The English language translation of Nehrim, the massive, 50-hour total conversion of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, has finally been released.
Can you believe it’s been four and a half years since Bethesda released Oblivion, the fourth and, even after all this time, most recent addition to the Elder Scrolls RPG franchise? Which means that by now, the odds are pretty good that you’ve played it, beat it and moved on to other things. But for gamers who still have a thirst for expansive, first-person RPG action, there really hasn’t been anything in the intervening years that’s come along and filled the void it left. Until now!
Nehrim is a free “total conversion” that changes the original Oblivion into a functionally similar yet otherwise entirely different game. It’s still a first-person fantasy RPG but any other similarities are purely coincidental. “Our project Nehrim does not fit into Oblivion at all,” the Nehrim team explained on its website. “What we did is build an entirely new, discrete world that has nothing to do with Tamriel and the TES Universe.”
Despite being both fan-made and free, Nehrim pulls no punches. The game’s land mass is comparable to that found in Oblivion, yet the team claims the entire landscape is “hand-built” in order to avoid the monotony of the forests of Tamriel. The main plot includes 35 individual quests, adding up to an estimated 50 hours of playtime, and there are roughly 30 more side-quests to choose from. The skill system has been overhauled completely and “fast travel” has been eliminated in favor of specific teleport spells and the “mark” and “return” spells from Morrowind. Nehrim also boasts a huge, all-new soundtrack and over 50 unique voices provided by professional voice actors, more than in Oblivion itself.
Of course, if you happen to be German then you’ve had access to Nehrim since early June and this probably doesn’t seem all that exciting to you, but for RPG fans who don’t speak the language, it’s good news indeed. Nehrim is 1.6 GB in size and requires only the basic installation of Oblivion to operate; Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine are not necessary. Learn more about this truly massive mod or just grab a copy and dive in at nehrim.de.
Published: Sep 14, 2010 01:54 am