you have the same issue with Dragon Age?

I have a love/hate with Dragon Age due to my soft spot for Bioware. Dragon age didn't seem as bad as the Witcher, really in terms of there being at least a glimmer of hope, for the elves in that world, and the Dalish kicked ass.

However may I ask you. Why does it bug you so much that the treatment of elves bothers me in a game?

Alucard788:

Kahunaburger:

Alucard788:

*shrug* I dunno because I've always liked elves and elven culture. I know they aren't real, but that doesn't mean, I have to like stories where their treated like crap. o_O

Well, the fact that you're uncomfortable with how elves are treated in the world of the Witcher is intentional - it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Do you have the same issue with Dragon Age?

I have a love/hate with Dragon Age due to my soft spot for Bioware. Dragon age didn't seem as bad as the Witcher, really in terms of there being at least a glimmer of hope, for the elves in that world, and the Dalish kicked ass.

However may I ask you. Why does it bug you so much that the treatment of elves bothers me in a game?

Because it doesn't make sense, TBH. I get that you might not like a game that features ethnic strife, but I don't get why a selling point for you is that a game gives a specific fictional race of people a specific social place in its fictional world.

Honestly, I could never get into either Witcher games, I played the prologue and about half way into the first chapter for each and just could not like it, I tried to I really did. The game was just too tedious for me, I dislike the combat (since while playing it I always compare it to say Fable: The Lost chapters or God of War or something) and I hate the camera.
Oblivion on the other hand I've finished twice, been awhile now so I can't remember what I dislike about the game, but my gripes with the game weren't to the same degree as The Witcher games.
To each his own I suppose.

Oblivion was quite fun at first, but then I started noticing the rather mediocre voiceovers, repeating textures, dead towns, absolutely unconvincing landscapes, etc. Pretty much killed the immersion for me.

I wouldn't say Witcher is the pinnacle of the genre but it was very fun to play, I enjoyed it considerably more than Oblivion. The story, although not comparable to the original books, was alright, the gameplay was quite interesting. I guess I was overall tainted by the books; if I haven't read them before I'd probably find the game much better.
The only thing that felt out of place were those horrid sex cards.

I'm gonna go with the Witcher, with a "but" at the end. Oblivion can be fun for sure, but the awful story, writing, and characters bring it down a lot because those are factors I really care about.

But I actually thought the first Witcher was only a little above average, whereas The Witcher 2 is probably my favorite game to come out in the last couple years. Some of the best, most mature writing I've seen in a game with interesting characters and meaningful choices. The Witcher 2 makes Dragon Age look like it was written by teenage fan fiction writers holding checklists for everything they had to include. And I liked Dragon Age.

Kahunaburger:

Alucard788:

Kahunaburger:

Well, the fact that you're uncomfortable with how elves are treated in the world of the Witcher is intentional - it's supposed to make you feel uncomfortable. Do you have the same issue with Dragon Age?

I have a love/hate with Dragon Age due to my soft spot for Bioware. Dragon age didn't seem as bad as the Witcher, really in terms of there being at least a glimmer of hope, for the elves in that world, and the Dalish kicked ass.

However may I ask you. Why does it bug you so much that the treatment of elves bothers me in a game?

Because it doesn't make sense, TBH. I get that you might not like a game that features ethnic strife, but I don't get why a selling point for you is that a game gives a specific fictional race of people a specific social place in its fictional world.

I dunno what to say. I've just always had that kind of preference.

Really I don't know what else I can say. That's my opinion on why I like...what I like.

May seem silly to you but...I dunno...That's just me. o_O

Incomer:

If you actually bothered to read (or listen to) some of those longer dialogues you might find out that there are no "GOOD" characters in the witcher. Everybody wants something...

You needed to read to work that out? Huh. I thought it was fairly obvious due to the fact that every single character acted like the biggest dick possible just for the sake of it.

The Big Boss:

Are you serious? Oblivion had an epic opening, i'll give it that. But after that it's just meaningless sidequest galore in a huge open sandbox world with no real story driving it forward at all.

Ehm, except for the main questline which if you so wished could be done without playing any other content. Most of that could even be applied to the witcher anyway, ie: The Witcher had an average opening, i'll give it that. But after that it's just meaningless sidequest galore in an repetitively linear world.
I'll admit the Witcher was more story driven, but without compelling characters driving that story it just comes off as meaningless and a bit shit.

Kahunaburger:

Choice and consequences, basically. You're trying to track this guy down, but the theme of the game is choosing the lesser evil, and it does a pretty good job of exploring that. You have the standard "choose the lesser evil" in regards to stuff like witch hunts and picking sides in a conflict, but it's also explored in the context of stuff like parenting.

It's entirely possible you played the bad translation, too. Several English versions (I.E., not the "expanded edition") cut out about 30% of the dialogue, and it shows.

Got 'the enhanced' edition (I have no idea what was enhanced about it).

Choosing the lesser of two evils could work quite well if the game made me care in the slightest about the situation, but from what I played the choices made had nothing whatsoever to do with the main quest and were simply down to, pick wanker A or wanker B, neither are interesting or have personalities beyond the 2d so who gives a damn.

Also spending 6 hours in a small town performing fetch and carry quests in a single player RPG is not fun in slightest.

Edit: Bloody hell I'd even forgotten the wonderful combat system..

flaming_squirrel:

Kahunaburger:

Choice and consequences, basically. You're trying to track this guy down, but the theme of the game is choosing the lesser evil, and it does a pretty good job of exploring that. You have the standard "choose the lesser evil" in regards to stuff like witch hunts and picking sides in a conflict, but it's also explored in the context of stuff like parenting.

It's entirely possible you played the bad translation, too. Several English versions (I.E., not the "expanded edition") cut out about 30% of the dialogue, and it shows.

Got 'the enhanced' edition (I have no idea what was enhanced about it).

Choosing the lesser of two evils could work quite well if the game made me care in the slightest about the situation, but from what I played the choices made had nothing whatsoever to do with the main quest and were simply down to, pick wanker A or wanker B, neither are interesting or have personalities beyond the 2d so who gives a damn.

Also spending 6 hours in a small town performing fetch and carry quests in a single player RPG is not fun in slightest.

You prob didn't get very far then, since your previous actions can and do impact the main quest in that game.

I also prefer the witcher more - because of its engaging story.

With that being said....I love me some Oblivion - modding it is a lot of fun and provides hours of entertainment

Kahunaburger:

You prob didn't get very far then, since your previous actions can and do impact the main quest in that game.

I got to the end of chapter 2, which considering the 10 hours or whatever that it takes to get even that far I'd consider it enough for the main quest to have got started.

flaming_squirrel:

Kahunaburger:

You prob didn't get very far then, since your previous actions can and do impact the main quest in that game.

I got to the end of chapter 2, which considering the 10 hours or whatever that it takes to get even that far I'd consider it enough for the main quest to have got started.

Uh... the main quest had started by then. And some C&C definitely had occurred by that point, so maybe you weren't paying attention?