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Oblivion Take Me
Welp, it's that time, folks. Time, for better or for worse, to play Oblivion. This game makes a lot of changes from Morrowind. Some for the better, some for the worse, depending on who you ask. What I'm trying to get at is that I'll have a lot to say about this game, so expect to see more candid, italicized interjections than you saw in Fallout 3 or Morrowind. There was a metric fuckton of effort put into the tutorial dungeon, so we'll be taking a granular look at it.
Here we would be treated to an opening cutscene where Uriel Septim talks about his prophetic dream. tl;dr bad shit gonna happen.
And here's our hero!
Orc, Male
Strength 45
Intelligence 30
Willpower 50
Agility 35
Speed 30
Endurance 50
Personality 30
Luck 50
Skill bonuses: Armorer +10, Block +10, Blunt +10, Hand To Hand +5, Heavy Armor +10
Abilities: 25% Magic Resistance, Berserk
Orcs are mostly identical from the Morrowind days, save for some skills getting shuffled around. What they do is beat things to death and, with any luck, not take much damage from those things. They take 25% less damage from all spells, and can hulk out for a minute each day. There's one other thing about 'em, but I'll cover that when the time comes. Anyway, I'll let Fawkes take over from here.
To think I would be imprisoned again.
I should appraise my surroundings. Maybe there's a way out of this yet.
The man across from me, with grey skin, pipes up. "Orc"?
Come to think of it, I do feel a bit different. I must embrace the possibility that I am one of these orcs now.
Pfah. At least I won't be treated any differently here, it seems.
Imperials...hrm. The ruling contingent, no doubt.
Such an annoying little man.
Wait, someone is coming. A woman. A commander, perhaps.
An older man. He seems to be in dire straits indeed.
I concur. Best not to jump to conclusions in times like this.
Ah, an escape plan. But, why would they be here?
Aha! Perhaps this quantum conundrum can be rectified yet.
Yes, this will be cleared up in no time.
...well, I suppose it would be best to comply. There.
Oh. Further back. Sorry, how's-
...satisfied now, I see.
With so many of you here, I have no intention of fleeing, I assure you.
...somehow, I think this man is offended.
The...king? seems to take notice of me.
In their ignorance, the guards try to block him, but he manages to engage me in conversation.
You are the one from my dreams...then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength.
What's going on here?
Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route.
I see. I apologize for the inconvenience, I'm...not entirely sure what I'm doing in this cell to begin with.
Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we may meet. As for what you have done...it does not matter. That is not what you will be remembered for.
I'm...sorry, I don't entirely-
I am your emperor, Uriel Septim. By the grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are a citizen of Tamriel, and you, too, shall serve her in your own way.
I fear I have more pressing conundrums at the moment, emperor.
So do we all. But what path can be avoided whose end is fixed by the almighty Gods?
Clearly, this man knows something I do not.
The commander urges the gentle emperor forward. The guard simmers quietly, snarling through his eye sockets.
Hm. I suppose there's some sense in keeping a tactical retreat open.
Fortunate indeed, guardian!
No matter what lies down this tunnel, surely it would be an improvement over imprisonment.
Besides, I really have little recourse.
The guards...make poor company.
EXCUSE ME STALWART GUARDIAN, JUST DESCENDING THESE STAIRS PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVELY.
Uneventful so far...but no news is good news, I suppose.
...the assassins?
This looks bad. I must help.
Their armor disappears upon death. Curious.
Are you all right, sire? We're clear, for now.
Captain Renault?
She's dead. I'm sorry, sire, but we have to keep moving.
Hm.
Well...
"Weak potion of healing." Prudent to keep medicine on hand.
I don't care much for swords, but a torch I could use.
...sorcery? Well, it might be good for something.
Don't know. But it's too late to go back now.
They won't be the first to underestimate the Blades.
Glenroy and Baurus are hard to tell apart even in the game, so I've taken the liberty of adding angry eyebrows to the former.
Nothing else worth taking on the others.
But-
The distinct sound of a lock sliding into place. I'm trapped.
Hm?
Rats?
OH DEAR GOD NO.
I DO NOT NEED THIS TODAY.
In Oblivion, there's no chance to miss in combat. If you're lacking in skills, you'll just do piss-poor damage, is all. It's a good thing.
Have at you!
You'll not have my nose to eat!
VICTORY. 
That...was satisfying.
Ugh.
It smells terrible, but it's all the food I have for now. Best hang on to it.
Into the breach. Hm, a bit dark.
That's better.
Now, what do we have here?
Ah, a hand axe. A bit savage, perhaps, but the heft of it is...comforting.
Now's a good time to address weapon skills. The Long Blade and Short Blade skills have been folded into blade. Blunt weapons have adopted axes as part of their family, presumably to round things out. Spears, unfortunately, did not make the cut. It's a bit of an oversimplification, but I can see why they did it. In Morrowind, choosing Short Blade might lock you out of using sweet-ass swords, while Long Blade would lock you out of using cool daggers. I'm pretty much in favor of this change because hey, it makes weapon skill less of an agonizing choice for the player. Fawkes is going to be using Blunt Weapons for the most part, but the removal of hit chance from combat means that if we do find a sweet enough sword, we're gonna be using it.
Vermin scarcely pose any threat to me now.
One must be vigilant when searching for supplies.
Lockpicks! These will come in handy.
Notice that torches are weightless now. Torches are now viable. Good change!
Poor fellow.
Maybe he left something worthwhile behind.
Armor to go with his shield, and arrows for his bow.
I feel safer already.
Now, let's try out that bow.
SUCCESS!
Marksmanship is a bit more realistic in Oblivion. Gravity and the arc of the arrow must be accounted for. And, once again, with no chance to miss it's actually worth using, and I dare say fun!
I'll be taking that back.
Also, arrows can be recovered from the world as well as enemy corpses.
Ah, I nearly missed this chest. Let's see about opening it up...
Lockpicking is pretty darn hard to explain. You move the pick left and right, nudging it to push the brass bits up. Sometimes the brass bit will "stick" at the top for a moment. That's when you press the E button (or A on the 360) to lock it into place. Raise all the bits, unlock the chest. It can be kinda fun.
I dare say this is fun! Now, what have we here?
Gold and gems? Fortune smiles upon me.
More arrows and lockpicks in here. Leave no stone unturned!
Hm. This creature seems to have been well-equipped in life.
A key!
I admit I'm...curious about these scrolls, though.
The corpse won't mind. Now, what have we...
?!
GOOD LORD!
In Oblivion, spells can be cast at any time, even with a weapon in your hand. Without the step of readying your spells, magic is way more viable in combat than before, and just plain easier to use in general!
The scroll's gone, too. But, that feeling...I wonder if I can do it again.
Yes. Yes!
I. AM. MAGIC!