If you have ever played any of the Elder Scrolls series (a veritable dynasty of absolute masterpieces created by Bethesda Softworks over the past twenty years), then you may count yourself among the most fortunate people in the world. It is downright tragic to think that for so many people in the world, being able to play such incredible games is a luxury which is beyond their grasp. But while every entry into the series has been incredible in its own way, perhaps the best of the series (not to mention one of the great games in all of gaming history) has been The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Granted, it is not perfect, but it does have an incredible amount of room to branch out beyond mere awesomeness.

Before we get to how incredible the game is, remember that it does have a few limits to it. For one thing, the architecture does carry a sort of bland, “yeah, it’s basically England” vibe to it. And there is a strange sense that, considering that this is an empire which essentially rules the entire world, it still lacks the funding to explore and police the ruins of ancient civilizations within walking distance of its cities (where its population could very well be vulnerable). And considering that any thief or assassin can become Archmage of the Mage’s Guild, there are moments where it just doesn’t make sense.

But once you get past a few puzzlers like those, you realize that Oblivion is still incredible. The graphics, which can be made even lovelier, are pretty incredible looking. There is ample variety in the enemies you can fight, and there are a decent number of challenging quests you can undertake. And if you want to loot dungeons, you could turn that into your character’s full time job and never be able to keep them all cleared out. When people produce custom downloadable content, the game becomes even better still.