It’s been about six months, maybe more, since I first bought and began to play Elder Srolls: Oblivion for my Xbox 360. I never realized just how deep the game would be at the time I bought it. I’m currently on my second character (trashed my first one because I ended up not liking him), and about 80 hours into the game, and I haven’t even touched the main storyline yet, after emerging from that first dungeon. Some folks estimate that to do and see and discover everything in the game could take well over 500 hours.

That’s depth of gameplay! And the amazing thing about it is how well the experience wears on you. Heck, even great Final Fantasy titles get a bit repetitive after about 20 hours and you need some time away from them before going back and doing another 20, then another break before pushing through to the end. But Oblivion is different.

Maybe it’s because the game has so much freedom in it to do whatever you want, outside and away from the main storyline. You can join one of at least eight guilds, buy houses, invest in stores… heck, you can do just about anything in the game that yuo want to, except maybe hang out with a group of house painters and paint houses all day. And now that I’ve said that, just wait… the developers at Bethesda Softworks will find a way to squeeze even that into the upcoming expansion pack! Sure, it may not be the same as hanging out with the pros at CertaPro, but my point is that the game just offers 100s of hours of playable freedom without ever really forcing you to do something you don’t have an interest in doing.

I didn’t get the chance to write the review for Oblivion over at my gig at DigNews.com. And in a way, I’m glad I didn’t. Playing the game has never been a task, only a joy. As much as I love Final Fantasy XII on PS2, Oblivion is certainly looking to be my favorite RPG of 2006.